A Cruel Beast's Leash

“The head butler was there when Countess Karina and Chairman Collin planned this.”

“He said that he would take charge of getting rid of Sir Irvan and pledged his allegiance to her.”

Miller also couldn’t avoid the charge of treason as the two maids testified. But of all the things, Count Limon’s health was the prime evidence for treason. It was known that Count Limon was critically ill, but on the second day of trial, Emma attended the court again as a witness.

“I was guided through the Count Van Wert’s castle after I arrived. I found a very strange thing as I randomly visited the alchemical lab,” she said.

“What was it?” As someone who was keen on the flow, the prosecutor quickly changed his way.

“There was bucktree grinded and piled up.”

“Bucktree? Isn’t that a type of tree?” The prosecutor asked.

Emma cleared her eyes and spoke calmly, “Yes. Bucktree is rare so it doesn’t have any economic value, and its efficiency is worse than log or fir as firewood so it’s not used often. But the fact that something that’s not used that much was piled up in huge amounts in an alchemical lab was questionable. A few days later when I went back it was gone.”

“You mean someone used it.”

“Yes. I received a list of people that used the lab from Secretary Laute. It wasn’t much of a list.”

As Emma handed over a piece of paper, the prosecutor opened it to check and submitted it to the judge. There was only one name on that paper.

“Bilord Monte? Isn’t he the doctor of the castle?”

“Yes. He used the empty alchemical lab and the amount of bucktree decreased noticeably each time.”

“So… he used bucktree in the lab.” The prosecutor quickly hit the point.

Emma nodded in agreement. “Yes. I felt something was off. So I ordered the alchemical journal from the pharmacy. And found this as I was reading.”

Emma signaled, Jenna took out the journal and gave it to the court secretary. The prosecutor took the journal, opened it where it was marked and started reading out loud.

“The secret for maintaining the corpse has been solved. To stop the corpse from rotting, an immense amount of bucktree is needed to be used to make antiseptic. Liquid extracted at high pressure and temperature, and then cooled after, becomes a clear extract called called ‘mokjung’.”

There were unfamiliar technical words, nevertheless, the prosecutor continued.

“Mokjung is lighter than water and is flammable. One unique trait is its provocative smell and it is soluble in water. Its usage is quite wide, and even though its efficiency isn’t good, it can be used for fuel and has strong antiseptic properties. The liquid can be used to maintain a corpse. There are also other possibilities for alchemical usage….”

There weren’t many people who fully understood what the prosecutor said. But Emma put it in layman’s terms, and soon many people started to nod.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please put your attention on ‘mokjung’. Mokjung can be obtained by burning and steaming a large amount of bucktree. Its main usage is as an antiseptic,” Emma said.

“What does that mean?”

“Just as it said. To prevent things from rotting.”

“Why is that important?”

“Does everyone know about mummy? It’s one of the ways to treat the dead in the ancient kingdom. They believe in an everlasting body and resurrection so they tried their best to keep the corpse in its original form as much as possible. But because the weather is hot and humid, the bodies rot easily. So, they paid close attention on embalming the corpses.”

“I remember seeing a mummy in a royal display.” The prosecutor nodded in agreement. Then many people seemed to remember and started chatting amongst themselves.

“Yes. The mummies they made were still in perfect shape even after thousands of years. But unfortunately, the ancient kingdom fell, and their way of making the mummy was not passed down. The alchemical researchers studied for a long time about the antiseptic that was used and they finally discovered a portion of it. It’s ‘mokjung’ that was made from bucktree.”

The prosecutor nodded after listening to Emma’s long explanation. “Well heard. But what does this have to do with Countess Karina?”

Emma’s eyes suddenly became sharp.