The Quarantine Village of Luxen
How long had they been riding?
In the distance, a towering stone wall rose against the sky. That massive barrier, cleaving the settlement away from the outside world, was the enduring emblem of Luxen.
Before the heavy iron-reinforced gate, two small figures loitered in the dust—guards posted to watch the entrance. I pulled firmly on the reins, bringing the carriage to a brisk halt behind a screen of rocky outcroppings.
"Ugh, are we already there?" Edwin frowned as he climbed down from the carriage. "Wait, it's still pretty far away."
Ignoring his complaint, I hauled down the bundle of supplies tied to the carriage roof. "Sit over here, Your Highness."
"What are you doing?"
"Disguising you."
"Disguising me? Why?"
Edwin grimaced as I retrieved several small medicine vials from the pack.
"Children are strictly forbidden from entering the quarantine village unless they are infected. And since leaving Your Highness outside alone is out of the question, we have no choice."
"Still..."
"Besides, you stand out far too much in every way. We are sneaking in. Now, bow your head."
With a reluctant pout, he dipped his chin.
"Pbbbt! Pwah! What is this?!"
"Hair-darkening powder. It will temporarily conceal your royal hair color."
"Darkening powder?! Why are you dumping that stuff on my head?!"
Fussy brat. He should be grateful it wasn't crushed charcoal. I diligently dusted the dark soot-like powder through his fine golden locks until not a glimmer of gold remained.
"Wait, it stings my eyes!"
"Even better. Bloodshot eyes will make you look sicker. Now, let's coat your arms with this."
"What is that now?"
"Plaster mixed with water, which we apply together with dark pine resin."
Once the gruesome disguise was complete, Edwin dropped his head in utter despair. "Did you really have to go this far?"
"Going this far is the only way to minimize the chance of getting caught. Oh, and don't forget to play your part exactly as I instructed earlier."
"I really don't think this feels right..."
By the time I shoved the grumbling boy back into the carriage cabin, a considerable amount of time had passed.
I need to hurry.
I reached into my bag and pulled out the remaining garment: a threadbare priest's vestment that Catherine had managed to procure for me.
"Yaaaaawn..."
Peterson, a gatekeeper stationed at the Luxen Village barrier, yawned so wide his jaw threatened to unhinge, tilting his battered helmet askew over his brow. Not that outward appearances mattered much for a guard watching over a settlement that nobody ever willingly visited. He let out another cavernous yawn and nudged the comrade standing beside him.
"Hey, anyone scheduled to arrive today?"
"Mmm, beats me. No one showed up yesterday, and no one the day before that, so probably not today either."
"Really? Then what's that carriage rolling up over there?"
"Huh?"
His partner squinted into the arid distance. "Where on earth did that come from?"
The carriage approached at a steady, measured pace before coming to a halt directly in front of the giant quarantine gate. Peterson marched up toward the coachman's seat, his steps guarded and hand resting near his sword hilt.
"Halt! State your business and identity!"
"May the grace of God be with you."
The figure seated atop the driver's bench was draped in an old, faded cleric's robe. "I am Priest Benedict."
The voice was raspy, rough, and trembling, as though thick with phlegm from a severe, rattling cold. A cowl pulled low concealed the speaker's face in deep shadow, but judging by that reedy tone alone, it belonged unmistakably to a decrepit old man.
At the mention of the title, the guards visibly softened their tone, becoming deferential.
"Ah... forgive me, Father, but could you lower your hood for just a moment? It is standard procedure to confirm the identity of anyone entering or leaving."
"Forgive me, but I have no desire to show my face to anyone. You see, I once suffered from Scale Disease myself."
Scale Disease.
At those three words, both guards gasped and jerked back a step in reflexive horror. The old priest let out a faint, self-deprecating chuckle.
"Heh-heh. Of course, by the Lord's divine grace, I overcame it. But as you well know, the scars left behind by Scale Disease cannot be erased, even by Divine Power."
"Ah, yes. Of course, we understand entirely. You must have endured terrible suffering." Peterson waved his hands in hurried sympathy, thoroughly dissuaded from looking beneath the hood.
"Then... may we verify the passenger inside the carriage?"
"By all means. But take care. That child is an active sufferer of Scale Disease."
"Ah—!"
Reaching for the carriage door handle, Peterson froze, letting out a sharp gasp as he peered through the dusty window glass.
Inside sat a frail, black-haired boy with a hollow, desolate expression. Through the gaps in his askew collar, patches of flesh appeared rotten to a blackened pulp, oozing dark fluids beneath crusts of hardened gray scale.
"He is my disciple, Johannes. He contracted the contagion while assisting my duties."
"Oh, heavens above..." The guards clasped their hands over their mouths in genuine pity.
"At present, all the clerics in the Imperial Palace capable of channeling divine power have departed on a pilgrimage to the Holy Kingdom."
"Ah... that is why he could not receive treatment!"
"Indeed. And as you well know, no one afflicted with Scale Disease may set foot within the Imperial Palace. Until they return, I must lodge this poor lad here."
"There are clerical quarters within the village," Peterson offered readily. "The young cleric may stay there. No other priests are residing there at the moment anyway."
"I thank you. May God's blessing be with you both."
"May God's blessing be with you as well."
The guards hastened to unbar the massive wooden gate. Thanks to that, the carriage rolled into the settlement without facing a single inspection.
"What a tragedy. That young cleric couldn't have been more than a child."
"Sigh... isn't that the truth? Why is it always the righteous who suffer like that?"
The guards watched the carriage vanish past the barrier with pitying eyes—completely oblivious to the mocking sneer curling beneath the cowl of the supposed old priest.
"Good grief," Edwin whispered through the small carriage partition, chattering excitedly. "How did you change your voice like that?"
"Just a minor parlor trick I picked up in the past."
"If I learn it, could I change my voice too?"
"It would take time, but with enough practice, yes."
"Then you have to teach me later!"
Passing through the gates with the voice of an old man had evidently fascinated him to no end. Ignoring his persistent nagging for voice lessons, I scanned our surroundings.
Nothing has changed.
Stepping into the village disguised as a cleric, I was greeted by hostile, resentful glares and a suffocating stench of decay.
Counting the time since I woke up in this body... has it been roughly four years since I was last here?
I took in the sights around me. Haphazardly erected stone shanties crowded the jagged alleys, and wandering among them were villagers whose bodies were slowly rotting away.
Surely that old man hasn't died in the meantime, has he?
If he had, this journey would prove a colossal waste of effort.
Fortunately, the temple mentioned by the guard sat not far from the entrance. I steered the carriage toward a stable adjacent to the chapel, hitched the horses, and pulled open the cabin door.
"Your Highness, we'll have to walk from here. The alleys are too narrow for the carriage to pass."
"Um... Rachel... do I really have to go?"
Edwin's voice trembled faintly. Only then did I notice the raw terror painted across his face.
Right. He must have seen everything through the window.
No matter how neglected he had been, he had spent his entire life sheltered inside the Imperial Palace. This living nightmare was far beyond what a young prince could stomach.
"Your Highness, if you're frightened, would you rather wait here? I can go alone."
"What? Where are you going?"
"The person I'm looking for lives deep in the heart of the village."
"Can't we just take the carriage? We don't have to walk, do we?"
"The roads narrow from this point on; the carriage cannot fit. We must go on foot."
"B-but what if I catch the disease?" Tears threatened to spill from his wide eyes.
"Your Highness, Scale Disease is not contracted as easily as people believe. If it were, how could priests and physicians ever volunteer here?"
"The priests are safe because they have divine power to shield themselves! But we don't have that!" Despite my reassurance, Edwin shook his head violently in sheer dread.
"Then stay right here and do not move. I'll be back as quickly as I can."
Deciding it would be better to fetch the sage without delay, I turned to leave. Just as my foot crossed the stable threshold, Edwin lunged forward and yanked at the hem of my robe.
"N-no! Wait! I'm coming with you!" He grabbed tight onto my cowl, glueing himself to my back.
"We'll have to walk quite far into the village. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"Being left alone is worse! I'm coming!"
Looking down at the stubbornly clinging boy, I released a resigned sigh. "Then stay close and don't stray. The alleys are a maze."
The interior of the settlement was surprisingly better organized than the outskirts, though the stench was far more suffocating. Everywhere we looked, people were reduced to wretched states that were difficult to bear witness to.
"L-look... why do those people have missing arms and legs? Does Scale Disease take your limbs too?" Edwin gasped in horror, staring at a villager hobbling along without his right leg.
"In severe cases, yes," I murmured. "The rotting flesh eventually hardens like stone, turning brittle enough to crumble into dust at the slightest impact."
That was precisely why Scale Disease was also known as the Weathering Disease. By the time one's entire body decayed, it would weather away in the wind, leaving no trace behind in this world.
"That is why there are no graves in this village. There are no corpses left to bury."
This gruesome symptom was another reason the ailment was reviled as the Devil's Curse. In the Ventrum Empire, where funerary rites were of utmost cultural importance, dying without even a body to lay to rest meant one was denied eternal peace.
"What? If there are no graves, how do their families visit them?"
"The people here were abandoned by their families long ago. Even if they had graves, no one would come."
"...Then where do the people who vanish go?"
"Well, having turned to dust, they scatter on the wind, or wash away in the rain."
At my answer, Edwin fell silent, deep in thought as he walked beside me. That heavy silence lingered all the way to the end of the crooked alley.
"Your Highness, we've arrived."
"..."
"Your Highness? Prince Edwin!"
"H-huh? What is it?"
Lost in a daze, Edwin only snapped back to reality after I raised my voice.
"We are here."
"Oh... we are?"
He looked bewildered, staring at the dilapidated stone shack before us that appeared no different from any other hovel in the slum.
"Um... so the person who's going to be my master lives in this house?"