Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 73

Cullen bowed awkwardly towards Morrison. The man was being courteous yet distant; his actions towards the man were completely different from his manner with Luisen. There was something strange with that, but perhaps Morrison had history with the leader of the Allos caravan.

However, Carlton wasn’t as generous as Luisen. ‘What was Morrison doing before we arrived on the scene?’

Just what did Morrison do to make Cullen believe that Luisen, a person who came belatedly to the scene, was more of a savior? Was Cullen’s attitude just a consequence of Morrison and the Allos caravan owner’s relationship? In Carlton’s point of view, Morrison didn’t seem to be close with the Allos caravan’s owner. During their stay on the boat, the merchant never visited the other caravan. Of course, on the Allos caravan’s side, they were debilitated by illness, but…

It was Morrison himself who cut off the mercenary’s wandering suspicions. With an affable expression, the merchant tried to tap Carlton’s arm; the mercenary swiftly avoided his touch with a straight expression. “What is it?” Carlton asked.

 “You were staring so blatantly at me. Do I have something on my face?”

“No. I was wondering if there was any need for you to follow us. At the very least, you’re the leader of your caravan, so you must have many other things you need to attend to. Shouldn’t you search for your caravan members and confirm their safety?”

“All of my colleagues can take care of themselves, so it’s fine. I’m also worried about the people in the Allos caravan. It’s not like we don’t know each other.”

“Still, aren’t you scared? They say it’s an infectious disease.”

“The people come first.”

Luisen, who was walking ahead, turned back at Morrison’s straightforward answer and expressed his admiration. “Mr. Morrison is a very good man.”

The merchant smiled warmly, revealing a mild-mannered aura. This smile could be painted and held up as a textbook example of someone who leaves a good impression, but Carlton’s mind twisted like a wrongfully gnarled and dried tree.

***

The people in the Allos caravan were all gathered in the room belonging to the owner of the caravan. Cullen said he had moved them all to one room in order to nurse them efficiently. Because of that, there were people lying on the floor and on the sofas.

All of them had unhealthily dark complexions and were unable to control their bodies. The person that looked to be in the best condition swore at Cullen, asking him why he had only returned now. Even so, his words were nearly incomprehensible.

Cullen smiled even though he was cursed at. ‘Why is he smiling?’ When Luisen looked at the man strangely, Cullen rushed to explain, “Ah, everyone’s still alive! They even have the energy to curse at me. I was worried that someone would die while I had left them–I was so nervous…”

While patting the man’s sobbing back, Luisen observed the people from the Allos caravan again. “May I take a look around?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

Luisen scrutinized the person nearest to him until he reached the owner, the person farthest from the entrance. Everyone had high fevers and was delirious.

Luisen looked carefully at the napes of their necks. Just like the ghoul, there were green rashes that ranged from the back of their necks to their chins–right where the shadow of a beard would form. It was plausible that one would be ignorant of the rash’s existence.

“Was there anything unusual before they collapsed?”

“Mm, they said they felt unwell before they boarded the boat, but they’re such heavy drinkers. I thought they were sick from that. Ah, but they mentioned that their legs wouldn’t move before collapsing. It was only then that I noticed something was wrong and approached them; their bodies felt like burning spheres.”

The young lord paused at Cullen’s words. Leg paralysis?

Luisen used his fingertips to press firmly into the caravan owner’s leg. It shouldn’t hurt because the young lord wore gloves, but there was still little to no response to the stimulus. It was obvious that his legs were paralyzed or numbed.

The young lord took off the owner’s shoes and socks. He ignored the rank smell and observed the man’s ankle; he saw a dark green, triangular spot there. At first glance, it looked like a tattoo, but when the young lord took off his gloves and gently touched it, he realized it was a blood clot rather than a mole. He also checked the others’ ankles and found similar marks.

Green rashes, leg paralysis, and triangular spots.

‘Ah, as I thought.’

Luisen had seen something similar in the past. This disease wasn’t one that could be passed from person to person.

‘No, this isn’t even a disease in the first place. This is poison.’

A few months after he met the one-armed pilgrim, his life’s savior, the pilgrim began to open his heart to the young lord because of Luisen’s devotion.

While traveling through the kingdom’s midwest region, the two had visited a monastery. Originally, these spaces would be full of simple yet reverent, sacred scents, so the groans and odor of the sick stood out. An epidemic had broken out in a nearby estate; the place expelled their sick, and the monastery had taken them in.

The monks had accepted them with the resolve to die with the sick; however, none of the monks became ill. Rather, the infectious disease spread more in the estate that they were kicked out of. The monks had found this phenomenon strange and sought help from the one-armed pilgrim who had coincidentally taken temporary refuge there.

While on his way to the estate from the monastery, the pilgrim had found the green, bite-shaped spots–clues that others had overlooked; with that discovery, he was able to identify the true cause of the disease.

There was a snake-like monster with a square, angular head and a comparatively slender body. It wasn’t even as big as an adult man’s forearm; however, the eyes were maliciously red, so they could immediately recognize it as a monster. That monster was secretive and clever, however, so it wasn’t particularly conspicuous.

The monster had a peculiar, awl-like upper tooth and two lower teeth, and it bit any passing creature. The three spots left in a triangular formation on the Allos caravan member’s ankles were definitely from that monster. Venom flowed in its fangs, and the symptoms only appeared in earnest half a day to a day after being bitten.

The bitten people went on with their lives, ignorant of the fact that they had been poisoned until they suddenly collapsed with paralyzed legs.

When fully manifested, the symptoms of the monster’s venom were easily confused with those of an epidemic, especially because the monster often stayed in one region, biting plenty of victims in the same area.

The one-armed pilgrim used his body as bait to lure the monster and killed it near a well at the estate’s manor. After that, the number of the sick did not increase any further. In addition, the one-armed pilgrim and Luisen collected the monster’s venom and brought it back to the monastery for antidote creation; the two then spread word of the monster’s existence far and wide. When the misunderstanding behind the disease’s origin was corrected, many deaths were avoided.

That was when Luisen became certain. The one-armed pilgrim was definitely God’s agent sent from the heavens to save the world from misery. He was the one who would drive away darkness and establish justice and righteousness in the world.

Although the young lord couldn’t see that goal realized, it was an unforgettable honor to participate in just a moment of the saint’s heroic life. Because of that experience, even when Luisen had regressed to the past, didn’t he continue to benefit greatly? ‘Dear Pilgrim, I owe you another favor.’

Luisen indulged in his habit of expressing gratitude to the one-armed pilgrim. Even though they were apart, the young lord’s respect for him grew daily.

“Have you discovered something?” Cullen asked hopefully. Luisen put aside his passionate feelings for a moment and returned back to reality. Cullen, Morrison, and even the patients, who lacked the strength to even lift a finger, paid curious attention to the young lord.

“Yes, this is…” Luisen was about to answer them, but the ship’s horn trumpeted. That signal commanded the scattered sailors to gather.

At the same time, the ship suddenly slowed down; the hull shook violently. Carlton held onto the young lord’s shaky body. Everyone could feel that the ship had stopped. When the shaking subsided, everyone ran out–with no care as to who they passed–into the hallway. Something had definitely gone wrong.

“What’s going on?! Why have we stopped all of a sudden?!”

“What is the captain doing?!”

People lodged complaints from all corners; the ship soon became quite noisy. Soon, the sailors wandered around saying that they were confirming something on the ship, assuring the passengers that nothing critical had happened. However, no one really believed those reassurances, and the real reason why the ship had stopped was quickly revealed.

A few people saw some oarsmen being carried away on a stretcher. After asking around, it was revealed that those people had collapsed with similar symptoms to the caravan folk. As a result, the other oarsmen were in a state of total confusion, and the ship had stopped in its tracks.

“So, the infectious disease must have spread there!” Cullen screamed; his expression belied his fear of dying.

The angry crowd insisted that those in the Allos caravan should be thrown off the boat. Although many were still scared to go near their room because they were afraid of the disease, it was only a matter of time before their anger overcame their fear. That process would only happen quicker while the ship is at rest.

Rumors spread faster on the wings of anxiety. Like the dusky sky, getting a little darker with every passing minute, the situation on the boat was deteriorating rapidly.

Carlton decided that it was too dangerous to stay in the Allos caravan’s room, so he quickly took the young lord back to their room. Morrison also rushed out of the area, saying he would try to meet with the captain. Only Cullen remained with the patients.

Back in his room, Luisen sighed and perched on the edge of the bed. He was completely overwhelmed from the emergency situation.

Carlton wondered, “Are you not going to wash your hands?”

“Ahh, no need. This isn’t a disease.” Luisen explained to the mercenary what he had uncovered. Carlton looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t doubt the young lord’s words.

TL: Hi, miss me with that weirdly disproportionate snake monster. Especially ones that turn you into ghouls.