Chapter 142 – Destiny.

Helena looked out the window for a moment, rubbing her sore eyes, probably because she had been looking at her book for a long time. Outside, only darkness settled in, and only the sound of rain pounding on the window could be heard. Other than that, it was a very quiet night. Her heart was also as oppressive as the scene seen through her window.

“Whoa, I was expecting that.”

How many books has she read? Already, when she saw the books piled up around her desk, it was pointless to count them. She read through the last book, filtering out redundant or incorrect content for several days, but the girl’s drawing of Amarat, her herb, did not seem to be able to be said at all. The most similar plant was tumbleweed, but it was a plant that had no special purpose, let alone medicinal properties.

Still, thinking that she might not know, she collected the pictures and contents about the tumbleweed separately and took them out of her room. And what he faced was darkness as dark as outside the window. Originally, the maids hired until late at night would have been on duty and lit up the hallways, but now the timing was not too good. With her employment experience at least, she managed to keep her last name rolling, but her personal body had many limitations. All the more because she does not have one job.

Helena reluctantly picked up her candelabra that had been lighting her own room and began walking down her hallway. In the darkness all around her, only the light of her candle she held barely lit up the darkness, and only her footsteps reverberated through the hallway. It was even a great castle in terms of scale, but only if there were people to manage it. Most of the castle is empty, and a castle without people using it is no different from a ruined castle with only a shell left.

“It would be better to increase the number of employees as soon as possible.”

Even her words to herself echoed loudly in the still darkness and cut through the sound of rain. Fortunately, the castle was empty for a long time, but it was neatly maintained, but that was not a very pleasant fact. It was always questionable that the last name was too neat, and she found out why not long ago. Did you say Pyalyar? The one who dared to lay her hand on her girl. After the trial, she interrogated him to investigate her further crimes.

She felt that she was being too bold when she dared to invite her lord’s family to her house, but the title of lord’s deputy had done so much that her confidence and self-esteem skyrocketed. Am. Even though she was imprisoned, she acted as if she hadn’t done anything wrong, so she had to use a confession agent that she didn’t normally use. Because of her, she was able to know a lot of things she didn’t want to know.

“No matter how much the lord was vacant, I could not have imagined that the village headman would have served as the lord.”

If so, it was understandable that the castle, which had been neglected for a long time, was better maintained than expected and traces of management were left here and there. Even traces of furniture left here and there that are difficult to see as being from a long time ago and traces of something on the walls that seem to have been swept away. Thanks to her, she was able to solve her doubts from the first time she came to this castle, but what remained was a feeling of embarrassment. It was even more so when I found strangely clean traces from time to time.

Even more horrifying is the fact that he also knew the castle’s secret passage. He even knew that even after Donnar and her family came, he had been peeking into their lives through a secret passage. Still, since it was the lord’s castle, he couldn’t do anything more than that, so he waited for an opportunity and invited it to his mansion. And even a plan to seduce an herbalist who likes girls to make him an accomplice and put the blame on him. Thorough yet flimsy, it showed how confident he was.

Is she still looking for opportunities like Pyalyar through the secret passage in the empty castle? She moved forward even as she keenly got on her nerves. And the place she arrived was Usher’s room. She put on her gas mask and gloves and knocked on her door.

“May I come in?”
“Huh.”

Hearing permission from inside, he entered and saw Belka wiping a towel over Usher’s forehead. He was late, so no one would say anything if he fell asleep a little, but the girl didn’t neglect to take care of him at all. Thanks to this, her illness did not improve, but it did not show any signs of progressing further, but Helena showed her the books she had compiled.

“No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anything about the herb called Amarat. First of all, I brought data on the most similar plant, so please check it out.”

Belka finally looked back at Helena and accepted her material. Even if it was a material, it was only two sheets. Tumbleweed was a weed with only that much value, so it was inevitable. Still, the girl went through each of her materials she had brought with her. Even just by looking at the picture, Amarat would be clearly different from the herbs you might not even know existed.

“Thank you.”

Eventually, as if she had read all of her material, what the girl muttered at the end of the silence was her thanks to her.

“Yes? Maybe that’s it.”
“No. The shape of the flower and the shape of the plant are different.”
“…Then why?”

At Helena’s question, Belka stared blankly at her.

“Are you still trying? It’s a strange lie. Even though it could have been considered a made-up illusion.”

She thought it was as if she had caught on to her thoughts. Yes, because that was the most convincing hypothesis. But nonetheless, Belka.

“Helena didn’t listen to me.”

Her heart sank. On top of her girl, the remnants of longing memories overlap and pierce her heart.

“It’s not like that.”

Her voice cracked as she answered Belka’s words. Helena wasn’t doing it out of a simple favor, as the girl thought. Why? The fact that she showed excessive favor to the girl. The reason she couldn’t even know herself was now clear. Helena had only tried her best to remember her past and shake off her terrible sense of emptiness through the girl in her memory who was infinitely like her. As evidence of that, wasn’t she following her past actions, the times when she had loved ones, similarly?

If it was for Sasha, she should have worked for Mediah instead of following Belka here. Even in spite of her personal feelings for Aeolus, who had taken away her love, her memories, her longing, her pain, her friends, and her oath. But she was here now. Helena pursues Belka simply because she resembles her memories. Didn’t he then subconsciously conclude that there would be no herb called Amarat?

Helena realized that if it really was for Belka, the girl’s beloved Usher, for the patient, she shouldn’t have been like this. How cruel she had been. If she could think a little, she would have been quick to come to a conclusion. She’s cowardly, she’s so self-pitying that she doesn’t even realize what she’s been doing. Her sobbing, her dark feelings running up her throat, were her own disgust and guilt.

It’s as if she knew her solution from the start. How far had she pushed it out of consciousness because it was virtually impossible? If the disease came from a foreign country, there is a high probability that the solution will be found in the place where the disease originally resided. She was terrified of herself, dwelling on her past as reflected in her girl, content with herself for her sake, without even trying to know about it. So she had to tell her what she should have done earlier.

“You must prepare your mind.”

Her clumsy, trembling voice announced the end of her deceit. Yeah, that’s what she must have said since she found out Usher had this disease. The herb that will cure his disease may be in Parz, where he originally had this disease. However, even if the herb called Amarat existed, they could only say that it was impossible for them to get their hands on it. Because Kathy’s hometown, Parz, was beyond the cloud region.

The Cloud Zone was a grateful existence that always made rain and made the surrounding land fertile, but conversely, the area right below was so terrible that it could be called a hell that exists in human life. Unstable air, unpredictable hailstones and lightning strikes are commonplace, and the land is almost like water, so it can’t pull a wagon unless it’s a creature like Hildisbini. Even if you are lucky enough to avoid all of them, you will be eaten piece by piece by huge ferocious crayfish.

Crossing under the cloud zone was a series of such gambles. If you try to pass by to get a cure, you will die under it. Therefore, finding a cure was impossible.

“Thank you anyway.”

Even so, Helena couldn’t understand Belka saying that.

“Why? I’m not qualified to hear that…”

But her words were cut off as the girl shook her head.

“Even if he tricked us, Helena’s desire to heal Usher was as real as it was. She was looking for it. Herbs to replace Amarat.”

The girl’s gentle golden light seemed to choke her breath. Although Helena had countless recipes running through her mind.

“It was just a failure in the end.”

Although suppression of the disease was possible, treatment was not possible. That was her limit. Eventually she had to go to Parz so she could get rid of this illness. That was then. Helena felt a terrifying sensation running down her own spine. At the same time, in the corner of her field of vision, she could see the catsy boy, who had always curled up and closed her eyes unless she was eating, shaking her body and opening her eyes. The boy’s eyes were right behind her.

“That sounds like an interesting story.”

The moment Helena intuitively pulled her dagger out of her sleeve at the low, heavy man’s voice and turned around to slash it down.

“‘Raidou'”
“Ugh?!”

She felt a headache shaking her head. But even then, she regained her senses and aimed at something with her dagger, but her posture was disturbed by the headache she had just before, and she lost sight of her opponent.

“Ooh. You’re a bloody maid. Do maids these days carry at least one knife for self-defense?”

Helena was horrified by the presence of an uninvited guest who had appeared without any warning, but sharpened her spirit and raised her dagger in her opposite hand toward her opponent. The opponent was completely wrapped in a dull robe and darkness. Then he remembered what he had muttered. It was a rune. And even the headache I just had.

“Wizard!”

There was no way Helena didn’t know what that meant. Because the ultimate goal of an alchemist was to explain why magic exists and how magic works.

“Where did you hear this place!”
“The place was empty until a few weeks ago, wasn’t it?”

Despite his sly words, she raised her dagger and recovered her spirits.

“‘Pay hew'”

As soon as Helena heard his gestures and words, she wondered if she could understand even a little bit of magic, so she remembered the magic according to the runes she had memorized. It was a magic that bound and restrained the target. It was at this moment that she felt her body stiffen.

“Aww…!”

As soon as her stiff body loosened, she heard a small, painful moan from the girl behind her and realized what she had done. She knew from Aiolos that Belka was a witch, but she couldn’t believe she was anything more special than that. When she couldn’t hide her surprised expression.

“She’s a smart woman. I don’t hate her, but she’s getting in the way now.”

Her wizard threw something of her at her. She brushed it off right away, but it turned out to be a mistake.

“This?! Coke! Kkeuk!?”

What the wizard threw was a bag full of powder. Because of that, the moment her vision was obstructed. Helena lost her mind with the shock she felt in her stomach.

“Now, it’s just the two of us left.”

She looked down at her girl, claiming that it was just the two of them, even though she was not doing anything, and there was obviously a catsy boy watching in the corner of the room. Belka grabbed her chest and made her tremble, but he reached out and pulled her chin up.

“After all, it wasn’t an illusion. You removed the magic. Didn’t you? Belka.”