Chapter 114 — In which Saf uses the PAPER (1)

  When they arrived, everything was already over.

  The death reaped their grim harvest and left.

  The door to the bedroom were wide open.

  A withered man laid quietly under the pile of blankets, the sheer weight of them crushing his fragile body.

  His eyes were closed.

  Though there was no smile on his lips, he at least looked to have died peacefully.

  Orche was kneeling at the headrest, holding a cold hand in his.

  Even though servants were watching, he couldn’t stop tears from streaming down his cheeks.

  Perhaps he wasn’t even registering that servants were there.

  Mimosa hesitated at the doorsteps, and then entered.

  She sat down in a chair a few steps away from the bed, took off the hat she was wearing even in-doors, and quietly looked at what once was her father.

  The room was as silent as the corpse.

  Saffra didn’t cross the door frame.

  Saffaron lived long life.

  The life of Saffra, who was just twenty years old this year, was insignificant compared to it.

  The sparse moments Saffra learned of Sulfious’ kindness and affection towards her were just droplets in the sea of memories.

  She was a stranger here.

  So she didn’t dare to take another step.

  Instead, she turned around and started to organize things.

  “Please prepare the oils and incenses for the last cleansing… Make also some tea with honey and keep it warm. Give it to them when they’re ready.”

  She addressed the servants around with a quiet voice, and they nodded without making a sound.

  Saffra then headed to her room and from a hidden compartment she made in her wardrobe, she took a paper.

  The paper was blank, with just the seal and a signature.

  It was something she asked for from Sulfious just after she woke up with memories of Saffaron.

  Something she prepared just for this moment.

  ‘The timing is too perfect. He certainly didn’t pass away from natural causes.’

  She remembered the two Golderodies, whose intentions and what they were doing were still unknown.

  She hoped to learn something about it when visiting their hometown, but she only learned that their parents also died in rather ‘unusual’ circumstances.

  ‘While the plague was running rampant through the land, that region was kept safe thanks to ‘her’ remains and blessing. But someone reversed that blessing by putting a reverse holy symbol in their house… and so the two elders died, because of the plague. Could something similar happen to Sulfious?’

  Saffra frowned, the ink she was girding made strange sound in her hands.

  She had learned both magic and esoteric arts from her brothers, but she wasn’t a specialist.

  Magic was still easy to use, as it was based in logic and natural laws, but rituals needed beliefs.

  It wasn’t that Saffra didn’t believe in gods, it was just she associated them mainly as annoying guys in Am’s head.

  They were like neighborhood kids.

  You don’t trust neighborhood kids with important matters.

  That was Saffra’s belief, so only the most primordial powers, the Heaven and the Earth, answered her callings properly.

  That meant there was no easy way for Saffra to check for the mystical traces left.

  ‘That’s something for a priest, and there happen to be a very good priest around…’

  Until Sulfious’ case was solved, she couldn’t let anyone ascend to the throne and if it couldn’t be helped, she had to make sure it wasn’t Orche.

  Saffra quickly formed a plan that would allow her just that.

  As a bonus, this plan would allow her to send her older brother a pretty birthday gift.

  Ink ready, she started writing.

  In preparation for this moment she studied Sulfious’ writing, so the task of manufacturing his own will was more than simple.

  Saffra was always good with her hands.

  Just not with cooking.

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  ‘Then let’s investigate the physical traces before they disappear.’

  After sealing the will, she tucked it into her bosoms and headed out.

  The investigation started in the earnest.

  The first victim was the knight captain.

  Thanks to their previous encounters, he had already prepared all the schedules and knew exactly which knight was guarding the General and when.

  Saffra, who was satisfied with the cleanly organized timetable, spoke up before she left.

  “Captain. About Sir Citire…”

  “I already put vacation in his calendar. It’s under ‘recovery after being exposed to foreign and dangerous elements’ and he won’t be able to refuse it.”

  The captain spoke quickly, before she could finish.

  Saffra shook her head.

  “That’s not it. Please cancel it.”

  “Yes?”

  “Sir Citrie will have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks.”

  She smiled.

  The knight captain made a very worried expression when he saw that smile.

  Afterward, Saffra found butler and Sulfious’ secretary to find exactly who entered his room the past week.

  After some lengthy discussion, she ended with a list of seven people.

  Two ruler candidates, Orche and Mimosa.

  Sulfious personal attended, the secretary.

  Two personal maids and the butler.

  And the doctor.

  …

  One of them had a hand in taking down the Ruler of Yellow Throne.

  *-*-*

  Mourning took just one day.

  It was not the time long enough to deal with the loss and soothe the dark pool of whirling emotions, but it was not time short enough to not gather dissatisfied glances.

  Those tasked with great responsibility and in center of public eye didn’t have time for mourning.

  The death of Sulfious wasn’t announced to the general population yet, but those in the highest position of power already knew.

  And all of their gazes were awaiting the answer.

  Who will be the next Yellow Throne’s ruler?

  That’s why Sulfious’ three children and his secretary gathered in his office.

  As it wasn’t used for long, a fine layer of dust gathered on furniture.

  “Ehem.” The secretary cleared his throat, and then presented a document. “This is the will I was tasked with safekeeping by late General. According to his wishes, I’ll present it now.”

  He broke the seal and took out a thickly written will.

  Saffra looked at it carefully, examining the content, and Mimosa, who seemed a bit absent-minded, also joined.

  The two sisters quickly read the will.

  It was decorated with flowery language of law, but the meaning of the will was simple.

  The next ruler will be Orche.

  ‘As expected.’

  Saffra was not surprised.

  She just raised an eyebrow at the note that said she should be tasked with ‘establishing positive relationships with high-ranking figures in Flavun and Gemma Republic’.

  A roundabout way of saying she should get married.

  “Congratulations, Young Master Orche, no, I should address you as Lord Orche now, shouldn’t I?”

  The secretary smiled slightly, as if trying to break the heavy atmosphere.

  He didn’t read the will.

  He already knew its content.

  Orche just glanced at him.

  His eyes were red and puffy.

  His lips were dry.

  He smelled of smoke.

  In one night, he looked closer to a corpse than a living being.

  The corpse said nothing.

  “Sir Secretary, please excuse me, but before the announcement I wish to cross-examine the content of this document, with the will entrusted to me.”

  “Yes?”

  The secretary blinked and looked at Saffra with extreme confusion.

  Instead of answering, she took out the envelope she prepared yesterday.

  She put it side-by-side with the secretary’s will.

  “Perhaps Father was afraid of forgery, or that his words will be destroyed in some incident. I cannot know his thoughts, but he entrusted me with his will in secret. Because I’m the only one, who wasn’t involved in the power struggle.”

  “Something… something like that had happened?”

  The secretary could only mumble out in shock.

  Even though Saffra's words were no different from slender on his loyalty, he couldn’t snap back, as such crimes were much too common.

  It was Orche, who suddenly seemed to regain some energy, who said:

  “Forgery of the ruler’s words is one of the most serious crimes. Even if you belong to this house, if this will is found to be false, you will be exiled.”

  He spoke with an icy tone, glaring at Saffra, but somehow it felt like he was speaking to the secretary too.

  Saffra just nodded.

  “I know.”

  There was no need to pretend to be weak here.

  Rather the opposite.

  “Open it.”

  Orche ordered the secretary, and the man did so.

  He broke the seal and took out the will.

  Four pair of eyes read the content.

  This will, written by Saffra, though it didn’t state it outright was clearly painting a preference towards one candidate.

  Mimosa.

  The room fell silent, as they faced the two different wills.

  “There is no notary signature.”

  “Father must have written it in complete secret.”

  “You didn’t see it?”

  “No. It was already sealed when I received it. I only knew it’s a copy of his will.”

  Orche stared at her, as if searching for any trace of lies.

  “… You could have received a ‘blank check’ with Father’s signature and seal… And then forge a will with it.”

  Surprisingly, Orche guessed what happened.

  But his opponent was the ex-ruler, who lived for over 200 years, fought to establish a country for 100 years and then ruled it for another 100 years.

  Even if her trick was seen through, Saffra’s expression only showed a slight bewilderment.

  “It was sealed with magic.”

  Rather than creating a good argument, it was better to point something out and make it seem like the most absurd idea in the world.

  ‘Saffra cannot use magic’ was well-know fact.

  How could she make a magic seal?

  Or did she find someone, who could use magic?

  Where? Flavun hated mages.

  Mimosa’s mother was executed, because she was suspected of usage of magic.

  Mimosa own pro-magic campaign was just in the bud.

  Truly, it was absurd to think that Saffra had any magic resources.

  Before Orche could interrogate her any further, Mimosa intervened.

  “There is a method to check whether any of those wills are true.”

  “Yes? Can you explain, Young Lady Mimosa?”

  Secretary, who were caught between wolves and tigers, quickly asked Mimosa, as if she was his savior.

  Mimosa frowned slightly as she recalled.

  “The ruler seals are passed down since the Three Great Rulers. I heard that they’re very special in that they can reveal if the document stamped with them were in any way tampered with.”

  ‘Good job, Mimosa!’

  Saffra was wondering how to mention it, but Mimosa did not disappoint and brought it up by herself.

  “Ah, yes… It seems there was something like that. How can we check it?”

  The secretary looked at Mimosa with so earnest gaze, she became slightly embarrassed.

  “We can’t.”

  “Yes? Then why…”

  “But other rulers can. We will have to send those wills either to the Lord Archmage, or to the Saint and await their verdict.”

  “That…”

  The secretary’s face turned very complicated.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Unexpectedly, Orche agreed very quickly.

  He added an explanation, as he glared at Saffra.

  “I hate someone putting words in Father’s mouth.”

  Saffra just blinked innocently.

  “Uh, then which one should we…”

  “Archmage.”

  Saffra said after the secretary’s words trailed off.

  “… Archmage? Come to think, it seems you were a bit late to come back. Did you have a good conversation with him, when Father was dying?”

  Orche also arrived too late.

  It wouldn’t change anything even if they rushed back.

  Saffra shook her head.

  “We were just adhering to the rules of etiquette and trying not to cause war.” She didn’t say it at loud, but her eyes said ‘Unlike someone’. She continued “The Harvest Festival in coming in Purplus. Saint must be very busy, so the response will be slow.”

  She actually hoped that the response will be slow, but she would rather send one of her brothers a gift, rather than add more work on her other brother’s plate.

  Orche grumbled a little, but both Mimosa and the secretary agreed that it was better to send the wills to Rubrun.

  Finally, after her first goal of sending Ver a birthday gift was settled, Saffra moved to her next objective.

  “There is one more thing. I wish to thoroughly investigate Father’s cause of death.”

  *~*~*