🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 76
“Are you talking about that child? But why did Lord Arkel bring it here himself?”
“Exactly. I’d say that little one is the only kid in existence who can send the Tower Master on errands.”
Arkel let out a booming laugh.
He slid the wooden box smoothly toward Elbadin and continued.
“She said I should deliver it personally, but in the end, she insisted I give it to you. Probably because she was too shy to hand it over herself.”
At that, Elbadin chuckled.
“You’ve misunderstood. That child usually avoids me.”
“What? Lucilea? She doesn’t seem to fear you like the other kids.”
“Yes. She doesn’t avoid me out of fear. If anything, she talks back to me quite often.”
“Then why…?”
“Well. I’d like to know the reason myself.”
A sigh-laced laugh slipped between Elbadin’s teeth.
He pulled the wooden box closer and lifted the lid.
Inside were two neatly placed glass bottles, filled with liquid the color of dawn light.
A faint herbal fragrance spread gently through the office.
Elbadin picked up one of the bottles.
Arkel’s eyes crinkled as he looked at it, smiling with pride.
“She calls it Silent Night, Holy Night.”
“…What?”
When Elbadin gave him a puzzled look, Arkel burst into laughter.
“That’s the name she gave it. Silent Night, Holy Night. You should’ve seen her face—so serious about it that I couldn’t help but laugh.”
He added that he still couldn’t keep from chuckling whenever he remembered it.
“Is it some sort of sleeping draught?”
“Oh? How did you know?”
“…”
Elbadin frowned as he studied the potion.
Amused by his reaction, Arkel let out another quiet laugh.
“No need to doubt it so much. I tried it myself and confirmed the effects.”
Arkel went on.
“Lucilea said she noticed Your Grace barely sleeps. She also understands that being a Grand Duke means you have to work even at the cost of rest.”
So, Lucilea crafted a potion that would restore half a day’s worth of rest with just one hour of sleep.
‘Tell him he should invest at least an hour in his health!’
She had said that firmly, not forgetting to add her bold little request.
Elbadin tilted his head.
“Is such a thing possible?”
“It seems so.”
Most sleeping draughts simply forced the user into slumber, always with side effects.
The result was intense headaches and lingering fatigue, leaving the person unrested even after sleep.
But Lucilea’s potion had no such drawbacks. With only an hour of deep sleep, all weariness vanished.
It was a potion made solely with Elbadin in mind.
Arkel was astonished at Lucilea’s knowledge of herbs.
He had never needed to teach her anything from scratch. Her understanding of blending ingredients was already remarkably high.
Elbadin nodded.
“I’ve heard she learned from the grandmother who raised her.”
“In any case, she has a solid foundation. Potions are like food—you make them with the person who will take them in mind. That, I’d say, is the greatest virtue an alchemist can have.”
“…”
Made with the person who will take it in mind…
Elbadin quietly lowered his gaze to the potion in his hand.
His faint reflection shimmered on the glass.
And along with it, he recalled Lucilea’s mischievous smile.
Before he realized it, a smile slipped across his own lips.
***
At the same time.
Lucilea had gone to find Serdian, Irnel, and Kaelyn to hand over the potions she’d prepared for them.
The children were all equally flustered, though secretly delighted.
Of course! Do they even know how much those are worth?!
The time and cost of ingredients were no joke.
The herbs hadn’t grown enough yet for her to be self-sufficient.
And it’s not just herbs I used, either.
The potion she gave Serdian included basilisk scales, while those for Irnel and Kaelyn had spores from a moonlight mushroom.
Each ingredient was outrageously expensive.
Most of the gold she received as stipends and prize money had gone into those materials.
And here I was thinking thirty gold made me rich. I really need to reflect.
She should have realized it earlier, when Noah had sold her a stamina potion for two gold before their training trip…
Alchemy really does burn through money…
Still, it wasn’t as if she planned to make potions at a loss.
Back in her lab, Lucilea slid a footstool under the table.
Climbing onto it, she opened the supply box resting on the worktable.
Inside, preserved with magic, were heaps of leftover ingredients.
A single basilisk scale cost five gold, but with one scale she could make five potions worth two gold each. Hardly a deficit.
Assuming, of course, there were no failures.
Hehehe.
There’s no such word as failure in my dictionary!
Lucilea grinned wickedly.
Just then—knock, knock.
Someone had come to her lab.
“Come in!”
The door creaked open, and May stepped inside.
“I’m back, Lady Lucilea.”
“Mm!”
She’d been out walking Cookie in the glass garden.
The little creature perched on May’s shoulder fluttered over and landed squarely on Lucilea’s head.
“Hey! Cookie! I told you not to fly around in the lab!”
[Telling a bird not to fly is nonsense!]
“You always said you prefer running on the ground, didn’t you?”
[W-well, that’s…!]
“In the lab, you walk.”
[…]
“Answer.”
[Fiiine…]
Cookie sulked, sticking out its tiny beak.
“…”
May gave them both a sidelong glance.
Every time this happens, it really does feel like they’re having a conversation.
To her ears, it was just chirps and squawks…
But sure enough, Cookie folded its wings and began trotting across the floor on spindly legs.
May felt disoriented.
Maybe it was because of the story she’d heard about Lucilea and the griffin—she couldn’t shake the sense that they truly communicated.
Then, Lucilea pulled out a wooden box and held it out to May.
“Hm?” May glanced down at the box, then up at Lucilea.
Lucilea beamed.
“This is for you, May—a gift!”
“M-my… gift?”
“Yup!”
She went on brightly.
“I’ve always been receiving help from you and eating your food. So this time I made something for you! This potion is only for you. My potions aren’t mass-produced—they’re customized, tailored to each person!”
Her face glowed with pride, like someone boasting about a custom-made dress.
“…”
May looked just as bewildered as the other children had.
Her expression said: Why me?
She stared blankly down at the box.
Lucilea scratched her cheek, glancing aside.
Ahem. Now I feel embarrassed…
She forced a big grin.
“Oh, it’s nothing fancy! Not super expensive or anything! Just use it when you need to!”
It was actually the same top-grade stamina potion she’d given Serdian.
But she’d added a special ingredient just for May.
“Y-you need to move quickly for your work, right?”
“…”
May’s usually gentle eyes stiffened slightly.
“What do you…?”
The constant smile on her lips slowly faded.
Lucilea blinked innocently, tilting her head.
“Maids are supposed to be agile, aren’t they?”
“…”
“I’ve seen you and the other maids rushing from the main hall to the east wing to the west wing—so fast, so full of energy!”
Lucilea puffed out her chest, chin lifted in triumph.
“So I put dragonfly wings into this potion—specifically Misty Dragonfly wings! Just for you, May! So you can be even faster than the other maids!”
She explained that drinking it when injured would heal wounds, but if taken beforehand, it would make the body feel lighter and quicker.
Hehehe. Lucilea grinned harmlessly.
Finally, May’s smile returned.
“Thank you, Lady Lucilea. I’ll treasure it.”
“Nope! For you, it’s free for life! Don’t save it—use it whenever you need it!”
That way you won’t get hurt!
“But in exchange, when I open my potion shop, you have to promote it lots, okay?”
Got it?!
“…”
May nodded slowly.
Her lips trembled ever so faintly, though her smile remained.
“Yes… I promise, Lady Lucilea. I’ll be your very first regular customer.”
“Wow! Perfect!”
“Promise!”
They hooked their pinkies together and burst into laughter.
***
That night.
Lucilea lay in bed, staring quietly up at the ceiling.
Thanks to Grandpa Arkel, I can make most potions now…
But still. Something was missing.
Arkel had said that in terms of quality, she could already start selling.
And with Elbadin’s help, she’d already found a trading company willing to handle sales.
The herbs are growing well, and with the gold I have left, I can secure more ingredients for a while.
She’d need extra hands for mass production, but even that seemed possible with the Grand Duke’s household’s support.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
These potions won’t cut it.
In her mind, she already saw herself selling potions for huge sums, proudly leaving the Grand Duke’s estate, and opening a grand potion shop under her own name.
But with common, ordinary potions—the same ones anyone could make—there was no way she’d reach that dream.
Not just the ones already on the market.
She needed potions more special, more rare.
Potions that everyone in the world would desire.
Lucilea’s eyes shone with a new determination.
