성황의 아이들 [1]

69

Dasha. She was a standout expert even within a secret agency composed of the most elite intelligence agents.

So, until now, she was somewhat complacent, feeling that there was nothing to fear unless facing a Decalon Knight-level threat.

However, the young prince, who seemed barely to have reached the level of a squire in terms of aura activation, was intently watching her whenever she arrived. It was indeed perplexing.

"Welcome, Dasha. Any new information?"

What was more irritating was that he looked blankly at her as if he had no idea what he had accomplished!

Suppressing her momentary irritation, Dasha soon bowed briefly and began her report promptly.

"The Academy students have been rescued from plague doctors thanks to Sir Francis' intervention. They have ceased the bloodletting treatment and have undergone a procedure to remove the eggs from the royal medical staff. They are still unconscious though."

It's good to hear they're still alive.

"If they were a bit later, they would've been in a life-threatening condition due to blood loss."

What a bunch of Lyora quacks!

However, the following report was unexpected.

"In fact, while conveying the information Your Highness told me to the Holy Emperor, I learned a shocking fact from the Intelligence Department.The discovered plague wasn't something that just broke out yesterday."

It wasn't the first occurrence?

"For several months now, cases of this plague have been appearing sporadically throughout the Empire. It mainly spread among people living alone, so the initial symptoms were not readily detected."

"Several months ago?"

"Yes."

Dasha nodded, her gaze deepening.

"Within the Intelligence Department, they've been calling it the 'Gray Plague.'"

Gray Plague.

The name came from the victims whose skin turned an odd shade of grey.

It was mainly manifesting among elderly people living alone, vagrants, or those already ill. For this reason, there were still no early discoveries. Most were only found after they had been isolated for a few days and had transformed completely.

The first incident was reported months ago by an Inquisitor, who was alerted by villagers claiming an elderly man in their village had been cursed and had gone mad. The old man had lost his son and daughter-in-law and lived alone. A once healthy individual had suddenly displayed strange behavior within days.

By the time the Inquisitor arrived, the old man was drooling uncontrollably, and his eyes were unfocused. He couldn't speak or understand anything, and his skin had turned into dry, rigid grey, as if he had become a wooden puppet.

He eventually died within a week without eating or drinking.

Since then, sporadic reports about grey-skinned mad people had come from various places in the capital. Initially, they were suspected to be cursed by demons, so they were immediately imprisoned and investigated by the Heretical Tribunal. However, eventually, they concluded that it seemed to be a mysterious plague, with no evidence of demonic involvement found.

Hearing this, Seongjin frowned.

"How could they not know the initial symptoms? How do they know these cases are of the same disease?"