Fresa… what did you say?
Elias looked at Jerome with a face of disbelief.
Jerome hunched his shoulders under that cold gaze, stammering as he answered.
“Yeah, I set up a pharmacy… and it seems I made a huge fortune… Even a newspaper article came out about it.”
Jerome handed over the village newspaper he had brought when leaving Paro village.
Elias couldn’t hide his surprise and snatched the newspaper away as if to take it.
The headline read: “Resa’s pharmacy, groundbreaking success in new drug development! Even secured exclusive contract with Filz’s famous guild…”
Elias quickly read through the article.
His expression hardened with every word and sentence.
Summarizing the article, it was exactly as the title suggested.
“So, the owner of this pharmacy… is sister Fresa?”
Amy, who had been fiddling with an emerald necklace sent by an anonymous sender a few days ago, widened her eyes.
“I said it! She’s making a fortune! The place was packed with people in front of the pharmacy!”
Jerome hit his chest with frustration, as if to emphasize his point.
Elias crumpled the newspaper and threw it onto the floor.
‘This makes no sense.’
Fresa, who hadn’t even read a book and had been following Rowan Guilespie around, couldn’t possibly be running a pharmacy.
Maybe she received help from the Grand Duke of the Empire?
This achievement was not something Fresa could do on her own.
If Elias knew Fresa, he thought she’d be whining and trying to find a man.
“Isn’t it possible that Brother Jerome’s eyes are mistaken? Maybe it’s someone with the same name,”
Amy tilted her round eyes and suspiciously looked at Jerome.
Jerome looked at her with an innocent expression but didn’t back down.
“Do you think I wouldn’t recognize my own sister’s face? We even talked!”
“You just can’t trust because Brother Jerome is too dumb,”
“Are you done talking?”
Clack, clack, clack.
Just as Jerome and Amy were about to get into another useless argument, Elias slammed his hand on the desk.
“…How big do you think this is?”
“The pharmacy itself is small, but I heard they developed a baldness remedy. They say it’s so effective…”
Jerome mumbled while playing with his hair.
Elias quickly thought deeply.
If Fresa could earn even more money in the future, it was a huge opportunity for the Thorpe family.
He wasn’t sure how she managed to open the pharmacy, but it must have gone through the hands of the Grand Duchess of Granadine.
If Fresa was even engaged to the Grand Duke of Granadine, soon the Thorpe family and her family would be one.
To be related to the Empire’s grand duke—Fresa, who was so useless, had received incredible luck.
It was a relief that he wouldn’t have to beg Rowan Guilespie for help.
Elias’s lips curled into a slight sneer.
“I should send a letter to Fresa.”
He thought about convincing her to come back to her family, pretending to be dead and running away, promising to forgive her.
Jerome peeked at Elias nervously and cautiously spoke.
“Brother, but Fresa is strange. She seems different from before.”
“You’ve been under Fresa’s influence for a while now. It’s pathetic,”
Elias scolded Jerome instead.
Jerome quickly looked down but didn’t change his mind.
“Besides, the Grand Duke of Granadine was always nearby. And he’s a wizard too.”
“That’s why we need to carefully win over Fresa. The Grand Duke of Granadine will come along too,”
Elias scoffed.
Jerome didn’t know how to persuade his older brother and kept silent.
‘Ah, I don’t know.’
Thinking of Fresa acting completely different and the Grand Duke of Granadine standing like a white lion beside her sent a chill down his spine.
It was already strange that Fresa had sent Jerome off perfectly fine.
But since Jerome was useless, all he could do was clutch his hair in frustration.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
Fresa was still stunned, staring blankly at Isaac.
She couldn’t even guess what he was thinking of coming here, which made her even more flabbergasted.
Isaac also looked a bit uncomfortable, avoiding Fresa’s gaze as he looked around the basement filled with herb pots.
Then, without Fresa asking, he started to boast about himself.
“I’m quite talented in herb cultivation. As I’ve told you, I’m a half-elf.”
Certainly, being a half-elf meant he’d know quite a bit about herbs. But could a guild, especially a large guild master, also serve as a pharmacy staff?
Fresa looked at Isaac with a contemplative face.
She knew Isaac was a sensitive and picky person, but she never imagined this kind of development.
Or, is this even something she could have envisioned in the first place?
Her eyes narrowed, and Isaac temporarily closed his mouth, then responded grumpily.
“Because my hometown is where the World Tree’s roots are.”
“But now, you’re the guild master of the place I found my home,”
Fresa simply couldn’t accept Isaac’s logic, and he let out a sigh.
He brushed his crooked bangs and looked directly at Fresa.
She, curious about what he was thinking, met his gaze without flinching.
After a brief pause, Isaac finally opened his lips.
“If it’s hard for you to accept, I suppose I should add some explanation.”
“Yes, I’ve been waiting for you to do exactly that.”
Fresa nodded in agreement.
Isaac, seeming to dislike her attitude, slightly furrowed his brow and continued.
“…I just want to help with the pharmacy as a business partner. I’m not interested in any special recipes or anything like that. Anyway, running the guild isn’t my responsibility, so it’s not a problem.”
His voice was quite calm and composed.
But unfortunately, Fresa still couldn’t understand what he said at all.
‘So, now, the guild master who agreed to be my partner is planning to work part-time at this tiny pharmacy and get paid weekly?’
She didn’t understand why he would do such a troublesome thing.
Fresa fiddled with her pen and tried to choose her words, but eventually, nothing came to mind, and she just blurted out what she was thinking.
“Are you serious right now? Do you regret signing the contract with me?”
“Do I look like I’m lying? And regret? I don’t do things I’d regret!”
Isaac raised his voice, which was rare and full of astonishment.
“You, Fresa, are truly strange, I must say.”
“Actually, the most bizarre behavior right now is coming from Lord Cade.”
“Why am I strange?”
“You’re just worried about recouping the money you invested by taking my weekly salary.”
No matter how she thought about it, this was the only conclusion.
It was clear Isaac wanted to recover at least some of his investment in her.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to do this.
But that alone didn’t explain everything.
‘The weekly salary can’t be that much anyway…’
As if reading her mind, Isaac let out a hollow laugh.
“Why would I crave such a tiny amount of money?”
“Then what are you so eager to have as an employee?”
Isaac rubbed his forehead as if experiencing a headache and sighed again.
“It’s… I don’t need the money. Think of it as volunteering.”
His half-hearted remark, as if giving up halfway through the repetitive argument, instantly changed her expression.
She quickly smiled and leaned back, sitting upright.
“You should have said that from the start. Are you really willing to work unpaid?”
“…Yes, I suppose. It seems you like to exploit high-level personnel for free.”
Frustrated, Isaac crossed his arms, and Fresa immediately shook her head.
“We’ll see whether you’re high-level or not. Of course, if Lord Cade passes the interview.”
“Failing because I want to work unpaid?”
“Opportunities should be equal for everyone. Of course, I’ll give you bonus points.”
Fresa habitually smiled and scribbled a note in her notebook.
She wrote: Isaac Cade, claims to be a half-elf and confident in herb cultivation, willing to work unpaid, downside: bad temper.
She wondered what he was writing but didn’t ask. Instead, she simply added that they were still considering whom to hire and saw them off at the entrance.
“See you tomorrow. Both of you, good job today.”
As Fresa waved her hand in farewell, a splendid carriage decorated with gold and painted in pure white stopped nearby, dust swirling around it.
Fresa, Lycaon, and Jedd all looked at the carriage simultaneously.
Soon, the carriage door opened, and an unexpected figure appeared.
“Long time no see, Fresa.”
Elias Thorpe, arrogantly tilting his chin, stared directly at her.
~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~
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!!
