His First Adversity [ IV ]

As it seemed to be, the tension had successfully grown to a point that everyone started to fear the instance that if Sven's words were true as he said it, and something was not done about the forthcoming situation or crucial action was not taken in time, more disasters would eventually begin to unfold at a fast rate, in fact, they all had the same thing ringing in their minds - 'The more the delay, the more the disaster', and so without any direct command of any sort, what seemd to be initially a brisk and gentle walk by the crowd, slowly and steadily turned into a speed walking, and after a few minutes and a few distance, what seemed to be a crowd of speed walking people consequently transformed into a crowd likened to that of marathon runners. They eventually reached their destination, the barn, and the presumed race against time eventually stopped. 

Everyone came to a halt, and with Sven's company, Lady Chan and the head farmer stepped into the barn, followed by the rest of the crowd one after the other. In that moment, they all confirmed Sven's fearful words in the terror and shock of it, and not a single word was heard from anyone afterwards, causing an absurdly intense silence, not until a random farmer spoke up.

"First, the unexpected death of the council deputy, and now the mysterious outbreak of a deadly disease that has taken the lives of thirteen cattle!"

..... And this very statement caused the nervousness to get even more intense...

"Nonsense! ..." Lady Chan exclaimed, trying to wave off any negative thoughts. "...This could have just been fabricated by someone within to arouse fear amongst us. Moreover, winter is near, so this may just be a normal side effect."

"But my lady..." Sven interrupted respectfully. "...This is my second consecutive year working here, and the last winter that came brought forth nothing of such! Even the former ranchers before me did not experience such either. This... this could be a bad om....."

"Shut it! ...." Lady Chan stopped him immediately. "...If you think this is what it is, then you all should be very certain of losing your jobs, starting with you... ...We aren't completely sure of what this is yet, so we would have to take things one step at a time, not jumping to a rash conclusion. The vet is on his official leave today, and we cannot fully trust the Queen's sister even though she is the one in charge of the overall medical affairs concerning the Palace, so we may have to call on Sir Humphrey to see what he can do about it! ... You two...... go and quickly inform Sir Humphrey that the King calls for him concerning the funeral of Galgadoth, but when you get close to the palace, convince him somehow and lead him to this place. Make sure no one knows of your motive; the same applies to all here; no one must know about what has happened here until Humphrey confirms the physical cause for this.

>>>

When Sir Henry arrived at the scene and saw Lady Chan, he spoke up, saying—

"It's only because of you that I agreed to come here even after being lied to by these morons, so tell me, what be the matter here?"

"We found out that 13 of our cattle died and the others bleed from their udder!" Lady Chan responded, straight to the point. 

" Oh! So it is?" He asked with more concern.

"Yes, and that is why I called for you. If you could please tell us the cause... we don't mind waiting a day or two, but within the week should be the limit."

"Alright then, let's see!" he said as he walked close to one of the dead cattle. With a thick cloth close by and some assistance, he opened the mouth of the cattle and shut it back.

"Here is a sample of the blood." Sven said as he handed him a little bowl containing the cattle's blood.

The spectators stood quietly and watched his action closely, some feeling disgusted as he initially sniffed the blood, and after a short while of doubt, licked a finger that he had dipped into the blood.

"Ha ha ha ha..." Humphrey burst into laughter. "...I knew it! Something like this won't happen so easily in a kingdom so blessed; this is naught but the work of man, and I tell you, if an ordinary physical chemist like me can find out, then he is by no means a wise man. The dead cattle were poisoned, and the rest were fed with a vegetable that turns their milk reddish!"

"Oh... I thought so too ...Thank you for the clarification Humphrey! "

"Don't mention my lady; I'll be on my way now; I'm expecting some special guests, and I can't keep them waiting."

"Bye then."

Sir Humphrey then quickly walked out of the barn, and Lady Chan charged the workers to return back to work. She then gave Sven a strict order to dispose off the dead mammals' bodies but keep an account of all that happened in the event, just in case of any future reference.

Everything returned to balance, and all the workers went out of the barn. Lady Chan then set off for the palace, but when she was a few meters from the building, she noticed something that sent a deep feeling of apprehension into her – The back door to her room was open!. She quickly ran towards it to see if anyone was close by, but she found no one. The unease increased even more rapidly as she climbed up the staircase, into the wardrobe, and finally the room itself. Her heart sank with worries like a heavy stone thrown into a river as she met an empty room!

"No! Please don't do this to me!" she said worriedly.

She turned towards the huge windows and with her eyes, carefully scanned the open space of the palace within her visual reach to see if she would find Noname, perhaps loitering about, but the only people she saw were the Queen's entourage, who were keeping her company on her return from her uncle's, but there was something odd about them that caught her attention – They were all looking up! 

This weird action distracted Lady Chan's focus, and she heeded the temptation of also looking, only to see the royal hot air balloon, within which there were two people waving down at the Queen – Fuku VIII and the supposed elderly guide.

Lady Chan noticed instantly, from the naive way he waved and her familiarity with him, that the person standing next to the prince was no elder.... 

 ...It was her beloved Noname!