Chapter 28

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The room of Princess Florenzia was filled with a sweet, almost cloying scent, like vanilla.

In the spacious room, as Colin had said, there were no signs of a struggle anywhere.

The adjoining bathroom and balcony showed no oddities, and the bed was almost perfectly neat, with no signs of disturbance. But this very neatness created a sense of unease in Olivia.

(…She was supposed to have been sick and bedridden all this time, so why is the bed so clean?)

If someone had been sleeping for a long time, the sheets would normally be rumpled. The bed wasn’t as neat as if it had just been made, but it was still too tidy. Moreover, only the foot of the bed was wrinkled, as if something heavy had been placed there.

"Still, the scent is strangely sweet. It’s making me feel sick."

Alan said this as he tried to open the window leading to the balcony.

(Sweet scent… I smelled the same thing in the hallway.)

Olivia suddenly became concerned about this sweet scent. It seemed to be coming from an incense burner on a shelf by the bed. The incense had burned out, leaving only residue in the burner, but when she brought her nose close, the overwhelming sweetness made her head spin slightly.

(Was this the incense Princess Florenzia burned? I don’t like it because it’s too sweet, but perhaps Princess Florenzia likes this kind of scent? However, if she was feeling unwell, smelling something this sweet would only make her condition worse…?)

Olivia opened the lid of the incense burner and peered inside. The ashes inside were not from incense wood but from dried leaves, fine and powdery.

Olivia suddenly looked up and rushed out of Princess Florenzia’s room.

"Olivia?"

Silas and Alan, surprised by Olivia’s sudden departure, followed her.

Olivia ran to her room, picked up the book she had been reading by her pillow, and quickly flipped through the pages. It was a book about incense that she had been reading recently.

Silas and Alan, who had followed Olivia into the room, tilted their heads in confusion at the book in her hands.

"What’s going on all of a sudden?"

"Did you figure something out?"

"Yes, I think so… Here it is."

When Olivia found the page she was looking for, she stopped and placed the book on the side table so Alan and Silas could see it.

"This scent from Princess Florenzia’s room, isn’t it this one?"

Silas and Alan, peering at the page Olivia had opened, furrowed their brows.

The incense described on the page was one used by sorcerers in the country of Calzor for their spells. It was called Alworm and had a strong sleep-inducing effect that could cloud the mind. The dizziness Olivia felt when she brought her nose close to the incense burner and Alan’s comment about feeling sick were likely due to this. Even though the incense had burned out and the scent was not strong, the reaction they had indicated what would happen in a sealed room where the incense was burned. It was clear what would happen.

"So, the guards and maids were knocked out by this scent?"

"I think so. Can we examine the ashes left in the incense burner? If they match Alworm, it will be conclusive."

"Understood. I’ll have it checked immediately. Can I borrow this book?"

Alan took the book from Olivia and hurried out of the room.

"You figured it out well, Olivia."

"I just happened to be researching incense… But if that incense is Alworm, there are several puzzling points."

The fact that the incense was burned means someone obtained and burned it. Incense doesn’t just appear in an incense burner and burn on its own. So, who obtained and burned the incense, and for what purpose?

(…This kind of incense isn’t sold in ordinary stores. This means the person who obtained it knew what Alworm was and deliberately acquired it.)

There were no suspicious points in the room, no signs of a struggle. It was unnaturally clean, and there were no signs of forced entry.

(Incense becomes less effective if the room isn’t sealed. If the effect was strong enough to knock people out, the room must have been sealed when the incense was burned. And the door was unlocked, and no suspicious person was seen. This makes it seem like…)

The only ones missing were Princess Florenzia and Legion. Reaching this possibility, Olivia bit her lip.

Olivia had an idea, and Alan and Silas would soon realize the same.

(…Did Legion kidnap Princess Florenzia?)

This seemed the most plausible. But the reason was unclear. Princess Florenzia seemed to trust Legion a lot, and Legion appeared to care for the princess. It was hard to believe Legion would harm Princess Florenzia.

(I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. …I need to investigate more.)

However, they couldn’t afford to be leisurely. If Legion had kidnapped Princess Florenzia with malicious intent, the longer it took, the worse the situation would become.

Just as Olivia stood up to check Princess Florenzia’s room again, she received word that the princess’s maid and guards had regained consciousness.

Thank you for reading!

～～～～～～

【Your Highness, the woman you discarded is the real holy maiden】

The second volume of the book "Your Highness, the woman you discarded is the real holy maiden" (https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5883gg/) will be released on December 28 by Ichijinsha Novels.

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