007. A Rich Discovery
“Here we are, everyone! Time to get off.”
Dad was the first to leap from the carriage and helped each of us down, one by one.
After two days of riding in the swaying carriage, my feet felt strange touching solid ground, and I wobbled as if I might fall.
“Wow…”
I gasped, staring up at the towering spire above us. Liam, however, shot me a peculiar look.
“It’s our home, and you’re acting amazed?”
“It’s just… it looked so pretty to me,” I improvised, narrowly avoiding suspicion.
I realized immediately that I had to be careful.
I can’t let on that I’m overly impressed. This is all familiar territory for Nadia, but for me, it’s my first time here… I should take a look around without attracting attention… but how?
Fidgeting with my thoughts, I finally approached the nanny.
“Nanny, I want to walk.”
“You’ve been in the carriage a long time, little lady. I… I can’t leave right now because I have to sort out the luggage…”
“That’s fine. I can manage on my own.”
“You can’t go alone. In that case, take this maid with you.”
The nanny assigned a young maid, one who didn’t seem strong enough for heavy work, to accompany me.
Holding her hand, I pretended to stroll around the tower. But when we reached the clearing behind it, I froze in shock.
A vast, untended field was covered in dense, white lettering.
Gripping the maid’s hand, I asked,
“What’s that?”
“Huh? What… do you mean? Are you talking about the weeds?”
The maid couldn’t see the densely packed white letters; to her, it was just a neglected patch of weeds. But to me, it was entirely different.
A gold mine…
I murmured almost instinctively.
The abandoned field within the lord’s estate was overflowing with herbs.
Back in my room, I contemplated how I could use the visible plant names and illnesses.
Since I could see the illnesses, there was no need for any testing to diagnose them, and some of the herbs could serve as ingredients for medicinal preparations I used at the pharmacy.
At this rate, isn’t this essentially a cheat?
Of course, there was a hurdle: I didn’t know how to extract medicine directly from raw herbs.
After all, the line between medicine and poison is thin.
If the dosage or method is off, even a good medicine can turn toxic.
I remembered the compositions and proportions in my head, but could I really turn herbs into medicine out in the field?
Tugging at my hair in frustration, I suddenly jumped up.
“I need to see Dad!”
Surely this ability, granted only to me as the vessel, wasn’t given to go unused. There had to be a way to apply it; I just hadn’t discovered it yet. For now, I would start with what I could do.
I marched energetically toward Dad’s study.
“Dad! Can I come in?”
“Nadia? Of course, come in.”
Dad rushed over and opened the door for me.
But the first thing I noticed wasn’t his smiling face—it was the letters hovering near his chest:
[Fatigue ■■■□□]
So letters appear when someone is tired too… Is the bar next to it the severity?
The gauge was only halfway, and the letters weren’t vibrating much, so it didn’t seem too serious yet.
Dad looked a little weary, but he still had energy.
“Nadia, did you come all the way to my study because you missed me?”
“Yes! I wanted to see you!”
“Haha, even though you’ve been clinging to me in the carriage all this time?”
Dad laughed heartily, and one bar on his fatigue gauge flickered and dimmed slightly before returning.
“Sit on the sofa. I’ll fetch some dessert.”
While Dad rang for a servant, I sat on the sofa, taking in the scent of paper from the books lining the study. As I debated how to bring up my request, warm milk and snacks were placed on the table.
“Here, eat, Nadia. You must be tired. Why weren’t you sleeping?”
“I couldn’t sleep!”
I took a bite of the bread slathered in sweet chocolate.
Dad’s chest gauge flickered again, showing just two out of five bars filled.
They say children are the best remedy for fatigue. They weren’t wrong.
At the pharmacy, tired new mothers often said the same. Even if they looked ready to collapse, the cooing of a baby in a stroller or carrier would instantly brighten their faces.
“Dad, eat this too.”
Feeling a pang of emotion, I fed him a piece of bread. He opened his mouth wide, took it in, and chewed with a blissful smile.
The second bar on his gauge began to flicker.
Comforted by the sight, I finally brought up my purpose.
“Dad, I have a present for you.”
The flickering gauge immediately filled back to two bars. I felt a twinge of guilt but pressed on.
“The land behind the tower! It’s mine!”
Yes, I had come to secure the herb field. It was currently abandoned and neglected, but I needed to claim it so no one could interfere. Observing the herbs might spark ideas for their use.
Today, I would claim the herb field!
“My present is the land! Yay!”
Dad’s fatigue gauge shot up a bar to three.
It took so long to drop, but it shot up instantly. Was he really spoiling me that much?
Dad’s mock stern expression followed by his voice said,
“Nadia… I thought you’d already received all your birthday presents.”
“No! I’ll manage it myself! You can’t stop me!”
“You already had a grand party, remember? Even traveled to the capital for it.”
“No! Not the party! The land!”
I flailed dramatically, banging my fork on the table.
Dad pressed his temples with a finger, clearly overwhelmed.
“Which land are you talking about, Nadia?”
I ceased my pretend crying and leaned forward.
“Behind the tower! The empty patch nobody uses!”
“You mean the overgrown clearing?”
“Yes!”
“Why that land?”
“I… I’m going to farm it!”
Dad shook his head, exhausted.
“That land’s been unused for a long time. It’ll be hard to cultivate. If you want to plant something, I can give you a more fertile plot.”
“No, no! I want that land!”
“If you insist, I’ll have the servants till it and spread fertilizer.”
“No!”
I yelled in urgency. Dad looked at me, bewildered.
[Fatigue ■■■■□]
His gauge filled four bars, swaying gently.
I discreetly picked up a macaron and fed it to him.
“I just want to do what I like.”
If I plowed the field, the herbs growing there would be lost. Dad, mouth full of macaron, still looked skeptical but finally nodded. He probably assumed it was a fleeting whim of his young daughter.
Mission accomplished, I ran into his arms.
“Dad! Thank you!”
“Alright, but promise me you’ll play safely.”
“Yes!”
I hugged him, smiling sweetly, and peeked at the gauge—but it remained at four.
Even with me hugging and smiling like this, it’s not going down? Was my earlier tantrum really that stressful?
Looking at the messy table covered with spilled milk and crumbs, I understood. Not just a little fuss, huh? Sorry, Dad.
“Then, Dad, let’s go sleep now.”
Concerned about the persistent gauge, I grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom. Once his breathing evened out, I peeked and saw the glowing fatigue gauge slowly dropping as he slept.
Sleep really is the best medicine when you’re tired.
Suddenly, I craved a sip of Park’s tonic. Funny how I’d never looked twice at it at the pharmacy, but now I missed the taste.
I returned to my room, nursing my lingering appetite.
