DTBTHS Chapter 27

As soon as the snowstorm subsided, the Archmage left for the capital. Ariadne left his share on his desk.

She took the remaining two bottles and went to find the Margrave and his wife.

The couple was enjoying tea time in the greenhouse and welcomed her warmly.

"Ariadne, come here."

"Your complexion looks much better. You'll be able to go on that picnic now."

The Margrave spoke with evident pleasure. Ariadne placed the small glass bottles before them.

"This is..."

"My first completed Elixir."

"You've already completed it?"

The Margrave's eyes widened.

"Yes. I tested it on a contaminated plant in Grandfather's garden. It turned back into a daffodil."

"You're giving us your first completed work?"

The Countess asked, checking the ribbon with her name written on it. Ariadne nodded, her face slightly flushed.

"Yes, because it's the first one I made with my own hands, I really wanted to give it to you both."

"Goodness, how could I ever bring myself to use something so precious."

"It's only because of you both that I was able to make it. Please use it when you need it. I can make as many more as you want."

When Ariadne said this with a shy smile, the Margrave pulled her into a tight embrace and sat her on his lap.

The Countess gently stroked her hair.

"Thank you, Ariadne."

Before she knew it, the servants had prepared a place for Ariadne at the table, but the Margrave showed no intention of letting her down from his lap.

The Countess, far from stopping him, simply fed Ariadne cookies with a pleased expression.

"Try this one too."

A bite-sized cookie coated in chocolate approached her lips.

When Ariadne obediently accepted it, the Countess's smile deepened enough to create dimples.

'This violates proper etiquette.'

According to the etiquette she'd been harshly taught in Eldier, for a child capable of walking to sit on an adult's lap was both rude and shameful.

Accepting food from someone else's hand was also forbidden from that age.

'It's a bit embarrassing to be doing this when I'm already eight years old. Especially with my past life memories and all...'

Even knowing this, even feeling self-conscious about it, Ariadne did not get down from the Margrave's lap. She did not refuse the cookies the Countess fed her.

Her heart softened a little more.

The Margrave, having finished his tea, examined the glass bottle again with fascination.

"To think this can actually cure contamination... Does it work on things other than plants?"

"Anything living. It doesn't work on inanimate objects. Animals and people die quickly when contaminated, so you'd have to use it immediately to save them."

"That alone is more than sufficient—it's shocking."

The Margrave let out a groan. The Countess, who had been handling the glass bottle, spoke up.

"Then, Ariadne, could this be used for purification work in blighted areas? I mean when restoring the land to its original state after closing a labyrinth."

"Seliana, she just said it doesn't work on inanimate objects, so it wouldn't be meaningful for soil."

The Margrave interjected with an answer, but the Countess shook her head.

"Even if it's different from the concept of living things, there's living soil and dead soil. You've heard many times that plants grow only when the soil is alive, haven't you, Ernst?"

"Isn't that a metaphor?"

"It is a metaphor, but it's not completely wrong either. Living soil and dead soil are different."

"Really? I find it hard to imagine soil as a living thing."

"It's not that the soil itself is alive, but rather that very small organisms live within the soil."

"Small organisms live in soil? You mean worms?"

"Not worms, but, um, it's hard to explain. Scholars would know more precisely..."

The Countess trailed off. The Margrave looked puzzled.

The Countess eventually gave up on explaining and asked a question instead.

"In any case, Ariadne. Does the Elixir work on soil too?"

"I'm not sure about that either. I think we'd have to try it to know."

She actually knew. It had all been covered in the original novel.

The Elixir couldn't revive dead people or animals, but it could revive dead land.

More precisely, it worked by treating contaminated microorganisms.

In any case, the result was that it transformed contaminated land into soil where plants could grow, so it wasn't much different from the existing purification method using divine power.

"We'll have to try it. If it's also effective for purifying contaminated areas... Can it be mass-produced? Hmm. Ariadne, could you make large quantities of Elixir at once?"

The Margrave asked seriously. Ariadne nodded.

"Yes, I can. The mixing of ingredients is what's important—the process itself isn't difficult."

"Then let's first confirm whether it purifies—"

"Uncle, even if the Elixir has purification effects, I'd like to keep that secret for now."

"Mm?"

"If we're not careful, our relationship with the Temple could deteriorate."

"...Good heavens, you're right. The Temple has gained various benefits from monopolizing purification work until now... They wouldn't openly oppose it for the sake of appearances, but..."

The Margrave muttered, then sighed and looked at Ariadne.

"Ariadne, you never cease to amaze me. How do you think of such things?"

'Because I saw it actually happen in the original novel. The protagonist used the Temple's accumulated dissatisfaction to bring down Duke Eldier.'

It was an answer she couldn't give aloud. Ariadne simply said, "Thank you for the compliment."

The Countess, who had been looking at her with admiration, asked:

"Then, Ariadne, how do you plan to reveal the Elixir?"

"At first... I want to release it on the black market with an unclear source."

"The black market?"

"Yes. Since the effects are certain, rumors will spread quickly. When the rumors have spread enough and everyone knows about the Elixir's existence—"

Ariadne swallowed and continued.

"...I'll donate the Elixir recipe to the Temple. Publicly."

"What?"

"You're going to donate it?"

The Countess's and Margrave's eyes widened. Ariadne smiled faintly.

"That's the best method."

It was also the method Axel Valentine had used in the original novel to handle the Elixir recipe he'd obtained.

"She said this—what do you think?"

The Archmage folded the letter the messenger had delivered and asked.

"She's going to quietly release it on the black market, then when the rumors spread, publicly donate the recipe to the Temple?"

The one who questioned him was a woman reclining on the sofa, smoking.

She was a languid beauty with elegant brown hair adorned with jewels and deep violet eyes.

When the Archmage nodded, the woman's thin eyebrows arched.

"What reason will she give for the donation?"

"That it's a recipe taken from Duke Eldier, and she thinks it's wrong to monopolize it like her father did, so she'll donate it to the Temple."

"Compensation?"

"She won't accept any."

"A recipe that could wallpaper Mount Raaratschua with gold if monopolized, and she's donating it just like that?"

"Yes. And if by any chance the Temple tries to profit excessively from the Elixir, she'll release the recipe to the public."

"My goodness... So she has no intention of making Elixir after the donation? She'll leave everything to the Temple?"

"No, she wants to mass-produce Elixir after donating it to the Temple."

The woman's eyes widened. She bit down on her long ornate pipe, thought about something for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"Father, how old did you say she is? Ten? Eleven?"

"Don't you even know your niece's age?"

"You didn't know either."

The woman snorted and snapped her fingers, calling out a name.

"Fothen!"

A man standing in the corner bowed respectfully at her summons.

"Yes, Guildmaster. Your niece is eight years old this year."

"Eight? Good heavens, Father, I want to raise her. Give her to me."

"What? What are you talking about out of nowhere?"

"I can't leave a child with such talent to a simple-minded brute like my brother! A child like that should become our trading company's heir. I'll raise her well, won't I?"

The Archmage grabbed the back of his neck as he looked at the suddenly sparkling violet eyes.

"Rebecca Garcia."

"Yes, Father."

"What's your niece's name?"

"Ariadne Eldier. Ah... she's Eldier's legitimate heir. Any decent noble could overlook that, but it had to be Eldier. Damn it, what a waste. Damn, damn."

The woman called Rebecca cursed with genuine regret.

She was Rebecca Garcia, the Archmage's and the previous Margrave of Weaver's second child, and the owner of Garcia Trading Company.

The Garcia family was originally a noble family of the Creta Empire that operated a continent-wide trading company.

Archmage Solan Garcia was from a branch of the Garcia family who had married the previous Margrave of Weaver and settled in the Kingdom of Abivhelle.

Then, when the Great Labyrinth appeared and the Empire fell, the Garcia family's direct line and their territory all vanished.

The Garcia Trading Company branches spread across the continent lost their leadership and headquarters overnight.

In their panic, they sought out Solan Garcia, who had the highest succession rights among the Garcia bloodline remaining outside the Empire.

However, the Archmage had no great interest in money or commerce, and even less desire to take on something as troublesome as a continent-wide trading company.

That's when his daughter Rebecca stepped forward.

She abandoned the Weaver surname and accepted her father's, becoming 'Rebecca Garcia' to inherit the company.

Then she eliminated those who tried to devour the company by setting her up as a figurehead, brought all the scattered branches across the continent under control, rebuilt the headquarters, and reorganized the company.

Now, years later, Rebecca Garcia was the undisputed owner of Garcia Trading Company and one of the wealthiest people on the continent.

Rebecca exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"It can't be helped. If she's Eldier, I'll have to give up on making her my heir. But I'm still handling the Elixir distribution. I won't compromise on that."

"Girl, why are you telling me this? I don't have the authority to decide such things."

"Then who has the authority?"

"It belongs to Ariadne, so she'll decide."