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Chapter 35
Uncle, too, stood up with a suspicious—almost eerie—laugh and returned with a black box.
“Kehehe… hahahaha! Adele! Just like you said! Black ginseng—it really exists!”
With each step, the corners of his mouth twitched, and finally he burst into excited laughter as he handed me the box.
The box itself, lacquered and decorated with shells, already looked like a treasure.
But what was inside was something far more valuable—something beyond comparison.
“This is….”
“The black ginseng from Gauri you were looking for. Steamed nine times and dried nine times.”
When I opened the box, there were shriveled, black pieces that looked like dried wood.
But unlike their rotten appearance, the scent they carried was extraordinary.
‘Ah… it smells like a herbal clinic.’
I took a deep breath, and the unique scent spread through my chest, making me feel healthier somehow.
This was enough. With this, Mother could recover.
“Thank you so much. Was it difficult to obtain?”
“Hm? Well… it’s definitely not something you can easily find in a market.”
“Then… don’t tell me… smugg—?”
“Ahem! Where would you find a more honest merchant than me? I simply maintained good relationships with local officials for times like this.”
For a moment, it felt like I had been hit on the head.
He spoke as if it was nothing, but I knew those “relationships” weren’t built over friendly board games.
Alcohol, money, and pride thrown away without hesitation… maybe even more things I didn’t know.
This black ginseng was something that required calling in all those connections.
“…You bought it from a market, right?”
“Hm?”
“From a shop in the market, right?”
“Oh, this wine is good. Wine should be drunk pure, not mixed with water.”
He avoided my question to the end.
At the very least, it clearly wasn’t something he bought casually in broad daylight.
Which meant, in the worst case, he might have even risked those valuable relationships—or his safety.
He had risked his life once crossing the sea… and again to get this.
Only then did gratitude, guilt, and regret crash over me.
“Ah… Adele?”
Hot drops fell onto the back of my hand. Afraid the ginseng might get wet, I quickly set the box down.
“…Thank you… thank you so much….”
My voice trembled terribly. My vision blurred with tears, and I could barely see his face.
If something had gone wrong—if he had been accused of smuggling and never returned—I would never have been able to face Felix again.
What if it had been Father instead of him? Would I have been this simply happy?
‘And I asked for this… like it was just a product…!’
“Adele, Adele? Stop! You have to stop crying! This will cure your mother! Please… stop crying, okay? If you cry like this, how am I supposed to face your father? Do you want to see me beaten to death?”
“…Waaah…!”
Instead of calming me down, his words made me cry even harder.
In this life too, I had received a debt I could never repay.
So I would repay it for the rest of my life.
I made that promise willingly.
* * *
“Eleanor… how is your fever? Can you… eat dinner?”
“…Ha… ha… I have to eat… to have strength…”
Eleanor slowly sat up in bed with Charles supporting her. Her pale face was covered in cold sweat.
“I’m sorry… I think I got too excited these past few days…”
After going out for the first time in a long while, she had continued going out—and even rode the bicycle recently.
Believing she had recovered, she had overexerted herself.
Now, she was paying the price.
Seeing her struggle even to breathe, Charles clenched the bedsheets.
When the maid brought clear chicken soup and soft bread, Charles took the spoon himself.
“Here, say ‘ah.’”
“I can eat on my own…”
Though she complained softly, Eleanor didn’t refuse his affection.
Seeing the loving couple, the maid smiled quietly and returned to the kitchen.
“Ah! What is this smell?!”
But instead of the gentle aroma of warm soup, the kitchen was filled with a terrible, indescribable smell.
“M-Miss Adele? What are you doing here? And what is this smell?”
At the center of it all stood the young lady of the house.
She stood firmly in front of the stove like a guard, fanning it continuously.
The maid looked at the others for explanation.
‘What is that?’
‘I’m not sure. She said she’s boiling herbs from the East.’
‘Monsieur Hedevo brought medicine from the East to cure Madam.’
What kind of herb could smell this awful?
Unable to resist, the maid carefully approached Adelaide.
“Gasp! M-Miss! That’s rotten wood!”
Inside the pot was a black, twisted root boiling fiercely.
“Rotten? This single root is more expensive than gold of the same size. You couldn’t buy it even if you tried.”
At Adele’s serious response, the maid was even more shocked.
‘This is that expensive? It just looks like a rotten root…’
The liquid made from it was just as black.
It looked like something that would make you sicker, not better.
‘C-Could Monsieur Hedevo…? No… it can’t be him.’
He was a close friend of the master—he wouldn’t deceive his friend’s daughter.
The maid shook her head to dismiss the thought.
“No matter how I look at it, it just seems like a root pulled from the bottom of a swamp… I don’t understand what it’s supposed to do…”
She hesitated nervously, but instead of scolding her, Adelaide cleared her throat.
“As for the effects of black ginseng—first, it boosts immunity, helps with blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. It’s also good for menopause, relieves fatigue in children, slows aging in the elderly, and even has anti-cancer effects…”
As she counted on her fingers, Adelaide suddenly stopped and closed her mouth.
The servants were all murmuring in confusion—“What’s cholesterol?”
This was the mansion kitchen, not a holiday ginseng sales booth.
“…Anyway! It’s basically a cure-all.”
“Really…?”
The maid still looked doubtful.
