The Girl Raised by the Death God Holds the Sword of Darkness in Her Arms - Volume 5 - Chapter 4.5

V

Felix’s Workroom at Listelein Castle, Olsted

Felix was in his workroom, locked in combat with a stack of paperwork, when the news of Gladden’s death reached him.

“I’m sorry. Would you mind repeating that?” He set down his pen and stared aghast at Lieutenant Teresa.

“Field Marshal Gladden passed away this morning,” she said again, her eyes downcast. Felix had last seen Gladden three months prior. At the time, he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. He had of course never heard anything about the marshal suffering from any disease.

“Is the cause of death known?”

“Not at present...” Teresa replied. “Only, he is said to have passed away in his own home.”

“At home? Marshal Gladden had come home?”

“It seems so.”

“That is odd...” If Gladden were back in the capital, he would have called in on Felix. At least, that was what he had done in the past. Felix was therefore privately suspicious.

“According to the guard who accompanied the lord marshal, he returned to the capital in haste in order to meet with Chancellor Darmés.”

Hearing this, everything fell into place at once. In their current situation, there was only one reason Gladden would have rushed back to the capital. He must have come to negotiate with Chancellor Darmés about Death God Olivia. That fit with the letters Felix had periodically sent to Gladden.

And then there’s what happens next. For now, I need a better grasp of the situation. Felix hurriedly tidied away his paperwork and stood up. Teresa, as though reading his mind, took his jacket from its hanger and held it out.

“I’ll send for a carriage at once,” she said as she began readying herself to leave.

“There’s no need for a carriage. I’ll walk.”

“Very well, ser.”

Blessing Teresa for understanding his intentions without his having to say a word, Felix set off with her for Gladden’s estate.

The Hildesheimer Estate in the Privileged District

Gladden’s house was spectacular, yet on this day, it cast a dark shadow. Felix and Teresa followed Duchess Liana, her face worn and haggard, to where they were reunited with Gladden, lying in his bed. At a glance, he appeared to be merely sleeping.

“I know it is heartless to ask this of you at a time like this, but please tell me. How did your husband seem when he returned home?”

“He was a little tired,” Liana replied at length, “but he had scarcely made it through the gate before he was playing with our son. And at dinner, he said my cooking tasted exceptional after so long...” The memory of the evening must have come back to Liana, because her shoulders shook, and she let out a tiny moan. Teresa looked at her with deep sorrow.

Felix waited until Liana had regained her composure, then asked, “How was he yesterday?”

“He was... After returning from Listelein Castle, he was strange.”

“How was he strange?”

“He didn’t respond when I spoke to him, and...at first, I thought perhaps something disagreeable had happened at the castle, but even then, his total lack of reaction to me was unnatural. In the end, he shut himself up in his room without eating a bite of dinner. Then this morning, usually, he rises earlier than anyone else to do his exercises, but when there was no sign of him coming out, I...”

“That was when you went in to check on him?”

“Yes...”

“What did the healer say, by the way?”

“They said it was likely a natural death...” Liana stroked Gladden’s cheek, then, like a dam bursting, tears began to pour down her cheeks. The dog at her side pushed himself up against her, as though to comfort his mistress.

Felix imagined his sister Luna dying without warning. It struck him close to home.

So the healer couldn’t pin down the cause of death... Any healer treating Gladden would undoubtedly be highly competent, but that wasn’t the same as being all-powerful. In reality, it wasn’t uncommon for the cause of death to remain unclear, and Felix wasn’t in the habit of doubting a healer’s diagnosis. At the same time, ever since stepping foot in this room, he’d felt something wrong.

“Duchess Liana, would you permit me to touch Marshal Gladden’s body?”

“Do you have a healer’s license, Lord Sieger?”

“Oh, no, that’s not it...”

Liana looked bewildered, but she took a step back from Gladden. Felix thanked her, then softly laid a hand on Gladden’s neck.

His neck is clearly broken, he thought. This alone was abnormal enough. Felix’s first thought was that this had not been a natural death, but an assassination. But he couldn’t affirm his own theory right away. As one of the empire’s Three Generals, Gladden’s estate was under heavy guard at all times. Even Felix would have struggled to enter. Besides that, it was unusual that, apart from his broken neck, Gladden’s body showed no sign whatsoever of external injury. Applying enough force to break bones should have left behind some mark.

I suppose I’ll have to look further. Felix laid a hand on the pressure point below Gladden’s navel, then closed his eyes and focused his mind.

“Lord...Lord Sieger? What is all this...?”

“There is no need to worry, Duchess,” Teresa said soothingly in response to Liana’s deepening confusion. Felix, meanwhile, honed his mind to a fine point, then sent his Odh running through Gladden’s whole body. Not long after, a change began to take place within it.

These are signs of magecraft, beyond a doubt. Which means Lord Gladden was likely attacked by a mage. When a person was affected by magecraft, the signs of it remained in their body for several days afterward. A person without training in manipulating their Odh could neither see nor perceive these signs, but to Felix, the remnants of the spell were clear as day.

He was now certain that Gladden had not died a natural death. He had been murdered with magecraft. But that means...

Mages were few and far between. Felix only knew of three currently alive: Amelia Stolast, Johann Strider, and Lassara sun Halbert. Assuming he could immediately discount Lassara, that automatically reduced the list of suspects for Gladden’s assassination down to two.

Yet here, Felix felt something wasn’t right. After having crossed swords with both of them, Johann didn’t seem to him the sort of man to favor assassination. Amelia might have, but from her past behavior, Felix thought she’d surely have come straight for his head.

And there are other questions too. Felix ran his eyes over Gladden once more. To his mystification, he found not the dark gray he was used to, but a beautiful white that seemed to glow. Even within magecraft, there were many and varied practices. It therefore followed that the residue too would vary. But Felix, at least, had never seen the likes of this before. He was eager to get to the bottom of it.

If I could only show him to Lassara, she would shed some light on this... Lassara, who had lived through more than two hundred years, despised the exploitation of magecraft and so had secluded herself in the White Forest. Even if he went to her on his hands and knees and asked her to come to the capital, Felix knew she’d only laugh him off.

And more importantly... Felix glanced at Liana. If he took Gladden’s body to Lassara, she wouldn’t refuse him, but he could never have asked the grieving Liana to allow him to take her husband from her. In the end, he and Teresa left the room without acquiring any conclusive evidence. Outside the door, Gladden’s young son sat curled up with his knees hugged to his chest. Felix could find nothing to say to him.

“Was there something suspicious about Marshal Gladden’s death, then?” Teresa asked shrewdly, after they had walked in silence for a while following their departure from the Hildesheimer estate.

“There were several concerning points,” Felix replied. Teresa was a trustworthy aide, but even then, he shied from referencing his thoughts here. If news of Gladden’s death became public, the imperial army would be thrown into chaos. The knowledge that it had been an assassination, and at the hands of a mage, no less, would only add fuel to the fire. The best course of action, Felix decided, was to keep what he knew to himself. Teresa didn’t ask any further questions, and they walked side by side in silence.

“I plan on calling on Chancellor Darmés next. When we get back to the castle, put in a request for an urgent audience.”

“Very well, ser.”

Darmés would have already heard of Gladden’s death. Felix naturally wanted to ask him how the marshal had seemed the previous day, as well as what was to be done with the Helios Knights. Unconsciously, Felix quickened his steps as they made their way to the castle.

Chancellor Darmés’s Workroom, Listelein Castle

It had been three hours since Felix and Teresa’s return to the castle. Felix, looking over the table at Darmés, didn’t hesitate to broach the subject of Gladden’s death. The chancellor’s face darkened dramatically.

“I, too, was shocked at the suddenness of the news. I have just informed His Imperial Highness.”

“How was the emperor?”

“His Highness takes it very hard. He has instructed me to arrange for a funeral worthy of one of the Three Generals.”

“I see...” Felix replied. “By the by, I believe you met with Marshal Gladden yesterday. I would appreciate it if you could tell me how he seemed to you.”

“He is supposed to have died of natural causes.”

“Yes,” Felix said slowly. “Only, the precise cause remains unclear.”

“Well, healers are not all-powerful,” Darmés replied. “But you asked about Gladden’s manner. It was our first meeting in a long while, but to my eyes, he seemed as he always was.”

“There was nothing that struck you as odd, then?”

“No, I regret to say there was not.” Darmés sipped his tea, a sorrowful look on his face. To Felix, who knew Gladden’s reasons for coming back to the capital, it smacked of melodrama.

“Moving to another matter, what is to become of the Helios Knights? Leaving them without a commander is sure to affect discipline.”

“I’m thinking of giving them over to Rosenmarie for the time being,” Darmés replied smoothly.

“Rosenmarie?”

“Yes, she’s been back for nearly a month, hasn’t she?”

“That’s true...” Felix admitted. “Still, do you think she’ll be all right?”

It wasn’t Rosenmarie’s abilities that concerned Felix. Owing to circumstances, Rosenmarie was currently staying with Felix. She had fully regained her strength, but even so, she had only been there a month. Felix thought it would be cruel to send her out again.

“There is no one else suitable. Unless you have a candidate that you would like to recommend elevating to the Three Generals?”

Felix considered the question. He could think of a number of competent individuals, but competency was not the same as being suited to lead the Helios Knights. Felix himself set little store by his rank as one of the Three Generals, but it was still not a position to which he could recommend someone lightly. With a mirthless smile, he shook his head.

“I thought as much. Meanwhile, rumors are flying about the city that the Royal Army is planning a large-scale assault on Kier Fortress. I’m sure you’re aware of this too.”

“I am...” Felix replied. “Though I confess I am a little surprised to hear you paying heed to common gossip.”

“There’s nothing surprising about it. I started off in intelligence analysis, you know. I treat it all with care, no matter how trivial.” Darmés chuckled, his cracked lips curling.

Felix watched him, reflecting wryly that this couldn’t be the same Darmés who had casually dismissed reports on Death God Olivia. Nevertheless, he would not be surprised if the Royal Army, after their success in taking back the northern and southern lands from the empire, next moved to attack Kier Fortress. If the worst should happen and they lost Kier Fortress, it would mean the total loss of imperial holdings within Fernest’s domains. Felix had already learned from his investigations that the rumors had their source in traveling merchants. Crossing between nations as they did, these merchants naturally came across all sorts of information.

As such, I can’t simply discount it as a rumor. And I’m sure the lord chancellor is of the same mind.

“Going on the assumption that the rumors are true,” Darmés said, “I wish to place Rosenmarie at Kier Fortress. Meanwhile, I shall continue to rely on you for the protection of the capital, Felix.”

In the end, there was no one but Rosenmarie who could take Kier Fortress, and without an order from the emperor, Felix could not leave the capital. Unable to come up with any objection to Darmés’s proposal, Felix indicated his acceptance.

“Well, then, if you have nothing further to discuss with me, I must be going,” Darmés said, rising slowly from the sofa and brushing the creases from his robe. “I have funeral preparations to attend to.”

Felix saluted, then left the room. As he walked down the corridor, a conversation played itself out in his mind. Strange. What’s this feeling? It’s as though...I overlooked something? But no, he told himself, that isn’t possible. Darmés had said nothing to raise his suspicions, nor had his manner been any different from normal. Yet something deep in Felix’s subconscious was blaring a warning of some unknown threat, as though by leaving things be, he was committing an irreversible mistake.

But right now, his priority was not shadowy warnings; rather, it was dealing with the reality that was bearing down upon them. We need to know how the Royal Army plans on moving on Kier Fortress. But first, I have to hunt down whoever murdered Marshal Gladden, and quickly...

Here, Felix noticed the red light that filled the corridor and turned to look out the window. Through the glass, the wine red of the sun seemed ghastly.