Chapter 6 - The World That Had Been Left Alone (1/2)

Chapter 6 – The World That Had Been Left Alone

“Who would ever sell this house? This house belongs to me and the Perrington Family! You can’t move in here and live here without my permission!” I yelled.

My tears continued to fall freely down my cheeks. Everything that I had based my foundations and hopes on was collapsing.

It’s just so unfair.

My feelings had already spiraled out of control and were arousing deep frustration and agony within my heart.

My grip on the woman slackened, and she twisted out of my hands.

“If you have anything to say, go somewhere else! Go and complain somewhere else!” She screamed back at me.

I exhaled shakily, my hands grasping at nothingness.

“You’re right. I’ll go and complain elsewhere. But you should first come out of my house. This is my property.”

The woman looked at me flabbergasted and turned towards the mansion, calling for someone else.

“Bern, Bern!”

At her call, a sturdy man walked out of the mansion. He was dressed like a servant who was working in the mansion.

But I couldn’t back down. I wouldn’t back down if it was 2 people against me or a hundred.

If I stepped away from here, I would lose everything. I would have no connection with the home I had lived in for 20 years.

All at once, my energy seemed to have left me and I fell to the ground. My legs had grown weak, but I still clasped the gate with my hands as if there was no tomorrow.

“…heuk, it’s mine.”

I don’t have anywhere else to go except this house. I didn’t have anything in my hands except the gate I was holding onto.

“Heuk, Mom.”

I missed my mom terribly. I wanted to tell my mom that my sisters had bullied me. But she was now gone, and there was no one to listen to my troubles or reach out to me.

“Bern, drag that woman away before she barges inside,” the woman ordered, pointing her finger at me.

“Who is it?” The man asked.

“I don’t know who she is, but she’s crazy.”

“Okay,” the man called Bert said, unlatching the gate and bending down to pick me up.

With no energy left, I just sat there in misery as I watched him get closer and closer.

“Stop right there,” came an unexpected voice.

The sudden voice made everyone’s eyes, including mine, turn in the direction of the sound. He was behind me, and his white coat fluttered with the wind.

It was the alchemy professor from Kamar Academy.

“Don’t touch my precious specimen,” he declared.

The man, who was trying to pull me up, tilted his head upon hearing the word “specimen.”

“Who are you?” Bern asked.

“Me? I’m the Professor of Alchemy at the Kamar Academy.”

“Well, I don’t care who you are, just don’t meddle in our business,” Bern said, frowning.

“Surely you would’ve heard of me before,” The professor declared arrogantly. “I am Marquis Fredoff.”

The professor’s true identity surprised everyone there, including me.

The Marquis Fredoff Family is a distinguished family of the Valkanus Empire. I’ve heard rumors before that the current head of the family was a genius, but I didn’t expect him to be working as an alchemy professor at the Academy.

“I’ll say it again. Don’t touch my precious specimen.”

Even though he just repeated the words he had said earlier, everyone reacted differently after hearing his identity.

This time, the man stepped back a few steps away from me.

Meanwhile, I was staring at the professor in a daze, in disbelief.

Glancing at me, he smiled. For some reason, the expression on his face made me feel as if he was a demon leading me to destruction by delivering tempting words.

“The offer I made earlier is still valid. If you help me with my experiment, I’ll get rid of the reparations you have to pay, and give you the job as the assistant pharmacist.”

I had already heard his offer, but now that I truly know what kind of situation I am in, the offer sounded different and more appealing.

There was no way I could tell Medina and Claire that I had returned young again. I didn’t know what they would do if they found out.

They had already disposed of the Perrington family’s property and had even discussed trying to marry me into another family or sending me to a convent.

I couldn’t even imagine how my sisters would look at me now.

I had nowhere to go.

I could no longer cry and beg to be let back into my home. The contract that the professor was offering is no longer an option, it was a necessity to survive.

“Will food be served as well?”

For the first time, his smile did not look scary. It looked genuinely happy and proud. He seemed to notice that I would no longer reject him.

“Of course it will. You won’t have to worry about a thing,” He said with a laugh. He held out a hand to help me back onto my feet. “My name is Jerru Ivan Fredoff, but you can also call me Professor.”

***

Jerru had given Belia a place to stay at the Kamar Academy and returned to the lab with a pleasant look on his face.

He could have taken her as a retainer of the Fredoff Family, but it would be more convenient to have a follower near the laboratory.

Just thinking about the experiments he would do to her from now on made his heart flutter.

He honestly had no idea that Belia would encounter such a situation. He had just chased her to intimidate her into agreeing with his contract.

He was very lucky.

While Jerru was humming and planning his experiments, he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he said, glancing at the door.

When he permitted entrance, a man wearing a white gown came in. This man was the man who had given Belia the experimental liquid on accident. He was actually one of Jerru’s assistants who also worked as a guard.

“P-Professor, I heard you were looking for me. I was so careless about accidentally administering the experimental drugs to that woman that I couldn’t sleep for days… ”

“You said you didn’t sleep well, yet you took a small vacation when I sent you away for not doing your job properly.” Jerru’s former joyous emotions quickly began to dissipate.

“A-as soon as I heard the news that you were looking for me again, I was quickly on my way back . . .”

“You were the catalyst for the depletion and loss of the liquid solution. Do you understand that?”

“I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever I can t-to … ”

“Starting today, you’re fired,” Jerru declared, cutting off whatever the assistant had to say.

“What?”

“I’ve told you to be careful, yet you took care of the precious liquid solution like that? How do you plan to take responsibility if it had killed the person who drank it?”