Chapter 33: The Mystery of the Stone — Part 4

Oh?
He suddenly became emotional.

I felt a flicker of unease.
Had the truth serum begun to take effect?
But I had not seen him drink anything.

Brother must have sensed the change too, for he glanced briefly at Brian-sama.

“I have a question as well.
As a servant of the marquis’ household, what did you think of Jason?”

“He was an excellent Royal Guard.
Wealthy, high-ranking, popular with women.
A man with nothing to lack.
It is regrettable.”

“Yes.
But the scandal with Merry surfaced.
Was Merry truly that charming?”

“I heard she was the sort of beauty men fancy.
But who knows?
There are countless women who look good at a glance.”

“The two of them seemed to believe they could marry if the bride died.
But an illegitimate baron’s daughter would never be accepted by the marquis’ house.
You agreed to that plan, didn’t you?
Did you not think it foolish?”

“I knew such a plan would never succeed.
I merely pretended to go along with it.”

He made a disgusted face.
His emotions were beginning to show.
Some reason remained, but truth was slipping through.

“I hear you gave Merry poison.
How did you connect with her?
What did you trade for it?
Money?”

“Two months ago, that woman was searching for poison.
I learned of it, approached her, and procured it.
I intended to provide it gradually.”

“Why?
For free?
Did you fall for Merry as well?”

Brother asked with a mocking smile.

“Do not be ridiculous.
That woman was obsessed with becoming a marchioness.
A foolish woman who could not see reality.”

His breathing grew harsh.
It seemed anger strengthened the serum’s effect.
Perhaps that was the nature of the drug.

“In exchange for the poison, I told her to bring me this woman’s accessories.”

He jerked his chin toward me.

Brother started forward, but I stopped him.
Instead, Brian-sama, seated beside the man, casually drove his fist into the man’s cheek.
The sound was solid.

I was startled.
I had never seen him act so roughly.
But of course—he was a Royal Guard.
Without thinking, I edged slightly closer to Brother.

“Forgive me.
I could not restrain myself.”

He turned to me briefly in apology, then glared at the man.

“Watch your tongue.
Address her properly as ‘young lady.’”

The man licked the blood at his lip and laughed softly.

“You are awfully heated.
In love with the young lady?”

“Yes.
Is that a problem?
It is none of your concern.”

“Oh?
How enviable.
She is a fine woman.”

What were they arguing about?

I tugged Brother’s sleeve, and he cut in.

“Enough of that.
Tell me about this stone.
What is it?”

Brother held up the golden cat’s-eye between his fingers.
The man glanced at it carelessly—then his eyes sharpened.

“Give that to me.
It belongs to my country.”

“Hardly.
It belongs to my sister.
What is so special about such a small stone?”

Brother was deliberately provoking him.
The anger deepened the effect.

“It is a royal treasure of the Kingdom of Belsia.
Do not handle it so carelessly, fool.”

Brother leaned back slightly and looked at us.
I was stunned.

“This stone?
Why did Grandmother have it?”

I blurted out.
The man did not answer.
It seemed anger was the key.

“Does it have some secret?
Shall I break it?”

Brother said something outrageous.
Even I flinched.

As expected, the man turned red.

“Do not.
It is a stone that protects the king.
Breaking it is unthinkable.
Return it.”

“If it is a foreign royal treasure, why did our grandmother possess it?”

“When the former king visited this land for diplomacy, he met a young woman during a private excursion and promised marriage.
He gave her that stone.
Upon returning home, he suffered an accident and lost several months of memory.
Thus the stone was presumed lost.
Shortly before his death, he recovered those memories and realized it was here.”

“If that is the case, you could have simply asked, and we would have returned it,” I said impulsively.

Brother murmured at the same time, puzzled,

“If it was so important, why leave it behind?”

The man’s anger flared anew.

“Exactly.
It is a national treasure.
Just because a woman asked him to leave behind what he treasured most, he handed it over.
Inconvenient sentimentality.”

Yes.
I thought the same.
I nodded without thinking.

“No.
I would have given it.
If it were me, I likely would,” Brian-sama said suddenly.

He too had been slightly strange since earlier.

“Shall we return it?” I suggested to Brother.

“Wait.
It cannot be that simple.
Tell us everything.
Surely this is not resolved by ‘we will return it.’
If there were no complications, would your country not have approached us discreetly?”

The man’s expression soured.

“The former king’s true love angered the former queen and her son—the current king.
They blamed your grandmother for the king’s unhappy marriage.”

“That is unreasonable.
Grandmother is no longer alive.”

I could not help raising my voice.
It sounded like pure resentment.

“We understand the background.
But does this stone possess power?
Or is it merely symbolic?” Brian-sama asked at last.

“The royal family forms a contract with it.
The king prays with strong desire, and the stone responds.
That forms the contract.
Until the king passes it to the next, it protects him.
So it is said.”

A chill crept through me.
I looked at Brother, then Brian-sama.
Brother’s cheek twitched.

“Can someone other than the king form such a contract?
Could our grandmother have?”

“Who knows.
But until two months ago, the former king was its contractor.
Forty years ago, his carriage fell from a cliff, and he survived.
Assassination attempts afterward also failed.”

“You attempted assassination?” Brother snapped.

“Kings are targeted from many directions.
Even by family.
Now that he is dead, the stone is without contract.”

“Oh?
Then if I wished upon it now, would it protect me?” Brother asked with forced laughter.

The man laughed loudly.

“It does not pass to just anyone.
Only one recognized by the previous owner.
The former king declared he would pass it to his grandson, the crown prince.
Unfortunate for you.”

Brother and Brian-sama both looked at me.
My blood seemed to drain again.

I hurriedly asked,

“How can one tell who is protected?”

“It shines when touched by the one it protects.
That is how you know.”

“And if, by mistake, it transferred protection to someone else?”

Brother’s voice was tight.

“I am merely an intelligence agent.
I do not know details.
But the succession ceremony centers upon the declaration of passing this stone.
Even without the physical stone, the ritual remains.
If such a thing occurred, it would cause great uproar.”