Chapter 57

Still, the ritual was somehow completed.

Because the chosen beast was a winged white horse, the conclusion was that the mythical creature drove out the demons and sacrificed itself to return to the arms of God.

I’m sure it’s a good thing.

“Anyway, I’m glad you just caught a cold. I heard there were so many scary animals and you went in there.”

“Aaron took good care of me. And I wasn’t the only one who went in. People who didn’t know anything about swords or magic joined to watch.”

“That’s why all the people who got hurt are normal.”

If you say so. I have nothing to say.

“I’m sorry. I didn;t mean to be presumptuous. However…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t go in next time.”

Even if Duroa had the opportunity to talk to Nocton’s mother instead of Nocton himself, she wouldn’t have to enter the forest.

Only then did Sadie leave the room happily, nodding her head.

The door closed and Duroa looked down at the cup Sadie gave her.

It was a tea good for colds, so Nocton was the first thing that came to her mind.

It wasn’t just about the cup.

A side effect of being together for a long time was that most objects had stories related to Nocton.

Everywhere Duroa looked, she would see his face.

Even if it hurt, she still remembered everything.

Nocton’s face seemed to be reflected on top of the tea.

Several things passed through Duroa’s mind.

Nocton suddenly came to the Marquis of Valrose and gave her an invitation to his tea party, ran into Aaron in the drawing room, caught her at the imperial ball, and what happened at the hunting contest.

Since last fall, Duroa had been suspecting him after what Alice said, but the real change had already happened before then.

For a long time, Duroa was building up the confidence to stay away from Nocton so she wouldn’t be caught.

Duroa felt empty, as if there was a big hole in her chest.

She wasn’t sure, but it was probably a hole that wasn’t going to be filled anytime soon.

If Duroa wasn’t going to see Nocton’s face for a while, she would recover quickly. However, it was hard to look forward to that when she remembered his last words before he left.

‘See you again, Duroa.’

Was that the end?

Could it be that was the end of her brainwashing with the name of Valrose?

Nocton admitted that he had brainwashed Duroa, but nothing happened when the magic was released.

If the brainwash disappeared, as he said, when did it happen?

Maybe, around the time Duroa was thinking of leaving Nocton? Was it around that time?

Was that the reason Duroa thought she should leave him?

As she tilted the teacup in frustration, she suddenly remembered something and glanced to the side.

Duroa could see the books that Alice had given her.

Come to think of it, I haven’t read a book about magic potions.

With the sudden death of the Emperor, the funeral, the coronation, and the hunting contest, Duroa was busy being dragged around.

Why did the Emperor die?

Duroa was so immersed in her emotions that she didn’t think deeply about the original story, but the gap between the original and the reality grew while she wasn’t paying attention.

Now, what does it matter how much of the original story is reproduced?

She closed her eyes for a moment because of the sudden dizziness.

As her vision went black, she thought:

Do I really have to run away now?

Shall I go to the Marquisate?

It seemed that it was too late to keep the marriageable age anyway, and she didn’t have a partner.

Duroa had only broken up with Aaron, and frankly, she didn’t even want to get married.

Later on, even if Duroa went back to the capital, she wanted to forget everything and go down to the estate and rest for a while.

It was an impulsive thought, but there was no reason to correct it. So she decided to bring it up when her parents returned.

Before that, there was nothing for her to do so she opened the magic potions book.

Duroa didn’t want to take those damned Nocton Edgar exclusive books to the estate.

That was because, despite Alice’s sincerity when giving her those books, Duroa couldn’t stand looking at them.

<Magic Potions from the Great Sage Parmanga. Volume One.>

It was terrifyingly thick.

Fortunately, it was easier to read than the black magic books.

First of all, there were many paintings and the sentences were easy and concise.

Duroa felt it while she was looking for the Thread of Memories before, but there were many novel types of magic potions.

When she was young, Duroa thought magic was simply put in a potion, but there were many things that couldn’t be solved with magic, but it could be solved with a potion.

I wonder if the Thread of Memories is also written here?

After turning the pages, a familiar name came up.

[The Thread of Memories.]

Of course, it’s a famous potion so it would be there.

Duroa smiled but then stopped at the sight of a nearly white, purple liquid.

Why is the color so light?

As far as Duroa could remember, it was darker than Nocton’s eyes, but does it differ depending on the manufacturing method?

Or was it just less colored?

Feeling somewhat suspicious, Duroa slowly read the explanation below.

[The Thread of Memories.

Basically a white liquid.

It may have a faint purple or pink color, but the lighter the color, the better the potion.

It should be as thin as water, look like milk, and be sweet like honey.]

The liquid was supposed to be colored, but the explanation was different.

Duroa recalled the texture as rather sticky and tasteless.

It felt like drinking sticky water, but it was actually like honey-flavoured milk.

The content could have been different because it was simply made incorrectly, but the line “If the color is darker than the flowers, it will not have any effect” caught her eye.

If she really drank the incorrectly made Thread of Memories then it shouldn’t have had any effect.

A sudden idea came to mind, and she quickly started turning the pages.

There was only one thing Duroa was looking for.

A light, purple and viscous liquid like the one she drank.

It may have been an exaggeration, but Duroa was convinced.

The moment she turned the third to last page, she found what she was looking for.

[Imperfectio.

Violet, purple liquid.

It is slightly viscous and has no odor or taste.

… …]

Duroa’s eyes quickly read through the letters and as soon as she finally reached the end of the page, she rang the bell next to her bed.

“Call Duvel, quickly!”

[… … In 136, it was developed by Zerodial, a dark magician, causing great damage to the eastern part of the continent.

It cannot be recorded in detail because it is a taboo elixir in the empire, but it is a potion that manipulates memory, so strict treatment is needed.]

***

“A trustworthy man! He’s a trader who deals with Valrose on a regular basis, and the potion has been swapped! I-I’m sure I did a poison test before giving it to you. Even then, there was nothing wrong.”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not poison, it’s not definite, at least. Can you get in touch with him?”

“He said he would go back to his hometown when the trade was over. He said it would be difficult to see him again.”

“Was there anything strange about him? Was he covering his face or something?”

“I could clearly see his face, but his voice… it was a little rough. I thought it was because he had a cold…”

As he spoke, the butler’s face turned blue as if he realized something strange.

Yes, he even changed his face.

Then Duroa wouldn’t blame Duvel for not noticing.

Although he had become quite experienced working as a butler for a long time, he was nonetheless a naive man.

He made sure it wasn’t poisonous, so he thought everything was safe.

Actually, so did Duroa.

She was worried that it was going to cost her a lot of money, but never did she think what she bought was fake.

The probability that the potion Duroa drank was Imperfectio, not the Thread of Memories, increased.

A potion that manipulates memory, though it didn’t really hit her.

To what extent was Duroa’s memory manipulated and who changed the potions?

Was it Nocton’s fault again? If not…

Her mind was tangled in a mess.

“I thought I was lucky enough to get the Thread of Memories in a day, but it wasn’t out of luck…. I’ll find him! I’ll find him somehow and learn the truth!”

“Don’t do that, Duvel. I think the person who came to trade with you was replaced. How would you find him if he already fled?”

“Believe me, Young Lady! I would never do that on purpose! I-I have been loyal to the Valroses for decades, I wouldn’t do that!”

Duvel shouted desperately, his face turning red and the veins on his neck were prominent.

“I’ll find him somehow. Even if he’s dead, I’ll find his body, my Lady.”

Duroa shook her head without a word.

There was no way Duvel could find the trader, and it was meaningless to look for him.

After all, the fake trader was just an errand boy.

“Trust me, Duvel.”

“Young Lady…”

“I’m not joking, I’m serious. If you had deliberately swapped potions, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Duroa didn’t even want to blame him.

If he had been given a different potion as soon as he found the Thread of Memories, the item would have had to be ready from the beginning.

Even if Duvel didn’t find the Thread of Memories, it would have made its way in Duroa’s mouth one way or another.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t poison so it would be easy to pass the poison test, so it could’ve been put in Duroa’s cup anytime.

The possibility would be lower than swapping potions, but Duroa wouldn’t have been too careful in any situation if she was never prepared for the danger of assassination.

Because of that, Duroa thought for a moment that she was immature, but the headache from the cold only got worse so she couldn’t think about it any longer.

Let’s clean up now and learn more after the cold is over.

Pointing at her throbbing head, she turned to Duvel who was contemplating.

“Let’s keep it a secret from my family for now—”

“No, I can’t do that!”

“Duvel, this is no easy task. If you don’t do well, being fired won’t be the only thing that will happen. This is really… maybe it’s another potion!”

“It’s just as Lady Duroa said. I don’t know what the potion was replaced with, but if it was the wrong one, the Young Lady could’ve been seriously injured. If something had gone wrong, even your life…”

Duroa tried to talk back, but she lost her words at the sight of the old man covering his face with trembling hands.

“Lady Alloy was right. I’ve done things I shouldn’t have done as a butler. Still, the disposition was only a few months of probation and I avoided doing anything wrong. I can’t do that. I have to take responsibility.”

“It’s not your fault…!”

At that moment, a knock on the door cut her off.

It was Sadie.

“Sadie, I’m sorry, but we’re talking about something important.”

“Young Lady. Duke Edgar has come accompanied by his knights.”