Episode 14.
First Business Trip (3)
Temia shrank back slightly at the careful attitude before her. Had something gone wrong after coming here? After all, she had brought the medicine without proper permission from a certified wizard…
Sweating nervously inside, Temia cautiously spoke.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“Are those things hard to get?”
The question was unexpected. True, the ingredients were rare and difficult to obtain, but did that mean this kind of situation was frequent? Maybe they wanted to keep a supply of the powder at home? A flurry of thoughts ran through her mind in that brief moment.
Still, since it didn’t sound like something was wrong with the patient, Temia felt a bit relieved and replied,
“Um… I only manage and sell the materials in the workshop, so I’m not sure. Lerry, do you know?”
“The other materials aren’t hard to get, but fairy wing powder is tricky. Not just harvesting it, but the refining process too. You have to detoxify it before using it, which is why it’s expensive.”
Hearing Lerry’s quick and clear answer, Sona’s face darkened instantly.
“Her reaction is quite serious… is there another reason for that?”
Feeling that something wasn’t right, Temia unknowingly opened her mouth again.
“Do you perhaps need it for something else?”
“Well…”
Sona still hesitated, her voice trembling. Then, as Temia looked down, she noticed the maid’s hands were shaking. Without realizing it, Temia reached out and gently held her hand, locking eyes with her.
That seemed to calm Sona a bit, and she slowly began to speak.
Sona’s son had been the playmate of the Baron’s son in this mansion. The two children, who were always together, fell ill at the same time. But because of the high price of medicine, only one could be treated.
Naturally, the medicine went to the noble child.
It was a heartbreaking but not uncommon story. Summoned creature Berry nodded, thinking of it as one of many examples she had learned from accumulated information. The bluebird, who didn’t quite understand the human class system, simply thought: “It makes sense to save the one more likely to survive.”
In the animal kingdom, survival of the fittest was the law, and pain from weakness or lack of treatment wasn’t viewed as unjust.
Even so, the bluebird couldn’t just fly away. But then she remembered:
“Master Lowell dislikes getting involved beyond what was requested. Those who get sentimental or expect extra rewards often end up being seen as impolite or greedy.”
— “Don’t get swayed by emotion. If that were enough to change the world, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
So, this was where her task ended.
All that remained was to return to the workshop with Temia.
Having finished calculating, Lerry turned toward Temia — and met her quietly burning gaze.
Temia’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions — sadness, anger, regret, helplessness, injustice.
As a child, Temia often caught severe colds around the changing seasons. Her weak body would burn with fever, her lungs would ache from constant coughing, and she’d lose sleep due to the heat in her body.
But she had always been cared for in a warm, clean bed, with high-quality meals and the best medicine available — sometimes from healers equivalent to those in the royal palace. Her condition was taken seriously.
And that was because she lived in an environment where such care was accessible. She was well aware that not everyone had such privilege.
But to suffer like that — just because of a lack of money, when medicine existed — was unacceptable.
True, money buys things. But not everything in this world should be dictated by money alone.
Having seen the noble child’s condition firsthand, Temia could easily imagine the maid’s son being even worse off.
Sona’s child was even younger than Temia had been back then — so the pain and burden would be even greater.
Clenching her fists, Temia recalled something she had heard countless times before:
— “The Lady’s constitution is weak. We’ve done all we can. All we can do now is hope she endures.”
Pain makes people helpless. Frayed nerves unleash misdirected resentment. In those early dawn hours when no one else was awake, Temia had quietly wished for all the pain to just disappear.
Now resolute, she turned to Lerry and met her eyes.
“Lerry, if there’s no issue with inventory or pricing, it doesn’t matter who buys the medicine, right?”
“Pardon? Well, yes. But why do you ask?”
“They said there’s another patient. I think more medicine is needed.”
“Well, that’s true, but… we only received payment for one person.”
Lerry tilted her head and spoke in a cheerful voice.
Temia gently shook her head and replied,
“I’ll pay for the medicine myself. I haven’t received my wages from the workshop yet, but I’ll use my salary to cover it. And if that’s not enough, I can sell the jewelry I brought with me.”
Even if this was selfish satisfaction, it couldn’t be helped.
Perhaps it was a desire to give the reward her younger self never received. Others might laugh at her for being foolish.
But Temia understood the desperation of hoping for just one person to make the pain go away. She had once waited endlessly for a letter from someone dear, just like Camille had waited for her, giving up her future.
So if she now turned away from Sona just to please Lowell, she’d be betraying her past self — and everyone else. If she could help, then she should help.
“If you’re with me, I think I’ll be able to endure without crying.”
Only now did Temia feel the true meaning of why she had come here.
Seeing that Temia would pay for the medicine, Sona broke down in tears, not knowing how to express her gratitude. Temia’s handkerchief became soaked as she tried to comfort her.
Luckily, they had enough ingredients, so making another batch wasn’t difficult. When Temia asked the healer to make another potion, he looked surprised but nodded readily.
“It’s true — I was troubled too. Even though we all knew each other, I was sighing because I couldn’t do anything. You know how it feels to see a patient and not be able to treat them. It may be too much kindness, but thank you for understanding.”
“I only did what I could. It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re the new assistant from the workshop, right? It’d be nice if you stick around. Oh — I’m about to give the medicine. Want to watch? The disease is severe, but not very contagious. The kids just caught it from being together constantly.”
Temia awkwardly nodded, finding it hard to refuse the elder’s kind face.
So she ended up seeing the maid’s child, just as she had seen the noble’s.
The skilled healer mixed the ingredients and added the fairy wing powder, then gently fed the medicine to the thin, tiny child lying on a worn-out bed. The boy was so small for his age that it broke her heart.
Watching the child, Temia realized whom Sona had been referring to earlier.
— “He’s still so young… and even for his age, he’s small. That’s why he gets sick a lot.”
“She said that thinking of her own suffering child,” Temia realized.
Sona, who kept thanking her endlessly, now held her son’s hand tightly, tears still streaming.
The healer, watching them warmly, added with a smile:
“He should improve with time. Had we waited any longer, things might’ve gone badly. But now that we’ve passed the crisis, he’ll recover.”
“I’m glad… I hope he won’t be in too much pain. He’s just a child, after all.”
“All thanks to you, miss. Oh right, I never asked your name.”
“It’s fine — the situation was urgent. I’m Temia, assistant from the Green Sandwich Workshop.”
“You can call me Mote.”
With a hearty laugh, Mote reached out his hand, and Temia took it with a bright smile of her own.
Only after confirming the child was breathing comfortably again — just before sunset — did Temia finally leave the mansion.
On the way back, she rode the mansion’s carriage, but didn’t make it all the way to the workshop.
One of the wheels broke off mid-journey, so she had to get out early.
Fortunately, they were close enough that she could walk the rest of the way calmly.
Her body was tired, but her steps felt light.
Breaking the silence since Temia’s unexpected decision, Lerry finally asked:
“Temia, why did you do that earlier? You didn’t have to go so far to help…”