Chapter 39: The Owner of the Severed Hand
"Hm, why are you standing there stunned?"
Triss's words sent tumultuous waves through Arthur's mind.
Given: Gorgon tastes similar to human flesh, and the Princess lived by eating people when she was a monster.
Question: Did she actually want to eat Gorgon last night, or was it...
So, was the King having the Princess accompany him to guard against a saturated curse, or was the curse itself not completely removed?
He glanced at the Princess, who was busy playing 'hand slapping' with Everett, opened a unidirectional sound-dampening barrier, and quietly mentioned Adda's desire to eat Gorgon.
He fully expected this to be a huge secret, but Triss didn't seem concerned:
"You're worried that the curse on her hasn't been completely eliminated, right?"
"That is entirely unnecessary. The court mages conducted thorough checks, and this time there is absolutely no trace of dark magic found within her. I am certain this is merely a dietary habit she developed during her long life as a monster. Give her some time; she can revert to a normal person."
This reason didn't entirely convince Arthur. He brought up other examples: "It's not just her tastes; she's different from ordinary people in other ways too."
He ticked off his fingers, meticulously counting the ways the Princess was unusual:
Acute Senses: When Kolgrim was discussing Triss earlier, he had clearly lowered his voice to a level impossible for a normal person to hear, yet the Princess heard everything clearly.
Twisted Preferences: Adda had repeatedly shown a craving for fresh blood especially human blood. When she learned that Arthur had engaged in a bloodbath at Amavet Castle, she was so excited she nearly fainted.
Triss used her fingertip to wind a strand of hair, contemplating as she explained:
"Well, including this instance with you, the Princess spent fourteen years as a monster, and less than ten years as a human. Perhaps this long monstrous existence influenced not just her way of thinking, but also the operation of her nervous system."
Seeing that Triss was consistently making excuses for the Princess, Arthur reluctantly brought up the one reason he had wished to avoid. He checked again to ensure no one was looking at him, then stuttered:
"I feel... Adda seems to have a bit of an interest in me. I'm not conceited, but the way she expresses affection... is very different from other girls."
The frying pan clattered onto the stove with a 'clang.' Triss completely lost her Sorceress composure and doubled over laughing:
"You child, who is the abnormal one here?! Just because someone likes you, you start suspecting them of being abnormal? If you think her behavior is a bit too unrestrained, why don't you look in a mirror at your own face? What girl wouldn't like that?"
Arthur blushed: "It's not like that. The way the Princess expresses affection is a bit... a bit..."
A bit too direct. In the face of primal desire, Adda was not just unrestrained; she was practically debauched. In truth, Arthur had nearly been moved the first time, but Adda's wildness made him feel like he was facing some other creature instead of a person... and he instantly couldn't perform.
Triss sighed, gently tapping Arthur's head with the frying ladle:
"Although Adda is a princess, because of her past experiences, everyone in the court avoids her. It's normal that after being repressed for so long, she wants to find someone to release that pressure with. Don't mention this to a third person. Even if you aren't interested in her, at least don't hurt her."
"Oh…" Arthur mumbled in response but didn't leave. Instead, he pulled a package from his clothes the severed hand that Kolgrim had wrapped up.
"Where did this thing come from?" Triss frowned the moment she saw the severed hand. But she examined it carefully for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief:
"There's no trace of dark magic on it, so we can likely rule out a necromancer."
Arthur recounted the story of how the Foglet was drawn in by the severed hand last night, then offered his conjecture:
"That mounted patrol yesterday was clearly after Mara and her son. I suspect they deliberately left this severed hand near the camp to use monsters for revenge…"
"You are making things too complicated." Triss shook her head, disagreeing: "Those riders didn't even know enough to scout the terrain before charging the camp. How could they possibly devise a plan as complex as using a severed hand to lure monsters?"
"I think it's more likely that they dropped it accidentally while retreating."
"Given their amateur performance yesterday, such a low-level blunder is entirely plausible."
Arthur thought about it and admitted that Triss's inference was more reasonable. That left only one question: Whose severed hand was this?
Arthur felt the high probability was Mr. Everett, but the hand had been severed for a day and then gnawed on by the Foglet that had followed the scent. There was barely any skin or flesh left, making external identification impossible.
Triss gave Arthur a light kick:
"You refuse to be my apprentice, yet you keep dragging me into trouble! I can help, but tonight, you must submit a half-foot-long thesis on the divinatory magic I use today!"
While Arthur's face turned pale, Triss wrapped the severed hand in a ball of magical light and began chanting an incantation.
A moment later, a wisp of black smoke emerged from the hand's bone, slowly rising against the wind.
Triss explained: "To find the identity of a residual limb, the best method is usually a Flesh-to-Body Trace spell. However, necromancy is strictly forbidden by the Council, so I chose divination."
"A Kinship Divination is typically used to find missing persons, usually using a piece of clothing or the relative's hair."
"If we change the approach, using this severed hand as a medium to divine the whereabouts of young Everett, we can determine from the result whether it belongs to Mr. Everett."
It can be used like that... Arthur inwardly sighed. She was worthy of being called a genius sorceress by Kolgrim; she could spin something out of even a simple spell.
The black smoke floated up to about two meters above the ground and then stopped rising, beginning to circle in place. Before it could complete one circle, it suddenly accelerated, shooting toward young Everett like a black arrow.
This really is Mr. Everett's hand. Those damned bastards...
"Papa!" Young Everett, who was having fun playing with Adda, suddenly screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"What happened to him?" Arthur was startled. Though the black smoke moved fast, it had no substance and scattered the moment it hit young Everett. It shouldn't have caused any harm. Why is he crying like this?
"Originally, the Kinship Divination was used to find runaway children. Therefore, the incantation carries some embedded information, usually about the recent condition of the relative being sought."
By this time, Mara had dropped her work and anxiously hugged young Everett:
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Don't be afraid. Mama is here, Mama is here!"
Young Everett wailed: "I saw Papa! He... he looked so scary! It was so dark all around him!"
"My child, what nonsense are you saying? Papa just went out for a business meeting. He'll be back in a few days." Mara comforted her child, but tears streamed down her own face uncontrollably.
All these days, she had numbed herself with courage, fatigue, and motherly love, unwilling to consider the possibility that her husband might have been killed.
But her son's sudden cry finally tore away her self-deceptive denial, exposing the bloody truth.
.........
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