Chapter 49: I Stole Yooju's First Love
As I read the letter from Raymond, I burst into laughter.
In the early stages of the research, he worked more diligently than expected and sent his reports diligently.
The problem was that I had no way to verify the work Raymond was doing.
At first, I thought about seeking advice from other alchemists, but Nivea intervened.
“It’s our business, isn’t it? I don’t trust others very much.”
Nivea smiled cruelly as she said this.
As the deadline approached, Nivea began to pressure Raymond more and more.
She constantly checked his work.
The intensity of his tasks was quite high, to the point where Raymond even contacted me separately.
On some days, she would get angry over small differences in experimental values, and on other days, she would work with him, criticizing him if he made any mistakes.
His letter, written in great detail, described how Nivea had been tormenting him.
I thought about it for a moment but decided to ignore it.
‘Just think of it as grad school.’
It wasn’t as if someone was trying to kill him, so this didn’t seem like a major threat.
I even felt like applauding Nivea’s mercy.
I sent a long reply, telling him to be grateful for the opportunity to learn from her.
I didn’t expect that the letters he occasionally sent to vent his frustrations would come in handy at such a time.
“Miss, the preparations for departure are complete.”
In any case, that was all over today.
The news that the prototype was finally completed had just arrived.
As I was about to get into the carriage, the butler approached me.
“Is there anything you want to say?”
“Well, we found the client who hired the assassins who attacked Sir Raymond.”
An enemy of my enemy could be my ally.
I raised my hand to signal the butler, who leaned in to whisper to me.
“It’s been confirmed that the Cassel family sent them, though not all of them.”
“Cassel? You mean Raymond’s own family?”
How much trouble must he have caused for his own family to try to get rid of him?
“Find out more. About the Cassel family and why Raymond fell out with them.”
“It’s not easy to get such information from a regular guild. The Cassel family is very secretive.”
The butler nodded and stepped back.
I immediately got into the carriage and headed to the research facility.
The research facility, located on the outskirts of the capital, was a place for small-scale alchemists to work, available for anyone to rent and use.
As the driver announced, I got out of the carriage and looked around.
The research facility building looked very ordinary, but it gave off a gloomy vibe.
‘No wonder everyone looks so grim.’
I observed the faces of the people who were arriving late.
They all looked like their souls had left their bodies, dragging their feet as they entered the building.
They looked like zombies.
‘No, they’re just office workers.’
I blended in with the crowd, wearing simple clothes to avoid drawing attention, and entered the building.
“Welcome, Lady. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Inside, Nivea, with a bright expression, was waiting for me.
“I was worried, but you look well.”
“Working with Sir Raymond was a very enjoyable experience.”
Though it felt more like being thoroughly exploited from the client’s perspective.
Still, I had assigned knights to protect her, just in case.
Raymond was unpredictable, like a ball that could bounce anywhere, which made me a bit anxious.
Nivea smiled bitterly and said, “I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to overcome my fear of him.”
Despite calling in famous doctors, Nivea’s condition hadn’t improved.
The doctor from the Eastern Continent suggested it might be a psychological issue.
Perhaps she wanted to meet and talk with Raymond more often to confirm and remember that the man in front of her was human, not a monster.
“Still, don’t forget that health is the top priority. Rellado was worried about you too.”
But Raymond wasn’t there.
“By the way, where is Raymond?”
“He stayed up all night to finish it. I told him to come in a bit later today. He’ll be here soon.”
We waited at a small café on the first floor terrace, sipping tea.
From what I learned from Nivea, Raymond was more normal than I expected.
“It’s strange. Even though he’s stubborn, he does have his limits with others.”
“I might have thought he was just a bit eccentric if I hadn’t experienced it myself.”
That’s why people didn’t understand why I was so wary of Raymond.
At Nivea’s words, I snapped out of my thoughts.
Raymond, dressed more casually than usual, scratched the back of his head as he approached the terrace.
As he came closer, the researchers who had been eyeing me nervously got up and scattered.
‘It’s not like the parting of the Red Sea or anything.’
Indeed, a fitting reaction to Raymond’s reputation.
He plopped down opposite me, ordered his usual drink, and crossed his arms.
“What, you could have sent someone to wake me up.”
“I didn’t have the heart to wake you after you worked all night. You were experimenting until this morning, right?”
“That’s true… I didn’t know you had such a considerate side.”
“I didn’t need to be considerate to you until now.”
I smiled and countered, and his cheek twitched.
He used to mock me with a smile, but lately, he’s shown a wider range of expressions, which is interesting.
The waiter, who looked pale, trembled as he placed the teacup and disappeared.
What did he do here during the experiments to elicit such a reaction?
I was curious, but I didn’t want to know.
“So, can you show me the completed work?”
“Your impatience is showing. Here.”
Raymond grumbled and pulled out a few small glass vials and a thick stack of documents from a subspace.
“This is the sample, and this is the recipe.”
I passed the recipe to Nivea.
Raymond looked at it and frowned.
“Don’t you want to check it?”
“What would I know even if I looked? And I don’t think Sir Raymond would do anything underhanded.”
Nivea nodded after checking the recipe, and I handed him a thick envelope.
Raymond’s face crumpled at my words.
“I don’t need it. You never mentioned any fee when you asked me to work at the duchy, and now you’re offering a fee? Are you insulting me?”
“Don’t misunderstand. This means I’m buying all the rights to this recipe.”
Raymond looked at me in shock.
Generally, alchemists retain the rights to the recipes they develop.
But sometimes, someone buys all the rights to a recipe.
For mass production or to monopolize a field.
“Who do you think would do such a crazy thing besides you?”
I was more surprised that Raymond thought no one else would follow suit.
“If you don’t mind, please sign this.”
At my signal, Lili handed over the document transferring all rights to the recipe.
Raymond, who had been staring at it, suddenly shook his head.
“I want to keep some rights.”
“But you just called it crazy.”
“I changed my mind. Since I developed the recipe, I should have some rights, right?”
Since I had assigned him the work, he had a valid claim to the rights.
It was a significant share considering the price, but it wasn’t an unreasonable demand.
I pretended to think about it and nodded.
“Fine. But in return, I’ll add a condition that any transfer of these rights must be agreed upon by me.”
“You give Tatiana anything she cries for.”
Raymond looked flustered at my words.
Perhaps he had planned to take the rights and give them to Tatiana.
But having been taken advantage of by her several times, I naturally considered this.
‘Did Raymond not even think of this basic safety measure when I asked him?’
Finally, after getting his signature, I felt relieved.
After carefully putting away the documents, I finished my tea and said to Raymond,
“About the assassins who attacked you. Do you know who sent them?”
“No. I killed them before they could talk.”
What a simple life he leads.
I clicked my tongue and told him the culprit.
Contrary to my expectation that he wouldn’t react, his face turned pale.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
I got up, regardless of his reaction.
On the way back to the duchy, I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling about Raymond’s reaction.
‘No matter how shameless he is, it must be a shock to learn that his own family sent assassins after him.’
Later, I realized this judgment was wrong.