Chapter 35

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Winterberg Castle, the duke’s office.

“You’re here? Report.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

At Raul’s offhand command, the servant bowed deeply and began his report.

“This month’s food and daily necessities have been delivered to the cabin as well. We’ve been stopping by once a week to check on the duchess’s living conditions.”

Every word of it was a lie.

Just like last month, the food and supplies had all been siphoned off, and he hadn’t gone near the cabin even once.

By now, that wicked woman was surely nothing more than a rotting corpse, starved to death.

He planned to visit the cabin at the end of this month and collect the remains.

As for the duke, he could simply report that the woman had finally fled. Or that beasts from the forest had torn her apart, leaving nothing but bones.

The servant had no doubt the duke would welcome such news, yet as he lied, cold sweat dampened his palms.

“The duchess… her life appears somewhat difficult, but she’s managing well enough.”

“Her life appears difficult? I’m sure it does.”

With a faint scoff, Raul glanced at him, blue eyes glinting.

It was only a passing look, but the servant shrank back instinctively.

“You’ve done well. If there’s nothing further to report, you may leave.”

“Yes, my lord!”

After the servant left the office, Raul pulled a letter from his drawer and read it again.

The sender was Balzac Leone.

An apothecary living in hiding in one of the villages within Winterberg’s territory.

After a dungeon appeared in the domain, Raul had hired him as the castle’s apothecary.

And he had already confirmed the contents of this letter with Balzac in person.

A farming couple who had suddenly appeared in the village one day, selling fruits and vegetables before vanishing again.

People who had eaten the produce they sold and experienced strange effects.

And, supposedly, the wife among the pair had hair the same pale emerald shade as Muriel’s.

When he first heard it, Raul had felt a flicker of suspicion…

‘Just a coincidence.’

He dismissed it almost immediately.

Weren’t they said to be newlyweds? There was no possible way the wife was Muriel. That woman had no one by her side.

‘Still, I should go see for myself soon.’

But for now, he couldn’t spare the time. With the sudden appearance of the dungeon, there was a mountain of matters demanding his attention.

A dungeon manifesting within his territory and forming a hub city was, on one hand, welcome news. On the other, a headache.

It wasn’t just adventurers dispatched from across the lands who would flock to a hub city.

Notorious criminals and swindlers would sniff out the scent of money and slink in like sewer rats.

The trouble they would cause would not be minor. He had to prepare thoroughly.

‘Reinforce the troops guarding the hub city… increase patrol units. And the detention facility for criminals must be completed within this month.’

Most important of all was subjugating the dungeon.

In the past, Raul had supported other territories where dungeons had appeared, sending troops and supplies on several occasions.

Yet out of the five lords who had received his aid, only two had reached out first to offer assistance this time.

The other three were feigning ignorance, citing difficulties within their own lands.

Even though, in noble society, it was only proper to repay help in kind when the time came.

‘Tierney may have sown discord.’

The Duke of Tierney already seemed displeased that a dungeon had appeared in Winterberg’s territory.

‘Willard Tierney—that greedy old man must be having a hard time swallowing this situation.’

A faint sneer touched Raul’s lips as he straightened his attire and rose from his seat.

Two in the afternoon. Time to inspect the knights’ training.

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The three members of the Veratis Guild returned to the dungeon hub city.

Before they left, I made a few requests.

‘We’ll be visiting the Veratis Guild branch soon. When we meet again, you’ll make sure to welcome us properly, right?’

‘Ah, of course~!’

‘And… please put in a good word for us with the Guild Master.’

‘Don’t worry. I know the guild leader pretty well. He’ll probably agree—said it sounds interesting.’

We needed to visit the Veratis Guild branch in the dungeon hub city as soon as possible, but before that, I had something else to take care of.

Namely…

That’s right.

The moment I finished Introduction to Apothecary, the system threw this quest at me—and the reward was a whopping 5,000 Coins.

I hadn’t been able to save any Coins so far, spending them on necessities for daily life. But if 5,000 came in at once, I could open the hidden shop immediately.

As soon as I accepted the quest, I gained the ‘Apothecary’ skill. It was still Level 1.

If my guess was right, I’d have to fill proficiency to 100 before it leveled up.

“Alright. Let’s get started.”

I opened my inventory and laid out the materials I’d gathered on the table.

There wasn’t a proper workspace, so I had no choice but to temporarily use the storage room.

“Muriel, is there anything I can help with?”

“Nope.”

“Master! If you need Nini for anything, just say the word!”

“Thanks.”

Unsurprisingly, Lycian and Ninabel hovered nearby.

They were the type who couldn’t rest unless they poked their noses into every detail of my business, so I’d gotten used to it.

‘I’ll start with the most basic recovery potion.’

The system didn’t provide separate potion recipes.

Which meant I had to rely solely on the knowledge I’d gained from reading Introduction to Apothecary.

Luckily, I wasn’t bad at memorizing things. I’d retained most of the crafting methods listed in the book.

And only after reading it did I understand why apothecaries were so rare.

There were thousands of herbs and poisonous plants in this world. An apothecary had to memorize them all and know how to use them in exactly the right situations.

Herbal knowledge was incredibly complex. Some poisonous plants closely resembled medicinal herbs—use the wrong one, and you could kill someone.

Others had leaves, stems, and roots that were medicinal, but flowers so toxic they had to be handled with extreme caution.

Precise measurement was equally critical. For certain herbs, even a 0.1g error could turn medicine into poison.

‘Ingredients for a low-grade recovery potion… Tenderfeather Herb, Blue Umbrella Mushroom, and a D-rank or higher monster core.’

For the Tenderfeather Herb, separate the stem and leaves for use, and grind the root to extract its juice.

Finely chop the cap of the Blue Umbrella Mushroom, but add the stem whole.

And for the D-rank or higher monster core…

‘Choose one with high transparency, about the size of a child’s fist.’

One that fit the criteria perfectly caught my eye. I quickly grabbed it, washed it clean with water, and dropped it into the cauldron first.

Step by careful step, I continued the process.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed.

“Ugh…”

I pressed both hands against my stiff lower back and stretched briefly.

Lycian and Ninabel sat quietly in the corner, watching me.

“Master! If your back hurts, should Nini give you a massage?”

“Mm… later. I’ve still got a lot to do.”

“Stay strong, Master…!”

Encouraged by the spirit, I focused again on the potion.

A brazier sat beside the table, and atop it, the cauldron bubbled with ingredients.

The smell was… like brewing traditional herbal medicine. The kind that lingered in the lobby of an oriental clinic.

Was the potion going to taste like that?

‘I’ll try it when it’s done.’

For roughly forty minutes, I carefully adjusted the flame while the potion boiled.

That wasn’t all I had to manage. Just as it began to thicken, I had to add the exact amount of water. And every five minutes, I needed to pour in the juice from the Tenderfeather Herb root.

‘Wow, this drains your mental energy like crazy…’

Keeping my focus razor-sharp was exhausting.

My stamina was dropping fast too. Being an apothecary seemed like a job that required a healthy body.

‘Ha… I want a strong body already…!’

Just as I finished that silent plea, the potion was finally complete.

Ding!

Considering it was my first time making one, the result wasn’t bad.

But the taste… one star?

‘Is it really that bad…?’