CH 37

Naturally, there was no answer to Themis’s question. Elodie was in a state of unconsciousness.

The shock hit Themis to the point where it was hard to continue talking. She couldn’t stop the negative thoughts from flowing even when she told herself that what she was thinking couldn’t be true.

Themis burst into dejected laughter and looked around the room. This time, things that were invisible before became clear to her eyes.

‘That familiar bottle. It’s an antidote.’

Empty and full bottles of the antidote that Elodie always brought were sorted. There was nothing else. None of the items it takes to actually make an antidote.

Only Themis’s poison, empty bottles, and antidotes.

As she witnessed the situation, the doubts she had felt all along were resolved one by one.

“I think it’s the power to ‘destroy’ the toxicity of poison.”

Themis recalled Elodie, who confidently said that Perdia’s power had blossomed this time.

“I don’t want to cause any misunderstanding.”

“So, you don’t have to worry.”

The way she was scared, thinking that the manifestation of her power might threaten Jansi and Carlot.

“Okay. I would like to buy the antidote preparation method; would that be difficult?”

“Uh……yes. It’s a trade secret.”

When asked for the preparation method, Elodie’s reaction was strange. The child who boasted that she would be a good partner, but desperately hid the preparation method.

At the same time, it bothered her to see that Elodie wiggled with her hands, avoiding her gaze as if she was anxious, but she believed in her and left it alone.

The result of that belief was this situation.

‘I never thought it would be a power where you have to drink it yourself.’

It’s crazy. She felt frustrated because she had been foolish and stupid.

Themis had no idea what Elodie was thinking.

‘Why are you so desperate?’

What drove this child to this extent?

Themis Perdia was a competent poisoner. As such, she knew better than anyone how strong and vicious the poison she made was.

Looking at Elodie, who was unconscious, it was possible to deduce that she instead suffered as much as the poison was strong.

Among them was a poison that could lead to death within a few minutes with a very small intake, and she drank it.

Hah.

The more she identified her poisons one by one, the more upset she was instead of calming down.

Unfortunately, while Themis was still working on controlling her emotions, Elodie’s eyelids trembled and then light pink eyes appeared.

“Duchess……?”

***

‘What’s that? Is this a dream?’

I, still in a daze due to the overlap of poison and sleep, could not immediately grasp the situation.

‘It looks like the duchess is in front of me…..?’

It must be a dream, since the duchess would never come to the mercenary headquarters, but strangely, the reality in front of me was clear.

What’s even more surprising was–

“Elodie Perdia!”

It was Themis, looking coldly at me while calling my name.

I flinched and raised my upper body. My spinning head and infinitely heavy body proved that this was not a dream.

What is going on here?

It was the first time I had seen the duchess shouting at me, so I was even more bewildered.

Themis asked heatedly, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Huh?”

“To make an antidote, you have to drink its poison first.”

“Ah, that’s …….!”

I tried to explain it as a misunderstanding, so I bit my lips and blurted out words after making eye contact with the unconvinced Themis. But, my transgressions were so clear in what the objects in this room represented. I couldn’t get out of it.

“I didn’t tell you that…..”

In case you find out that this power is not “destruction” but “purification”.

Then it will be discovered that I am not the real daughter of the Duke of Perdia.

It was just that.

But I couldn’t explain it to the duchess. This fact should not be revealed at all costs.

‘I just… I wanted to leave quietly…..’

I kept my mouth shut and bowed my head. My hands trembled slightly in fear of getting caught at this rate.

***

Themis looked down at Elodie. Even her trembling hands.

Elodie’s face was pale, still tinged with poison.

Enduring the pain of drinking poison, all because Elodie wanted money. An amount of money that was too small for Themis to even seem like money.

‘You’re going to poison yourself just to get money in your hands?’

The more she thought about it, the more she was dumbfounded.

Without knowing anything, Themis had told Elodie.

“I think I need a little more, is that possible?”

……she said it.

She didn’t mean to but she indirectly was urging her to drink poison.

After a short thought, Themis sighed and declared.

“Our deal is over, Elodie.”

“………!”

Elodie opened her eyes wide and raised her head.

“But you need a competent pharmacist.”

“Of course, it is necessary.”

“If you cut off the deal like this, you’ll lose your pharmacist, are you sure you’re okay?”

Elodie desperately tried to prove herself useful, but Themis was stubborn.

“I don’t have a hobby of poisoning my children.”

“Your child…..?”

“…..Elodie, you think you don’t deserve anything.”

What the heck does that mean? The words appeared to be written on Elodie’s face. 

She tried to ask back, but Themis spoke faster.

“Elodie, please refrain from using your power in the future.”

“But–”

“There is no but. From now on, I will interfere with you, Elodie. So that you can not drink any poison.”

All of Themis’s words were forgotten after she told Elodie not to use her power.

Themis asked with a smile.

“Can you deal with me like this?”

***

I shook my head helplessly.

‘There’s no way I could deal with the duchess like that.’

But the banning of my power, my power…..!

Themis saw my expression, which seemed to have a lot to say, and drove in a wedge.

“If you drink poison again, I will tell your father everything.”

Gasp……it felt like a thunderbolt hitting my head.

‘The duchess is interfering with my independence.’

While I was wondering how to persuade her, Themis looked at me with a serious face.

“Elodie, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I wonder why you need money.”

I had an excuse I had long thought about to answer such a question. So, my answer was fixed from the start.

However, I felt that I didn’t want to continue to be silent or lie.

So, I replied rather impulsively.

“…..I’m trying to be independent.”

“……”

***

There was an uncomfortable silence.

The duchess looked down at Elodie with a puzzled look on her face.

‘Independence…..’

Themis’s mind became complicated.

Independence– at that word she understood all of Elodie’s strange behaviors.

She suddenly stopped being rude and shut herself up in the annex. 

No matter how Jansi and Carlot behaved, she was just aloof.

For the first time, Elodie came to Themis and talked to her without hesitation.

Rejecting her husband’s offer to enter the main mansion.

Desperately saving money by making antidotes.

Everyone thought Elodie had changed positively, but that wasn’t it.

When Elodie first told Themis about the blooming of her power, Elodie spoke calmly.

“I’m good at understanding my place, even though I look like this.”

She said she was good at grasping her place as an illegitimate child.

“I don’t want to cause any misunderstanding.”

“So, you don’t have to worry.”

Elodie said she wouldn’t disturb Jansi and Carlot, so Themis didn’t have to worry.

‘I wonder if it was since then.’

Elodie gave up on belonging to Perdia. 

She was getting ready to leave.

She didn’t want anything anymore, so there was no need to get angry.

After realizing all of this, Themis couldn’t bear to look at Elodie’s face.

The reason why Elodie gave up was probably, in small part, Themis’s fault.

Themis knew that Elodie was afraid of her, but she never tried to approach her first.

This is because when Elodie first came to this mansion, Themis had made a sort of promise to her husband.

Among the conditions, there was also content related to Elodie.

[I will not get involved in anything related to Elodie Perdia.]

So, Themis was not qualified. She didn’t have any eligibility to play the role of a mother in place of her missing biological mother.

‘You must be tired. You must have been lonely.’

Originally small, Elodie’s body looked thinner today.

However, Themis couldn’t hug Elodie.

Instead, she spoke with her usual rather arrogant duchess face.

“Yes, independence. I won’t stop you from becoming independent. You’ll be an adult after the coming-of-age ceremony soon, so Elodie you must have thought about it. But I can’t cooperate with this method.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you beforehand.”

Elodie hesitated and apologized to Themis.

Seeing the look on Elodie’s face, Themis suddenly opened her mouth.

“I heard that you refused when your father asked you to come into the main mansion.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Is it because of me?”

Elodie’s eyes trembled mercilessly at the unanswered question.

“Ah, no. If I come in now, everyone will be uncomfortable-”

“I’m asking your opinion, Elodie,” Themis asked again, cutting off Elodie’s words.

Elodie, who hesitated for a moment, nodded quietly.

“…….It’s just not comfortable.”

Themis smiled lightly and nodded. She got the honest answer she had hoped for.

“Yes, then I should make it comfortable…..”

Elodie, who couldn’t hear the small murmur, tilted her head and asked back.

“What did you just say?”

“It’s nothing. Now, shall we go home?”

“Yes, wait a minute….!”

Themis concocted several plans in her head while waiting for Elodie, who began to pack up the bottles of poison and antidotes.

‘Hasn’t it been a while since my blood boiled like this?’ 

As she thought of a plan to ruin Elodie’s independence.

***

I lost my job.

‘No, in this case I should say I lost my client.’

I lost something either way….

In the future, since I can’t make any more antidote, I won’t be able to earn money, and if that happens, I won’t be able to collect funds for independence, and on that day it comes out that I’m not the real daughter of Duke Perdia…..

“I’m going to die…….”

Now all I can trust is the money I’ve invested in the wizard Elby, or, as I know now, Isis the Master of the Magic Tower.

How do I roll it so that it can be called a lot of money in three years?

The moment I was about to get lost in my thoughts.

“What is dying?”

“Argh!”

I was startled by the sudden voice from the side. Carlot was sitting on a tree right next to the balcony. Whatever was going on, Carlot seemed to be in a good mood.

“Why are you at home today? Everyday I was wondering if you were with Ian or the Mercenary King and whether you’d go out to play with him or not.”

He sounded sarcastic, but why was he smiling?

Instead of answering Carlot’s question, I pointed out how he visited.

“Carl. A door is not a decoration.”

“This is also a door, Sister. The window.”

Answering like that, Carlot smiled brightly.

‘That’s cunning.’

I still hadn’t gotten used to seeing Carlot openly flattering me. When I sighed and pulled myself back, Carlot landed on the balcony and came inside.

“That’s not the problem, Sister. There is something that’s a big deal.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Today is family dinner day.”

Having already been notified by the butler yesterday, I nodded.

“Why is that such a big deal?”

I didn’t especially want to go to dinner, so from my point of view, I guess I could call it a big deal.

Carlot smiled and opened his mouth again this time, repeating, “It’s a big deal”.

“Mother said we should eat out,” he continued. 

“……!”

I was so shocked that I almost fell backwards.

Eating out?

With the people of Perdia……?!