Chapter 121

Proofreader: somnium

“I told you I would do it.”

“This is easy.”

Artizea said with a slight frown on her face.

Each time she bled her fingers from a couple of experiments, Alice insisted that she cut her own arm instead.

But Artizea also preferred to stab her own finger than to cut Alice’s arm and draw her blood.

She couldn’t say that she had good resilience. But this is where it ends with the smallest wound.

Fortunately, Artizea was good at putting up with physical pain. She went through the wounds a few times, drawing a magic circle on a cotton cloth.

Artizea then stopped the wounds on her fingers. She carefully wiped the area around her wounds with a wet cotton cloth and sprayed it with a hemostatic agent.

“I think Evron acid hemostatic works well. I think it would be fine to commercialize it. Will it be difficult to supply and demand medicines?”

Artizea said so and threw the cotton into the fireplace. The wet cloth seemed to soften the flames for a moment, and then it burned with black smoke.

“This is not the time to say that. Lady, show me your finger.”

Alice said in an upset voice.

“It’s okay. But I must say that I have a hobby of embroidery.”

“Who has hurt her hand so much because of embroidery?”

“I told you this is the most efficient.”

“I would heal much faster.”

“You have to do water work, don’t you use your hands a lot? I’m better. I can just keep wearing my gloves.”

“It’s ridiculous that Madam hurts your own body. What if the Master finds out?”

“Are you going to listen to Cedric more than me?”

Alice couldn’t respond to that, and bit her mouth. Artizea said softly.

“Only this time.”

Alice shook her head in disbelief.

“Really?”

Artizea’s words were sincere, as she had no other place for this to be used.

Alice eventually shut up.

Although she was concerned about Artizea, she never objected to what she said was necessary. It was because Artizea’s words were always the most important.

Artizea covered the magic circle over Mielle’s face.

Even if the fact that she brought Mielle back to life by magic is known to the temple, Artizea will not be immediately attacked by the temple.

Because she is a saintess. Mielle was equally safe.

But when it does, she has to tell the truth. Artizea had no intention of doing that.

She placed her hand at the center of the magic circle.

Fwaaaa-!

A green light rose and flowed along the edge of the magic circle like a fire spreading.

All magics require human vitality. However, there is usually no way to extract life force separately.

At best, it was all about bleeding. However, if a large amount of blood is spilled, the magic circle drawn in blood will be crushed and the contents will become unclear.

Therefore, unless it is a level of magic that emits light for less than 5 seconds, just fatigue is impossible. In fact, they had no choice but to kill people and offer them as sacrifices.

However, Artizea was able to cut off her own life force and convert it to holy power.

She pays a price for it, and she saves Mielle.

She’s already done a few experiments and she’s confirmed that it’s possible. She cannot heal another person, but she could prolong their life by paying the price for it with her own body instead.

To put it another way, it could be viewed as the ability to bring about the target’s suffering or illness.

Her abilities were equal in price and reward. If she included a little bit of life force used to activate magic, the price she had to pay was slightly higher.

In a way, it was also an ability that was well-suited to her oracle of ‘return’.

But she didn’t have any major problems. Didn’t her body make up for it, there’s a saying that people who have a weak body live longer to make up for the weak body? Artizea wasn’t in good health, but she was never so weak that she nearly died. She lived well until she was forty years old. If she hadn’t been tormented by Lawrence, she would have lived longer.

Even if it was cut off by 10 years, she still has plenty of time to work. It wasn’t a waste at all.

If it could put Sir Keshore in her hands, it would be cheap.

Her plans were long, but execution was fleeting.

Even if she took off the cloth, Mielle’s complexion did not improve immediately. Over the next few days she will get a little better.

Artizea didn’t heal her, but she just put her death on hold for 10 years.

Artizea wiped the blood from her fingers once more and put her gloves back on. She carried the cloth on which the magic circle was drawn into her arms. She was going to go home and burn it.

She opened the curtains and windows to ventilate, and when she opened the door, Sir Keshore stood with a restless face.

“Mielle will be fine. I’m sure she will be up for the next few days.”

Artizea said calmly.

“In order to pray for the well-being of your daughter, Mielle, I brought the statue of Saintess Olga, which was a gift from Her Majesty the Empress. Please put it by her bedside. I had it in the carriage, so the servants should have brought it to the lobby by now.”

“I don’t know what to say to thank you…… .”

Artizea smiled at Sir Keshore’s words.

“It’s a loan, so you can’t say that. Lady Mielle will definitely wake up.

“Yes, she must be….”

“I’ll just go back. Please tell your wife not to strain her body and mind with too much concern.”

Sir Keshore followed to see Artizea out of his mansion.

But he couldn’t see her off to the end. It was because a maid ran out and yelled at him before Artizea got into the carriage.

“Sir Keshore! Sir Keshore! Please come this way! The lady has opened her eyes!”

Sir Keshore’s eyes widened. Artizea whispered quietly.

“Go. It seems that Saintess Olga has granted a miracle.”

Sir Keshore understood that.

Although Mielle’s condition is now a secret, if she woke up from her sickbed, he should have spoken to the doctor or nurse.

So, in order not to spread rumors, he was meant to say that the miracle was caused by Saintess Olga.

“I will make a new statue of the saintess and dedicate it to the temple.”

Sir Keshore said quickly.

“Sorry, I have to go.”

Artizea said yes. Sir Keshore hurriedly turned around and ran inside.

Soon through the open window came the sound of a man’s wailing. Artizea set off her carriage.

Alice said with a slightly moved face.

“Sir Keshore is a good man. My father wouldn’t cry so much if he heard that I was dead.”

“If you die and come back to life, he might cry.”

Artizea smiled faintly. She was dizzy from the anemia. As the carriage shook, she had motion sickness. She soon closed her eyes and lay down on Alice’s lap.

***

In early summer, when Artizea gave Terry Ford the camouflage identity of Madam Lexen, she asked for:

If possible, try to earn the Duchess’ trust. If you can be a maid, it’s better, and if not, you should at least be a friend of the maid.

If she would sum it up in one word, it would be summed up as infiltrating the Riagan Duchy.

It wasn’t just the marriage certificate that Artizea prepared for the task.

She had a small business running in the name of Madam Lexen with substantial funds for the activities. As parts of the business, there were a fairly large cloth merchant, a small dressing room, and three large sericulture farms.

It was only when Terry came to the south that she realized the value of the business that Artizea had handed over.

The southern province was a very dangerous region because of pirates, and at the same time, it was also an area where so many goods were passed through the sea route that pirates ran wild.

Other than the Eimmel Kingdom and Iantz Kingdom, there were several small kingdoms beyond the southern part of the empire.

The south had a nice and free climate. In a different sense from the east, the south is a developed area of commerce. There are no large landowners and caravans that target them like predators. There was no conservative temple or oppression by the imperial government.

In the south, those with brilliant ideas worked day and night to make money. Commerce and trade moved through the south. Many foreign merchants and spies came and went to enter the huge market called the Krates Empire. There were also many tourists.

Terry soon got used to handling information. Some of the information and guidelines Artizea gave her were very effective.

Moreover, owning a sericulture farm at this time was treated like owning a gold mine. Because of the newly developed fabric in the Kingdom of Iantz, merchants were running around late trying to find quality silk thread.

When they learned that Terry had recently bought a sericulture farm, they groaned with envy, how did she get such important information.

Terry just said modestly that she was originally a cloth trader, so she just bought it as an investment. But people seldomly believed it.

Madam Lexen was a standout figure, earning her own money at a young age and finally earning her title.

The capital would say that she’s a great person, but in the conservative east, she wouldn’t even get into the social world, they would say that she’s a nouveau riche.

But in the south it was different.

This gave Terry easy access to the Duchess of Riagan.

Her Majesty the Empress is our 7th cousin once removed.

She felt that the Duchess was struggling to claim the Empress as her cousin.

The Duchess of Riagan tried to keep her dignity, and to be arrogant, like a high-ranking aristocrat. Unfortunately, however, it was said that her temperament did not favor her innately arrogant or egotistical side.

Her entitlement was shamefully revealed on her face. The Duchess of Riagan used to speak of her own identity as if she were making excuses.

And she attracted a lot of inconspicuous emerging aristocrats like Terry around her. It was because around them, with the blood of the Riagan Duchy, she could act like an old noblewoman.

Anyway, it was something to be grateful for Terry.

Her acquaintance with the Duchess was beneficial to her business. Traders who mainly dealt with the business of the Iantz Kingdom fabrics gathered around Terry.

Terry never knew she had a business talent. Madam Lexen’s business, which Artizea had arranged, could also be maintained fairly passively.

However, Terry achieved significant success in half a year. It deepened the Duchess’ trust, and a virtuous circle of advantage in business.

And finally, she came to the Eimmel Kingdom with a letter of introduction from the Duchess of Riagan.

“Madam Lexen.”

The Queen’s lady-in-waiting called in a polite voice.

Terry stood up with determination. She had a wry smile on her lips. She got used to that hypocritical smile.

Terry quickly got used to living as Madam Lexen.

Coming here, Terry was freed from money. She was also respected by people.

It was the first time Terry knew that those two could change a person’s life completely.

‘Enjoy the present, but don’t be happy.’

Don’t let the resolution get buried.

If she completely becomes Madam Lexen, she will not be able to function properly.

She was choked when she received the envelope tightly sealed with wax, even though she had been thinking about it all along.

How about just pretending not to know and continue to live as Madam Lexen?

Now that you know your own talent for the first time, why not just run away and start over somewhere?

But in the endless night, she would remember that she had not yet forgotten her resolution.

Terry hid her tremors. She then went to see Queen Eimmel as she smiled brightly.

—

Note:

Do you guys remember her?

To jog your memory, her story appeared in Chapter 39 till Chapter 41 !