Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

After Lion finished his meeting with his grandfather.

The atmosphere among the servants attending him was far from good.

The reason was simple.

“Oh, it’s happening again. It’s happening again.”

Hannah, the maid who cleaned Lion’s room, sighed deeply as she watched a servant quickly pack their belongings and disappear.

“What? They left again?”

John, a servant who overheard her monologue, widened his eyes in surprise and asked.

“Yes! How can all the servants quit like this when the young master they serve is rumored to be involved in strange rumors? Isn’t that too much?”

“You brats, you used to say he’s a young master who doesn’t require much attention, so you were getting paid well and he’s handsome, and now you’re running away? And if you join a family, you should stick with it to the end, are you really doing this without loyalty?”

It wasn’t common for servants to leave a family in droves, let alone just one or two.

Usually, once employed by a family, they belonged to them for half their lives.

Especially if it was the Asteri Duke’s family, a renowned magic family.

In fact, serving the master with all their passion as a member of a renowned family was considered a virtue…

“Sigh.”

Because of that damn rumor, Lion’s servant positions were now riddled with holes.

The reason was that no one knew what disadvantages would befall those associated with the death of the eldest grandson of the great renowned magic family.

“Are the rumors… really true?”

Hannah hugged the laundry basket and let out a long sigh.

“Our young master may be sickly, but he’s not to the point of dying. They say he endured mana shock or something like that three times? And lately, he’s more energetic than ever…”

Is that all?

He’s even making potions these days, isn’t he?

If so, it means he has an incredible talent for alchemy, and yet they want to leave based on a rumor of a fatal illness that no one knows the origin of.

“Of course. Is there anyone among nobles like our young master? We are the witnesses!”

Hannah nodded at John’s words.

“Exactly! Don’t they know how much grace they’ve received from the young master while living here? It’s obvious they won’t be treated well in other noble families!”

“That’s right. That’s right!”

“John, let’s put an end to our young master’s baseless rumors!”

“What rumors are you talking about?”

Huh?

John and Hannah’s bodies stiffened at the stern question from behind them.

“L-Lady Sylvia.”

John and Hannah bowed their heads upon seeing the elderly woman in neat attire.

‘The Head Maid heard…’

‘No, John. It might be a good thing.’

Is that so…?

John glanced at Sylvia.

Head Maid Sylvia.

She was the one who had been directing the affairs inside the mansion since before John and Hannah were born.

Not even a single thing was known about her origins or hobbies.

Is that all?

If anything happens in the mansion, she suddenly appears from somewhere and handles things quickly.

The reason the mansion could run smoothly even without women inside was all thanks to the Head Maid Sylvia in front of them.

“Surely you two don’t believe those baseless rumors, do you?”

And Sylvia extremely disliked anything that marred the Asteri family.

Things like these baseless rumors.

“Th-There’s no way. It’s just that more people are quitting because of this, so it’s a bit… concerning…”

Sylvia’s raised eyebrows softened again.

“Yes. That’s enough. Don’t worry about rumors. I’ve already taken care of everything.”

“…”

Taken care of…?

Come to think of it, the person suspected of spreading malicious rumors hadn’t been seen since yesterday.

‘Scary…!’

Goosebumps ran down their spines in an instant.

“Hoohoo.”

Sylvia smiled kindly and passed by them, entering the room where Petrick was.

“Anyway, it worked out well.”

“Ugh.”

It worked out well, right?

If the Head Maid personally handled it, the baseless rumors would have been completely silenced.

The problem was their future after that…

‘Hmph, they were swayed by baseless rumors, so they should find their own way to live.’

John decided not to delve into the deeper reasons.

—

“That’s what happened.”

“Yes. So, this old woman took care of it.”

“Well done.”

“However, your expression is not good today either.”

Sylvia asked as she arbitrarily tidied the documents scattered on Petrick’s work desk.

Even after managing the Asteri family for so long, one could not be so nonchalant in front of an 8th Circle Archmage.

Not if one was not equal in power or superior.

However, Petrick didn’t make any objections.

Rather, he seemed more comfortable in this state.

“I’d like you to take a look at this.”

Petrick took a potion bottle from his pocket.

It was the potion Lion had made a few days ago.

“This is… the potion from before, isn’t it?”

It was a potion they had already checked once.

It seemed to be a mana recovery potion, but strangely, no magic power could be felt.

“Yes. I want you to check this with a ‘witch’s’ eyes.”

“…”

Witch.

A hybrid of the demon race, which lives for a thousand years, and humans.

A faint glint appeared in Sylvia’s dry and cloudy eyes.

“Wasn’t the check completed then?”

Only about one sip remained in the potion bottle, barely covering the bottom.

It wasn’t a difficult task, so Sylvia took the potion, shook it around, opened the lid, smelled it, and then paused for a moment.

“This is…”

It wasn’t an ordinary potion.

Not only the quality, but the fundamental recipe of this potion…

Petrick nodded silently.

“Hoo.”

It was truly a wondrous thing.

“This is not something the young master can make.”

Sylvia.

That is, in the eyes of Sylvia the witch, who was bound to the Asteri family, not the Head Maid…

“Isn’t it a Hero’s Potion?”

Hero.

A legendary being who ended the war with the demon race 50 years ago and then disappeared mysteriously.

There was no labyrinth that could contain him, and legends said that even gods avoided confronting him.

And…

Perhaps the only person who could find Sylvia’s ‘contract’ in the labyrinth owned by the Asteri family and end the contract.

Sylvia gazed at the potion again.

The potion with its lid open gave off a faint cool scent, but that was all.

It didn’t have a significant effect on Sylvia.

“This is something that can only be obtained by a hero.”

“We can’t jump to conclusions yet. A hero’s potion would show even higher efficacy.”

Petrick paused mid-sentence.

‘If that child is a true hero…’

Heroes are always accompanied by evil.

It was the same during the war with the demon race.

‘No, there’s no way he’s a hero in the first place.’

Petrick continued the interrupted sentence.

“Anyway… I want to ask him to make a better potion than this.”

“Is there a reason?”

“I want my sister to feel the sense of liberation that I felt.”

“…Me?”

She knew very well what those words meant.

Sylvia recalled a distant past, when she lived as a witch and harbored animosity towards humans.

The then-Asteri Family Head, who was ordered to kill witches, took pity on Sylvia and captured her alive, and they wrote a special contract for each other’s safety.

『Witch Sylvia cannot leave the Asteri Territory.』

『Witch Sylvia can live as a human in the Asteri Territory.』

『The contract will be kept in the Asteri Family’s ‘Library’ to prevent misuse.』

The position she obtained was that of Head Maid.

Due to her long lifespan, she would retire at an appropriate time, return in a new body, and manage the mansion again.

This had been going on continuously since before Petrick Asteri became the Family Head, and Sylvia gradually softened her animosity towards humans and adapted well.

However, everything has its side effects.

Even if her body changed, Sylvia, who had been repeating the same task for hundreds of years, gradually grew tired.

That’s why Petrick brought up this story.

The potion that worked well even for him, an 8th Circle Mage.

He thought it might help her feel a little better if she drank it.

Petrick, who had been watching her since she was a child, was worried about her, a witch.

He even used the term ‘sister’, which he hadn’t used since she was young.

“Haha… Ahaha!”

Sylvia burst into laughter at his demeanor.

“Do you know what the most useless thing in the world is? It’s worrying about a witch.”

What was the big deal about such emotional dryness?

She lived for a thousand years and did not get sick.

Is that all?

She was born with immense magic power and various skills instinctively.

Moreover, if she desired, she could maintain eternal youth.

“So, you don’t have to burden your cute grandchild. I’m fine.”

Yes. She was truly fine.

What if she wasn’t fine?

“After all, you know that kind of potion won’t work on me.”

“…I’ll take it to mean that if you make a potion that works on you, you’ll drink it then.”

“It won’t be easy.”

For that, even a true hero would probably be needed.

Sylvia hid her witch’s expression again and returned to her original role as Head Maid.

She adjusted her attire and politely bowed her waist.

“Then, this old woman will take her leave.”

Swish.

Sylvia disappeared into the shadows once more.

Watching the spot where Sylvia had left, Petrick remained silent for a long time, then, as if making a decision, he called a servant and instructed him.

“Go and fetch Lion.”

—

“Did you call for me?”

Lion headed straight for his grandfather’s room.

Last time, he was late for a valid reason, but this time there was no excuse.

If so, he should at least show himself to be diligent.

‘I also need to check if he liked the potion.’

As he opened the door and entered…

“Is there something you’re worried about, Grandfather?”

“Worried about what.”

Petrick’s aura was completely different from usual.

Ordinary people wouldn’t recognize it, but Lion had experience as a salesman.

It was clear. That face was definitely one of worry?

“Or did you not sleep well last night?”

“No.”

“Lack of exercise?”

“No.”

“Is it because, with your age, your digestion decreases when you eat fatty foods?”

This brat?

Just as Petrick’s expression showed a hint of anger, Lion blurted out.

“Then it’s because of my potion.”

“…”

Petrick’s words stopped abruptly.

‘As expected.’

Lion briefly glanced at the empty potion on the side, then shifted his gaze back.

“Yes. I called you because of your potion.”

Petrick nodded quickly, unlike his usual self. It meant he was all the more anxious.

“Can you make something of better quality than the potion you made last time?”

“May I know what it’s for?”

“Hmm.”

After a considerable silence, Petrick asked slyly.

“It’s a gift for the Head Maid.”

Head Maid? Does he mean Granny Sylvia?

‘She’s certainly working hard for the family.’

However, even a 2-star potion would bring about an incredible effect for Granny Sylvia.

But… better than the last one.

‘Besides, even a 2-star is impossible in this situation.’

First, there were no more 1-star herbs, and even if he gathered good herbs, there was no guarantee of another stroke of luck like last time.

To be blunt, a 2-star potion was Lion’s maximum capability.

However.

He could guarantee that this was an opportunity to be seized without question.

“It will take some time, but it’s possible.”

Lion’s intuition told him.

This was clearly a pink-tinged current between his grandfather and Granny Sylvia!