Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 208

The Cure, at What Cost?

With her High Society duties done, Connie returned to the blissful silence of her Alchemy Room.

Three days later, a carriage arrived in front of Connie’s temporary residence. Its passenger stepped out with a weary smile, greeted by Martell.

“Martell, my boy. Good to see you. You’ve got more meat in you now.”

“As I should,” Martell replied. “Good to see you too, Ethel. The Mistress is waiting for you in her Alchemy Room. I’ll take you to her.”

As the Beastfolk Boy was escorting the elderly Herbalist through the mansion, she asked. “Where are the others?”

“Illumca is out on a business. Nick is out again doing Goddess-knows-what. Madame Sui is hard at work instructing Zalkhin Altanghazar on proper etiquette - for the Spring Ball, you see. Ah, Madame Sui is a longtime friend of the Mistress. She joined us back in Greyvault.”

“Yes, she did write to me about that.”

“I’m sure you’d like her, she’s…a very experienced woman. Ah, here we are. Mind the smell,” he said as he held his breath and opened the door.

As soon as the door was opened, melange of fragrant and noxious smell smacked Ethel in the face. She spotted two cauldrons filled with dark-colored liquid bubbling away while a figure was hunched over a table, In her left hand was a strange transparent tube, held aloft as she shook it lightly. Her other hand was scribbling on a note, her mouth mumbling quietly.

“Miss Connie?”

“Ethel! Good. I’ll be right with you in just a minute,” Connie said without turning her head. After putting down the tube into its stand, Connie offered her hand. “How’s everyone doing?”

“Great, great,” she replied as she took her hand and shook it. She felt a curious warmth flowing from Connie’s palm. “They’re doing very well. Bertus and Sen’s mother are taking care of the store. And Sen has also been learning how to take care of the storefront properly. Oh, and she likes the presents you sent her.”

“Good. And I see that you’ve progressed well in your Cultivation, judging by the density of your Energy,” Connie said, releasing her hand.

“So, why did you make me come here? Surely you aren’t inviting me to the Capital because you miss me.”

“Straight to the point,” Connie smiled approvingly. “You don’t know how gratifying it is to have a conversation that does not have double speak, here in the Capital,” she said as she pulled up chair for Ethel. “Are you aware of the disease that’s been making its round in the Capital?”

“You mean the Infidelity Disease? I am, actually. Some people who visited the store have asked me regarding the cure, discreetly. They said that no cure has been found thus far.”

Connie put down a small Pill bearing three stripes on its surface.

“This is the cure for that disease. I call it, Three Stripes Pill.”

Ethel was frozen for a full minute before finally letting out a weak, “What?”

The day before their meeting, Connie – disguised as the jolly fat Mr. Swinton – visited the Rose of Paradise Club and presented the Pills she made.

The moment she placed the Pills on and told Madame Griselda and Scarlet what they were, the unshakeable Madam slowly sat down and cupped her mouth in disbelief. Scarlet squeezed her hands, trying to stay calm.

The medicine called Penicillin worked by breaking down the bacteria cells’ walls, allowing the body’s immune system to break it down. But Connie had no knowledge of how the thing called Penicillin looked like in the wild. And the books said nothing about how to grow one, and whether it was even possible to find it in Calendia, so she stuck to what she knew; poisons.

By utilizing certain combinations of snake venom and herbs, she made a mild poison that would target the bacteria cell’s, invade them, and corrode them from the inside out.

The only drawback was that it was quite aggressive, and once ingested would cause people to have a fever. Therefore, it had to be taken at the same time with a fever reducing medicine.

Connie explained to them that they were still in trial, but was eighty percent sure that it would be effective as a cure.

“The Three Stripes Pill will need to be crushed and mixed with warm water and drunk every twenty-four hours. It will cause a mild fever and chills when it’s working, so if it became unbearable, make her drink one of the Pills in this bottle. It’s a simple fever reducer.”

“How - how long does it take for them to be completely cured?” Scarlet asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“It’ll take maybe three to five weeks to be rid of them as Rosanna’s disease is at an advanced stage. It will be faster for those in earlier stage. Be aware that I might need to make adjustments based on the progress of the diagnosis. Also, the regiment must not be interrupted, otherwise you’d have to start all over again. Bear in mind that this will only work for Type One. Don’t use them for those suffering from Type Two. We don’t know what might happen,” she said as she wrote the prescription on paper and handed it over to Scarlet. “I will come and check the progress every few days.”

Griselda cupped her hand over her eyes. Traces of tears could be seen between her fingers. “Thank Junnaveil. Thank you, Milady. This is the best news I’ve heard in these trying times.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We’ll see how it progresses.”

“What about…the Type Two?” Scarlet asked.

“Scarlet!” Griselda scolded her. “Don’t be thankless!”

Connie hissed. “I’m still working on it. It’s a very aggressive disease.”

“Forgive me,” the beautiful Scarlet apologized with a deep bow. “I know you’ve tried your hardest…”

“I’ll do my best. But for now, take care of the Type One patients. That’s all you can do.”

Connie gave the old Herbalist a summary of what she had done and what she had found; she found the different faces Ethel made to be entertaining.

“I – I don’t know if I should be surprised at what you’ve accomplished. Or be surprised that you managed to find out the truth about the disease,” She clasped both hand on her forehead and took a deep, insightful breath. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

“Now that’s what I like about you, Ethel. I want you to create the cure for the Type One while I am researching Type Two,” she said as she thrust a piece of paper into her hand.

“This is…?”

“The recipe for the Pill. Take it and commit it into your memory. After that, burn it.”

“What? Why? Wouldn’t it be easier if we had more help from the Alchemists under me?”

“Because at the end of it all, it’s poison. If people without proper knowledge tries to make it, it’ll turn from a cure to a death sentence. We must stabilize the recipe first before handing them to others. And you Ethel, is the foremost of the Alchemists that have started Cultivation.”

Ethel grinned. “Well, can’t be helped then. Let this old woman show you what she’s got,” she frowned slightly. “But, Three Stripes Pill because there are three stripes on the Pill? That’s a rather lazy name, isn’t it?”

“Because it is…a very mundane medicine,” Connie stated. “The hard part is simplifying the recipe while retaining the desired effect.”

It was a very windy afternoon when Illumca finally returned to the mansion. It had just been a bit more than a week since she had to undergo training and do missions following Mr. Butters. She had not slept for many days and was glad to have a chance to rest.

As she went in, she saw that it was empty, safe for an unexpected person sitting in the living room while drinking tea with Lihua.

“Ethel.”

“It’s been a while. Some tea?” the old woman said. “Lihua brewed very good tea.”

“This one is pleased. Please, have a seat and join us.”

Illumca gingerly sat down and joined them. It was really good tea. The warmth seeped into her bones and Illumca let out a soft sigh of release.

“Is Connie around?”

“This one doesn’t know. Perhaps the Mistress is out for some urgent business?”

“She said that she’s going to the brothel today,” Ethel said.

The old woman heard something crack in the direction of the Dark Elf. When she directed her attention, she saw that the handle on the teacup had cracked and the poor ceramic had fallen onto the ground.

“Where…did you say she went to?”

Ethel eyed Lihua, who shook her head tiredly. “Is…is it supposed to be a secret?”

After a late dinner at the Rose of Paradise Club (Whose Cook made very fine roasted chicken glazed with honey), Connie returned to her temporary mansion. Belly full, and ready to do another all-nighter. She was actually looking forward to it.

As she entered the mansion, she saw that her companions, except for Lihua, were sitting in the living room. Their eyes looking at her strangely.

“What’s everyone doing?” Connie asked. “And why the silence?”

“Connie.”

“Whah - ” Connie quickly turned around to see Illumca standing behind her with a thin smile. “Illumca! How did you get behind me? I couldn’t even feel your presence!”

“I’ve obtained an Artifact that could raise my Stealth by two levels,” she explained. Still wearing the same smile. But Connie had seen that smile before, back when she broke the promise with her late wife to return home on time for dinner. That was the smile she had when she was angry.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“I…I’m sorry…?” Connie began. Then she glanced at Ethel, who mouthed sorry. She put two and two together, cursing inwardly. Did Lihua know this? Did she run away because she knew that there was something wrong?

“That…I…went to the Red Light…District?” Connie slowly spoke, heart pounding. “But I didn’t do anything there! I’m just helping create a cure for the Infidelity Disease.”

“I know.”

“You…what?” Connie stood there, nonplussed. “You’re not…angry?”

“I’m angry? No, I’m just disappointed! Disappointed that you didn’t think it important to tell me that you were going to the Red-Light District!”

“Listen, Illumca. I just…don’t want you to suspect me of misdemeanor,” Connie said. She did not want to say that she was afraid that the Dark Elf would overthink things.

“I already interrogated Nick. I know you haven’t been with anyone there.”

“Y-you did?”

“But even if I didn’t do that, I’ve learned of your taste in women while we were together. I’ve had time to sit down and thought about it. I don’t think any woman in any brothel would pique your interest.”

“Huh, well…that’s surprising.”

Back when she was Wang Tian Gu, when she went to a brothel to enjoy the dancers and Fei found out, she had to endure a month of silent treatment and sleeping on the floor.

“However…I still want to make sure that you won’t think about any other women for the near future.”

“Uh…what do you mean?”

“It means…you’re going to be with me until morning,” Illumca said, grabbing Connie by the wrist and dragging her up the stairs. “And I’ll be the one taking charge.”

“Uh…” Nick smiled awkwardly after the door to the bedroom was slammed behind them. “I’ll…I’ll just go grab Karn for a drink.”

“I…don’t get it. Why is Illumca angry? Isn’t it normal that a strong warrior like Connie to have relations with other women? I mean, inside, she’s a man, right?”

“Zalkhin Altanghazar, maybe I should explain the culture here in Calendia. In a tavern away from here.”

In the few days that passed while Connie was preoccupied with her private matters, the High Society was abuzz with the news of the event that transpired at the Queen’s Tea Party. About how the scion of the Steelheart House had garnered the interest of two of the most high-acclaimed artists in their field. This all stemmed from one Cathy Morrisey who, in her fervor of poetry, could not stop herself from sharing the poem Connie had made on the fly with her fellows in her book-reading circle. And with how fond of women and their gossips, it was unavoidable for it to spread fast and wide.

In a well-known café overlooking the bridge between the Noble and Business District, two women of considerable age were enjoying tea. One of them was reading a stanza from Who Remains Behind. A copy of the one Cathy wrote.

“…twenty years like a drunken dream. As if yesterday, we spoke our vows…” the Lady dreamily spoke. “Ah, to have someone love you so deeply even after so many years apart. How riveting.”

“My favorite is this part…their thorns latching to my hem. It evokes the image of someone’s hand desperately reaching…oh my,” she fanned herself with a coquettish look. “I feel like I’m a little girl again.”

“If only my husband could share her talent with words. All the things that came out of his mouth is, “what’s for dinner?” and “Where is my son?” and “I’m gonna be late, don’t wait up!”.” She sighed again. “I know he makes good money, but…(sigh)one could dream.”

“I wish I could be there to see it!”

“I also heard that she had made the medicine that cured the people poisoned by the horrible Demons in Greyvault! And I heard rumors from my maid that she was also a competent swordswoman. Though I cannot condone a girl doing such barbaric thing, it does makes me wonder. Does this mean that she’s not just an expert in swordsmanship, but is also accomplished in Alchemy and Poetry? Compared to that, my son can’t even wake up in the morning without being yelled at.”

At the next table, near the window, Henrietta put down her cup of tea with a little smile.

With just one event, the image of the scion of the Steelheart house changed from an unwomanly brute that only knew of the sword into that of an all-around genius. She was proud of that, but also felt a little lonely.

After the tea, she went for a stroll around the stores followed by Barnaby and a thin, lanky man named Clay, one of her father’s personal guards.

She was browsing dresses and jewelries when she saw a person in a hood reflected behind her, walking with considerable urgency against the crowd. The person bumped into an inattentive little boy who was eating an apple, causing him to drop the fruit. The hooded person paused briefly to look back at the child, let out an angry tsk, and subsequently ignored the crying child.

Henrietta managed to catch a glimpse of the face of the hooded figure and mouthed to herself. “That’s…Julia Wendell…”

She looked at her lanky Guard and said. “Clay, can you follow her and take a look at what she’s doing?”

“Milady, your father told me to guard you. This is not part of my order.”

“Please, Clay. I’ll keep out of trouble. Look, I’ll stay in that store with Barnaby.”

Clay shifted his eyes to and fro, before tipping his hat and went off to follow Julia.

“Milady. Why are you making Clay follow Lady Julia?” he asked.

“It’s just my hunch, Barnaby. That woman is a confidant of that Serin Gladstone. Their people disdain mixing with commoners. And yet we just saw her moving about in the Business District and without a guard? Moreover, a few days ago, Connie just dealt a blow at Serin. I’d say chances are, she’s up to no good.”

“Amazing, Milady.”

“Well, let’s just hope that my hunch is wrong.”

However, an hour later, Henrietta found out that - to her horror - her hunch was spot on.