Inside the Lord’s mansion in Fluere, a young servant was in the kitchen, carefully putting all kinds of drinks and dishes on a serving trolley. The cart was genuinely dazzling. Twice as long as the servant was tall, the cart was divided into three parts so that those who wanted to take what they wanted could do so easily. At the front was a section with cakes, cookies, and pudding-like desserts. In the middle was the main course, including a whole lamb. The last part was where all kinds of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were served.
Amelia was looking at this serving trolley like a painter looking at a painting. Of course, there was a reason for this. Perhaps she was in a good mood because of today’s encounter with her brother, so she had prepared the serving trolley without any mistakes, where normally she would have broken at least a few plates or bottles.
“I think… I deserve a reward.”
To reward himself for her excellent work, she examined the soft drinks in the cooler behind her and reached for her favorite pitcher of orange juice. Humming cheerfully, she tried to pour the juice into her prepared glass, but what she didn’t realize was that the pitcher was unfortunately empty.
“Huh? How can that be? But… My prize.” She sadly put the empty juice jug back in its place.
Then, it was like being struck by lightning. There was still some juice. Maybe not in the ice room, but she remembered putting some on the serving trolley there.
“Should I take that risk?” Amelia was in a dilemma. But, convincing herself of the excellence of her work, she headed for the serving trolley. Maybe she was being irresponsible, but… that juice was looking at her, she was sure.
“The plan is simple: there are at least two glasses of juice in that big glass. So, that means if I top it up with water, it will be a 1-cup bucket of juice. Haha, I’m a genius.”
After praising her stupid idea, Amelia drank the juice from the serving trolley and topped it with water as planned.
“Okay, I’m ready to go now.” Amelia dragged the serving trolley to the room where the Doctor and the Lord were staying.
Inside the mansion, in the Doctor’s room.
Roland’s eyes were like a raging storm. He could not believe what he was hearing. He asked the Doctor again, wanting to find a different answer in his voice, but the answer was the same.
“I’m sorry,” the Doctor said.
“Nonsense,” shouted the Lord, but he knew in his heart that his denials would not change anything. But what could he do other than deny it?
“But I’m afraid that’s the truth,” Dr. Lloyd said, not looking at him but in a serious and sad tone.
Lord could not understand. “What, you expect me to let my son, whom I had with great difficulty, die of such a disease? Isn’t that absurd?” he said, rising from his seat angrily.
“Helen has never set foot outside the city. We were cautious during the pregnancy.” He was listing his arguments but couldn’t stop his voice from trembling at the end of his sentence.
“So, why…” The Lord collapsed. He put his hands on his head in disbelief and stood still. He was at his limit. After all he had done, was this what fate had deemed him worthy of?
Dr. Lloyd continued. “Contrary to popular belief, darkness does not necessarily pass to a person through direct contact alone. And although it is rare, it is also true, my Lord, that the darkness waits for the appropriate time before it begins to spread, and then it does.”
Roland did not understand. “So you’re telling him that someone in the castle infected her? That’s impossible. Anyone who enters the city from outside is cleansed by magic before they set foot in it. It is the same in great empires and small villages alike.”
The Doctor continued. “Yes, that is true. However, the darkness that infects a person is not always of the same intensity and power, and not all spells will necessarily protect people from the darkness. Although it is publicized, I have witnessed similar incidents like yours in history among the kingdom’s nobles and even within the royal family itself. Yes, the discovered nobles were executed, but what happened in the royal family was usually presented to the public as an accident.”
Roland was left without an answer. He could not make sense of it. How could this have happened? Wasn’t magic meant to protect them from the darkness? If it couldn’t protect them, why were they using spells they considered the word of the gods?
The Doctor continued, “I guess your wife Helen was already infected for a long time. You just didn’t realize it. Yes, you said she hasn’t been out of the city lately, but was she like this before that? She could have been infected a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. The important question for us now is from what or who.”
He was trying to discover why and where it was transmitted and perhaps to find out if the Lord knew anything to identify others who might be incubating.
Although there had been no recent cases in the city, there was no telling when the symptoms would manifest.
At that moment, Roland thought of an unpleasant prediction. “It can’t be… can it?”
Lloyd also noticed the movement in Roland and asked, “Do you remember something?”
Roland continued with an unsure expression, “My brother… He died a few years ago on one of our expeditions deep into the forest. He, too, was cursed with darkness, though it was never made public. I… I told no one. But it was my brother’s wish, not mine. He said it would only ruin our reputation if it became known. He was a prideful man. He threw his sword at me and asked for an honorable death, to be defeated by this thing he fought even in death.I fulfilled the wish he asked of me.Then I kept his sword for a while and hung it in my room as his only souvenir because I thought that inanimate objects infected by darkness decayed in a short time. But after talking to you… Is it possible that something like this could have happened?”
The Doctor was deep in thought. Yes, it was a fact that inanimate objects like swords could not escape being exploited and absorbed by the darkness. But could it have been contaminated by the sword, even though he had kept it for a while and then hung it in his room, just in case?
“Knock, knock.” At that moment, Amelia, the young maid, knocked on the door of the room.
She pushed a serving trolley to the table where the Lord and the Doctor were seated and waited for them to choose the drinks and food they wanted. But seeing the deep gaze that Dr. Lloyd directed at her, the maid asked fearfully, “M-Mr. Lloyd? Don’t you like the food? I’ll change it and be right back.”
But Lloyd had other plans. “No, that’s not the point.” Turned to Lord, he continued, “My lord, is it possible for the servant to bring the sword we discussed here for my inspection?”
The Lord thought. There wasn’t much he could do now anyway. He at least wanted to know the cause of this curse that had befallen him. So he agreed to the Doctor’s plans.
“Very well.” Then, the Lord called to the young maid and asked her to bring the long sword that hung in their bedroom.
Dr. Lloyd added, “Oh, and try not to touch it with bare hands if possible. Even a rag will do.”
Amelia was relieved to hear that a sword was the cause of the strange looks directed at her. Amelia was surprised to realize that the task she had been asked to do was a fairly simple back-and-forth.
‘That’s it?
Well, judging by the atmosphere, it seemed to be a rather serious task, so after telling herself not to make mistakes again, she bowed, left the Lord’s presence, and went to her bedroom. Soon after, he brought the sword he was holding in his hand with the help of a rag.
“Thank you, you may leave,” said the Lord, and then, after waiting for Amelia to leave, he lit the rag with the flames from his hand and placed the sword on the table.
‘So this is what the Lord’s gift looks like.’ Although it was known that the Lord’s gift was related to Fire, it was, of course, different to see it firsthand.
Turning his gaze to the serving trolley brought by the maid this time, the Doctor picked up the juice hidden behind the alcohol and drank it with pleasure to relax a little before starting a deeper examination.
‘Does it taste a bit sparse?’ Although he didn’t like the juice, room he was in no mood to complain, so he turned to examine the sword.
First, he examined the long sword normally. He took a good look at the pommel, the ends, the front, and the back, but there was no visible tarnish or anything like that. ‘Well, I would be surprised if it was visible,’ he said, ‘if it could be kept in this for all these years.
Then he took off one of his gloves and touched the sword with his bare hand.
“?” The Lord was surprised. ‘We’ve just talked about this being dangerous. So why was the Doctor doing this now?’
“Doctor Lloyd, your hand…” Lord Roland tried to voice his concern. But his words were interrupted by the Doctor, who focused on the sword with his eyes closed.
“I’ll be fine; it’s part of my skill,” he said in a confident tone.
The two then waited for a long time. After several minutes of silence, Lloyd was getting impatient. ‘Come on, come out now,’ he said with his hand on the sword, waiting for a reaction. He was using his ability to feel if there was the slightest reaction or movement.
And finally, it happened. Lloyd suddenly opened his eyes. So much so that even Lord Roland was surprised by this sudden reaction. He had succeeded. There was indeed something attacking him from inside the sword. But how? One possibility…
As he pondered the possibilities, Dr. Lloyd had a very simple idea.
What if he’s not on the visible side of the sword? What if it’s moving around inside? If this was true, this thing was really smart, a piece of darkness that knew how to hide. Lloyd couldn’t help getting excited by his guesses. But without letting it show, Lorda spoke in a calm tone.
“My Lord, I just had a reaction that came from inside the sword. I know this sword is your brother’s, but I must open it to confirm this. If I have your permission…”
The Lord sighed. “Go ahead. You can shatter the sword if it really helps you.”
Lloyd did so, and in an instant, the sword he held in his hand shattered into many pieces and began to hover in the air.
Lord was amazed. “That’s… that’s his gift? He’s not a doctor at all,” although when did he look like a doctor in the first place?
As he tried to figure out what kind of a doctor the person in front of him was, his confusion vanished when the invisible parts of the sword finally came into view. Something inside the Lord’s sword was moving painfully, trying to reach them as if they had been recognized.
“THIS!”
It was pitch black.
