Chapter 70
A loud rumbling sound, echoing through the dungeon, startled us.
“What’s happening?”
I asked the old man, wondering if he knew anything. He gestured towards his beard with a serious expression.
“Release me, and I’ll tell you.”
“Not a chance!”
I tugged on his beard, and he groaned. Sometimes, cruelty was part of a maid’s job. I tugged on his beard a few more times and asked,
“Do you know what that sound was? Does it have anything to do with the elixir?”
“There’s no time for that. Let’s get out of here.”
The young master grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. Since I was still holding onto the beard, the old man, still tied to the chair, was dragged along with us.
“You wicked creatures! Do you think I can escape in this state?!”
“Ah, right. We want information, not to kill you. You go first, Young Master!”
I pushed him forward and then lifted the chair with the old man still on it.
“H-how can a maid be so strong?!”
“I’m strong because I’m a maid.”
I carried the old man, chair and all, and quickly ran up the dungeon stairs. The young master also ran towards the exit without showing any signs of fatigue.
As we emerged from the dungeon, I saw a flash of red streak across the sky, followed by a trail of fire and a whooshing sound.
“What in the world…?”
The old man, regaining his composure, explained haughtily,
“Behold. You’re witnessing something you’ll never see again in your lifetime. That’s a phoenix.”
As if realizing it was time for a self-introduction, the phoenix flew towards us, its large wings flapping. The young master shielded me protectively.
“So that’s our research material?”
He glared at the old man, who turned his head away, sulking. He was probably still upset about me pulling his beard and carrying him around on a chair.
“You should know better than I do, shouldn’t you? The great Lehman Zepetto asking me for advice? Preposterous.”
The old man seemed determined to be uncooperative. I really didn’t want to do this again, but…
I grabbed his beard again. He flinched and exclaimed, “Again?!”
“He’s Count Lupin Zepetto, not Lehman. Repeat after me. Lupin Zepetto.”
“Hmph! You think you can fool me? Lupin is just a fifteen-year-old brat! You’re Lehman!”
“If you insist…”
I tugged on his beard a few more times. He stubbornly resisted, but eventually gave in.
“Stop! Stop! You’re going to pull out all my beard! Fine! Lupin Zepetto!”
I thought he was completely senile, but he seemed somewhat reasonable now.
The young master had walked away to observe the phoenix. I waved to him and then, taking advantage of the opportunity, asked the old man,
“Is that elixir story true?”
“Yes! A special medicine that can cure any disease. But we couldn’t mass-produce it. Mixing it with other magical potions reduces its effectiveness and causes side effects. Terrible side effects.”
“Like… zombies?”
I thought about the zombies we had encountered. They were all deceased individuals who had suddenly come back to life. Had someone been spreading the elixir mixture in cemeteries? They must have created the zombies for some purpose.
Did they need a zombie maid army? Perhaps they were desperate for servants and resorted to this. There were so many maids looking for work these days! This wouldn’t have happened if they had just put up a “help wanted” sign.
“Can those revived by the elixir, the zombies, function properly?”
“It depends on the purity of the elixir. Are there really zombies roaming around outside these days?”
“Yes. Lots of them. The young master over there, admiring the phoenix, and I are zombie investigators. We’re traveling around, eliminating the recently appeared zombies.”
“That’s absurd! Then it must be their doing! Zombies, you see, are the result of forcibly applying resurrection magic to the dead. Everyone says it’s taboo and impossible, but that’s not true.”
The old man told me to come closer and looked around, even though there was no one but us and some rocks.
Or rather, he seemed to be wary of the young master. His eyes were fixed on him.
“You can revive the dead with the elixir. Lehman tried to break that taboo. To save the Countess.”
“Gasp.”
I covered my mouth. Could it be true? Count Lehman had left the earldom after the Countess fell ill. Some said it was for magic research, others criticized him for abandoning his sick wife.
But what if it was actually for her sake? He had left to find the elixir, to save his dying wife.
The old man’s words supported my theory.
“He doted on his wife. It was an incurable disease, wasn’t it? Lehman agonized for a while, then summoned me. He said he would develop a cure using the power of dragons.”
“So he actually developed a cure? Or rather, the elixir.”
“Yes! And I helped him significantly. You need phoenix byproducts to make the elixir. Eggshells, feathers, anything. As the guardian of the Phoenix Plains, I could offer him that much. We promised to share the wealth and fame!”
I nodded. The old man must have been deceived by the Count. Like father, like son, the young master also told lies sometimes. He probably tricked the old man, took what he wanted, and then returned to the earldom, abandoning him. How cruel and sly.
And this poor old man had been waiting for Count Lehman all this time, believing his lies? I hoped our young master would show him some kindness.
“So you were looking for Count Lehman for your reward?”
I said it sympathetically, as if I understood everything, but he jumped up, vehemently denying it.
“Of course not! Even mages have pride! Reputation is more important than wealth and fame. Of course, I’m furious that Lehman abandoned me, but there’s a more important issue.”
“That you’re tied up? I’ll untie you…”
“Not that! The elixir! There’s a reason why it’s called a taboo. The elixir has severe side effects. If the concentration is even slightly off, the person you’re trying to save will turn into a zombie. And the residue can turn anyone who comes into contact with it into a zombie as well.”
“Anyone who comes into contact with the residue can turn into a zombie…”
I suddenly remembered something from my human life, a sharp pain in my head. The illness that had led to my death. It was called a plague, but there was something strange about it. The infection rate was high among the servants in the earldom, but it didn’t spread much in the city.
And although I was frail, I wasn’t prone to illness. And yet, I had suddenly contracted a strange disease and died.
Perhaps it was a side effect of the elixir.
If there was residue, I could have easily been exposed. I was a maid serving the Countess before I was assigned to the young master. It was the Countess who had brought me to the earldom in the first place. She had rescued me, a lowly servant in a circus, because I was about the same age as the young master.
Of course, I liked and admired the Countess. I nursed her day and night when she was ill. I wanted to be by her side, even though she told me I didn’t have to.
Did I regret it?
Not at all.
Even if I could go back, I would make the same choice. The Countess was the one who brought me to the young master.
“I think I know how I died. But I have no regrets! But why is the young master getting so close to the phoenix? Is he interested in the elixir…?”
I looked at the young master, who was subtly approaching the phoenix, and smiled. A smile filled with foreboding.
Was he planning to revive Anna?
“Wait, wait, wait! I suspected it, but is he really? Is he really planning to do something so absurd?”
I ran towards him. I could hear the old man shouting, “Untie me!”, but this was more important.
He was getting so close to that strange creature to revive the deceased Anna? That seemed dangerous!
The phoenix was the size of a carriage, its wingtips covered in flames, constantly flapping. Sparks flew towards the young master a few times. I ran to him, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck (for the first time), and pulled him back.
“What are you doing?! That’s dangerous!”
“Estella, let go! I haven’t collected the feathers yet!”
He brushed my hand away. I wrapped my arms around his waist and clung to him with all my might.
“No! You’re planning to do something foolish! I won’t allow it.”
He tried to shake me off, but I wouldn’t budge. He was the one who made me so strong! He should regret it!
“I’m not letting go! That bird looks dangerous!”
“What will make you let go?”
I glared at him and shouted,
“Turn me into a human!”