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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: A Shared Taste
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A short while after Carius left.
A group of kind-looking maids came to Lellia’s room. The maid who seemed to be the highest in rank introduced herself as Becky.
The maids explained that if she needed anything, she could ring the bell on the table or pull the cord next to the bed.
They also brought some very sweet snacks, and Lellia was so delighted she almost screamed with joy.
The maids smiled at Lellia’s reaction before leaving the room.
“Delicious…”
Lellia began to eat the snacks excitedly. She could taste the flavor of sweet butter. For a moment, she was reminded of the desserts she had eaten at the temple.
‘I miss the kids.’
She missed the friends who came to mind along with it.
Lellia thought of the fountain pen and letters, her most precious treasures still in her bag, and bit into a cookie with a crunch.
‘Where should I hide it?’
Since it was what she cherished most, she wanted to hide it in a very safe and secret space.
‘Maybe Mom made a secret space here, just like in the cabin.’
Lellia decided she would look for it slowly as she finished off the cookie.
‘By the way…’
Gulping down the drink the maids had brought with the cookies, Lellia pondered.
Lately, her memories of the original story were fading, little by little.
So, before she forgot them all, Lellia decided to write down a few things she absolutely had to remember.
Lellia brought paper and a pen from the study, which was located through an archway next to the living area.
“Hmm…”
With a serious expression, she began to write down the most important things first.
The reason the Superion family was shattered.
‘Not that they were ruined, of course.’
The Superion family was a great noble family that had been with the empire since its founding. They weren't a family that would fall easily.
But based on the original story, after Yuriana came of age.
Misfortune begins to befall the members of the Superion family.
In the original story, there was a scene where Cedric and Damian were deeply troubled by this matter.
‘That's when Yuriana comforted them.’
To get straight to the point, the head of the Superion family changes.
The next head wasn't one of her grandfather's children—that is, her mother's siblings.
‘I think it was the young son of the Duke's eldest, Zenon Superion…’
There was a reason her grandfather's perfectly fine children couldn't inherit the succession.
First, the eldest son, Zenon, loses his life on the battlefield.
‘It was a battle that happened after the Mad Dragon died.’
In the original story, after the Mad Dragon's death, it seemed peace had come to the continent, but it didn't last long.
People of unknown origin became heretics who worshiped the Mad Dragon like a god and began to build their power.
And the second son, Carius, participates directly in the battle against the Mad Dragon and returns safely, but one day, he suddenly disappears.
‘In the original story, Cedric and Damian grieved that they couldn't even find their uncle Carius's body.’
Finally, the third child, Atias. She was a strong candidate mentioned as the next head of the family.
However, it's revealed that she had privately created an enormous amount of promissory notes.
‘On top of that, it even became known that the notes were used at gambling houses.’
Because of this, the council of elders' opposition was immense, and in the end, she could not become the head of the family.
In a critical situation where the Duke couldn't lead the family, the council of elders held the most power, aside from the Duchess.
They could decide on family matters through a fair vote.
Thus, the elders chose Zenon's son as the next head, and the result after that was predictable.
‘The elders began to manipulate the young head to their liking, of course, under the pretext of protecting the shattered family themselves.’
In the original story, Cedric and Damian are greatly heartbroken and saddened by the news of their grandfather's death.
This was about all Lellia knew.
‘There was no mention of my grandmother, so I just assumed she had already passed away…’
Moreover…
‘I don't know why my grandfather dies.’
The one thing she knew for sure was that it was a sudden death from an unknown cause.
Lellia bit her lip firmly.
After seeing her grandfather and grandmother in person, a desire to protect them both grew within her.
She also wanted to cure her grandmother's dementia. A medicine made with the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ would surely be effective.
‘I have to protect them in my mother's place.’
For now, her immediate goal was to grow up safely here until she became an adult.
‘And before I become an adult, I'll have to unlock as many ‘Alchemy Lottery’ recipes as possible.’
It was especially important to gather the ingredients to cure her grandmother's dementia.
Lellia moved her pen again.
‘After I become an adult, I will achieve two goals.’
First, steal the holy relic from the original male lead, Lute, and complete it. After breaking the spell of the golden words, I'll go find my friends.
‘The timing for stealing the holy relic is…’
Lellia narrowed her eyes.
The original male lead, Lute, was a commoner by birth.
When Yuriana was young, there was a time she ran away from her drunken biological father and wandered the streets.
It was Lute who saved Yuriana when she was about to be caught by the scoundrels who kidnapped children to sell as slaves.
After that, Lute was adopted into a noble family, and Yuriana became a princess.
As time passed, the two reunite at a banquet in the imperial palace.
‘It was the very day I knelt before Yuriana and begged for forgiveness…’
Ugh…
Recalling that day, Lellia's face turned pale. It was a day that was horrifying, terrible, and frightening in so many ways.
‘…It's okay, that won't happen now.’
Lellia shook her head vigorously, trying to push away the memory of that day.
In any case, Lute was a swordsman who had gained great power through a wish granted by the half-relic.
‘He was also one of the warriors who distinguished himself in slaying the Mad Dragon…’
Which means…
‘It's impossible for me to take the holy relic from someone like that by force.’
If I can steal it naturally, without much effort, that would be the best way.
And there was one very good opportunity.
That opportunity came after the Mad Dragon was killed and peace had been restored.
The male lead, Lute, and the female lead, Yuriana, ponder what to do with the holy relic.
In the process, the original Lute had lost the holy relic.
‘When Lute loses the holy relic. I'll aim for that moment!’
After breaking the curse of the golden words with the completed holy relic, I will go find my friends.
‘And I have to confess. That I'm sorry for deceiving you. And ask for your forgiveness…’
Lellia moved her pen again.
‘And the second goal to achieve after becoming an adult is…’
Second, to prevent the misfortunes that befall the members of the Superion family.
‘I'll cure my grandmother's dementia and prevent my grandfather's death.’
As well as my mother's siblings.
This was to repay the kindness of her grandfather, who would look after her until she became an adult.
The misfortunes that would strike the Superion family were set to happen after Lellia became an adult. That meant she had time to prepare in advance.
‘I will definitely achieve both.’
Lellia put down her pen and went to the bed, taking the papers she had diligently written on.
Seeing the rabbit doll on the bed, a wave of longing for her friends washed over her.
Lellia hugged the doll tightly.
She missed the face of each and every one of her friends and worried about them.
Still, she could live here in relative comfort and safety, but…
‘Are they all doing well…? Are they okay?’
They were all children with many scars.
Oscar bore a wound too difficult for his young age, and Calix was a child lonelier than anyone.
Griffith was a child who didn't know how to look after his own inner self, and Romeo, though he didn't show it, was a child full of more fear than anyone.
Thinking of them, a lump formed in her throat, the tip of her nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Lellia clasped her hands tightly and prayed.
So that those children, who protected me with nothing but memories, can be happy.
‘No matter what emotional scars you receive, just as I did… I hope you can overcome it with the memories we shared.’
She prayed that their pain wouldn't last long.
After that, time flew by quickly.
Duke Superion announced Lellia's existence to the vassals and elders who frequented the main castle.
As a child who looked just like Elizabeth, brought here for the sake of his mentally unstable wife.
And he commanded them.
For the sake of the Duchess's recovery, to treat Lellia with the same courtesy they had shown Elizabeth.
Thanks to this, Lellia began to live a dreamlike life.
The most joyous part was, of course, the food.
She could eat more delicious and abundant food than she had at the temple, whenever she wanted.
‘It’s like a dream…’
The maids were kind, and the time she spent with her grandmother and grandfather was happy.
In particular, Lellia had found a new hobby: looking at her mother's portraits.
‘We really don't look alike now that she’s an adult.’
As a child, her mother was a tomboy, but as an adult, she was an elegant and graceful beauty.
‘It makes sense that Emperor Perseus didn't recognize her at all.’
Once a day, Lellia would study her mother's portrait and look in the mirror, searching for similarities. In this way, she filled the empty space in her heart.
It wasn't that Lellia spent all her time in comfort and happiness.
There was something that made Lellia uncomfortable, and that was the presence of her uncle, Carius, and her aunt, Atias.
Carius, in particular, was extremely displeased whenever he saw Lellia receiving such devoted treatment from the vassals and servants.
He would even pick fights with Lellia at the drop of a hat. Only where the Duke couldn't see, of course.
“…Fraud.”
Lellia’s expression hardened whenever she saw Carius, who called her a fraud.
‘Why is he so childish for his age…’
But Lellia never backed down and retorted to him.
“I have never committed fraud.”
“Hmph.”
Honestly, his taunts were so childish they didn't have much of an impact. At most, it was just a little uncomfortable.
And Atias would just stare at Lellia intently with an observant gaze whenever she saw her, without saying a word…
‘Why does she keep staring at me like that…’
Her gaze was a bit unsettling. It felt like she was waiting for Lellia to speak first.
“Uhm…”
“……!”
Eventually, when Lellia couldn't stand it anymore and spoke, Atias would leave in a flash without a word, just like a stray cat.
‘It doesn't seem like she dislikes me, though.’
As this continued day after day, Lellia began to get used to it.
Whether it was Carius or Atias, all she had to do was ignore them.
Lellia spent every day with her grandmother and grandfather, and in the process, fulfilled her need for emotional stability.
She played games with her grandmother that helped with her dementia, and she read books with her grandfather.
Those times were more precious than anything to Lellia.
And this moment, too, was one of the important times for Lellia.
It was the time she spent gathering ingredients for the ‘Alchemy Lottery’ and checking on what she'd collected.
The number of ingredients she had found in the few months since arriving here was considerable.
To find ingredients, she had to move around herself, to the point where there was hardly a place in the vast duchy she hadn't been.
It seemed she had found all the ingredients that could be found in the castle.
After that, she even went around to see the estate with her grandfather.
‘There are so many recipes, I can't even dream of making the Philosopher's Stone…’
Lellia shook her head.
It was a relief that there was a system where the dragons would automatically gather the ingredients once found.
‘My goal isn’t to make the Philosopher’s Stone anyway, so I just need to gather the ingredients for the items I need.’
Lellia clicked on the alchemy tool on the screen and looked at the ingredients for a recipe she had bookmarked.
‘The most urgent thing I need right now are the ingredients for my grandmother's medicine…’
[Alzheimer's Treatment]
- Required Ingredients List
∙ Areum Herb 99 (36/99)
∙ Memory Shard 10 pieces (0/10)
∙ Old Fabric Scrap (0/1)
∙ Crystal of Remembrance (0/1)
∙ Ashes of Flame 9999 (0/9999)
She had discovered the ingredient called Areum Herb while strolling through the duchy's garden.
Since the dragons automatically gather the ingredients at regular intervals, all she had to do now was wait.
However, she had no idea where to find the rest of the ingredients.
The text color for the ingredients other than Areum Herb and Ashes of Flame was slightly different. It seemed they were special ingredients that couldn't be found with auto-search.
‘Do I have to find them outside the estate?’
Lellia chewed on her lip as she pondered.
‘Her grandmother's symptoms are gradually improving, but…’
Lellia smiled as she thought of her grandmother.
Because her mind isn't fully sound, sometimes she calls Lellia 'Elizabeth,' and other times, 'Lellia.'
Her grandfather had explained that when her mind was clear, she recognized Lellia as her granddaughter.
Thinking of her grandmother warmed her heart, but a sigh escaped her whenever she looked at the recipe window.
‘Thinking about it, this is so frustrating.’
The wish she had made was to go into the world of this game, not to get this game after going to a different world.
Of course, she was glad to have this game, but…
She hadn't wished for new recipes to be added.
“Even in my past life, the game wasn't this frustrating…”
Lellia looked at the innocent alchemy tool and the squirming little dragons.
‘Are they telling me to make the Philosopher's Stone or not?’
I know it's end-game content, but isn't this too much?
It was then. As if answering her inner thoughts, the alchemy tool displayed a new speech bubble.
[Master! You seem to be having trouble clearing the recipe!(๑•́₋•̩̥̀๑)]
“…So you do know, huh?”
It happened sometimes. The alchemy tool would display a speech bubble that seemed to answer a question she had asked in her head.
It seemed to have developed a consciousness upon coming to this world. That was probably why the alchemy tool's speech bubble now appeared before the system window.
[Then would you like to unlock the ingredients with crystals?(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧]
Lellia narrowed her eyes.
This was how the game had always worked.
Either wait until you could find the ingredients naturally over time, or unlock them using crystals, the real-world currency. It was one or the other.
In truth, once you unlocked an ingredient, gathering it afterward was quick, so the more money you spent, the more advantageous it was.
But there were special ingredients that couldn't be obtained even with payment, and to get those, there was nothing but repetitive labor.
You could either raise your ‘Relationship Affinity’ by completing residents' requests and receive them as rewards, or you could get them by achieving the alchemy lottery shop's sales achievements.
However, missions like resident affinity and sales achievements were currently blocked.
‘And there's no information on how to get these ingredients.’
She wondered how on earth she was supposed to obtain these special ingredients.
‘That aside…’
Lellia looked at the part of the game screen that showed her crystal count. The number of crystals Lellia possessed was zero.
‘I don't have any crystals…’
The reason she had zero crystals was that she had used up all her remaining crystals before she died in her past life.
She wasn't one to spend real money often, but she wasn't completely against it either.
There had been quite a few times in her past life when she had unlocked ingredients she couldn't find with crystals.
“…Is there a way to recharge crystals?”
As if it had been waiting, the alchemy tool displayed a speech bubble in response to Lellia's muttering.
[You can recharge crystals with this world's currency! The number of crystals needed may vary depending on the recipe's difficulty! ( •̀∀•́ )✧]
“Is it trying to get me to pay…?”
[◔ ̯◔…]
“……”
How absurd…
“But special ingredients can't be obtained with payment. Which of these ingredients can I get by paying?”
[‘Ashes of Flame’ is a normal ingredient, not a special one. Normal ingredients can be unlocked with crystals! ( •͈ᴗ-)ᓂ-ෆ ]
“Hmm…”
It wasn't a bad idea. Besides, that ingredient requires a whopping 9,999 of them.
Recipes that required so many ingredients were rare.
In that case, it was better to unlock it quickly so it could be gathered automatically.
“Then I need to earn money…”
Lellia tapped on her inventory.
‘If I sell these, they should be worth some money.’
Honestly, if alchemy wasn't illegal, she could establish a corporation powerful enough to dominate the five empires.
‘But I can't just get rid of the temples.’
There was only one way.
‘To sell alchemy potions without getting caught by the temples.’
It wouldn't be that difficult.
‘I just have to tell my grandfather.’
As the head of a great noble family like the Superions, he could surely find a way to distribute the alchemy potions.
‘Besides, the temples usually don't mess with the great nobles.’
It was something her grandfather had told her recently.
One of the great nobles of the Ascad Empire had been caught selling alchemy potions, but had suffered no consequences.
The priest in charge of the case had been dispatched from the central temple and had lived in the region for a long time.
‘He must have taken a bribe to cover up the incident.’
In any case, there was a safe way to earn money.
For that, she needed her grandfather's help, but she also needed a lot of things to sell.
Although she had a considerable amount of ingredients saved up from her past life, she was still short on some.
Wait, before that…
‘…I need to expand my inventory.’
Lellia frowned.
Her inventory was almost full, and she had to organize it every time she found a new ingredient.
In her past life, she had expanded it to the maximum, but now it was possible to expand it further.
[Would you like to expand your inventory?(•̀ ▽ •́ )φ]
‘I don't have any crystals.’
[Would you like to recharge your crystals?( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑]
“……”
To expand her inventory by ten more slots and unlock the Ashes of Flame, she needed 500 crystals. Lellia tapped on the crystal recharge screen.
A sparkling illustration of a crystal appeared on the screen.
<100 Crystals = 100,000 Shillings>
‘Shilling’ was the currency unit of this world, and 1 shilling had the same value as 1 won.
That meant she needed 500,000 shillings right away. In her past life's currency, that was about 500,000 won.
“…Why is it so expensive?”
[◔ ̯◔…]
“……”
For now, Lellia took out about 20 health recovery potions she had made with the ingredients she had.
‘I’ll sell each one for 25,000 shillings.’
Then she found the basket she had used when she went on a picnic with the maids and placed the potions inside.
‘Let's sell these first. I'll sell them to the people inside the castle.’
And if that wasn't enough…
‘I have no choice. I'll have to run errands to get some allowance.’
Her grandfather might give her a generous allowance.
Lellia picked up the basket and strode out of her room with vigor.
Just as she opened the door, she came face-to-face with Becky, who was walking this way.
“Oh, Young Miss! You’re just coming out! It’s time for your meal. I’ll escort you to the dining hall.”
“…Okay.”
Lellia went back into her room, put down the basket, and followed Becky.
She could miss other things, but not her mealtime.
‘I'll eat first, then start my business.’
She needed to eat well and gather her strength.
Filled with determination, Lellia entered the dining hall.
“The Lord and Lady have stepped out for a moment. They said not to worry, as they will join you for dinner.”
Despite Becky's kind words, Lellia's brow furrowed slightly.
It was because of the person who was already seated in the dining hall.
Carius, who was seated at the head of the table, also scowled as soon as he saw Lellia.
Not to be outdone, Lellia walked confidently and sat diagonally across from Carius.
“……”
It was the seat closest to where Carius was sitting. He glared at Lellia.
The two looked at each other with expressions that said, ‘I'm going to ruin your mealtime.’
Although she had spent the past few months here, this was the first time the two of them were dining together.
This was because Carius never attended the banquets Lellia had with the Duke and Duchess.
At the same time, the food began to be served.
“For today’s lunch, we’ve prepared the Young Miss’s favorite dish. Oh, come to think of it, Sir Carius, this is your favorite dish as well, isn’t it?”
The chef, who had brought the food himself, said with a friendly laugh.
At his words, Carius's eyebrows shot up.
The servants served the food the chef had brought onto Carius's and Lellia's plates.
“You like this dish?”
Carius asked with a scoff.
“Yes.”
Lellia replied with a ‘so what?’ expression.
“……”
This dish was a rarity in the capital.
The key ingredient was a wine made from grapes with a special aroma, produced only on the Superion estate.
The beef was aged in that wine and then steamed with fragrant mushrooms.
It was a dish that anyone could eat without issue, but Carius had a slightly different way of eating it.
He preferred to eat it with a special spice imported from across the sea.
Carius reached for the tongs by the glass dish containing the spice. Then he sprinkled a generous amount of the spice, which looked like dried herbs, onto his steak.
As he put down the tongs, Lellia also reached out and began to sprinkle a generous amount of the spice.
“Hah…!”
Carius stared at Lellia as if he was dumbfounded.
This spice had an astringent, bitter taste and a peculiar aroma. It cleansed the palate, but most people didn't particularly like its scent.
And a child was eating with this spice?
Carius stared at Lellia with a frown.
Honestly, over the past few months, his suspicion towards Lellia had faded slightly.
There had been several times when he felt a sense of déjà vu, that this girl might really be his sister's daughter.
But Carius had rationalized it to himself, insisting that it couldn't be.
Perhaps he was instinctively holding onto his suspicion because the guilt that would follow would be too heavy to bear.
“……”
Carius narrowed his eyes and watched Lellia.
He was curious whether this child was genuinely enjoying the taste or if she was just stubbornly copying him.
Frankly, this spice was difficult for most people to enjoy, especially a child.
So much so that Carius was the only person in the Superion castle who ate this spice.
Even his parents, the Duke and Duchess, did not like this spice.
Lellia cut a large piece of meat, topped it with a generous amount of spice, and put it in her mouth.
“…Mmm…”
With her head buried in her plate, she chewed it heartily and then swallowed with a blissful expression.
Carius’s expression stiffened as he watched her.
He had never seen a child eat that spice so deliciously, so blissfully.
He wondered if she was acting, but Lellia paid him no mind and buried her head in her plate again, eating diligently.
Furthermore, Lellia took it a step further and sprinkled the spice on her soup and salad as well.
“……”
Carius lowered his head and looked at his own plate.
He suddenly felt a lump in his throat and was on the verge of tears.
It was because he was suddenly reminded of his childhood.
In the Superion castle, only Elizabeth and Carius liked this spice.
The spice that everyone else disliked for its astringency, the two of them loved so much that they would sprinkle it on their main dishes, as well as their salads and soups.
The only reason the castle imported that spice was purely due to the two siblings' peculiar tastes.
As a child, Carius had considered it incredibly special that he and his sister had this one thing in common, just between the two of them.
“……”
Carius barely composed himself and looked up again.
Lellia, without a care for Carius, was almost finished with her meal.
The glass dish that had been filled with spice was now completely empty.
Carius stared at Lellia with trembling pupils.
The similarities he had found between this child and his sister over the past few months flashed through his mind one by one.
If there had been only one or two such things, he could have dismissed them as ‘a fabricated lie,’ but…
There were too many. An unbelievable amount.
It went beyond simple déjà vu; there were many times he felt his heart drop, thumping heavily.
Today was no different.
When one more similarity was added to the pile that had been accumulating, it had reached an unbearable point.
It was as if small dots had finally gathered to form a large circle.
The things his head had acknowledged but his heart had refused to accept came crashing down.
“……”
Having finished her meal, Lellia finally glanced over at Carius.
‘What, he hasn't eaten a thing?’
The food in front of Carius was untouched, as if new.
‘Does he hate eating with me that much…?’
Honestly, she was taken aback. She hadn't realized he disliked her this much.
‘To refuse to even eat with me, that’s like saying he’d rather die.’
It was a bit extreme, but one of the most important values to Lellia was mealtime.
Moreover, Carius's eyes were moist. He had been crying.
‘For a grown man to cry… that's how much he must hate me.’
Lellia awkwardly fiddled with her hair, then looked at the empty glass dish.
‘Or maybe he’s sulking because I ate all of that spice…’
Perhaps he was more delicate and sensitive than she thought.
Lellia rose from her seat with a sheepish feeling.
Just as she was about to leave the dining hall, holding a maid's hand.
“Wait.”
Carius stopped Lellia.
“……”
When Lellia turned back to him, Carius hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Have you ever eaten a Maklia?”
“……”
What's a Maklia?
Lellia turned her head to look at Becky.
“No, the Young Miss has never had a Maklia.”
“……”
By now, Carius had removed the napkin from his lap and risen from his seat.
He jerked his chin at Lellia, signaling her to follow.
