I Failed to Oust the Villain!

Chapter 4

In the novel, the original Valeta had never treated Reinhart like a slave. In fact, she had treated him affectionately, as if he were her lover. He had smiled, whispered sweet words back to her, then killed her.

Whoa, I’m getting goosebumps. Valeta shook her head as she rubbed her arms up and down. She had no idea how these thoughts were able to give her the chills. The little girl quickly made her way to her room and buried herself under the covers. Her eyes squeezed shut and she rested her cheek on the soft blanket. Just as the darkness was about to descend over her, her eyes sprang open again.

“Come to think of it, I should’ve just made him a potion.”

She wouldn’t have needed to call a physician then. Valeta wasn’t used to her alchemic abilities yet, so there were times when she forgot she had the ability at all.

Count Delight won’t like this. After giving it some thought, she stifled a yawn and crawled out of bed. There was a bookshelf in her room, however, instead of books, the shelves were filled with glass jars and vials and various medicinal herbs.

The glass vials each had complicated formulas written on them, along with a preservative symbol that only alchemists could use. She took out a few herbs from various jars and placed them all into a single glass vial. Then, she took out a piece of paper and began writing down a formula.

Why do I even bother? Valeta thought as her hand continued to scribble out the complicated formula without hesitation. She let out a short sigh as she gazed at the symbol that resembled a magic circle drawn on the piece of paper.

“Extract.”

The moment the word fell from Valeta’s lips, her violet eyes began to glow. A white magic circle appeared in the center of her eyes as if it’d been carved into her pupils. Before long, intangible energy began to escape from her fingers, seeping into the symbol on the paper. The symbol began to emit a purple glow as it mixed with her energy.

Alchemic abilities were a talent bestowed upon birth. Those born with the ability to commune with plants used their ability to gather herbs of the best condition and quality in order to make the best potions. Every alchemist was different, but the potions of a high-ranking alchemist could regenerate a severed arm or even bring back a man from the brink of death. Of course, these abilities were rare, even among alchemists. Still, most could heal a wound that would normally take months to heal in a single day.

The ancient magic circle in their eyes was their defining characteristic. Nobody knew where the magic formulas came from, but very few people were born with the magic circle in their eyes. The medicine that they produced was more effective than any other medicine. Magicians created “potions” in order to mimic their effect, however, those “potions” were just that. Imitations. None could compare to those created by a true alchemist.

As the years passed, the number of alchemists in the world began to dwindle. Now, there must have been less than twenty officially registered with the empire. The potions made by the empire’s alchemists were extremely rare, and the majority of them were owned by the imperial family—and only they could use such potions.

Then one day, a girl was born into the Delight family. What’s more, she had the ability to become a high-level alchemist. That girl was Valeta.

This part isn’t in the novel, but... She had doubts as to whether she was actually living inside the novel. The original Valeta had been a lonely girl, mistreated by the cold Count Delight. That was why she had worked with Reinhart and helped him get revenge on her family. However, she was different from the original girl. Being born with the powers of a high-ranking alchemist was one thing, but she also had another ability that she could not share.

It was also why she remained under Count Delight’s protection, unlike the past Valeta. She couldn’t even step foot outside of the house without her father’s permission. But she knew very well that this overprotection was not rooted in love. No. To Count Delight, his daughter was an item valuable enough that he was able to use her alchemist blood as an excuse to make connections with the imperial family.

In fact, Count Delight was now quite close to the emperor after he had been able to prove his daughter’s worth as a high-ranking alchemist. Valeta had thought that the trajectory of the story would change significantly because of the new powers she’d been gifted. But the most important parts had stayed the same, starting with Reinhart’s arrival.

Even in the novel, Count Delight had brought Reinhart in as a slave, believing that the boy’s pretty face would come in handy one day. That was just how beautiful Reinhart was, even as a child. In the novel, the count hadn’t given the young boy to his daughter as her personal slave, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still a slave.

The purple glow that lit up the room slowly faded. The vial that was once filled with herbs now contained a pale pink liquid. The symbol on the piece of paper was nowhere to be found. All that remained was a single sheet of paper, blank, as if nothing had ever been written on it.

The girl crumpled it up before throwing it in the wastebasket. Then, she grabbed the vial of pink liquid and left her room. She hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. Darkness had settled in, and the mansion was as still as death.

“I hope I don’t run into him...” Valeta whispered. She hoped that the boy was still sleeping. The doorknob was up high for a small girl like Valeta, and she had to reach up to turn the knob. The door slowly opened with a creak, and she carefully pushed her head through the gap.

Oh, good. He’s still asleep. Valeta let out a sigh of relief and slipped inside. Perhaps it was because she didn’t see the boy’s red eyes, but she wasn’t as scared as she thought she would be. He’s still a kid too.

Reinhart appeared to be so deep in sleep that he didn’t stir as she leaned over him. Valeta worked quickly, carefully removing his bandage and pouring the pink liquid onto his wounds. Instantly, his wounds began to heal. The potion would have been more effective on his internal injuries if he had ingested it, but it wasn’t as if she could pry his mouth open right at that moment.

This is good enough. Feeling that her job here was done, Valeta quietly left the room. As she left, Reinhart slowly opened his eyes and shifted his hazy red eyes to where the girl had just been.

“So she’s an alchemist. I guess the rumors were true,” he murmured. He wore a cold gaze that was utterly unlike the servile one he had adopted earlier.

Magicians were required to serve humans before their awakening, but many of the humans were uncomfortable looking into the eyes of magicians. Perhaps that was why magicians faced more open hostility compared to ordinary humans. Every so often, there were magicians who were born into good families with good parents, but that was not the case for Reinhart.

Born into the worst family and sold off for next to nothing, he had served as a war slave, forced to wield an unfamiliar weapon as he fought in battles. He knew that he would become a magician one day because the head of the Magicians’ Tower was born with all the knowledge of the world. As proof of this, Reinhart was able to use magic even though he had not yet awakened. It wasn’t high-level magic, but it was still something that none of the other magicians could do.

Reinhart speculated that it was because his full powers could not be contained. But somehow, he’d been stabbed by a foolish human and dragged to this place. On top of that, he was now inflicted with a horrible spell, a seal carved into his heart.

“She... could be useful,” Reinhart muttered in a low voice. He knew how to use the beauty he was born with and how to take advantage of the kindness and affection of others. It was a survival technique that he had developed while growing up in a cruel world. A smile flickered on his lips. It was a beautiful smile, one that anyone would be captivated by.

He decided that he would stay here until he came of age. Rather than roaming out in the world with no place to go, it was far better to stay here and kneel at the girl’s feet and call her master. Reinhart glanced at his shoulder. The sword-inflicted wound had completely disappeared.

Satisfied, Reinhart slowly closed his eyes. Alchemists’ potions are quite the wonder.

The boy did not resist the lull of sleep as he knew that sleeping was one of the best ways to heal an injured body.

That night, both the boy and the girl slept soundly in their respective rooms.

* * *

“Valeta Delight!”

Valeta jerked awake at the sound of the voice coming down on her like thunder. She could feel her heart sink. Recognizing the owner of the voice, she slowly opened her eyes and blinked at the dark figure standing above her bed.

Count Delight had just barged into her room and was giving her a penetrating stare.

I don’t care if he’s my father. It’s annoying how he enters my room without permission. Valeta sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Count Delight didn’t bother to hide his displeasure as he glared at his daughter.

“Yes, Father?”

“Did you use alchemy on that slave?”

“Yes, because he was going to die if I didn’t.”

The count stomped over to the bed and grabbed Valeta by the collar of her nightgown with one hand, lifting her up into the air. He then shook his nine-year-old daughter as if she were nothing more than a rag doll.