Chapter 205 - Note for the Future

Inside the secret room, Anlesa looked for everything they could find.

It was a room that looked to be someone’s private quarters. There was a desk for study, a bed to sleep on, cupboards, and decorative items along the wall. The pure metal lance on the wall was an eye catcher for Syrus. Making a solid lance out of only money would be expensive, though, for a noble family, not out of budget.

Syrus helped notice the odd placements in furniture. Luna understood the practices that these types of people utilised in these types of rooms, as she had the displeasure of exploring some in the past. Eva helped by noticing the types of preservation coatings used on the equipment in the room. These potions had the consequences of causing some discolouration when in contact with human skin. This process was slow but was noticeable as the damage to preservation coatings would only worsen with time, even without more use, unless the protective layer was reapplied.

Together, they found the areas in the room that appeared to have been used before the room was permanently closed.

“Another letter…” Eva muttered.

[There are sure a lot of hidden around the room.] (Syrus)

[Why were they dispersed as such?] (Luna)

[Many reasons… perhaps their mental faculties began to fail, which caused them to misplace the letters. On the extreme opposite side, they wanted to confuse whoever came into the room next about what, and how many letters were written.] (Luna)

[Sigh, true.] Luna looked down at the closed letters that were slowly piling on the table. They had only found a few so far. Some were simply hidden in drawers, under the bed, while others were kept behind trick cabinets. For the ones hidden behind puzzles, they used a combination of Moonlight and Eva’s wires to cheat most of them. They didn’t want to fail one of these puzzles and cause a trap to explode. The disasters from elsewhere in the manor were a great sign not to push their luck.

After twenty minutes of searching, they believed they had found all the letters in the room.

[I hope this is everything…] (Eva)

[If it is not, then it is better than nothing.] (Luna)

It might be a little rude to read the prince’s private letters, but that wasn’t going to stop them.

[If these are written by the prince, then we will be giving these to Mary, right?] (Eva)

[That would be for the best.] (Luna)

[No problem with that, they would only be junk if they stayed in our hands.] (Syrus)

They picked up the first letter of the batch.

I write this as I feel my body collapse. I do not plan to die here. Instead, I will die somewhere public, and I pray that someone from my family line finds these notes.

My little sister Maryelle should be gone from the city by then, with Beara by her side.

Everyone in the family is ready to keep up the illusion that she is still with us until she has gone far away. Only Maxus Hall is aware of her departure, but soon, a few more shall be made aware. Please be safe, Maryelle.

[The first letter… It’s just a prayer for his sister’s safety.] Luna could feel the pain in the words. The ink was messy in areas where he clearly held his pen down for too long, such as around his sister’s name. Each time it was difficult for him to write as he continued to worry about whether she even survived the first time outside the city walls.

[Also looks like they were in fact aware of possible malicious intent.] (Syrus)

[Either option is possible.] (Luna)

[I know.] (Syrus)

They pick up the second letter.

The doctors have already been looking at Lord Father and Lord Mother, and have requested I come with them, but I know my fate is sealed. No cure is found, and with my weak heart, I will pass away before either of my parents. For that, I’ve requested that neither open the secret room, Kay, even after my death. This place needs to be locked down even after our passing.

My personal friend has completed my request to restock all the manor’s traps. They might be the only way to protect our family’s possessions for future generations. I already know of a few greedy men in the courts who eye our wealth. Bastards who only know how to spend and not save.

[Also a short letter…] (Eva)

[And it is most just him complaining.] (Syrus)

[The last line was.] (Luna)

[The last impressions are the most impactful.] (Syrus)

There was important information within the two letters. The first one gave further confirmation of what happened with Mary during the plague. Not that they didn’t trust Mary’s information, but it was good to learn about what was the thought process of people around at the time.

Learning about the specifics of the time was the main goal after all.

The second letter had its own interesting pieces. The fact that one of the princes had health problems wasn’t something known to them, and how the plague interacted with some with an already weak body system, Eva was curious about, and so hoped the next few letters would contain such information.

The other, more important fact in both was that it was very much planned for Mary to leave quietly. They had already kind of known that, but this was clear evidence that they wanted no one to know about it. Luna was curious about what it was with Lord Hall that made him the only person the prince trusted with the information that Mary had left with. It wasn’t out of concern, just a small curiosity.

They went through the next few letters. The fourth and fifth letters they found weren’t too important. These ones were before the others and mostly spoke about his worry about the diseases spreading and how he was forbidden from joining the doctors and researchers to fight it. Eva’s respect for the man jumped once she learned he was a researcher himself, and felt sorry for him that he was prevented from studying the plague. She understood the reasons, but sympathised more with the prince.

The sixth letter was a message to his lover. Which, after a quick glance over, didn’t seem important.

[What a romantic.] (Syrus)

[I don’t understand how someone can speak that way.] (Eva)

[It truly is an enigma.] (Luna)

[Don’t lie, I could feel you blush while reading it, Luna.] (Syrus)

Luna wanted to yell, but held herself back and just opened the next letter.

To my enemy. If you read this letter, let it be known that my ghost will hunt you down. Don’t think you can escape because you hid away. Your plots and schemes may have permanently damaged this country, but you will never acquire what you desire, as it never truly existed. You are a fool and an evil man.

[That…] (Eva)

[Is one damning letter for someone, but no name…] Luna sighed. [Assuming it was written with full clarity and not caused by the delusions due to dying from the plague. Then it at least gives us the fact that the prince had someone he deemed an enemy, and based on events, likely had something to do with the prince and perhaps the royal family’s death.]

[It doesn’t tell us that this enemy was the one who caused the plague. But yes, I do agree that this person could potentially be responsible for making it worse and reaching the royal family.] Eva agreed with Luna’s general thoughts. [Those words were certainly not kind.]

[The fact that it has no name is odd.] (Syrus)

[Certainly so.] (Luna)

[If he wanted to scream into the void, then why not at least write the name down for future generations?] (Syrus)

[We have three letters left…] Eva hoped one of them would claim the answer. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The plague is an enigma, and due to my unfortunate position. I am only allowed to read the reports of doctors and researchers. However, I believe soon I will get the chance to study on my own body. I feel like I am already reaching the first stage of the plague. Likely my own curiosities were to blame, but I am still unsure of the moment.

From everything we know, the plague has a much higher fatality rate among those with Exotic Attributes. This has already sparked massive concern when it comes to the safety of the royal family, but we have already prepared. After the first death, we locked Mary away and ensured she had an exit. Though I worry we will have to rush the details shortly. Currently, she shows no signs of infection, but every second is a risk.

I’m aware that I may never say goodbye, but that is not even a price. My sister’s survival is more important.

I request a number of doctors to specifically look into the spread of the plague rather than the cure. It was difficult as most felt like they were betraying the people by not actively looking for the cure, but learning where it comes from might be how we find the cure.

Currently, I am directing this group from a distance, but it has caused a delay in communication, which worries me.

The rest of the letter spoke of the difficulties in communications between the different groups, as they faced repeated challenges in getting letters between various groups and the prince, as they were afraid of the plague spreading to the royal family. Only the prince believed he had already been infected. Luna assumed that since he had a weak body–specifically a weak heart–he understood his body’s condition was already abnormal before even the doctor’s investigation.

[Delays in communication even in such a trying time…] (Luna)

[Only between the prince and his partners… Looks like the fear of the royal family’s infection was too great.] (Eva)

[Not that it was worth it. Looks like everyone besides Mary was infected.] (Syrus)

[Why only her?] (Eva)

[We could ask her about the time, but it appears to be a simple case of luck. She was locked away before the plague reached her, and managed to escape unnoticed and before it spread completely through the royal manor.] (Luna)

The second last letter was a diary of the condition and dates. So far, it was the most intriguing letter for Eva. Each date mentioned how he was feeling, changes in appetite and physical conditions, and personal notes. While this letter was the most important when it came to the progression of the plague’s conditions, it didn’t make them any closer to learning what the plague was.

The last letter appeared to follow up on the third last letter.

From my findings, this is certainly no ordinary disease. I do understand why some have already started calling it a curse, but to do so is to ignore the root of the pain. The plague shuts down a person’s body capabilities. However, there appear to be various levels to the disguises. The weakest level only appears to make someone more lethargic. This level was when it spread throughout the city. The second level is almost a complete body shutdown. Patients find it hard to move, and any activity is painful, all while the plague destroys their internals. Energy potions work to delay the inevitable. The third stage is death. Where the plague reaches a point where it begins to accelerate the destruction of the body. When the final stage activates, the person usually dies within the day, more accurately within the hour.

Everything written is what is known by many doctors.

However, I have found my hypothesis.

While I don’t agree that a curse is correct. While the study of curses is young and perhaps more accurately nonexistent, from what we know about the history of curses across the continent. None has ever impacted a large group of people.

What I believe the plague to be is a combination of factors. Disease and at least a second fatal arrow. The second component could be a curse, but it would only be a tool to individually target those already weak. At the same time, it equally could be a regular spell. Either way, I believe there is a sickness going around, but that someone has used it to target the royal family.

A poison could be possible as well, but I’ve detected no changes within my body of signs of poisoning. Unless it is a rare breed of poison, which would be suitable if the target’s goal is to kill the royal family…. That’s the motive behind the major deaths of this plague, a stage to wipe the Eletscoep royal family off the map, and the many deaths were all just a ploy to make it believable. I hold deep anger for whoever has murdered so many of my people, but may soon the relief come.

I believe level one of diseases is the true plague. A sickness that steals a person’s ability to work, but not to the point that a healthy person should feel threatened by it. The second level is what I expect when an additional ingredient is added. This bane destroys the body’s resistance to the disease. The third level, I am unsure if there are more external factors involved, or if the body gives up after a period of time fighting the second level.

…

He continued to give more notes on those points, but they understood what he believed.

[That is quite a theory.] (Syrus)

[But not exactly right either.] (Eva)

[Certainly, we agree that there are other parties who utilised the plague to their advantage, but the prince assumed the deaths in Exotic Attribute people were merely a curtain to hide an assassination plot of the royal family…] (Luna)

[Certainly an area to pity the man, he hoped that once he and his family had died, the deaths would slow down, but in the end, it reached the point where the whole city tried to forget about all of them, because everyone died.] (Syrus)

Anlesa closed up the letter and left the room. They were reaching their time limit, and having quickly read all the letters, it was time to return them to the rightful owner.

When they left the secret room, a familiar pair was waiting for them.

“You are still here?” Anlesa asked the duo.

“You m-anag-ed to enter a se-cret room!” Nuana stuttered as she spoke. “Of course, we had to know what you found!”

Luna's eyes rolled over to Nuana’s Professor.

The man broke his silence. “We are researchers. It is our duty to preserve records.” Professor Aalmost stood up, almost a little fearful. Rose’s aura wasn’t exactly a friendly one, and seeing her power first-hand, despite the fact that she technically saved them, couldn’t be ignored. That fact was questionable, as she wasn’t really saving them but dealing with the threat to her.

“Child, that’s not up to you.” Anlesa walked forward, ignoring the two. “I am here for personal business and now to deliver the prince’s will to his next of kin.” Anlesa turned her head slightly as she looked back at the two. “I won’t be dealing with more nuisances, and if I were you, I would leave now, harm appears to already be coming your way, and such a private location like this will only doom you.”

There was a lot to digest in Rose’s words, which momentarily stunned the two researchers. Enough time for Anlesa to leave and completely disappear.

“There is a surviving royal…?” Nuana’s words didn’t even sound real to her, as the only person who could answer the follow-up had completely vanished.