Chapter 19: CH 19

Kevin hurried to the study in big strides. Inside was already a great mess.

A slightly fat chamberlain’s body fell to the ground as if he had tumbled down, but he somehow maintained that posture and didn’t get up. Several chamberlains and guards surrounded him, each with a shocked expression.

Cynthia buried herself in Oswald’s embrace, crying until she was out of breath. Her left hand rubbed her eyes while her right hand stiffened at a weird angle. Oswald’s expression was very ugly. He carefully examined Cynthia’s right hand and shouted at the guards at the side. “Have you guys gone stupid? Go and call someone from the Medical Affairs Court!”

Two hastily answered and impatiently rushed out without saluting Kevin.

“What happened?” Kevin entered, feeling something wasn’t right. If he simply fell, there wouldn’t be such a big reaction.

Oswald didn’t answer him immediately but impatiently scolded several other chamberlains. “Don’t you guys know what to do? Don’t let him continue lying on the ground. Lift him first.”

Those three bewildered chamberlains simultaneously nodded and discussed how to lift the fat inner guard on the ground.

Kevin looked for a while before his expression changed. “How did he become like this?”

When that fat chamberlain was lifted, he still maintained the previous posture without the slightest change, as if he was frozen. The situation was very strange as if they didn’t lift a living person but a stone statue.

But the stone statue could speak, only that his voice terribly shook. “Your Majesty, why, why can’t I move? I can’t feel my hands and legs…..”

“Let’s talk after the physician comes,” Oswald replied and nodded at his study with his chin, saying to the several chamberlains. “Place him on the table or the chair, wherever that could be set.”

After finished commanding, he turned and explained to Kevin. “Cynthia fell when she ran inside. He blocked her and ended up falling harder, but this isn’t the main point. You’ve seen the main point. He couldn’t get up again after he fell. Cynthia’s hand that knocked against the ground is also like this.”

Kevin moved closer and inspected Cynthia’s right hand.

He didn’t pay attention to it when he saw it from afar, but now he found out that the skin colour of Cynthia’s right hand turned strange. It became segmented from her elbow, but her upper arm was still the normal lotus-white colour. The skin on her forearm to her fingers turned lifeless, ash-yellow, without blood circulation.

“Does it hurt?” Kevin raised a hand and lightly pinched Cynthia’s forearm. The texture felt like brittle sandstone as if it would break completely with a little more force.

Cynthia shook her head with red eyes and sobbed. “But I’m afraid.”

Those three chamberlains finally settled the fat chamberlain on a chair. One of them carefully glanced at Oswald and mumbled. “Your, Your Majesty, you…..your ear had also been knocked by Her Majesty Cynthia. Are you really okay?”

Oswald replied with a repulsive face. “My hearing is slightly fuzzy.”

“Were you knocked too?” Kevin frowned. He originally didn’t have any qualms toward Oswald, so he directly reached out and touched Oswald’s ear when he heard this. He pressed on it to find the stiffened spot and followed along to the earlobe. From start to finish, he didn’t dare to press hard and only lightly touched it as he pinched Cynthia’s arm before.

After a while, Kevin stepped back and removed his hand while saying, “There’s no change, but it’s slightly hot. Maybe it’s only a little bump. You said it already started affecting your hearing?”

As he finished saying this, he finally turned his gaze and found out Oswald’s expression was slightly odd. He didn’t even look at him as he hardly ridiculed him. “Didn’t you take your brain when you go out?  Who told you it’s this ear?!”

“…..” Kevin unhappily replied. “You just realised I touched the wrong ear after more than a minute?”

Oswald snorted coldly. His expression was arrogant and put on a good front. However, he just put on an arrogant front and hadn’t shown his might yet, and it deflated again because of his reddening ear.

Kevin found his appearance quite amusing, but as the situation was inappropriate, he had to make his expression more serious and walked around to Oswald’s other side.

He didn’t have to touch it this time because Oswald’s ear had already turned to the bloodless ash-yellow colour like Cynthia’s arm.

Kevin worriedly said, “Will it directly break if you’re not careful during your sleep?”

Oswald’s face instantly turned green. He rolled his eyes and spat out. “Don’t bother worrying about it. Shut your crow’s beak[1]!”

As the two men talked, the two guards who had gone to fetch the physician returned. The physician supported between them looked so old, thin and small, like a dried-up bean with two skinny legs. He seemed to be carried by the guards almost the whole way. His feet didn’t even touch the ground, and he was not put down until he was in the study.

The old physician took a deep breath, saluted Oswald, and said in a long, drawn tone. “Your –”

Don’t salute anymore, and directly look at the patient.” Oswald felt a headache hearing him speak. He directly shoved Cynthia’s right hand under the old physician’s eyes.

He gave a simple explanation about Cynthia and that fat chamberlain’s situation and then frowned and stared at the old physician, waiting for him to speak.

The old physician’s eyesight didn’t seem very good, and the tip of his nose had almost stuck to the back of Cynthia’s hand. He looked for a while and muttered to himself before inspecting the fat chamberlain from head to toe.

“Is there a conclusion yet?” Oswald impatiently asked.

The old physician nodded and then shook his head. “I don’t know what the disease is, but I’ve seen it before in a book.”

Oswald: “What book?”

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The old physician scratched his face and raised his head, thinking for a long time before answering. “I’ve forgotten the book’s name.”

Oswald: “…..”

If this old physician were slightly younger, he would have ordered him to be forked outside!

“But I remembered a section in it.” The physician took a big breath and added. “It was something that happened in the Besserman era. According to the hierarchy, it was the generation of Your Majesty’s great-great-grandfather. It was said in the book that there was a rat plague in the imperial city that summer. A mysterious disease suddenly spread inside the imperial palace. A healthy person suddenly couldn’t move, including Emperor Besserman himself, who had one arm being infected. The description of this disease seemed to be very similar to Her Majesty Cynthia and this chamberlain’s condition.”

“Rat plague?” Kevin turned around and looked outside the window. The corridor was flooded with black insects the size of sesame seeds flying in all directions, a bit similar to the year the physician had spoken of.

Oswald also glanced at the flying insects and frowned while asking. “After that? Was there any solution to it?”

“The Medical Affairs Court felt hopeless, so Emperor Besserman could only look for another method. At that time, the Spirit Clan had yet moved over the sea and had frequent contact with our country. The emperor invited a great elder of the Spirit Clan at that time to come to take a look.” The old physician carefully recalled a section and continued. “I remembered the great elder saying that it was witchcraft that resembled an infectious disease rather than a disease. Later, the emperor followed the suggestion of that great elder and went to the Tomb of the God Phae.”

Kevin doubted his ears. “Whose tomb?”

Oswald was equally baffled. “Tomb of the God Phae? The underground tomb of the god of light, Phae?”

The old physician nodded his head.

Oswald and Kevin both showed an “are you fucking kidding with me?” look.

Oswald had brainwashed Cynthia for one year, and the name of the god of light, Phae, was a familiar name for her. The little girl, who cried like a puppy, suddenly stopped crying and sniffled. “Can we see him if we go to the god’s tomb? I want to go…..”

The old physician kindly answered. “You can see his bones if you go to the god’s tomb.”

Cynthia: “…..”

Even Oswald, who supposedly liked Phae very much, couldn’t bear to hear any of this anymore and glared at the old physician, returning to the main topic. “Why did the great elder of the Spirit Clan tell him to go to the Tomb of the God Phae?”

The old physician waved his hand. “Does Your Majesty believe in the old gods or the later gods?”

Oswald answered. “I don’t believe in both. I believe in myself. But I’m more inclined to the old gods than the later.”

Cynthia turned her head to look at him. “Because there’s Phae?”

Oswald rolled his eyes and directly covered her face with his palm so that she couldn’t disturb them anymore.

“Your Majesty should know the god of light wasn’t only in charge of light but also war and health. The great elder said that kind of witchcraft traced its roots back to the gods and was not something they could solve. Your Majesty, have you heard about the legend of the Tomb of the God Phae? The most widespread one said that there was a silver chalice cup on the altar of the main shrine of the Tomb of the God Phae, and it was full of holy water.”

Oswald: “…..Is it still useful after so many years?”

Luckily, he was the emperor. Otherwise, this word would surely get a hit from the faithful believer of the old gods when they heard it.

The old physician held himself back for a long time before squeezing, “At least, Emperor Basserman succeeded at that time. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any future successor.”

This word was the most crucial point.

Oswald muttered to himself for a moment before saying at the old physician. “Fine, I got it. Is there any way you can still find that book?”

The old physician swayed while bowing and said, “I’ll go back and try it.”

After dismissing the old physician and the group of chamberlains, he and Kevin were the only ones left in the study. Looking at his expression, Kevin knew that he didn’t really put all his hopes on the Tomb of the God Phae, for it was not a place where ordinary people could go.

Many descriptions of the Tomb of the God Phae circulated worldwide, with different versions and contents. But they all had one thing in common; it was dangerous and hard to enter.

They had never seen the book mentioned by the old physician. In fact, that mysterious disease wasn’t mentioned in the official record of Basserman’s era. But it did mention in passing that Besserman extremely revered the god of light, Phae, in the later period. It was understandable if this was because of what the old physician said.

They also could imagine that Besserman might have lost many people to be able to enter the main hall. Perhaps this was one of the reasons it wasn’t recorded in detail.

Oswald touched his ear and squinted his eyes. “The Tomb of the God Phae….. isn’t a good option, and we need to suffer the loss of too many people to enter. It’s not worth it. You say – What are you spacing at?”

Kevin was lost in thought as he leaned against the window and looked at the flying insects outside. He moved his gaze after hearing this and met Oswald’s gaze as he said, “Getting into the tomb is also –”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a voice at the door: “Your Majesty, there’s an urgent report from the imperial city’s patrolling guards!”

[1] A person who makes an inauspicious remark

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