The thoughts that had occupied my mind last night didn't vanish, even after morning dawned.
I headed to the clinic as usual. The only patients remaining were those with minor ailments, people who were merely feeling a bit under the weather.
"It looks like we'll be finished by tomorrow," Bishop Jonas said, his eyes narrowing in a happy smile. I was glad the patients were recovering, but I felt a lingering sense of dissatisfaction, as if something had been left unfinished.
Since the Bishop and his staff could manage the few remaining cases, I was allowed to head out at noon.
Having something specific on my mind, I returned to the lord’s manor and sought out Count Soest.
"If it’s possible, could I see the letter from Marquis Ahrens? There’s something I’d like to confirm."
"There’s no problem with that at all. I’ll have it brought to you. Did you notice something?"
The Count called for a servant to retrieve the letter. I carefully checked the contents: the description of the men who had come to sell the grain, and the date the cheap wheat was believed to have entered Ahrensberg.
There was a specific date.
"...Could I also see the letter from Beckum?"
"Certainly."
The Count pulled another letter from his bookshelf. Looking through it, I immediately found what I was searching for: the date the burnt rye was thought to have entered that city. The letter noted they had cross-referenced the grain with their ledgers before destroying it.
"...Excuse me, but would you mind if I took a few notes?"
"Please, use these."
He handed me a pen and paper. I wrote the two dates down side-by-side.
"...Do you happen to know the exact date the tainted rye entered this city?"
"We’ve kept the ledgers. One moment... Ah, here it is."
The Count flipped through the ledger on his desk and quickly provided the date.
Now, three dates were lined up on the table.
There were twenty-seven days between the incidents in Ahrensberg and here. Between here and Beckum, there were twenty-eight days.
I recalled what Count Soest had said on our first day. He mentioned that merchants usually waited a month before circling back to the same village. He had argued that if they were sending out multiple wagons simultaneously, the base of operations should have been narrowed down by now.
That meant it was likely just one wagon. The same wagon was traveling back and forth between the base and the target cities. If that was the case, then maybe...
"Thank you very much. I’m going to think on this for a while."
I took my leave of Count Soest’s study.
◇◇◇
In the evening, I borrowed a map of the highways from Count Soest and spread it across the table. I called Anton over to assist me.
As I looked at the map, I felt a pang of worry. The lines were haphazard, and the forests and mountains were represented by simple illustrations. I wondered if it was really wise to try and measure anything with this.
"Anton, how accurate is this map?"
"It's quite accurate regarding the highways," Anton replied instantly. "Those who transport cargo keep a constant count of how many days it takes to travel from one point to another. Mistakes lead to financial losses, so the travel times are rarely wrong. Since the highway between Ahrensberg and Soest is mostly straight, the alignment of the two cities is likely exactly as shown."
"And outside the highways?"
"...Those are just pictures."
The three cities were all connected by the main highways. If that was the case, I could trust their relative positions.
What I couldn't trust was the terrain outside those lines. Unfortunately, that was exactly where I needed to look.
"How far does a merchant wagon travel in a day?"
"If it’s loaded with cargo, it doesn't move very fast. From Ahrensberg to here, I’d say it’s about six and a half days by wagon."
Anton was used to calculating logistics for his unit, so he could provide these figures without hesitation.
"What about the return trip? Since they’ve sold their goods and the wagon is lighter, wouldn't they be faster?"
"No. Ordinarily, wagons do not travel empty," Anton said, shaking his head. "No peddler simply sells their stock and returns empty-handed. It’s only commerce if you buy local goods to bring back. If a group were seen returning along the same road with an empty wagon, they would stand out at the inns."
So they had to maintain the pretense of being normal merchants. Furthermore, if they were hiding somewhere away from the public eye, they would have to transport all their own supplies from elsewhere.
Assuming the wagon was loaded both ways, I could assume the speed was constant.
"How far is one day's travel on this map?"
Anton traced the highway with his finger, stopping between two post towns.
"From departing at dawn until sunset, a loaded wagon would make it roughly this far."
I borrowed a piece of string, marked that length, and noted it down. This was one day's travel. Since it was measured by hand, it wasn't exact, but that was fine. I wasn't going to get a perfect result anyway.
"How long do you think it takes to load the wagon?"
"For a single wagon, it would take a day at most, provided they have the manpower."
"...Then let's assume it takes one day to load."
I used the long piece of string to represent the total number of days the wagon spent traveling.
I placed pins on Ahrensberg, Soest, and Beckum. I held the string down against the three pins, dividing it into segments.
The wagon would go to a city, load up back at the base, and then head to the next city. I adjusted the string, letting it out bit by bit so that the total length matched the number of days between deliveries, minus the day used for loading at the base.
I pulled the slack, sliding the intersection point across the map. I repeated the process several times, searching for the spot where the string would pull taut between the cities and a central point simultaneously.
I found two potential locations. One was far to the north. The other was much further south than Soest.
"I wonder which one it is..."
Then, a memory surfaced.
It was from my conversation with the Marquis in Ahrensberg. When I had suggested that the poisoned rye might be grown in a hidden location, the Marquis had muttered, "A hidden field?" and glanced out the window toward the mountains. He mentioned that someone from the cold mountain regions had recognized the black grains.
"Anton, which way are the mountains?"
"To the north," Anton said, tracing the top of the map. "The Marquisate extends quite far to the west of the highway, and the northern border is entirely mountainous."
I eliminated the southern option.
What remained was a point about ten days north of Ahrensberg. It was deep in the mountains, situated slightly to the west of the main highway.
◇◇◇
Just as the Bishop had predicted, our work at the clinic concluded the following day.
The sound of sheets being stripped and folded was the only thing that echoed through the now-empty building.
When we stepped outside, a crowd had gathered along the street. Though no one had ordered it, the people stood in silence and bowed their heads as one. Bishop Jonas stood before us and offered a heartfelt speech of gratitude.
Moritz stepped forward to face me.
He hadn't been able to meet my eyes for the past few days, but now he stood tall and looked me directly in the face.
"...White Angel. Um, about your... your future plans."
His voice sounded strained, as if he were forcing the words out. Before I could answer, Big Sister Therese spoke up from beside me.
"This child will be traveling the country with me for a while as part of his training. Because of that, I’m afraid you won't be able to get in touch with him."
She wore her usual, gentle smile.
"I see... Do you have any plans to settle down somewhere eventually? In a specific Count's territory, perhaps?"
"No, nothing has been decided yet."
Moritz’s expression shifted into a complex mixture of relief and lingering sadness. He pulled himself together, however, and looked at me with renewed intensity.
"White Angel, once you have a permanent residence, will you please send me a letter? I will definitely... definitely come to see you!"
I felt a twinge of guilt seeing him so determined, especially since the "White Angel" persona was only temporary.
"I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’ll write if the opportunity arises," I replied.
The sheer joy that lit up his face at my non-committal answer left me feeling even more conflicted.
◇◇◇
That evening, the Laufen unit returned to the manor.
Immediately upon arriving in Soest, Katia and her men had gone out to patrol the neighboring villages, searching for the wagon responsible for spreading the poison.
"We didn't find anything," Katia said the moment she dismounted. "Continuing the patrol wouldn't have changed anything, so we decided to head back. I heard the medical treatments here are finished as well."
Lutz stood behind her, looking like he wanted to add something, but he ultimately remained silent and let her speak.
"I'm sorry. I feel like you've been adjusting your schedule to match mine."
"Don't worry about it; this is for our sake too. If we don't resolve this, things are going to get disastrous. Our grain stockpiles are already being depleted."
"If you say so..."
The conversation naturally turned to our journey home.
We would leave Soest and head north along the highway, passing through Ahrensberg on our way back to Werl. Katia and her group would be taking the same route even further north toward the border. We would be traveling together for a good portion of the trip.
I thought back to the map from yesterday.
The location I had marked was only slightly to the west of that very highway. With our carriage, it was only two or three days away.
I decided that, once we were on the road, I would suggest a small detour.