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.
Iâm sure itâs a good thing.
âAnyway, Iâm glad you just caught a cold. I heard there were so many scary animals and you went in there.â
âAaron took good care of me. And I wasnât the only one who went in. People who didnât know anything about swords or magic joined to watch.â
âThatâs why all the people who got hurt are normal.â
If you say so. I have nothing to say.
âIâm sorry. I didn;t mean to be presumptuous. HoweverâŚâ
âDonât worry. I wonât go in next time.â
Even if Duroa had the opportunity to talk to Noctonâs mother instead of Nocton himself, she wouldnât 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 wasnât 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.
Noctonâs face seemed to be reflected on top of the tea.
Several things passed through Duroaâs 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 wouldnât be caught.
Duroa felt empty, as if there was a big hole in her chest.
She wasnât sure, but it was probably a hole that wasnât going to be filled anytime soon.
If Duroa wasnât going to see Noctonâs 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.
â
See you again, Duroa
.â
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 havenât 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 didnât think deeply about the original story, but the gap between the original and the reality grew while she wasnât 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 didnât have a partner.
Duroa had only broken up with Aaron, and frankly, she didnât 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 didnât want to take those damned Nocton Edgar exclusive books to the estate.
That was because, despite Aliceâs sincerity when giving her those books, Duroa couldnât 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 couldnât 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, itâs 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 Noctonâs 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 âIf the color is darker than the flowers, it will not have any effectâ caught her eye.
If she really drank the incorrectly made Thread of Memories then it shouldnât 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.
⌠âŚ]
Duroaâs 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.
âCall Duvel, quickly!â
[⌠⌠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.]
***
âA trustworthy man! Heâs a trader who deals with Valrose on a regular basis, and the potion has been swapped! I-Iâm sure I did a poison test before giving it to you. Even then, there was nothing wrong.â
âStrictly speaking, itâs not poison, itâs not definite, at least. Can you get in touch with him?â
âHe said he would go back to his hometown when the trade was over. He said it would be difficult to see him again.â
âWas there anything strange about him? Was he covering his face or something?â
âI could clearly see his face, but his voice⌠it was a little rough. I thought it was because he had a coldâŚâ
As he spoke, the butlerâs face turned blue as if he realized something strange.
Yes, he even changed his face.
Then Duroa wouldnât 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 wasnât 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 didnât really hit her.
To what extent was Duroaâs memory manipulated and who changed the potions?
Was it Noctonâs fault again? If notâŚ
Her mind was tangled in a mess.
âI thought I was lucky enough to get the Thread of Memories in a day, but it wasnât out of luckâŚ. Iâll find him! Iâll find him somehow and learn the truth!â
âDonât do that, Duvel. I think the person who came to trade with you was replaced. How would you find him if he already fled?â
âBelieve me, Young Lady! I would never do that on purpose! I-I have been loyal to the Valroses for decades, I wouldnât do that!â
Duvel shouted desperately, his face turning red and the veins on his neck were prominent.
âIâll find him somehow. Even if heâs dead, Iâll find his body, my Lady.â
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.
âTrust me, Duvel.â
âYoung LadyâŚâ
âIâm not joking, Iâm serious. If you had deliberately swapped potions, you wouldnât be here right now.â
Duroa didnât 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 didnât find the Thread of Memories, it would have made its way in Duroaâs mouth one way or another.
Strictly speaking, it wasnât poison so it would be easy to pass the poison test, so it couldâve been put in Duroaâs cup anytime.
The possibility would be lower than swapping potions, but Duroa wouldnât 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 couldnât think about it any longer.
Letâs clean up now and learn more after the cold is over.
Pointing at her throbbing head, she turned to Duvel who was contemplating.
âLetâs keep it a secret from my family for nowââ
âNo, I canât do that!â
âDuvel, this is no easy task. If you donât do well, being fired wonât be the only thing that will happen. This is really⌠maybe itâs another potion!â
âItâs just as Lady Duroa said. I donât know what the potion was replaced with, but if it was the wrong one, the Young Lady couldâve been seriously injured. If something had gone wrong, even your lifeâŚâ
Duroa tried to talk back, but she lost her words at the sight of the old man covering his face with trembling hands.
âLady Alloy was right. Iâve done things I shouldnât have done as a butler. Still, the disposition was only a few months of probation and I avoided doing anything wrong. I canât do that. I have to take responsibility.â
âItâs not your faultâŚ!â
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At that moment, a knock on the door cut her off.
It was Sadie.
âSadie, Iâm sorry, but weâre talking about something important.â
âYoung Lady. Duke Edgar has come accompanied by his knights.â