Chapter Sixty-two: The Golden Wrath
“I changed clothes because I was sweating! A lot of sweat came out! Do you understand!?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Stop sitting there silently with that all-knowing look, when you’re the one who made it!”
“Well, it’s not strange at all for sweating to occur, considering the potion’s effects.”
The term "eliminates toxins" included perspiration. Karen dared not state that it also included defecation and urination.
…But did mercury actually come out in sweat? Perhaps it was some other toxin that came out through sweating.
“When the maid from the Schiller household and I taste-tested it, this didn’t happen, so perhaps the effect varies depending on the amount of ‘bad substances’ accumulated in the body.”
Karen also drank the potion but still hasn’t felt any urge to eliminate waste. She did drink that terrifying potion right in front of Julius.
“It’s too late for that kind of explanation now…!”
Petra said that, trembling visibly.
She had returned wearing a different dress. She seemed to have fixed her makeup as well. Her hair was still slightly disheveled as if she hadn’t managed to tidy it completely. Petra brought her face close to Karen’s and hissed in a low voice:
“How dare you humiliate me in front of Master Julius? If it weren’t for the Ehlertt family backing you, I would crush you like an insect!”
She was probably betting that Julius hadn’t noticed. Petra kept her voice hushed so that only Karen could hear her tirade. Karen listened attentively, accepting everything.
“I heard Master Julius tried to seduce you, but that’s only because you have power. There’s no way he actually likes you, so don’t get full of yourself!”
“You’re absolutely right to scold me, Lady Petra.”
“If I didn’t feel any effects from this, I don’t know what I would have done with you.”
Petra spoke while trying to steady her ragged breathing.
“Perhaps all the bad substances have already been expelled?”
“Keep your voice down!!”
“Ah, my apologies.”
Even though Petra shouted at her, Karen no longer felt the least bit upset. Petra had the right to shout at Karen. That’s what Karen believed. With pursed lips, Petra looked down at her palm and said:
“…My body feels incredibly good right now. There are some odd spots, but I’m almost completely healed.”
“I don’t think you’re fully healed. Since the potion only has the effect of expelling toxins, the damaged parts of your body should remain as they were.”
Was giving her tea with dandelion root really the right choice? Did a diuretic even help with mercury poisoning? Karen was starting to think it didn’t. Expelling toxins from the body—Karen just threw in any plant that had that effect, but was that really the right approach?
Petra drank it and said she was actually feeling better. So maybe it worked after all. Even if it was wrong, Karen couldn’t tell—was it right to have her drink the potion?
“I’ll overlook this because my body feels lighter!”
While Karen was worrying in retrospect, Petra twirled around on the spot. Karen thought she looked like an idol starting to dance. The cuteness was so overwhelming that Karen felt dizzy.
“So with your potion, I can be cured, right?”
“I can’t say if you will be fully cured, but you do seem to be improving.”
If there were other noblewomen suffering from the same condition as Petra, knowing this potion could alleviate their symptoms was a significant discovery.
Petra turned to face Karen and peered into her face with an adorable smile.
“Karen, become mine. I’ll pay you handsomely.”
“I’m flattered by your high evaluation. However, I am under the protection of the Ehlertt family, so I cannot make such decisions on my own.”
Secret technique: Passing the Buck to the Ehlertt Family.
When Karen gently declined, Petra pouted.
“If you’re affiliated with Ehlertt Earldom, then it can’t be helped. Well, they’re close by, so it’s fine, I suppose? Either way, with your potion, I can continue using white powder makeup with peace of mind. If I could have made you mine, I would have been the only one who could use it—what a shame.”
“Pardon?”
Karen was bewildered, not understanding what Petra meant. At that moment, Julius stood up, making noise. He must have kicked the desk, or perhaps his long legs had hit one of the desk’s legs. While wondering what else it could have been, both Karen and Petra looked at Julius and gasped.
There stood Julius, his smile completely gone.
“So you intend to continue using poisonous white powder makeup because Karen’s potion can cure you?”
“W-well… yes… because it makes my skin look beautiful…”
Petra answered nervously while touching her cheek.
Seeing this, Julius raised his right eyebrow and looked at Frank.
“Frank, wipe your sister’s face.”
“M-Master Julius?”
“Your sister was afflicted by toxic face powder, and Her Highness went so far as to send an alchemist to treat her. And yet, she’s still using it?”
Petra had indeed returned with makeup on despite her illness. Karen was stunned, having assumed that Petra couldn’t appear bare-faced in front of Julius, but never imagined she’d be using the poisonous white powder. Naturally, Karen had thought it was some newly purchased safe powder or something similar.
At Julius’s words, Frank’s eyes widened.
“What foolishness! Petra, you’ve known that thing was making you ill all along, haven’t you!? Long before Lady Karen confirmed it!!”
“B-But I can’t show an unattractive face to Master Julius…!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Come here right now!”
Frank grabbed a cloth from the cart and advanced on Petra. Petra tried to escape but was caught by the arm and had no way of resisting. However, she was so averse to it that she twisted her body trying to break free. As she struggled, the pot on the table tipped over, and the remaining potion spilled out miserably.
“No! Brother, I can’t remove my makeup in a place like this!”
“Do you intend to keep Master Julius waiting!?”
“No! Absolutely not!! Master Julius! With the potion from the alchemist you brought, I’ll get better right away! I’m happy that you’re concerned about me, but please forgive me!”
While struggling to escape from her brother’s grasp, Petra reached out to Julius. Looking coldly at her hand, he said:
“I am not concerned about you in the slightest.”
Julius’s voice was chillingly cold. The struggling siblings froze in their tracks, intimidated. Karen also turned to stone, affected by the atmosphere.
“Do you know how difficult it is to dive deep into dungeons?”
Julius began speaking in the frozen air.
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