Chapter 12
Begging for forgiveness on her knees and after exchanging a few words, Agne flew into a rage.
It felt really good to walk out after laughing at her desperation, but as soon as I faced the debt documents, the settlement amount they had offered began to float around in front of my eyes.
“Tsk.”
Clicking her tongue lightly, Ceres fell into deep thought.
Was there no way to turn this situation around?
Was there really nothing left in this house that could be of value?
“Ah.”
Then, something suddenly came to mind.
“Maybe that could be worth something?”
Without any hesitation, Ceres quickly waved her hand. Just like before, a black crack appeared in the air, creating a dark hole.
Shortly after, she pulled out a luxurious wooden box from the space.
“Hmm.”
When she opened the box, a small stone no larger than an adult’s thumbnail was revealed.
The stone shimmered with a brilliant blue light and emanated a chilling coolness just by looking at it.
“Kainel said this was valuable.”
‘I got it from a monster that lived in the snowy mountains.’
‘What is it?’
‘A mana stone.’
Ceres knew well about the creature from the snowy mountains. She wasn’t sure when it first appeared, but it had long been known as the ‘Ruler of the Snowy Mountains,’ a massive snake as large as several mansions combined.
Whenever it had a chance, it would descend upon the villages, devouring people and leisurely leaving. It was finally beheaded by Kainel, who had been firmly resolved to deal with it.
‘Shouldn’t you give the mana stone to Alti?’
Ceres knew well that a mana stone left behind by an ancient creature was extremely valuable.
But as a non-mage, it was something completely unnecessary for her.
She thought it would be better utilized by Arthia, the owner of the Magic Tower, but—
‘Why should I?’
‘….’
Kainel, however, fiercely shook his head, not even considering the existence of the Magic Tower’s owner, Arthia.
‘If you don’t need it, just throw it away.’
‘Hey, give it to Alti, I’m telling you.’
‘I’m going to throw it away.’
‘Alright, alright. I’ll keep it.’
‘But if you hand it over to that Arthia bastard behind my back….’
“Seriously, those two were just so petty.”
Ceres giggled as she recalled the past. Whether it was Arthia, who never gave Kainel the teleportation magic item, or Kainel, who deliberately dumped this valuable mana stone on her for no reason at all—they were both equally petty.
She stared at the mana stone, her gaze slightly curious.
“I wonder how much it’s worth now?”
It had been considered precious back then, but she didn’t know if it still held value now.
The price aside, she wasn’t even sure where to sell such a thing.
“…A junk dealer?”
It was 300 years old. Wouldn’t that make it a piece of junk?
‘A j-junk dealer? That’s not it! Grace! Seriously! Grace, you really don’t know anything except healing, do you? It makes me so anxious….’
She could almost hear her disciple’s voice lamenting again.
“So, not a junk dealer?”
Having only ever healed people in her life, she wasn’t very familiar with the ways of the world. After all, such mundane tasks were always handled by others for her.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking interrupted her thoughts. Ceres quickly put the mana stone back into her subspace.
Click.
The person who entered the room was Antonion.
She’d just seen him playing with Yulia a little while ago.
“Where’s Yulia?”
“Reading a book.”
Yulia, who was only seven years old, was much smarter than she appeared.
Despite not receiving a proper education, she had already learned to read on her own.
Ceres had been completely surprised when she found out.
‘Who taught you?’
‘The books.’
‘…You learned just by looking at books?’
‘Yep.’
…Genius.
The child, who no longer consumed the poisonous herb, now stayed awake for much longer periods. She had even gained some weight compared to when she was at the nursing home.
The problem was that Ceres couldn’t use her time manipulation ability on Yulia.
‘The child is too young.’
If it were an adult whose growth was already complete, it wouldn’t have been an issue at all. She could have simply reverted all the body’s conditions to a state before the ingestion of the poisonous herb, effectively curing her.
But for Yulia, those three years were a period of significant physical development.
Reversing that period?
‘That would be a disaster.’
The discrepancy between the physical age and the age of the internal organs could result in an even worse outcome.
‘Luckily, I know the proper treatment method.’
Although it would take time, it wasn’t an incurable condition, so instead of taking a risky approach, Ceres decided to stick to a straightforward and systematic treatment plan.
‘I have plenty of herbs anyway.’
The herbs needed for the treatment were already stored in abundance within her subspace, so there was no need to go out and gather more.
She suddenly felt grateful to Arthia for creating that subspace for her. The herbs needed for Yulia’s treatment were quite expensive.
Given her current financial situation, it would have been nearly impossible to acquire such valuable herbs, even if she knew the treatment method.
“Where did all these herbs come from?”
The only issue might be dealing with the people who were curious about the source of these herbs.
Antonion, as well as Jay, the maid, couldn’t hide their shock at seeing Ceres suddenly pull out a bunch of unfamiliar herbs.
“I collected them myself.”
“Yourself? When?”
“A long time ago.”
“……?”
It wasn’t a lie.
It was just that her “long time ago” meant 300 years ago.
‘L-Lady Ceres, let me prepare it.’
‘No need. Controlling the heat is crucial for this.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I’ll do it, so go back to your duties.’
Seeing Ceres boil the herbs herself left everyone dumbfounded, and they tried to stop her, offering to do it themselves.
She had hardly ever taken the initiative to do something like this.
But Ceres stubbornly boiled the herbs.
“When did you study herbal medicine?”
Even Antonion had initially looked at her with suspicion.
Seeing her mix various unknown herbs and prepare them to give to Yulia—it would have been insane to just sit back and watch.
‘What are you doing! Are you crazy? Do you even know what you’re giving Yulia?’
‘Is it crazy to give medicine to a sick child?’
‘What kind of medicine is it?’
‘It’s the leaves of the Guppio plant. It removes toxins accumulated in the body. The fruit of the Celo Tree helps replenish weakened energy. I also boiled it with Alzahiral seeds and dried Kakas leaves. These two herbs will remove toxins that have infiltrated the brain.’
‘…What?’
‘Want me to explain it again?’
‘…No.’
At first, he was skeptical, but seeing Yulia’s noticeably improved condition, no one doubted Ceres’ treatment methods anymore.
Still, there was one lingering question.
When had she learned all of this?
“A long time ago.”
She gave the same answer as before, causing Antonion to sigh deeply.
‘Talking about the past you don’t even remember. What a joke.’
It felt like she was hiding something, but there was no way for him to figure out what it was.
These days, Antonion felt utterly confused whenever he looked at Ceres.
Was this really the same sister he had known all his life?
‘Although, she seems much better now.’
Before she lost her memory, just looking at her made him feel suffocated and anxious.
Hadn’t he even witnessed her try to take her own life, confirming his worst fears?
But now, he no longer felt that anxiety when looking at her.
If anything, seeing her calmly handle countless challenges made him feel strangely at ease as well.
“So, what’s the reason for your visit?”
“…What happened to Aunt Agne?”
It seemed like Ceres didn’t want to continue discussing herbs or treatment methods, so Antonion changed the subject to Aunt Agne.
He’d heard that she had been arrested and was facing trial, but he had no idea what had happened afterward.
“The trial is over. She’s been sentenced to prison for attempted murder and fraud.”
“Ah.”
So it ended like that, as expected?
He wasn’t surprised.
Thankfully, Yulia hadn’t died, but attempting to kill a child with a poisonous herb was a serious crime.
When he learned that Yulia’s poor health had been caused by the poison Aunt Agne had fed her, Antonion had been left speechless for a long time.
He had never liked Aunt Agne, but that didn’t mean he had never considered her family.
After all, she was the one who had taken care of them when they were overwhelmed with grief after losing their parents.
Of course, it had all been a ruse to seize control of the family’s wealth.
But knowing that fact didn’t make it hurt any less.
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