Chapter 9: Frostwind Corpse Flower
Chapter 9: Frostwind Corpse Flower
Carl looked back at Milton in confusion.
But there is nothing to say about Milton.
Nero soon returned, bringing a total of five books, two thin and three thick, in his left hand and placing them in front of Carl.
"If known medicine doesn't work, what about poison?"
Then he flips through the book and opens it. Surprisingly, he seems to remember almost exactly what information is written in which book.
Milton peeks his head out, looks at Ias' description of the poison, and shakes his head.
"It is a poison that cools the body and kills it when ingested, but essentially it only acts to stop metabolism."
"Then how about this?"
"The reason the skin turns blue and black and becomes cold is not because the fever has gone down, but because blood flow stops and the tissue dies."
It goes without saying that treatment is possible only if you know poison as much as you know medicine.
These are all things that Milton also knew.
Carl prayerfully looked at the thin books that Nero had brought that seemed to have written mysterious stories like fairy tales rather than books about medicine and poison.
He wish there was a story about it there...
"hmm… then…."
Nero hesitated a little and fiddled with two thin books.
"… First of all, it's not a joke, but I hope you doesn't take it so seriously."
Nero said so and opened the book.
"It's a story about Kuhaln, the protagonist of the legend of the Balturan people of the North."
.
Even after hearing those words, Carl could not react in any way. All he knows is the name of the medicine used to treat it and what happens when ingested.
However, the book-loving librarians working at the Imperial Library are nodding amongst themselves as if they know something.
"Kuhaln was killed by the frost fairy who loved him. Kuhaln drank water from the Sprout Spring, which is said to keep the drinker's body healthy forever, so even if he got a wound, it quickly healed."
"Hmm… ."
Nero was a little excited by the interesting legend, and even when Milton cleared his throat to warn him, he didn't even seem to listen.
"The frost fairy wanted Kuhaln, so she stole the ever-burning fire from the dwarf in the basement and set fire to Kuhaln's back while he was sleeping."
"…Well that's horrible, Will that crazy fairy tale help cure my illness?"
Carl felt sceptical about Ias' story.
Couldn't he just want to talk about what he likes?
"So Kuhaln struggled in pain and tried to put out the fire somehow. But the fire did not go out, and because Kuharn drank water from the Sprout Spring, he did not burn to death. Then the Frost Fairy appeared, and he covered Kuharn with the moss he had grown to block the fire for a while."
Nero continued his story steadfastly despite Carl's words.
"And he whispered to Kuhaln, who was exhausted. The fire would burn forever and torment him, and it would be better for him to die. But dying was not easy for Kuhaln, and he fell into despair. At that time, the frost fairy gave Kuhaln a very beautiful flower and said,
Carl, who had been listening to the story in disappointment and fiddling with his pen, looks at Nero with wide eyes in surprise.
"'This is the Frostwind Corpse Flower I grew for you. If you eat this, you will die as ice that even the dwarf's eternal fire cannot melt.' Like this. It is said that Kuhaln ate the flower given to him by the Frost Fairy and turned it into ice that would never melt, leading to his death."
"The frost elf took possession of Kuhaln's frozen, unchanging body."
Nero stops talking and pauses for a moment.
Why were we talking about this?
"… Ah, so I thought it would be helpful if this Frostwind Corpse Flower actually existed."
Nero, who made eye contact with Carl who was looking at him, remembered Carl's illness and smiled awkwardly.
Nero had read Kuhaln's story with great interest, so he felt a little embarrassed for rambling.
"… Why are you looking at me like that?"
Nero tilted his head as he looked at Carl green eyes staring at him in surprise.
"How can I get that?"
Carl swallows, licks his lips, and speaks in a trembling voice.
"I'm serious! Is this just a legend?"
Carl tried to control his excitement and smiled softly.
"Rather than just letting go, wouldn't it be better to at least try to walk on the flowers of absurd legends?"
Of course, Carl knows.
No, Lucas Voss, who read 'The Cold-Blooded Emperor Rules', knows.
I don't know if Kuharn and the Frost Fairy actually existed, but I do know that the Frostwind Corpse Flower does exist.
That's because there was an chapter where Adrian saved the flower, revived a sick person, and accepted him as his subordinate!
Everyone looked at Carl's as if it were absurd when he said that he would risk his life for the legend of a distant northern people. Nero was no different.
Of course, no one even thought that such a flower existed, and even when asked how to get it, there was no answer.
However, it was enough for Carl to hear about the existence of the Frostwind Corpse Flower through Ias.
I even heard that it was a legend of the Balturan people of the north.
Then all that's left is to find the flowers.
And although Carl didn't know how to get flowers, there was something he could use in times like this.
Carl is anxious and on the verge of death, but that doesn't mean he has no plans to give up.
It may not be the emperor, but there would be no harm in the family of Carl's mother, Diana, if Carl, the prince, recovered.
Let's use Diana family crest to get the flower.