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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: A Sister's Affection and a New Venture
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“My Lady, I’ve been looking for you for a while.”
Aramis said, leaning his head out onto the balcony.
Callista was leaning against the balcony railing, gazing at the garden fountain. In one hand, she held a plate piled high with something, and in the other, a fork.
“Where have you been? You haven’t been seen since earlier.”
“You’ve arrived, Aramis.”
She replied, spearing an object on the plate with her fork. Aramis’s face instantly went pale.
“My Lady, what are you trying to eat?! It’s dangerous!”
*Whish—*
He lunged forward like lightning and knocked the object Callista was about to put in her mouth, along with the plate and fork, over the balcony.
*Smash— Clink— Thud.*
The plate that fell into the garden shattered with a crisp sound. It went without saying that the black object had fallen into the flowerbed.
Aramis let out a sigh of relief.
“That was close. That’s an ingredient hunters use to ward off monsters.”
He added, nagging, after confirming Callista hadn’t eaten any of the strange object.
“You’re usually so careful, why did you suddenly do that? You almost caused a major...”
“Aramis.”
“You managed to avoid the Dylan family’s poisoning last time, so why would you openly put something so strange in your mouth like this? You could tell just by smelling it.”
“...is.”
Callista murmured something. Without even lowering the hand that had held the plate, she stared down at where the object had fallen.
It was a look of utter dismay, one Aramis hadn’t seen on her since her childhood.
“...Pardon?”
“She said it was chocolate I received from Harper.”
She whipped her head around to face Aramis. Her expression had already changed again.
Her piercing blue gaze shone brightly, as if it could bore through Aramis and kill him. One hand was clenched into a fist, and in her other hand, a blue aura was forming.
“How could you believe Miss Harper’s words just like that? At a glance, it’s clearly...”
“Aramis, do you wish to spar after such a long time?”
Callista ignored Aramis’s explanation and asked sharply. The blue aura flared up, as if it would consume him at any moment.
A chill ran down his spine.
“It would be best to do it with swords. Bring me my rapier.”
“I... I surrender.”
*Whoosh—*
To prevent the duel from even beginning, he threw the longsword he carried over the balcony.
“Sparring over. My Lady has won.”
It was a trick he had used a few times in his childhood.
Callista glared at him for a few seconds before her aura dissipated.
Aramis sighed and collapsed onto a chair at the balcony table. He quickly changed the subject before Callista could get angry again.
“If you wanted something sweet, didn’t Vittori and I give you candy? You finished it all in 30 minutes last year, so this year we prepared five times as much.”
“I’ll eat that later.”
“You mean there’s still some left? You haven’t eaten a single piece of candy all day today, what on earth were you waiting for?”
“...”
Callista didn’t answer and simply stared at Aramis.
He blinked, waiting, but she offered no explanation and instead asked an unexpected question.
“Aramis, what do you think a sibling is?”
“Pardon?”
He asked again, doubting his ears. It was the kind of vague, unanswerable question Callista usually detested.
Conversely, if Aramis had asked such a thing, she would have stripped him of his position as guard knight on the spot.
But Callista was serious. She looked intently at Aramis and repeated herself.
“I asked, so answer.”
“It’s like a curse bestowed by the gods of fate upon humanity, something you can’t shake off no matter how vile it is.”
He cleared his throat and answered solemnly.
“They’re kind to others but not to me, they wickedly stab you in the back if you let your guard down, they borrow my things and never return them, they’re insidious... they’re the ones who made me know the pain of stepping on toys scattered around when I was a child...”
“I’m not asking about you and Vittori.”
“Ah, in that case, they’re the ones who smile sweetly to your face while plotting schemes behind your back...”
“Nor am I talking about my uncle and father.”
“Then what other kind of siblings are there?”
Aramis asked, his expression showing his lack of understanding.
“...Today, I gave Espe’s Tears to Harper.”
“What?!”
Aramis asked again, startled.
“That precious item, you mean? The one Duke Litra specially gave to My Lady along with the necklace?”
“Yes.”
“...The one His Grace the Duke received from his mother, which the Empire’s finest craftsman painstakingly set with each individual diamond?”
“Yes.”
“Even employing sorcerers to...”
“I gave it because it was the only small, shiny thing I had to give to a child. Don’t exaggerate unnecessarily.”
When Callista cut him off and glared, Aramis clamped his mouth shut. He furrowed his brows, as if worried about something.
“...Are you sure it’s alright to be so generous with Miss Harper?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“You said before...”
His expression had become utterly serious.
“That it was best for you and Miss Harper to live without seeing each other as much as possible.”
“...”
At Aramis’s question, Callista briefly averted her gaze before raising her eyes again.
“...What can be done about what has already been seen?”
“You said it was cruel to show affection to a child you might have to cast aside someday.”
“...What can be done about interest that has already arisen?”
“You said it was harsh to build affection with someone and then not take responsibility for that affection.”
“...”
She bit her lip, as if thinking of an answer. Rarely, her eyes were wavering.
“...What can be done?”
Finally, she slowly opened her mouth and replied.
“When affection simply grows.”
A look of concern crossed Aramis’s face.
“...What if Miss Harper aims for the ducal title?”
He pressed persistently. Callista replied just as persistently.
“If that were the case, would she have only avoided Father? That child doesn’t want it.”
“What if others support her?”
“...”
“Many, including the Elder Council Chairman, will try to use Miss Harper. As long as the two of you are together in this mansion, as long as His Grace the Duke doesn’t completely exclude Miss Harper from the succession.”
He let out a deep breath and said.
“Haven’t you had only one goal your entire life, My Lady?”
“Yes.”
Callista closed her eyes tightly, then opened them, and said.
“The head of the Luperne Ducal Family. That is what I wanted to become.”
“What has changed?”
“Well. I don’t know yet.”
She let out a small sigh and looked towards the garden. Then she added softly.
“...Not yet, at least.”
***
“Good. It’s been made colorless and odorless.”
Theon said, setting down the vial Vittori had handed him.
“Amazing, Vittori. I thought I was asking for something almost impossible.”
“It was easy because the raw material’s medicinal properties were strong. The research part was complex.”
Theon and I exchanged smiles.
In Vittori’s hand was an antidote. Made from the Yellow-Green Herb root, it could neutralize the poisons of about twelve different plants.
However, compared to the Yellow-Green Herb root, which was obviously dark red and grotesque in appearance, the liquid in Vittori’s hand was simply clear and transparent.
A few days ago, she had provided detailed data on the Yellow-Green Herb’s properties, which she had thoroughly analyzed: how to use it for which poisons.
“It’s especially strong against poisons that cause severe withdrawal symptoms. It cures addiction.”
She said that Kori Berry was one such poison. And also illegal drugs used in gambling dens and taverns.
This meant it would affect a wide range of people, from nobles to commoners.
“So, are we selling this now?”
Vittori asked, pointing to the vial. She hadn’t asked any other questions after receiving her substantial service fee, so she still didn’t know the exact plan.
“No.”
I shook my head. Vittori, who had been looking at Theon, turned her gaze to me with a puzzled expression.
“We’re... not selling it?”
“Right. If someone needs it, we’ll just give it to them. We’ll even tell them what it’s made from.”
I stated firmly. Vittori’s face grew even more confused.
“Weren’t we specifically making an antidote to hide the fact that it’s made from the Yellow-Green Herb root?”
She asked with a puzzled expression. Monopolizing knowledge and charging for it was a natural practice in the world of business.
“The antidote is just a means to remove the aversion to the Yellow-Green Herb. If we say a dark red root is medicine, no one will believe us, so we need to prove its effectiveness first.”
Theon explained. It was he who had originally devised the plan to involve Vittori.
“Monopolizing this kind of knowledge is dangerous. The higher the profitability, the more people will target it. Hiding the Yellow-Green Herb’s effects was never part of the plan.”
He continued. Up to this point, Theon’s initial plan and my thoughts had aligned.
“Then the goal is to spread the knowledge, but first import and sell the Yellow-Green Herb itself, right?”
Vittori said again.
“Because it’s a difficult plant to cultivate in the Empire. You said last time that the thirty roots Theon brought were obtained by paying a fortune to a mad poison collector.”
Again, I shook my head, and Theon answered.
“That was my idea. To negotiate with them before anyone else. I thought Carnai wouldn’t have a reason to dislike it.”
“Then why did that...”
“But Miss Harper rejected it, saying it was too much of a headache.”
He looked at me, his mouth twisting into a bitter line. It was Theon’s occasional lingering resentment.
“She proposed an easier way to make money.”
Vittori’s eyes slowly widened.
“...Not you, but Miss Harper proposed it?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the method?”
She asked, looking at me with a skeptical gaze.
“I’m going to buy land.”
I replied.
“What?”
“The land that connects the Empire and Carnai, the land that will become a trade route later.”
“...”
“I’m planning to buy it with my allowance.”
Theon and Vittori just stared at me in silence. Theon looked somewhat proud, while Vittori was frozen in shock.
“Is... is that possible?”
I nodded.
“It’s a thornbush forest right now, so it’s dirt cheap.”
