CH 19

“Poisoning.

Elias’s elementalism wasn’t that remarkable. But his methods of working with spirits were novel and unique. He could imbue arrows with spirits power, or create and read maps like this.

Elias was a compass for traveling where maps and roads were absent. His talents must have blossomed at an early age.

But what’s the point of taking her there? Snapping out of her thoughts, Eisel suddenly wondered why she was needed. If he can do it alone, why take her?

Elias handed her three half-drawn maps straight-faced.

Eisel looked up as she took the maps, all identical.

“What are these?”

“These are maps I’ve already made. The tunnels are complex and winding, so no matter how many maps I make, they’ll all be different. What you need to do is transfer the overlapping parts of that map to here, to this booklet.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before. Is that something I can do?”

‘I wondered if it would be better to have an older adult do it than an 8-year-old. I wondered if I was crazy to entrust such a crucial job to a 13-year-old and an 8-year-old. I wanted to know if labor standards laws existed in this country.’

Elias’s smile narrowed as Eisel asked, trying to hide her dismay.

“It’s not difficult, I’m sure you can do it. Getting into the shaft is still too dangerous for Eisel, so stay here. I’ll go.”

Eisel swallowed a sigh of relief and nodded. Elias stared at her wordlessly, then turned away.

“Just sit there and do your thing. I’ll be back.”

With that, Elias disappeared into the mine entrance.

Will he be okay?

Eisel tilted her head, watching Elias’ disappearance. He’s a heroine, so there’s nothing wrong with that, but why is he cross-dressing? If it’s his job, it’s probably more about his age than his gender.

Eisel didn’t ask Elias if it was a sensitive subject, but she couldn’t tell. It wasn’t enough that Elias knew Bahidman, he cross-dressed.

Eisel flicked her pen and thought about it for a moment, but quickly dismissed it.

Ignore it.

Eisel shook her head and unfolded the paper Elias handed her.

Let’s do this.

She folded the paper over and placed it on top of the book Elias had given her, then slowly picked up the pen.

Eisel glanced toward the mine entrance, wondering when she could get out to do what Elias had told her to do. The hours ticked by, and the sun was setting.

BANG!

An explosion rang out somewhere. What was that? Eisel looked up and heard another thud, a harsh sound, and the earth began to shake.

“What is this?”

An earthquake? Eisel stood up and saw several people running out of the mine entrance.

***

When she spotted the miners running out, she ducked under the table. Ducking beneath the iron table if anything fell from above, Eisel looked toward the entrance.

The miners rushed out, stamping their feet nervously.

“No, what kind of earthquake happened so soon?”

As if in a theatrical performance, the miners weave together, “Elias enters, and there’s an earthquake?” While Eisel stood frozen in amazement, a few people ran over to the miners. The miners on their feet sighed and shook their shoulders.

Eisel scratched her head as she watched the miners go about their business nonchalantly, while the ground rumbled beneath them.

What the hell, why are they so carefree? Isn’t an earthquake the most destructive natural disaster in a mine? The ground could collapse.

As Eisel scanned the mine with a worried look on her face, a gruff voice called out from behind her.

“What are you doing there?”

“Huh?”

Eisel spun around at the familiar voice and found Elias staring at her from behind.

Eisel glanced back and forth between the mine entrance and Elias, then tilted his head.

“How did you get out?”

“Of course I came out the other way, mine has more than one entrance, but what are you doing there?”

“I’m not doing anything, I’m waiting for an earthquake…….”

“Earthquake?”

Elias looked around at the word earthquake, and his lips twitched. Is this something to laugh about? As Eisel opened her mouth, Elias bent down and pulled her out.

With the ground still rumbling from the earthquake, Elias bent down and brushed the dirt off Eisel’s clothes with his palms.

It was a very delicate gesture, juxtaposed with his dry, blunt tone and voice. Elias glanced at Eisel, who gripped his shoulders, and his mouth corners lifted.

“I didn’t tell you, this wasn’t an earthquake. There’s a training range around here where they train cannons and bombs. Every time they train there, the ground shakes like this.”

“Training?”

Eisel shook her head and looked at the ground, which shook and then stopped, rather than continuing to shake.

“It’s quite a distance away, and the underground shafts are very deep and strong, so there’s no way the mine would collapse from an impact like that. Sometimes, new miners jump out in surprise when they’re training, so don’t worry about it.”

After his calm explanation, Elias glanced over at Eisel, who looked dazed, and stroked her hair. The stiffened Eisel blinked at the warmth of the hand stroking her hair and lifted her head.

Elias, who had stroked Eisel’s hair, quickly withdrew his hand, his face softening, then hardening.

“Anyway, it is what it is.”

Coughing, Elias turned his head to see what Eisel had been working on and nodded.

“Excellent, that’s good enough. Now, you may proceed, I have some things to finish up, so I’ll go first. The carriage is ready there, so you may take it then.”

Elias bowed and disappeared instantly. Returning to the ducal residence in the carriage Elias had prepared, Eisel informed Bahidman that the lesson was over.

Bahidman stared at her, his eyes rolling up and down and his brow narrowing.

“What do you look like?”

Eisel checked her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Her clothes, face, and everything else were covered in dirt. With a low click of his tongue, Bahidman summoned a maid to prepare the bathroom and rose from his seat.

“How was the exam?”

Eisel shrugged off her shoulders. Bahidman chuckled and walked over to her, gently brushing dust from her hair. At the gentle touch, Eisel lifted her head and glared at Bahidman.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

Bahidman asked, sensing Eisel’s look.

“I was just thinking about what the test was about.”

“Oh, okay. Did you find out what the test was?”

At the soft question, Eisel stepped back.

“Isn’t it part of the test to ask who that person is?”

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s just that there’s no connection between the two of you. Since you introduced me to the class, the content doesn’t mean anything, so that’s what I thought, isn’t it?”

Bahidman stood up from his seat and dusted off his hands, glancing at Esiel. When Eisel followed his gaze, Bahidman backed away.

“If that’s what the test was about, what was the answer?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Eisel nodded nonchalantly at Bahidman, who frowned questionably.

“I’m the one who asked who he was.”

“…….”

“So, isn’t it your Excellency who should answer, not me?”

At Eisel’s confident reply, Bahidman’s crumpled face slowly straightened and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Instead of answering, Bahidman leaned across his desk and crossed his arms.

“That’s quite an idea. Trying to pass the test I gave you to develop your eye for people this way. Your guesses are for dogs.”

Bahidman smiled oddly, as if he liked Eisel’s answer.

“But you won’t get the answer out of my mouth.”

Leaving Eisel wondering, “Who the hell is Elias and why are you hiding him?” Bahidman walked back to his desk and retrieved his pouch. After casually tossing it to Eisel, Bahidman crossed his arms again.

Eisel opened the heavy pouch, examined its contents, and her eyes widened.

“What is this?”

“Gold.”

‘I know gold.’

Eisel’s head snapped up in disbelief. But why would you give me gold?” When Eisel looked puzzled, Bahidman raised his eyebrows in amusement.

“If you can double that gold pouch, I’ll give you all its contents.”

Eisel looked surprised, and Bahidman’s expression hardened as he lowered his mouth corner.

“However, if you lose all the gold in that pouch, you will never set foot in this mansion again.”

“…….”

That cranky old man again.

Eisel sighed and looked down at the gold.