Chapter 43
“Um, what does ‘being intelligent’ mean?”
From now on, Miella no longer hesitated when asking something she didn’t know. She felt the need to ask anything she didn’t understand. Someday, she wanted to know more than she didn’t. Just like Istin.
“It means being clever and sharp-minded.”
“Oh, I see!”
Miella’s face lit up. She didn’t quite understand why she felt so happy from such a simple compliment. She was no longer the foolish person who used to get teased in the past. She could feel that she was improving little by little.
‘I want to keep getting smarter. I want to be helpful to the people around me.’
About a week later…
Gray sighed softly as he put on his formal suit. He tightened his tie with his fingers that had quickly shriveled and dried up over the past few days.
“Sigh, is this the last time I’ll wear this attire…?”
The years he spent as the butler of the Balwahr family flashed through his mind.
He tried to keep the overwhelming sense of regret at bay, telling himself that just like flowers bloom and wither and bloom again the next year, he was standing at the end of a path he was meant to walk.
“Still, it’s fortunate. I got to witness the young master’s curse being lifted before retirement.”
While organizing the handover documents to pass on to Dyson, Gray muttered to himself. With the biggest worry gone, he believed that the Duke’s household would run smoothly without him.
“The lady calls for you.”
Suddenly, the Duchess called for him. Not knowing the reason, Gray headed for the glass garden.
The Duchess made an unexpected proposal.
“Gray, I’ll be blunt. Would you continue to take the position of the chief butler?”
He was caught off guard for a few seconds and remained silent. Then, he calmly showed his refusal.
“Madam, I am grateful for your trust in me, but that would be difficult. Of course, I also wish to contribute to the family as a butler. However, my body no longer cooperates. I think it would be too much to continue handling the Duke’s affairs.”
The Duchess realized that she had hastily jumped to the main point and corrected herself.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m asking this assuming that a certain genetic issue of yours can be solved. If that’s the case, would you be willing to accept the offer?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
Gray was flustered and stammered. It was such an unbelievable story that he couldn’t believe it.
“You can solve my problem… Are you serious?”
The rapid aging of the superhuman lineage could not be stopped by any means. Gray knew this better than anyone.
Long ago, his ancestors had used special methods to slow down aging, but the knowledge of those methods had long since been lost.
‘Could it be…?’
For a moment, a tiny glimmer of hope stirred in Gray’s heart. If anyone else had said it, he wouldn’t have believed it easily.
But the Duchess was not one to bring up hopeless matters. This was a certainty that Gray, as a loyal butler, had built over many years of serving her.
“Yeah. I’m serious. I’m not the type to joke about such things.”
The Duchess nodded and then began to speak more cryptically.
“I heard that your ancestors, the superhumans, used to live in the most treacherous areas, the rocky mountain canyons.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Gray nodded, half entranced. He knew this well. The superhumans had lost their homes when the mountains collapsed, leaving them wandering.
“…At some point, several superhuman children were kidnapped by illegal slave traders.”
Gray recalled an old story his father had told him long ago.
The superhumans had searched tirelessly to recover the children, but no one helped them. It was then that the first Duke of Balwahr personally eradicated the slave traders and rescued the children.
“Not only that, but the first Duke of Balwahr also allowed the superhumans to live among ordinary people. Thanks to him, we now have this land and live comfortably. I’m always grateful for that favor.”
The reason why the closed-off superhumans followed the Balwahr family had a deep reason behind it.
While speaking, Gray suddenly sensed something unusual.
“Why are you suddenly bringing up these old stories? Does it have something to do with what you’re going to say next?”
“You’ve caught on quickly. Indeed, no one else has such sharp insight like you. So, let me tell you about how you can recover your health.”
What the Duchess said next was something even Gray, a descendant of superhumans, had never heard of before.
“Originally, the superhumans used to dry a special rose called Srelrose, which only grew on high rocky mountains, and drank it as tea. It had a powerful effect in stopping their sudden aging.”
“Really? Is that true?”
“Yes. However, since the rocky mountains and canyons collapsed, Srelrose has become an impossible flower to obtain. But, I’ve heard that there is a mountain in the northern part of the kingdom that has a similar environment to where the superhumans once lived. It’s said that Srelrose still grows at the peak of that mountain, though it’s called something else.”
“Really…?”
Gray couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He just blinked, struggling to process it. The Duchess nodded knowingly, understanding his disbelief.
“It’s hard to believe, I know. I felt the same way when I first heard it. But, I had to believe it.”
“Excuse me, but how did you find out about this?”
Gray asked, suddenly realizing something was amiss. Before hearing the answer, he figured it out himself.
“Huh, could it be…?”
With just a glance, the butler understood who the Duchess might be referring to.
The Duchess chuckled lightly.
“I see you figured it out. Yes, it was all thanks to Miella. She told me about it.”
“Miella… did she really say all of this?”
Gray was stunned. He had known that Miella had inherited the bloodline of a prophet, but he never imagined that she would know something related to this.
“Yes. After hearing Miella, I immediately sent my subordinates to the kingdom. They found the strange rose at the peak of the mountain, just as she described it.”
At that moment, the Duchess gestured to a nearby corner. There, a small pot with a strange rose sapling was planted.
“Coincidentally, my subordinates returned today with a Srelrose sapling. I’m thinking of planting it here in the glass garden. They also brought back several flowers. How about we brew some right now and drink it?”
Though the flowers were supposed to be dried slowly in the shade, due to the urgency, they had been dried using magic.
Gray gratefully accepted the tea the Duchess offered. The hot tea warmed his body, and the distinct fragrance seemed to calm his mind.
“How does it feel? Do you think it’s helping your condition?”
Once Gray finished the tea, the Duchess eagerly asked.
“The scent is incredible… It really feels like something from the rocky mountains. And…”
He stopped mid-sentence. His hands, which had been trembling weakly, were now calm. His blurry vision had also become clear again. It was no illusion!
“I… I think it’s working…?”
Gray muttered, his voice trembling.
He had been skeptical even while drinking the tea, convincing himself not to get too hopeful. Perhaps it wouldn’t work, and he didn’t want to be disappointed. But now, he could feel the change.
“Madam, my eyesight has returned! Oh my god, and I’m starting to feel strength returning as well! What on earth is happening…?
