Because the inside of the apothecary was somewhat messy, Fresa and Isaac moved the location to the reception room.
Fresa, who had brought warm herbal tea, checked the contract that Isaac had handed her.
“Please review it carefully. And later, don’t come back and say you were scammed.”
Isaac spoke in a monotone voice.
‘If only his tone was different, I might have liked him.’
Fresa scratched her cheek and examined each clause of the contract.
The most important part was missing.
She lifted her gaze fixed on the contract and looked at Isaac.
“There’s no mention of a ratio. What’s going on?”
“That will be decided now. What ratio do you want?”
Isaac, waiting for her question, asked her back instead.
Fresa was a bit taken aback, because she had expected Isaac to suggest the ratio.
Usually, she didn’t check in advance what the typical contract ratios were in this world.
‘I was unprepared.’
And with Lycaon and Jed absent, it was troublesome.
As Fresa pondered, Isaac spoke again.
“Six months exclusive contract, 9:1 ratio. How does that sound?”
“…9:1?”
Fresa’s eyes widened.
“Am I the 9?”
“Yes. But as I just mentioned, it’s a six-month exclusive period. Plus, I’ll give you a generous support fund and a signing bonus.”
The ratio Isaac offered was higher than Fresa had anticipated.
And the fact that he was also offering a signing bonus left her stunned.
Of course, there was the period of exclusivity, but six months wasn’t very long.
“Why are you offering such good terms?”
“Because I see potential. Your business has it. And there was that incident earlier too.”
Isaac, frowning, looked at the leather bag containing a glass bottle.
It seemed he gained some extra points for bringing out that hideous thing.
The unpleasant expression on his handsome face deepened a bit.
“Anyway, I think these are good conditions. Here.”
Isaac, having added the ratio and signing bonus details to the contract, returned it to Fresa.
She carefully checked the ratio and conditions once more, then nodded.
“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll sign the contract.”
“Please sign here. And one more copy.”
Fresa signed concisely with the pen Isaac handed her.
After Isaac finished signing below, they each took a copy.
It was a perfect contract agreement.
Fresa extended her hand suddenly toward Isaac.
“Would you like to shake hands?”
“Oh.”
Isaac blinked slowly, alternating his gaze between Fresa’s white hand and face.
Fresa quickly waved her hand to indicate a handshake.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Isaac lightly clasped her hand.
“Now we’re partners, Lady Resa. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes, Mr. Kaide.”
“Just call me by my name.”
At Isaac’s words, Fresa shook her head and withdrew her hand.
“No, that’s not appropriate. This is business, and I want to show good manners.”
“Well… suit yourself.”
Isaac shrugged with a strange expression and withdrew his hand slightly slower than Fresa.
‘I want to tell Lycaon about this news soon.’
Maybe I should go back today.
Fresa naturally thought of Lycaon, then stopped herself.
Anyway, what matters now is that the contract has been successfully made. She would be very busy for a while.
‘And I also have things to talk about with Reese.’
After double-checking the contract, Fresa looked toward the basement where Reese had disappeared.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
After Isaac left, Fresa carefully stored the contract in the safe and headed down to the basement.
A small window let in some sunlight, but the atmosphere made it seem darker than usual, perhaps because of the mood.
Sitting atop a herb-filled pot was Reese, still in a grayish state.
He seemed to be lost in thought, not moving until Fresa approached.
“Reese, are you okay?”
After taking a moment to breathe, Fresa quietly began to speak.
Reese finally rolled his small eyes and looked at her.
“I think this is all my fault.”
“Why do you think that? It’s just something that happened.”
“You… wouldn’t understand because you don’t know anything.”
Fresa’s sincere comfort was of no use.
As Reese let out a deep sigh, his thick fur turned jet black.
She had noticed that his color changed with his emotions, but she had never seen him this black before.
In truth, Fresa didn’t know much about the spirit of the World Tree.
They had met by chance, needed each other, and made a contract, but they hadn’t shared deep conversations.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Fresa pulled a chair from behind and sat down.
“Please tell me what happened. I want to find a solution together.”
“…”
“If there’s a problem with the World Tree, it’s also an important matter for me, who lives in this world.”
At Fresa’s words, Reese’s color slightly lightened.
But he seemed hesitant to speak, and a long silence ensued.
Fresa sat patiently, her hands resting on her thighs, waiting for his choice.
The scent of fragrant herbs lingered in the air.
After some time, Reese spoke in a very low voice.
“I… abandoned the World Tree.”
His tone was similar to usual, but there was a hint of sadness.
Fresa nodded in affirmation, not rushing him.
Reese was silent for a moment, then continued.
“It’s because I loved humans.”
Fresa’s eyes widened.
She had never imagined that such a reason could be behind it.
“Humans?”
“It happened a very long time ago, if you measure by human years. But for me and the World Tree, it’s just a fleeting moment.”
Reese’s voice grew quieter, eventually becoming distant as if he had entered water.
Fresa thought he was crying.
So she slowly reached out and gently stroked his tiny, fluffy fur.
“All this is my fault. Because I left the World Tree, the world is sick.”
Reese let out a deep sigh.
“There must be a way to reverse this. The World Tree is just a tree, after all. The tree that sustains this world. I’m a plant ability user. I’ll find a way.”
At Fresa’s words, Reese silently stared at her.
Then he suddenly fluttered and stopped right in front of her eyes.
“Do you promise?”
“Of course. I am your contractee, Reese.”
Fresa answered with a gentle smile.
Perhaps comforted, Reese’s color returned to a much lighter gray.
He rubbed his soft fur at the tip of Fresa’s nose and whispered.
“Resa, I have one more favor to ask.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“When I recover enough to regain my original form, will you take me to the World Tree?”
Fresa didn’t know where the World Tree was or how far away it was.
But how could she refuse this small, precious spirit’s earnest request?
She looked directly into Reese’s small, sparkling eyes and promised.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be an easy path.
But if the World Tree collapses, this world would too.
She didn’t know how much time was left, and that made her a little anxious.
Having fought hard to survive, she wanted to protect her new life, and she also wanted to help the guilt-ridden Reese.
If she was with Reese, she was sure they could find a solution.
“I’ll do my best to help you recover as quickly as possible.”
Fresa placed Reese on her shoulder and started to cultivate herbs.
She had to do what she could right now.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
“Fresa… is alive?”
Elias, rarely showing a shocked expression, checked the newspaper.
Amy, who was the one who brought the news, also exclaimed with a pale, stunned face.
“It’s true! She attended Count Guilespiee’s banquet confidently! That crazy woman!”
Elias read the front page of the newspaper blankly.
Fresa Thorpe, whom they had already buried, engaged to the Grand Duke of Canther? A shocking socialite scoop…
The headline was provocative.
The contents were even more serious.
It revealed that Fresa, who appeared at Count Guilespiee’s banquet, was engaged to Grand Duke Granadine of Canther, and according to Fresa, Count Guilespiee already knew this fact.
“Ha.”
What is going on?
“How dare she scam her own family?”
He had known since childhood that she was mischievous, but he never thought she would do something like this.
Elias crumpled the newspaper and threw it to the floor.
“How could Count Guilespiee know?”
“Could it be that he’s trying to get back in her good graces?”
Amy blurted out nonsense.
Elias, already stressed by his family debts, was even more overwhelmed by Fresa’s sudden appearance, who he thought was dead.
She’s alive, Fresa.
He still couldn’t believe it.
She wasn’t breathing, her heart had stopped.
How could such a thing be possible?
His family’s reputation was already at rock bottom, and they had already held her funeral, so rumors would spread everywhere.
‘That damned girl. She’s no help at all.’
Elias clasped his aching head with his hand.
“What is this, really! My father should have been here…”
Amy kept chattering nonstop, making Elias even more irritable.
“Brother!”
Jerome, having heard the news, burst into the study.
“Fres… Fresa is alive?”
“Yes. That’s what they say.”
Jerome looked unusually pale for some reason.
Like someone who had uncovered a secret he’d been hiding.
‘Ever since they returned from their honeymoon, Rowan… has changed. It seems something happened in that village.’
A sudden hypothesis crossed Elias’s mind.
The common point between Rowan Guilespiee and Jerome was that they recently visited Paro village.
Alicia insisted they must send someone there.
Elias lowered his hand from his face and stared intently at Jerome.
“Jerome Thorpe.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Did you meet Fresa in Paro village?”
Jerome’s face turned completely pale.
His reaction was so honest that he didn’t need to hear his reply to be certain.
But why did he hide that fact? Why?
“Look, I was wrong, brother! Please forgive me!”
Jerome suddenly knelt on the floor and bowed his head.
Elias instinctively sensed.
That this foolish younger brother must have caused another trouble.
But more urgent was something else now.
Instead of questioning Jerome’s mistake, Elias demanded something else.
“First, tell me what Fresa was doing there.”
~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
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