Chapter 93: Capital Rumblings I

By the time Rian finally stepped outside, most of the carriages had already left.

The courtyard was quite a bit quieter than when he first arrived, but it wasn’t like Rian wanted it to be exciting or anything—probably the opposite, actually.

He had barely made it down the first step before spotting a familiar figure waiting for him at the roundabout to wait for public carriages.

Long white hair, pale-gray eyes, and a maid’s uniform that, actually didn’t look too out of place considering the amount of nobles that liked to wander around in this district.

Still, he was happy to see her.

"Young Master!"

She ran toward him, placing her arms on his shoulders before giving him a scan from head to toe to check for injuries.

"Are you alright?"

"Ehh, I’ve survived worse."

The answer was clearly not one Alicia had been waiting for. She immediately got closer, examining his various wounds and bruises. All while Rian stood there awkwardly.

"They said Base Camp D was attacked..."

"News sure travels fast."

"When I asked where you were, they told me the Headmistress had summoned you. Knowing your actions, it probably wasn’t too good, was it...?"

"Actually...it was."

Rian raised the case in his hand toward her. Alicia barely had time to react before he dropped it into her arm, letting her examine the contents inside at will.

Quickly, she opened her own bag and found a coat before throwing it over his shoulder. She then reached for his sling bag, which Rian also handed over without the slightest hesitation.

’I really did miss having her around...’

Once a carriage arrived, they both entered, with Alicia remaining close by to support him when he climbed inside. And after she climbed in right after, the doors shut and they were on their way to the Rosenheim Estate in the capital.

Rian barely got a chance to rest his head against the cushion, only for Alicia’s burning curious eyes to break his temporary moment of peace.

"What happened?"

He looked outside at the street beyond, all made with polished marble and filled with stalls a commoner could only hope to work at.

"It’s going to take a while."

By the time he finished explaining, they had already left the Academy District behind and entered the High-Residence District.

Rian had given her the important parts: the reservoir, the undead siege, Klein’s injury, and the particularly personal fact of the reincarnated lich that his dad was supposed to have slain even before he was born.

"The others survived as well?" she asked.

"All of them, yeah."

"And the person responsible? Surely this wasn’t an accident. Everything’s too suspicious for it to be one."

Rian simply sighed, thinking the same thing. "That’s what I’m trying to figure out as well, but that’s where I’m stuck at."

Without the fog and constant screaming, the entire event felt distant already, like it happened a few years ago and he had already recovered. After all, the scenery outside was just way too different.

Nobles walking their pets out in the street while merchants called out to them, trying to entice them with whatever they were selling.

Nobody seemed particularly concerned that sixteen candidates had nearly become permanent residents of the Graveyard. Though Rian supposed the Academy would prefer to keep it that way.

"Alicia."

"Yes, Young Master?"

"Do you know anything about someone called Martin. He’s Declan Fontaine’s butler and apparently the only one that’s able to enter Eidelgard Academy despite the ’no-servants’ rule."

"The Fontaines, huh...?"

Rian described the crate Marie had carried into the staff tent, along with Martin’s explanation about the flowers being cooking ingredients.

"Well, he’s not far wrong..." Alicia muttered under her breath so the carriage driver wouldn’t be able to hear it. "Black Spider Lilies are a rare cooking ingredient, known to be one of the most flavorful spices in the country."

"I’m assuming it comes with a caveat?" Rian leaned back into his seat’s cushion, resting his arm against the case. "Something deathly or haunting from the looks of it?"

"Yes..." the young maid nodded. "It has been rumored to have the side effect of causing hallucinations with just as much as a single whiff..."

Rian sat straight up once more, interested. "And what are these illusions?"

Alicia hesitated, but one glance at her Young Master was enough to make her spill it. "Hallucinations of deceased loved ones, convincing the consumer to off themselves to join them in the afterlife."

For a moment, Rian was speechless.

A part of his curiosity wanted to ask her how she knew so much about something like this, but the other felt like it was best not to ask.

He thought back at the scene, trying to place a finger onto something. It was quite strange to see that Marie wasn’t affected, as she did confirm to have said that it smelled bad.

’Or maybe she was...?’

"It’s probably the flower’s scent," Rian muttered. "A scent that drives the undead insane. And with enough of it—"

Rian thought back to the crate. "The Undead would drag whoever into the afterlife with their own hands..."

That solved a part of the mystery, but not everything.

"What about Martin? Anything on who the guy is or how he ended up working for the Fontaines? Being an exclusive butler is no easy job."

"...I remember hearing about him before."

"From where?" Rian tilted his head.

"The name came up when I was learning about the attendants serving prominent households," she nodded, sure of what she remembered. "In the past, he used to own an orphanage."

"An orphanage?"

Definitely not what Rian expected.

Though upon a bit of creativity, he pictured the man playing with kids as well as teaching them things. The image fit surprisingly well.

At least...from an outsider’s perspective.

"Yes. He took in abandoned children and raised them," Alicia continued, staring out the same window Rian had just looked at earlier.

"Okay...?" Rian pointed out the elephant in the room. "Why isn’t he still running that orphanage, but decided to become a butler instead? What happened to it?"

"There was—"

"...A fire."