Chapter 6

“……What do you mean, my life isn’t so bad?”

“A few days ago, when you barged into my residence, you seemed full of concern for the potion makers. Was all of that a lie?”

“……”

Concern for the potion makers?

Could it be?

I’m not even making thirty percent of my usual income.

Why was Barbara’s complaint suddenly coming to mind?

Feeling certain about something, Kassia asked the Grand Duke in a trembling voice.

“Did the number of customers at the shops decrease because of you, Your Grace?”

“When making a proposal, the first thing you should do is make sure the other person has no way to refuse.”

“A move? Is this a battlefield?”

“I’ve heard that dating is even more complicated and subtle than war—”

“Enough.”

Having completely lost her fear, all Kassia had left was sheer audacity.

Fine! Do whatever you want!

“I will NE-VER date you, Your Grace!”

“I see.”

There it was again. I see.

Every time she heard those words, she felt as if she were about to break out in a rash.

She would have nothing more to do with him.

Kassia covered both ears, jumped to her feet, and ran off while shouting, “Aaaaaah!”

She didn’t care if passersby clicked their tongues and called her a crazy woman.

She didn’t care if the residents of Talpiot Street stared at her with wide eyes.

She had only one goal.

To run as far away as possible from that evil Grand Duke.

For the moment, that was the only thought occupying her mind.

“My legs work just fine, so why can’t I get far away?!”

Her mad dash didn’t last long.

Neither did her courage.

Kassia had no choice but to return after running around the moonlit streets on a summer night to her heart’s content.

Where did she return to?

The tavern where she had been chatting with the Grand Duke.

Why?

Just as the Grand Duke had said, the potion makers’ livelihoods were the perfect bargaining chip because she couldn’t afford to refuse him.

She did have healing potions as a last resort, but…

The income from those alone wasn’t enough to support all the potion makers.

“That evil bastard!”

She returned, grumbling to herself, only to find that the person she needed to negotiate with was nowhere to be seen.

The man was so outstanding in both height and appearance that he should have been easy to spot.

But it seemed the Grand Duke had already left.

“So he’s the one who gets to take his time, huh?”

Annoyed, Kassia turned around without a second thought.

First, she would go home and take a bath.

Then she would clear her head a little.

And get some sleep.

Making these plans, she trudged home.

She was actually a little relieved that her next encounter with the villain had been delayed. At least she had gained a little more time.

“But I won’t let today happen again! I need to prepare myself. I can’t let that villain drag me into his schemes.”

Don’t get caught up in his tricks again.

Kassia kept repeating the same words to herself, almost as if she were trying to brainwash herself.

She had gradually moved farther away from the tavern and was getting closer to home when—

“Ugh…”

From a dim alley on her left, faint groans and murmuring voices drifted out.

Kassia perked up her ears and stopped where she was.

She was the best potion maker in the Empire.

Of course, she could tell the difference between the sounds of someone in pain and other kinds of sounds.

Someone seems to be hurt.

She stretched her neck and focused, trying to hear more clearly.

But something seemed to have happened, because the groaning stopped.

Instead, the low, nasty murmuring grew more urgent.

This is obviously suspicious!

First, she needed to understand the situation.

So Kassia quieted her footsteps and slipped into the alley.

Crouching in a corner where the moonlight couldn’t reach, she peered farther inside…

There were four rough-looking thugs with sabres resting on their shoulders.

Kassia’s face twisted horribly in an instant.

“Those pieces of trash.”

They were the dark side of Talpiot Street.

They targeted middle-class customers who came to buy potions and valuable servants employed by nobles who were easy to exploit.

They were involved in human trafficking, murder, kidnapping, and r—well, all sorts of things.

They were like tumors that refused to disappear, no matter how many times they were cut out.

“How dare you do this in my territory!”

Talpiot Street was everything to Kassia.

That was why she could neither overlook nor forgive the evil deeds of such worthless people.

Pheeeee!

She quickly took the small whistle hanging around her neck and blew it with all her might. It was a whistle used to contact the authorities.

I’ve called the security patrol.

Kassia rummaged through the small leather pouch hanging from her waist.

In one hand, she held a palm-sized surgical knife.

In the other, she held a glass vial filled with a bluish-green potion.

With both items in hand, she ventured deeper into the alley.

The light gradually faded, while a musty smell stung her nose.

The stench of filth, sour urine, and old blood mixed together and seemed to cling to her skin, making the fine hairs on her body stand on end.

Anyone without a strong heart would have been frightened.

But Kassia walked calmly as the murmuring voices grew clearer.

“Hehehe. That one’s got a pretty face. We’ll get a good price for him, won’t we?”

“A good price? He’s top quality! We can name whatever price we want. Khaak! Ptooey!”

“We’ll make a fortune this time. Those noble gentlemen who like boys and young ones will go crazy over his face. Hehehe.”

Even the phlegmy sounds coming from the thugs’ throats carried their vile nature.

The person they were treating like merchandise was barely visible in the darkness.

I need to check how badly he’s injured.

Only then could she decide whether to carry the victim away or capture the villains.

To get a better look, Kassia narrowed her eyes further.

Just then, moonlight slipped deeper into the alley, making it possible to see the objects around her.

…Damn it. He’s even younger than I thought!

The boy was curled up on the ground. His face was as pale as a corpse, and his breathing was rough.

Hmm. Fortunately, apart from being unconscious, he doesn’t seem to have any other injuries.

Kassia was about to move forward when she frowned.

But… why does that boy look so familiar?

Puzzled, she thought back over the past few days.

When an unfamiliar person seemed familiar, there was usually one likely explanation.

More often than not, it was someone connected to a client who had requested a potion.

That was usually the case, but…

Ah!

Remembering something, Kassia opened her eyes wide.

The boy was the same little kid she had met at the tavern.

She had thought he seemed too clueless and worried that something might happen to him. And now he had actually been kidnapped.

Still, she was lucky.

She had found him before things got completely out of hand.

Relieved, Kassia decided not to waste any more time and hurried forward.

Three steps later—

…Wait. That boy has black hair too…?

He’s a member of the Imperial Family!

Wasn’t this what people meant by killing two birds with one stone?

Kassia’s face immediately brightened as a brilliant idea came to her.

If she rescued the boy now…

And became close enough that he would say, “I like you, big sister!”

Then my head will be safe!

She could use the boy to mediate with that wicked Grand Duke.

Overjoyed, Kassia’s narrowed eyes twitched repeatedly as she grinned.

Her good deed might have been a little calculated, but so what?

With a lively gesture, she raised the vial high into the air.

Let’s go! Time to rescue my lucky charm!

She acted without the slightest hesitation.

Splash!

Kassia threw the contents of the bluish-green vial over the four thugs.

The effect was immediate.

Clatter!

The thugs dropped their sabres and clutched their faces.

“Ugh!”

They writhed in pain as the sticky liquid ran down their foreheads.

Watching them struggle without being able to fight back properly, Kassia smiled with satisfaction.

It must feel like their faces are on fire.

Dendrobium, a flame flower that grew only near lava.

She had enhanced the flower’s properties to their maximum potential.

The thugs’ faces were now covered in red, angry burns, as if flowers had bloomed all over them.

But Kassia wasn’t about to stop there.

Those scum didn’t deserve any mercy, so she raised her right leg and kicked them hard.

Where?

Right between their legs.

“Ugh!”

One of the thugs doubled over in pain and started cursing.

“…Damn it! Who the hell are you? How can you steal our merchandise without a conscience—Ugh!”

A conscience?

“It’s disgusting to be criticized by idiots who kidnap people.”

Even villains had their own levels and standards.

No matter how much someone loved money, there were things they should never do.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Kassia clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Even as she did so, she slashed the tendons around the hunched-over thugs’ ankles with her surgical knife.

SHRAK!

“AAARGH!”

She did the same to the tendons in both their wrists, making clean, precise cuts.

She completely and efficiently rendered her opponents unable to fight back.

That way, they wouldn’t be able to commit any more crimes.

“This is what you call putting justice into practice.”

With a fresh expression, Kassia wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Looking at the thugs sprawled on the ground, their eyes rolled back and the whites showing, she felt thoroughly refreshed.

Only after everything had been taken care of—

“Miss!”

Ten members of the security patrol belonging to the Marquisate of Talpiot came rushing into the narrow alley, each wearing a brown hood.

You’re late, you idiots!

Kassia waved at the patrol members as they came running toward her in a panic.

“You’re working hard even this late at night.”

“It’s our duty, Miss.”

At her words of encouragement, the patrol members flinched and fiddled with their whistles.

These small whistles were designed to let the security patrol immediately identify a situation, no matter where the whistle was blown.

That meant they should have moved quickly the moment they heard it…

But this time, they hadn’t.

Feeling guilty for failing to perform their duties on time, the patrol members hurried to get to work.

While the thugs were being taken away, Kassia approached the boy lying on the ground, grinning to herself.

Hehehe. My lucky charm.

She was so happy that a little celebratory dance almost slipped out of her.

But, oh no!

One of the patrol members, who had absolutely no sense of what was going on, tried to lift the boy onto his back.

No!

In a panic, Kassia grabbed the patrol member’s wrist firmly.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of my lucky cha—Ahem. I’ll take care of the unconscious patient.”

“Hehehe.”

My lucky charm, a member of the Imperial Family!

Her humming followed a strange, offbeat tune.

And Kassia’s shoulder dance was just as strange.

Her left shoulder twitched once, then her right shoulder twitched once.

Her upper body moved stiffly, like a creaky machine, yet she looked lighter than ever.

Unfortunately, her feet weren’t nearly as lively.

“Ow, ow…”

Kassia adjusted the boy she had hoisted onto her back and let out a deep breath.

What kind of child had such thick bones?

He was far too heavy. She felt as though her kneecaps were about to dislocate.

“Honestly, do all members of the Imperial Family eat widow flowers with the roots still attached?”

Widow flowers.

They were white flowers with long, slender petals.

They had almost only one use.

They were an ingredient in the stamina potion she had once given the Grand Duke.

Did members of the Imperial Family really eat those flowers raw, roots and all, every single day?

The boy’s build certainly didn’t look like that of an eleven-year-old.

To be honest, she was beginning to get confused.

Was she carrying the boy on her back, or was she clinging to him instead?

“Uaaagh!”

Somehow, the boy seemed to be getting heavier by the second.