Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 264

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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Four: Unfathomable Fixation

However, immediately after, Ottilie abruptly lifted her face. A strangely cheerful smile floated on that face. It wasn’t the expression of someone who had just placed their last hope in Karen and begged for help, and Karen furrowed her brow.

“Thanks to you, I’ve deepened my understanding of you in several ways, Lady Karen.”

“…Pardon?”

“Next time, I’ll prepare the compensation you seek and come to ask again.”

“Huh? Wait a moment, please! I’ll be troubled if you come again!”

As Karen called out to stop Ottilie, who was about to leave the tent without hesitation, Ottilie turned back and grinned broadly.

“If your heart still isn’t moved by what I offer next time, Lady Karen, you can simply refuse me then.”

“No, but still…!”

To the flustered Karen, Ottilie laughed with a giggle.

“Lady Karen, you’re a kind person.”

“I just refused your request, though!?”

That was hardly an impression one would have of Karen, who had just refused such a desperate plea.

As Karen stared in shock, Ottilie narrowed her eyes.

“The compensation I offered all seemed to be off the mark and troublesome for you, Lady Karen. But you listened to my story, didn’t you? Rather than hearing me out from curiosity, it seems you worried about me to no small degree, doesn’t it?”

“Not particularly, that’s not…”

“If we had fallen into such dire straits that we would meet our end immediately without your assistance, Lady Karen, you wouldn’t have been able to refuse, would you? You’re a kind person.”

To Karen, who fell silent, Petra’s eyes widened.

“Huh? No way, you were thinking that?”

“If someone is innocent and yet caught up in something terrible, isn’t that pitiful…!”

If it had been a matter of someone about to die immediately, even Karen wouldn’t have been able to abandon them. However, judging from Ottilie’s story, it sounded like there was still time. If measures were taken during this winter, it seemed possible that things could be resolved even without Karen’s involvement.

“It’s true that we’re not currently exposed to such an imminent threat. …Though I don’t know what will happen after the palace announces the matter.”

According to Waltride, Horst was a traitor. If the Bell family, including Ottilie, were currently regarded as Horst’s allies, they might find themselves in dire straits after the spring announcement.

As Karen’s expression grew serious, Ottilie smiled.

“Lady Karen, you need not concern yourself with my efforts going to waste out of your kindness. Simply accept my proposal if it pleases you, and refuse it if it does not.”

“Even so…”

“Or is it that any woman who has approached Master Julius even once is unbearably offensive to you? However, it seems there are cases like Lady Petra who are forgiven, so I wish to follow after her.”

“I don’t think you need to fixate on me so much…? Surely there are others who would help you!?”

If she used that overflowing, bewitching charm, seduction would be easy. Karen had no objection whatsoever to her using seduction on anyone other than Julius. Rather, if seduction was a method that could only be used on Julius, the problem would be back to square one again.

“I want you, Lady Karen.”

“…Because you can get close to Mr. Julius?”

“My, how deeply rooted.”

To Karen, who spoke with suspicion plain on her face, Ottilie laughed merrily, apparently finding something amusing.

“Discovering that you, Lady Karen, hold the authority between the two of you was quite enlightening. I naturally thought Master Julius held the decision-making power.”

That was apparently why her opening move had been the offer to become a lowest-ranking wife. Noble men would probably jump at the offer with delight if a noble woman proposed to become a lowest-ranking wife.

Just before Karen was about to turn a cold gaze toward Julius, he pulled her close by the shoulder.

“Even if I held the decision-making power, I wouldn’t have accepted your proposal.”

Julius took Karen’s hand and brought his lips close. With a gasp, Karen’s face turned red.

Letting his lips hover just shy of touching Karen’s hand, Julius directed a sharp gaze at Ottilie.

Ottilie met Julius’s gaze and lifted the corners of her lips.

“I thought you were someone who upheld the code of nobility and knighthood, Master Julius, so those are also unexpected words.”

“I’ve been able to meet a woman who doesn’t care in the slightest whether I’m un-noble-like or un-knight-like.”

“Mr. Julius, you’re too close!”

As Julius brought his cheek close to Karen’s cheek, Karen inadvertently interrupted. Julius looked down at Karen, whose face had turned red, and showed a smile with what seemed like relief.

“Would you not like to make it so that anyone who sees us understands that no one can come between us?”

“Certainly, if you’re this close, no one could get between us, but…!”

Normally, shouldn’t this be something where Karen, trying to prevent Julius from being stolen by Ottilie, was the one closing the distance?

Faced with Julius’s relentless advance, leaving Karen no time to counter, Ottilie merely shrugged.

“It was fortunate for me that Lady Karen holds the decision-making power.”

“Just why do you fixate on Karen so much?”

“A person who became a B-rank alchemist at a young age. A creator who developed one new potion after another and ultimately even produced a panacea, and moreover, a rare educator who taught alchemy to one with less than F-rank magical power and raised him into an alchemist.”

The excessive flattery made Karen writhe.

While writhing, what surprised her was about Harald.

It turned out that Karen taking Harald, a disciple with very low magical power, was not well known. Although information about Karen, who became a B-rank alchemist, was restricted, there were no restrictions on information about her disciple Harald, so it wasn’t strange that it was known, but it didn’t come up in conversation.

When negotiating with nobles to take in the children, Karen had thought it would be the first topic to come up. She had the track record of once making Harald into an alchemist. If it were known that Harald could also make potions from non-magical materials that other alchemists couldn’t make, she thought there was a possibility that, from there, her early talent scouting would be exposed. Yet not a single noble recalled Harald’s existence.

“Finally, she’s also a person of mercy who pities all children with little magical power and tries to take them in and raise them. How could I possibly think of serving anyone other than someone like her?”

Before she knew it, for some reason, Julius and Ottilie were smiling while glaring at each other, leaving Karen aside.

However, when she made eye contact with the flustered Karen caught between them, Ottilie stopped the smiling glare-off with Julius and smiled brightly.

“Since it’s not my intention to trouble you, Lady Karen, I’ll come again another time.”

Ottilie smiled brightly and alluringly, then departed from the tent with graceful steps.

As Karen stood dazed, watching her back, she furrowed her brow, noticing that she didn’t hold as much negative feeling toward Ottilie as she had at first.

“…Could it be that Lady Ottilie is quite shrewd?”

“She’s the top genius in the Ehlertt territory, and she was even called a prodigy when she was young.”

“Well, after Master Julius appeared in high society, it became all about him, so before anyone knew it, she stopped being called that.”

At Rosine and Petra’s words, Karen held her head.

“What should I do… if my heart wavers at the next offer…!”

“If you’re attracted, wouldn’t it be fine to accept?”

“If that was all an act and she is actually a cunning vixen trying to get close to Mr. Julius, then it would be even worse if she is truly capable…!?”

To Karen, who said this with eyes wide open, Rosine smiled wryly.

“So it is not that you do not wish to accept her because she may carry troublesome circumstances?”

“As long as she didn’t assist Horst in the dungeon anomaly incident.”

If she had been involved in that, even Karen could do nothing about it.

Remembering the fluffy pegasus foal born from the blackened egg, Karen sighed.

When she looked up, Julius was staring at the tent entrance where Ottilie had departed with somewhat dark eyes.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 263

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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Three: Ottilie’s Reason 2

“Because Horst appears so powerless, people will assume there must be another mastermind behind the harm done to the royal capital’s dungeon, and my family, being influential among the former earl’s faction, will be suspected first.”

“That is…”

Ottilie had looked like a central figure even among the young ladies who had gathered while avoiding people’s eyes. To that extent, she was certainly from a powerful family. She clearly understood that her standing allowed her to influence Horst, to the extent that she needed to take the initiative in showing submission. However, the impression Karen had received from actually encountering Horst was not like that.

Karen had felt that those with little magical power, after desperate efforts where blood, sweat, and tears were shed, had managed to reach that situation entirely on their own. Rather, they probably hadn’t borrowed the help of those with magical power precisely because of their pride.

Even Karen, who knew nothing about them, thought so. Yet because of their lack of magical power, they apparently couldn’t even claim the infamy of plotting an evil conspiracy that shook the nation.

“Even if I asked the Ehlertt family for help, they wouldn’t help us. If we come under suspicion, they might even be accused of involvement in this incident as well. But if it’s you, Lady Karen, who was the very person who stopped the dungeon anomaly, you won’t be suspected.”

That’s why only Karen could help the children with almost no magical power. She could be on their side wholeheartedly. Even if someone suspected her of aiding in treason out of sympathy for those without magical power, she could talk her way out of it. Because Karen was the very person who had crushed their hopes. That fact would be guaranteed by none other than this country’s First Princess, Waltride. So if Karen wished to help, she could probably help Ottilie too.

“The Bell family was certainly in the former earl’s faction, but that’s because we hold a small-scale dungeon in our land and therefore believe in strength. Forgive my rudeness, but the current earl appeared to focus solely on Master Sieg, whose health was frail, and neglect the territory. That is why we became disillusioned. We were aligned with the faction, but we never served Horst.”

From Karen’s perspective, she found Helfried—who devoted everything to Sieg—admirable. However, she also understood that, as a noble, as a lord, it wasn’t necessarily praiseworthy, and she understood the feelings of nobles who held resentment.

Karen already knew that they were people who had, to a greater or lesser extent, resolved to protect their country and their territories.

Ottilie bowed her head deeply.

“If you would help me, I will use my power, recognized as equivalent to a B-rank mage in the Mages’ Guild, for your sake, Lady Karen.”

“While I appreciate your offer…”

To Karen, who still seemed reluctant despite all the words, Ottilie asked:

“What am I lacking? What kind of trial must I overcome to be able to serve at your side, Lady Karen? Could you tell me?”

“From your perspective, Lady Ottilie, it’s such a trivial reason that it’s hard to say…”

“Whatever the reason, I will receive it sincerely.”

Ottilie opened her drowsy-looking eyes wide, so desperately earnest. Her desperation made Karen feel apologetic. But Karen had no intention of changing her mind. Still, keeping the reason to herself felt wrong, so Karen murmured almost in a whisper:

“I don’t like having a woman who tried to become Mr. Julius’s wife near me.”

“…Goodness.”

Ottilie put her hand to her mouth and looked dumbfounded. She might be inwardly exasperated and blaming Karen for refusing help over just that much. But Ottilie closed her mouth there and said nothing further.

In other words, Ottilie’s initial move had been completely wrong. The moment she tried to become Julius’s wife, the shutter of Karen’s heart had completely closed.

Certainly, Ottilie had a reason to escape the stigma of treason, and her objective was not Julius. However, no matter what excuses were strung together from there, the past fact that she had first tried to approach Julius wouldn’t disappear.

A lowest-ranking wife was not truly considered a wife. Even so, there were surely some who were undeniably treated as actual wives in reality.

She had tried to become an existence Julius could lay his hands on whenever he felt like it. That was almost a seduction tactic. Whether or not Ottilie intended it, and whether or not Julius desired it. This fact was absolutely unacceptable to Karen.

“You’re refusing not only her proposal to be a lowest-ranking wife, but even her proposal to be an indentured servant—which could be said to be throwing away one’s pride as a noble—over something like that…?”

Instead of Ottilie herself, Petra, who had been listening to the conversation, said with a horrified expression.

“It’s important to me!”

“And yet, you’re fine with me acting as your guide?”

Karen looked at Petra blankly.

Seeing Petra’s awkward face, she finally remembered after a while.

“Oh, Lady Petra, you used to act all giddy around Mr. Julius before too.”

“What do you mean ‘giddy’?!”

“You’re fine, Lady Petra. I can tell that you not only have no interest in Mr. Julius anymore, but you’re even uncomfortable around him.”

Even now, Petra was positioned on the diagonal opposite Julius with Karen in between, like a cat with its fur standing on end.

“Karen, I understand your feelings very well.”

“Mr. Julius.”

Julius placed his hand on Karen’s shoulder and looked down at Ottilie, saying:

“I, too, would find it unpleasant, for whatever reason, to have a man who tried to become Karen’s husband serving at Karen’s side.”

Though his eyes should have been shining gold, Julius spoke with a strangely dark gaze. As if he truly detested it, the hand Julius had placed on Karen’s shoulder tightened.

“Even a man who hasn’t tried to become Karen’s husband, but merely harbors hidden feelings for Karen in his heart—I don’t want to keep him at Karen’s side. I can understand Karen’s feelings of not wanting to keep you at her side, and I intend to respect them to the maximum extent.”

Julius added as if emphasizing:

“I intend to prioritize it over noble principles.”

As if that was the final blow, Ottilie nodded.

“I had hoped to make an offer that would please you, and in return ask for your help… but to trouble you to the point of making you say all that—I feel deeply sorry.”

From Karen’s perspective, something that she’d normally find unpleasant was probably seen by them as a welcome act of devotion. A sad disconnect between nobles and commoners. And what was unpleasant was unpleasant.

“Therefore, I will withdraw.”

Saying that and standing up, Ottilie bowed her head respectfully toward Karen.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 262

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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Two: Ottilie’s Reason

The young ladies began murmuring in disbelief and attracting attention from their surroundings, so Karen and the rest moved to Karen’s tent. Inside the tent were five people: Karen, Julius, Petra, Rosine, and Ottilie. Outside the tent stood Urte and Sepl.

In the tent that had become completely hostile territory for Ottilie, listening to Ottilie’s explanation, Karen finally grasped the accurate meaning of what a lowest-ranking wife was.

“I see… an indentured laborer in the case of nobles… no, more like a permanent laborer?”

In other words, if indentured laborers bound by magical contracts were the commoner slaves in this world, then lowest-ranking wives bound by magical contracts were apparently the equivalent of noble slaves.

Karen sighed in disgust. What on earth had Marian and Lyos of the past been trying to make Karen into? And how low her status must have been, that as an F-rank alchemist, she would not have been saved during the Great Collapse Stampede unless she became something like that.

—With what feelings were the not-insignificant number of people in this world who couldn’t even become F-rank alchemists living their lives even now?

“First, please allow me to apologize for offending you, Lady Karen, by desiring the position of lowest-ranking wife.”

Saying that, Ottilie stood and took an elegant bow. According to the explanation, she did not need to apologize at all, but she seemed to have misunderstood upon hearing Karen’s sigh.

“Please raise your head and sit down, Lady Ottilie.”

“As you wish, Lady Karen.”

Ottilie obediently responded to Karen’s words and returned to her seat.

Though only in name, as a wife, ties to one’s birth family were severed, and one couldn’t leave. Losing freedom, merely following the nominal husband and his wife—an existence in the lowest position. Though a noble, one’s dignity as a noble was reduced to the bare minimum, yet one continued trying to remain a noble.

If someone not in dire straits offered to become a lowest-ranking wife, it signified deep loyalty to the husband—and by extension, his house. Especially when someone like Ottilie—from a relatively high-ranking family and, moreover, a person who could be a fighting force using magic—made such an offer, it was normal to welcome her gladly to reward that devotion.

Because it was a contract that placed one’s very life and death in another’s hands…

“So, can you tell me again why you tried to become a lowest-ranking wife or indentured worker?”

“I want my family, my territory, and the people living there to be protected. And if possible, I would like you to help my friends who bear no ill will as well.”

“In the first place, what are you troubled by? Certainly, I think Lord Helfried is treating the Horst faction members coldly, but was it to the extent of affecting territories?”

What kind of situation would make her seek Julius and Karen’s help? Helfried was certainly eliminating people who had been in the Horst faction. Not just from within the mansion, but apparently also from the knight order and official positions.

It could be said he was treating people who had been in the Horst faction, the former earl’s faction, coldly. However, he was only trying to remove them from his vicinity and shouldn’t have been trying to touch their territories. In the future, too, he probably wouldn’t do anything to trouble the territories or innocent subjects. The Helfried that Karen knew was that kind of person.

“Are you about to have your land confiscated? Or are you talking about wanting to protect your status within the Ehlertt territory or your position in the earl’s house?”

Though she had been asked by Knight Captain Gottfried to help the former earl’s faction that was being treated coldly, it shouldn’t be harsh treatment to the extent that they would immediately need to become Julius’s slave or Karen’s slave.

To Karen’s question, Ottilie shook her head.

“Since we lost the factional struggle, it’s natural that our status within the Ehlertt territory would decline, and it’s to be expected that we’d be removed from positions. Also, the Earl is not trying to confiscate lands from our families.”

“Then what kind of predicament do you want to be saved from?”

“That is…”

Ottilie, who had been speaking smoothly until then, hesitated for a moment.

“…I want to show where our loyalty lies now, so as not to be caught up in Horst’s crimes.”

“So you won’t be suspected of being Horst’s collaborator?”

“Yes. We are innocent. But we have no evidence to make others believe that. So I want to prove it now.”

Karen looked up at Julius, who had been standing behind Karen and quietly watching until now.

“What do you think, Mr. Julius?”

“You can do as you like, Karen. As long as it’s not making her my wife.”

Julius smiled brightly. His gaze directed at Ottilie just before had been cold, and his attitude seemed indifferent. Seeing that attitude, even Karen couldn’t misunderstand. Rather, she asked, bewildered by his unexpected coldness:

“…Don’t you want to help her?”

“I do think it’s questionable whether she’s truly unrelated to Horst’s schemes. Rather, I can’t help but suspect that precisely because she is involved, she’s trying to enter the protection of the person, who resolved the dungeon anomaly together with Her Highness Waltride.”

Far from being indifferent, Julius was showing reluctance to help Ottilie. Karen, too, found herself agreeing with Julius to some extent.

“Indeed, the other young ladies didn’t seem to have as much sense of crisis as Lady Ottilie. Yet I feel urgency from Lady Ottilie.”

“Proving non-involvement is extremely difficult. If, after bringing her into your circle, her connection to Horst’s scheme comes to light, it could harm you as well, Karen.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“If you bound me with a magical contract so I couldn’t lie, and question me—”

“Even if you’re uninvolved, your family, relatives, servants, and close friends aren’t necessarily uninvolved, are they?”

Julius calmly shut down Ottilie’s rebuttal and looked down at Karen.

“Still, if you wish it, Karen, it’s fine—what will you do?”

What to do indeed—at this point, Karen had absolutely no motivation to help Ottilie. Both a lowest-ranking wife and an indentured worker were useless encumbrances to Karen. Rather, they were even troublesome.

So at this rate, she would probably refuse Ottilie’s proposal.

“What do you think, Lady Petra, Lady Rosine?”

“I have the same impression as you, Karen. Isn’t she coming to grovel for help ahead of everyone else because she’s already done something?”

“I agree, Ms. Karen. To begin with, what could a man like Horst even accomplish?”

Karen felt something catch at Rosine’s remark and tilted her head.

However, Petra immediately nodded at the very words that had troubled Karen.

“Right? Even if that man committed crimes, he’s not the kind of person who could commit serious crimes.”

“Yes. To seek Ms. Karen’s help because she doesn’t want to be caught up in such a man’s crimes—I find it suspicious. Don’t you have some other ulterior motive, Lady Ottilie?”

Horst and his group would be charged with treason. Even to Karen, who was not well-versed in legal punishments, that seemed only natural given the circumstances.

And yet, Petra and Rosine continued their strange logic.

When Karen got goosebumps, Ottilie said quietly:

“Lady Karen, this is precisely the reason.”

As she indicated "this," pointing at Petra and Rosine, who tried to protest with their hostility pushed to the forefront, Karen restrained them and urged Ottilie to continue her story.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 261

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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-One: Lowest-Ranking Wife 3

“Yes! Exactly! What Mr. Julius would hate having done to him, I also hate! What I would hate having done to me, Mr. Julius also hates!”

When Karen jumped out from the shadows and nodded, the young ladies surrounding Ottilie looked shocked. Even Ottilie herself widened her eyes slightly at the sight of Karen. Either she was unaware that she was doing something wrong, or perhaps such behavior—such as flirting or having affairs—was not actually considered wrong in noble society; in any case, Ottilie remained composed.

Julius looked at Karen and smiled.

“No matter what the actual substance might be, I cannot bear the existence of anyone other than myself bearing the name of Karen’s husband—do you feel the same way, Karen?”

“Of course!”

“I’m glad. If you wanted to have a lowest-ranking husband, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm.”

Julius approached Karen, touched her cheek, and made a pained expression. Julius’s long fingers reached toward Karen’s ear, and when she thought they touched the earring on her earlobe, he tilted Karen’s face up and brought his face close to hers, saying:

“I don’t want to obstruct your path, so if you wished for it, I couldn’t refuse.”

“Huh?”

“That’s why, let me plead with you.”

Julius wore a somewhat painful smile. Though it was the sweet smile Karen loved, she felt somewhere that Julius was forcing himself.

“Karen. Please, please—don’t have any husband other than me. Don’t wish for one. But… would even this plea become something that obstructs you?”

At the words Julius spoke while his golden eyes wavered, Karen’s eyes widened.

“No, I wouldn’t wish for that in the first place! If I said I wanted one, feel free to refuse and obstruct me!? I mean, this doesn’t even count as obstruction!”

“It doesn’t count as obstruction?”

Peering into Julius’s eyes, wavering with anxiety, Karen placed her hand over Julius’s hand, covering her cheek.

“We’re going to get married. That means we’ll pledge to the goddess that we’ll love only each other and spend our lives together, and promise that. If I try to break this promise, it’s my fault, so please stop me properly. Though I won’t break it!”

Karen tightly grasped the index finger of Julius’s overly large hand.

“I’m sure noble marriages have different values, but do you dislike that, Mr. Julius?”

“No… I like that too.”

“I’m glad. We really are compatible, right?”

If anything, Karen’s view of marriage was subtly misaligned even with commoners in this world. Even so, since it was Karen and Julius’s marriage, they could decide what to make of that marriage.

As they gazed at each other, the anxiety wavering in Julius’s golden eyes faded. The stiffness in his smile eased, turning into something warm and tender.

Karen naturally closed her eyelids and was feeling Julius’s breath approaching when—ahem ahem—an exaggerated clearing of the throat shattered the atmosphere of a kiss.

“Don’t forget our existence and enter your own little world!?”

The one who cleared her throat was Rosine, and the one who raised a protest first was Petra.

“We understand very well how passionately in love you two are, so please come back.”

Rosine looked exasperated. She wasn’t just good at managing her expressions—she apparently truly had no emotions like jealousy. This was clear because the young ladies on Ottilie’s side were directing gazes filled with hostility that they couldn’t suppress, no matter how hard they tried to control their expressions with smiles.

“I’d heard it was nothing more than winning her over for the Ehlertt territory… but that looked like they truly have feelings for each other.”

“I’m sure it’s just an act!”

“It didn’t look that way to me, though…”

It seemed that Karen and Julius’s relationship had been leniently tolerated in Ehlertt because people assumed it was a means of drawing Karen, a highly capable alchemist, into the Earl’s family and thus into the territory itself. In other words, they had overlooked Karen because they thought Julius was just toying with her.

…Ottilie, trying to insert herself as a lowest-ranking wife into that—wasn’t she looking down on Karen after all?

Just as Karen’s thoughts were about to enter a dark labyrinth again, Ottilie closed her fan with a sharp snap as if striking it against her palm.

At that instant, the murmuring young ladies all fell silent at once. Witnessing Ottilie’s high level of leadership, Karen steeled herself.

“You two are very close, aren’t you?”

“We’re mutually in love!”

When Karen declared proudly with her chest out, Julius smiled as if melting.

Ottilie looked between the two and nodded.

“Even among nobles, those who marry for love sometimes don’t want any wives or husbands other than each other. Come to think of it, the Ehlertt family was like that… I thought the Earl didn’t take other wives for Master Sieg’s sake, but…”

It seemed that it wasn’t the case that Helfried had a second wife or a lowest-ranking wife that Karen simply didn’t know about. If Helfried had other wives, Karen’s view of him would have changed. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“It seems I made a mistake in my approach.”

Saying that, Ottilie glided smoothly over to stand before Karen. Not toward Julius at Karen’s side, but directly in front of Karen, Ottilie bent her knees deeply.

It was the highest form of courtesy for noble women that Alise had once taught her.

“Lady Karen, please make me your indentured servant. In exchange for that, I would like you to protect my family and territory.”

Ottilie said this without even glancing at Julius.

With the young ladies beginning to murmur again in the background, Ottilie smiled broadly.

From up close, Karen could see the stiffness in Ottilie’s cheeks, her smiling lips trembling slightly, and tension flickering in her red eyes.

Ottilie had her own reasons for trying to become Julius’s low-ranking wife, and now that it was no longer possible, she was turning to becoming Karen’s indentured servant as her next-best option.

Karen finally understood that Ottilie’s objective was not Julius.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 260

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Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty: Lowest-Ranking Wife 2

“Karen, leave this to me. I’ll go directly and refuse her.”

Julius had apparently been chasing after Karen. And he seemed to have heard the young ladies’ conversation as well.

“I didn’t accept handkerchiefs from young ladies of other territories either, Karen.”

Karen apparently had a suspicious look on her face without meaning to. Julius turned his empty palms toward her.

Rosine had said that accepting handkerchiefs was good manners and that accepting them was Julius’s way of navigating society. And now Karen belatedly began to worry, wondering if she had interfered with his social maneuvering.

“Are you really sure? Um, won’t you be placed in a difficult position, Mr. Julius?”

Julius smiled gently at the flustered Karen.

“It’s all right, Karen. I’m different from the foolish me of the past who struggled to be accepted in Ehlertt and created misunderstandings.”

For Julius, his appearance must have been a powerful weapon in gaining acceptance in local social circles. But because of that, many women were led astray, and he was falsely accused of the "Dungeon Luring Incident"—there had certainly been that aspect.

Julius referred to his younger self as foolish. When Karen frowned in protest on behalf of the boy who hadn’t even been forgiven for childish mistakes, Julius narrowed his eyes fondly.

“Now, as long as I have you, Karen—someone who accepts all of me—that’s all I need.”

He brought his face close and whispered with a sparkling smile and sweet voice.

Karen tensed her lower abdomen to steady herself. She should have been getting used to Julius’s face lately, but this had more destructive power than usual.

Barely keeping her composure, Karen watched Julius walk toward Ottilie. She would observe from the shadows to see how Julius would handle Ottilie.

Petra shuddered behind Karen.

“What a face that man makes…! If you look straight at him, he’ll steal your life away!”

“Lady Petra, being able to say that after seeing Master Julius’ face—you’re quite suited as Ms. Karen’s guide.”

Petra, clutching her head, had gone pale, while Rosine watched her with exasperation yet remained composed. Setting Petra aside, Rosine apparently wasn’t in love with Julius either.

While feeling slightly relieved, Karen returned her attention to Julius.

“I heard what you were talking about, ladies.”

“Master Julius…!”

The young ladies addressed by Julius didn’t act as if they’d been caught saying something improper. Though bashful, they didn’t doubt the proposal would be accepted.

Seeing Karen glaring at Ottilie and her group from the shadows, Petra’s eyebrows shot up.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what a lowest-ranking wife is?”

“What do you mean?”

Karen even dropped polite speech and glared at Petra. Petra’s eyebrows twitched again, but eventually she sighed, put her hand to her mouth, and whispered:

“A lowest-ranking wife is like a servant who pledges loyalty to her husband and his first wife, you know? Since she’s an existence with no rights as a wife, it’s not something to get so angry about, is it?”

“…What is that?”

“Both of you, please be quiet. It seems Lady Ottilie is making her proposal to be Master Julius’s lowest-ranking wife.”

Though puzzled by Petra’s words, Karen fell silent at Rosine’s urging. Karen also wanted to clearly hear what Ottilie intended to say.

“My name is Ottilie Bell. It seems you’ve already heard my feelings, Master Julius, so I’ll make my plea directly. Please make me your lowest-ranking wife.”

“I must refuse.”

Despite being rejected so bluntly, Ottilie didn’t feel ashamed—instead, she looked deeply puzzled.

“What do you mean? Wouldn’t me becoming your lowest-ranking wife benefit both you and your future first wife—Lady Karen?”

“I have no intention of having any wife other than Karen. Not even as a lowest-ranking wife.”

“A lowest-ranking wife is not truly a wife. You know that, Master Julius.”

“But it’s still bearing the name of my wife. I have no intention of having such a person.”

Only then did they finally realize that Julius truly had no intention of making Ottilie his lowest-ranking wife. The atmosphere that had been relaxed instantly froze, and the young ladies surrounding Ottilie changed color.

“To refuse an offer to be a lowest-ranking wife…!”

“Lady Ottilie is the daughter of Earl Bell!”

“Even if there were ties to a criminal… she is still the daughter of a long-serving vassal of Ehlertt…!”

“Lady Ottilie is even willing to serve under a commoner!”

As if Julius had committed an outrageous breach of conduct, the ladies directed reproachful gazes and words at him.

Karen was dumbfounded. If the condemning gazes were directed at Karen, she could understand it as the commoner Karen being scorned. But why would Julius, believed to be a flawless noble, be subjected to such gazes?

He had only refused a marriage proposal he didn’t feel inclined to accept. Their condemnation was directed straight at Julius, too much to be simply because Karen, a commoner, was scheduled to become Julius’s first wife.

To Karen, who blinked in confusion, not understanding, Rosine whispered in her ear this time:

“A lowest-ranking wife is like a knight’s oath for women without the power to fight—one where they devote themselves entirely to serving a gentleman.”

“A female version of a knight’s oath…?”

“Yes. Of course, if the family ranks are too different, it’s another matter, but a proposal from a young lady of equal rank to become a lowest-ranking wife is an expression of deep loyalty. Refusing this is as improper as refusing a knight’s oath.”

“Which is more improper—refusing that or refusing to accept a handkerchief?”

“This is incomparably more serious.”

Rosine looked slightly exasperated. She seemed surprised that Karen was so ignorant, but didn’t appear to be making fun of Karen.

“If a woman has the strength to fight, she can become a knight and take a knight’s oath. Not every woman who wishes to swear loyalty becomes a lowest-ranking wife.”

Petra added to Rosine’s explanation:

“Lady Ottilie is a skilled enough mage to become a knight, so when such a woman offers to become a lowest-ranking wife, it shows even deeper loyalty. Being able to make her a lowest-ranking wife is quite a bargain, you know? Refusing is such a waste. I’d want her as my lowest-ranking wife.”

“Lady Petra, didn’t you just say it’s better not to get involved?”

“Oh, a lowest-ranking wife is different. You can bind them with a magical contract so they can’t act freely.”

Saying that, Petra made a cruel, cat-like face.

Seeing Petra’s sneer, Karen remembered. Now that she thought about it, Karen had once almost been made into Lyos’s lowest-ranking wife or something. She had completely forgotten about it in her anger.

Commoners were basically monogamous, but since it wasn’t legally prohibited, wealthy commoners sometimes had second or third wives. So when Lyos told her to become his lowest-ranking wife, she had interpreted it as being made into a wife of low status. She never thought she was almost made to pledge loyalty to Lyos.

At that time, he had certainly said it was Marian’s recommendation. Merchant families deal with nobles, so they sometimes adopt noble culture. The idea of making Karen a lowest-ranking wife must have been a noble culture that Marian brought in. A lowest-ranking wife—treated similarly to a knight’s oath of loyalty, but apparently lower in rank than a knight’s oath.

“Ms. Karen, did you try to refuse because you didn’t know she was a mage?”

“Even if she’s useless, she’s an earl’s daughter, and if you have her pledge loyalty, she’ll surely be useful for you, right? Why don’t you go stop Master Julius even now? In the first place, why is he even refusing?”

Perhaps Petra and Rosine weren’t looking down on Karen for being a commoner. It seemed that desiring a lowest-ranking wife was simply common sense here. So much so that Julius, who insisted he didn’t want one, was being condemned as irrational.

Just what kind of existence was it—while Karen was bewildered, Ottilie calmed the surrounding young ladies and, turning back to Julius while maintaining composure, questioned him:

“Please tell me the reason why you refuse.”

“If I have a lowest-ranking wife, I won’t be able to stop Karen from having a lowest-ranking husband.”

At Julius’s answer, not only Ottilie but most of those present widened their eyes.

“That’s why I have no intention of having a lowest-ranking wife.”

Only Karen understood what Julius was trying to say. In the past, Karen had done back to Julius what he had done to her. In response to Julius being suspiciously friendly while hiding his relationship with another woman, Karen had also acted friendly while hiding her relationship with another man.

Julius, at that time, had been furious. Even though he had done the same thing himself, he hadn’t even realized his actions were making Karen feel bad. The man Karen had acted all touchy-feely with at that time was her younger brother Thor, so naturally, Karen was innocent.

Whatever a lowest-ranking wife was to nobles—it seemed that incident was now coming into play.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 259

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Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Nine: Lowest-Ranking Wife

“Karen, your eyes look scary.”

Just as Karen was about to make excuses after Petra’s observation, Rosine, noticing something, stopped her.

“Both of you, please be quiet—it seems young ladies from the Horst faction are gathering over there.”

Petra moved nimbly like a cat, pulling Karen’s hand and hiding her in the shadow of a tent.

That agile movement was incomparable to her movements last year when she had been afflicted by the poisoned powder. Last year, Petra had not looked particularly unhealthy to Karen and could even have passed as an ordinary, healthy young lady, but if this was Petra’s true agility, then she must have been in unusually poor condition back then. Petra at that time, who couldn’t get close to Julius just because Karen had blocked her, had truly been unwell. It was natural that her brother Frank had been worried about Petra then.

“So—mmph.”

“Shh, please be quiet.”

“Ms. Karen, those people are young ladies from families that sided with the criminal Horst.”

Rosine stared with cold eyes at the dozen or so young ladies gathered there.

With her mouth covered by Petra, Karen nodded.

Their appearance looked no different from Petra and Rosine—they looked like perfectly ordinary young ladies. Horst had disappeared, but the crimes he and his companions committed would apparently be prosecuted as treason. Though there was no official announcement yet, as it was still under investigation, Waltride had said that the king would likely make an announcement next year.

Since it was an incident caused by people with little magical power from multiple territories conspiring together, no single territory would be especially punished, so the Ehlertt Earldom would not be particularly blamed—Karen had immediately realized when it was explained in that context.

Naturally, within each territory, the families and supporters of those who had taken part in the treason would be met with cold stares. That’s why Karen could take in children with little magical power so easily.

The young ladies gathering in a secluded place, as if avoiding attention, were likely daughters of families currently regarded as supporters of the traitors.

Because Karen had walked toward a deserted direction to avoid attention—or rather, to avoid Julius—she seemed to have encountered a group similarly trying to avoid people’s eyes.

“Lady Karen, the reason I purchased that poisoned face powder from a foreign merchant was because those girls were boasting about cosmetics they had proudly imported from abroad. I have long had an interest in trade and the merchants who conduct it, so I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable in such matters. —And yet, those girls, who should have been less familiar with commerce than I, didn’t fall victim to the poisoned powder.”

Rosine wore a dark smile.

“They deny involvement in Horst’s plan, but I think that’s impossible. Those girls cooperated with Horst and used us as test subjects for some evil scheme.”

“It’s better not to get involved, Karen. Who knows what they’ll slip you next time?”

Rosine and Petra whispered coldly.

Karen keenly felt the reason why Gottfried had proposed a deal to her. He wanted to help the relatives in the former earl’s faction, but if Gottfried moved, he himself might be suspected of complicity in the treason. Unless Karen, who had actually resolved the dungeon anomaly, moved directly, there was no way to save them. But even wanting to help them, how could she save them from the cold gazes of people like Petra and Rosine? In the first place, they might not be innocent as Rosine said.

—Still, when Karen’s heart was struck seeing the dark expressions of the young ladies huddling together, looking constrained, one of the girls said:

“I think I’ll plead with Master Julius after all and have him make me his lowest-ranking wife.”

With those words alone, Karen’s sympathy for her vanished completely and cleanly.

“What resolve you have.”

“Even if it is to overcome this situation, to become the lowest-ranking wife of a man who won’t even inherit a title—how pitiful. If it were the Earl or Master Sieg, that would be another matter…”

For some reason, the other young ladies were showing sympathy for the woman who was arbitrarily trying to become Julius’s wife.

Karen’s sympathy for them completely disappeared.

“Given our current situation, having the head of House Ehlertt or his successor as a partner would be difficult even as a lowest-ranking wife, I believe. There is also the matter of the age difference. But if it’s the lowest-ranking wife of Master Julius, who will eventually leave the family, it should be possible.”

At that point, Karen couldn’t stand it and tried to jump out, but Petra held her in a bear hug, and she couldn’t.

“Please let me go, Lady Petra!”

“Karen, calm down a bit.”

“But saying it’s possible if she becomes Mr. Julius’ wife—what is that person even saying…!?”

Looking down at Karen’s fury, Petra made a horrified face.

“I could tell you were infatuated with Master Julius last year too, but you weren’t this blind… to sweet-talk someone this far, what a frightening man.”

“You go too far, Lady Petra. However, Lady Karen, please calm down, as Lady Petra says. Lady Ottilie is merely trying to become a lowest-ranking wife, is she not?”

Not understanding at all what "merely" meant, Karen glared at the young lady who had made the problematic statement. Her name seemed to be Ottilie. She was a beautiful girl with black hair and sleepy-looking red eyes. Petra was also a beautiful girl, but Ottilie was a young lady with a different atmosphere from Petra—a mature, sensual quality.

“For someone of Lady Ottilie’s caliber to be a lowest-ranking wife—Master Julius is so fortunate.”

“To have such resolve. House Ehlertt will surely save Lady Ottilie’s house.”

Karen frowned.

Anyone would want to become Julius’s wife.

Yet while trying to become that, they spoke as if it would be a punishment for Ottilie.

“Once I become Master Julius’s lowest-ranking wife, I will never abandon you all. I will surely help you, so please endure no matter how poorly you’re treated until then.”

“You are so kind…!”

“If only the ages matched, you could well have been the first wife of the future earl of Ehlertt…!”

“Please, everyone, support me.”

Among the young ladies, it seemed already decided that Ottilie would become Julius’s lowest-ranking wife. Moreover, the surrounding young ladies pitied Ottilie for trying to become Julius’s lowest-ranking wife.

“Even as a B-rank alchemist, to serve under a commoner first wife as a sign of atonement—how admirable you are, Lady Ottilie.”

If things continued as they were, Karen and Julius would likely marry. When that happened, a commoner would become Julius’s wife.

So, becoming the lowest-ranking wife would be a treatment severe enough to count as punishment for Ottilie and her family, who were suspected of supporting traitors—and that’s why she was confident she wouldn’t be refused?

Even after raising her alchemist rank all the way to B-rank, even if they appeared respectful on the surface, they looked down on her this much simply because she was a commoner.

That was how unfit Karen was considered as Julius’s wife.

That’s probably why both Petra and Rosine spoke of it as if it were nothing serious.

Her excited feelings about the engagement announcement at the New Year’s Festival cooled, and Karen trembled. Whether due to being away from the hunting festival’s heat or because the cold wind blowing down from the mountains threaded through the tents, she realized her body had grown completely cold.

At that moment, Karen’s ear softly became warm.

The Translator’s Note

In chapter 33, the term “末席の妻” was translated as “lesser wife”, but “lowest-ranking wife” is more accurate.

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