Episode 13.4 (1/2)
Norma drank her cold tea. She continued on while gazing at the empty teacup.
”However, changes gradually crept in.
that started out once every ten days turned to every eight, six, five days.”
She put the cup on table.
”Lecan, you probably can't imagine this. To grow old and be robbed of your bodily functions, to have a body that gets ceaselessly tortured by pain all over. However,
is capable of ridding that body of all that. Enabling one to freely move, think and work like their younger self.”
Jinga pour new tea in the empty cup.
”But that body will deteriorate once a day has elapsed, and with it all the pain and suffering back. Until finally the marquis couldn't bear the anguish any more. What should he do then? It's obvious. Shorten the interval of
. What started as once every ten days eventually became once every two days.”
Norma lifted her teacup, put it before her nose and enjoyed the fragrance.
”Mother was given everything. A treasure-class wand. A necklace that raises her mana pool. A ring that nullifies curses. Dresses tailored by the best craftsmen. Luxurious meals. And knight Jinga, her bodyguard.”
Lecan looked at Jinga. His wrinkled face won't allow his emotions to be seen. This man appeared to be an even tougher opponent than he initially thought.
”The end came in the most unceremonious form. One day, a patient sent to father vomited in front of him. Mother cast
on that patient. She went and did it.”
So, was she prohibited from casting
on anyone besides the marquis.
”Mother and father were lambasted for wasting
that could only be cast once a day, which could have resulted in the marquis missing having it cast on him.”
”Couldn't she just drink a blue potion.”
”Of course. In fact, they gave my mother blue potions right away. But blue potions would become less effective if drank consecutively, and mother's mana pool was just too little. What would happen if she had drank two blue potions and then cast
on someone that wasn't the marquis?”
”That's paranoid. Besides, it's your mother's prerogative.”
”That's not how the marquis family saw it. Do you know how much a healthy body worth to a capable influential authoritative figure with excellent track records? The town was celebrating its prosperity. Going to the extreme, it's not an exaggeration to say that mother was the pillar supporting that prosperity.”
Lecan drank up his tea as well. Jinga was going to pour him more tea, but Lecan gestured not to.
”The marquis family put my mother under house arrest. That was when I was ten.”
Norma glared at wall.
”Ten years, ten years. An old man who was once a step away from death survived for ten years. Not only surviving. He even got free from the confine of bed, did a lot of work and even had more children.”
She laughed and smiled at Lecan. A heartwrenching smile.
”Of course anyone is aware of the wonders of
already. But its true worth was made very clear when they saw a real life precedent in the marquis.”
Norma reseat herself deep in her chair, and sent her glance upward to the ceiling while joining both her hands on her belly.
”Mother drank a bluish purple potion every morning and then cast
on the marquis. Then she drank a small blue potion and cast another
on someone else in the afternoon. That someone would be individuals who could bring something great to the marquis house, those who could contribute five gold coins to the house every month. It had come to it before I realized.”
Bluish purple potions amplify mana for a time. Lecan got several from Golbul Dungeon, but he's never had a chance to use one yet.
”I would be brought to meet mother once every five days. She would ask about how my father was doing all the time. Father wasn't allowed to meet mother. I have no idea why.”
Eda threw a question.
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”Is the marquis still doing fine now?”
”No. Four years since my mother was confined, his age finally caught on to him. Apparently
was mostly ineffective during his last moment. But he still managed to escape death for 14 years, and even worked well moments before his death.