TL: Zimmings
âIâll give it to my uncle.â
[Hey-!!]
Storas roared, the ground rumbled as a gust of wind blew into the room. The curtain fluttered wildly.
Taylor, who looked out the window murmured, âIs it an earthquake?â
I spoke to Taylor without averting my eyes from Storas.
âHowever, Iâll own the distribution rights for drugs made from meria grass.â
â⦠Youâre worse than your father. We call that a slave contract.â
I glanced at Taylor and said.
âItâs a pity that the empire doesnât have a law to govern such a contract. So, you donât like it?â
âNo.â
Taylor looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.
âItâs great. Give me the meria grass.â
The contractor glowed red.
[This damnâ¦â¦! For generations to come you will regret it!]
Storas flew up after a roar. As soon as I saw it disappearing like dust, I shrugged.
After that, I returned Taylor to the mansion and left the room.
The first thing I did after leaving the room was to secretly contact Seria.
âSeria, bring the grass I mentioned earlier to the mansion.â
[If itâs grass⦠ah, yes. All right.]
After hearing Seriaâs reply, I went to visit Marquess Shuheil and his son Edgar.
âHow was it, Lady? Can my husband liveâ¦?!â
The marquess took my hand and almost begged.
âCalm down, madam. He will wake up safely. Maybe he doesnât even have to amputate his leg.â
âHuh?â
As the Marquessâ face brightened, Edgar Shuheil asked with a frown.
âHow are you sure of that?â
âThat is, soâ¦â
I know where the meria grass is, and it can be used to make antibiotics, and maybe even a better medicine if itâs Taylor.
ââ¦I canât say that.â
I put my hands on my chest.
âSomehow, I think someone whispers the cure to me.â
Looking around with cautious eyes, Edgar burst out laughing.
âDoes that even make any sense-â
âEdgar.â
The marquess stopped her son with one hand and said to me,
âNeither the doctor nor the priest can be trusted. The only person we can rely on is the lady.â
At the words of the marquess, I smiled.
People seek God in their worst moments.
I glanced at Edgar as he turned his head, biting the tender flesh in his mouth.
Yes, the child of fate heard the voice of God, what would youndo?
âOh, my title as the child of fate really helped.â
Mina, please come as late as possible so that I can fully enjoy my title. No, itâs better if you donât come. You always wanted to go back to your original world.
I smiled brightly and took the marquessâ hand.
âIâll do my best. Please donât lose hope, madam.â
âAh, ladyâ¦â
The marquess was weeping.
***
Me and my brothers returned to the mansion.
Taylor, who usually didnât care whether I came or not, was waiting for me in the courtyard.
âSo when are you going to go find the grass? It wonât take very long if you use a long-distance teleportation, but if you want to do a search in the deep mountains, at least three or four daysâ¦â
âArenât you going?â
âWhat?â
Taylor frowned and said.
âIt was in our contract that you give me meria grass and I save the Marquis of Shuheil.â
At that, Henry, Isaac, and Johann, who had come down to the courtyard to find me, looked at him.
Johann looked at me and asked.
âContract?â
Isaac grabbed my wrist towards him. Hearing my contract with Taylor, my brothers became worried.
âAre you crazy? Kid, do you know how dangerous a âcontractâ is? If the contract is not properly executed, all who are entangled must suffer terrible things!â
As Isaac shouted, Henry pushed him away with a stiff face.
âItâs meria grass. How would you find the legendary grass that only appears in myths?â
Jogann gave orders to the knights guarding the courtyard.
âGather the knights. Letâs gather everything we know about the myths.â
Henry looked at Johann.
âWe have to go to Mount Enox. In the myths, it is written that the grass grows on Mount Enox-â
âWhat?! If itâs Mount Enox, itâs owned by the Duke of Marche! Damn it. Can we get permission to enter before Marquis Shuheil is dead?!â
Isaac shouted âAh!â and pointed to Henry.
âLetâs sacrifice our oldest brother. When he becomes their son-in-law, we can go there easily!â
â⦠Lady Marche is 13 years older than me.â
âSo what? The kid got tangled up in a contract! If she fails, her skin may melt or she may lose her eyesight!â
Johann said,
âWell, if we only got engaged for a whileâ¦â
They must be crazy! I quickly intercepted their crazy babbles.
âNo, you donât have to go!â
âWhat?â
âWhat, kid?â
âHuh?â
I shouted, putting my hands on my waist.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âMeria grass is nearby!â
Just then, Hans, Duke, and Seto sent by Seria arrived. I let them see what they bring.
âThis is meria grass. You idiots!â
Seeing what was in my hand, my brothers and Taylor narrowed their brows.
Taylor took the grass from my hand and examined it. He looked at me with a doubtful expression.
âIsnât this a mushroom?â
âYes.â
âItâs not grass, itâs a mushroom.â
âOh, because it is.â
They couldnât find it because everyone focused on the word grass like Taylor. Meria grass is the mushroomâs name.
âThatâs meria grass. Grass is just part of the name.â
The mushroom fell from Taylorâs hand.
***
I sat side by side on the sofa with my dad, staring at the lit outbuildings late in the night.
My dad put Taylor in the villa. He attached many elite knights to him instead so he couldnât escape.
With both hands on my chin, I glanced at Taylorâs shadow flickering by the window.
âHeâs really passionateâ¦â
As I mumbled, my father, who was checking the documents, glanced at me.
âWhat?â
âMy uncle. Heâs not a good person right? He conducted numerous human experiments, harmed his brother, and many more. However itâs strange that heâs passionate about medicine.â
I blinked my eyes and continued.
âMedicine is about saving people. The fact that he, who has killed so many people until now, and is so passionate about saving lives⦠Oh.â
While muttering, I suddenly realized something and shook my head. My dad looked at me questioningly.
âI donât think my uncle is that bad.â
âWhy do you think so?â
âSince he killed a lot of people up until now, wouldnât he want to compensate by saving more people?â
My dad answered, turning his eyes to the papers again.
âCompensation wonât bring the dead back.â
âStillâ¦â
âHe killed many people, so make amends to the world by reviving so many other people. What is up with that logic?â
ââ¦â
âItâs just self-consolation. His sins wouldnât be erased. Donât feel sorry for him.â
âThen that was the same for us? You canât give reasons to me, my brothers, and all the people of Dubblede who sinned?â
âYes. Thatâs the price we have to bear for taking a different path.â
As I lowered my head, dad patted the top of my head.
âBlaine, there are many values ââin the world. Justice, cause, goodwill, such a thing.â
âI know.â
âWhy do you think itâs worth it?â
ââ¦â¦huh?â
âBecause itâs difficult. Not taking the money that has fallen in front of your eyes, sacrificing for so many people, and turning your eyes away from desire are actually more difficult than anything else.â
âYesâ¦â¦.â
âWe chose easier means than others. We take other peopleâs things, sometimes threaten them with their lives, and we do not hesitate to threaten the peace of others to protect ourselves.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âItâs the weight we had to carry that we canât turn away from.â
â⦠Isnât that so lonely?â
âThatâs the price we have to pay.â
I hugged my dadâs waist tightly.
âStill, I love you dad.â
My dad became stiff. He looked at me who was pouting and had a sullen expression as he carefully wrapped my cheek.
âThis is enough.â
As I stood on the sofa and hugged my dadâs neck, he stroked my back very very carefully.
âYou can say I love you back. Iâll listen.â
ââ¦â¦ Yes.â
My dad was a pitiful villain who couldnât say he loved me at all.
At best, he could only say yes. Itâs just a common answer, but I understand. The affection contained in those short words is unmeasurable. I laughed and rubbed my face on his neck.
***
The next morning, Taylor covered his haggard face with his palm.
âItâs more difficult than I thought.â
He knew best that making antibiotics wasnât going to happen overnight, but the progress was too slow.
Then, he heard the door open.
âHey. I told you not to come into the labâ¦â
He murmured, and lowered his hand.
âWhy are you here? Theodore.â
Theodore looked at him and put something down on the desk. It was a bag full of papers and money.
ââ¦â¦ What.â
âItâs materials that were in the archives of Vallua duchy. Check it out, it might be helpful for your experiments.â
â⦠You suddenly do this kind of favor to me? Did the sun rise in the west? Did you have any change of heart? Huh?â
Theodore said arrogantly at the sarcastic remark.
âBecause my daughter loves me.â
ââ¦â¦ Huh?â
âI want to help her. Itâs nothing like doing a favor to a damn foe.â
He said while clutching Taylorâs chin.
âSave Marquis Shuheil.â