This time, on January 1st, Josette disappeared after Lord Gordon fell ill. Her whereabouts and what she was doing will be revealed. Her actions up until January 3rd will be explained from Josette’s perspective.
Josette was wandering through the town.
“I can’t find him. I regret not asking him properly about it back then.”
She had been searching for a certain person for two days. The party dress she wore when she fled the castle was stained and frayed in places. Even Rachel’s specially made high-performance party dress had its limitations, particularly its durability. Originally intended for parties where contact with others is minimal, it wasn’t designed for navigating crowded streets where accidental contact with passersby is inevitable. Josette tried to blend in with the crowd to avoid trouble. For some reason, this made her presence blend in with her surroundings; while people registered her existence, she felt like just another pedestrian in the bustling town. Despite her conspicuous attire, Josette walked through the town without concern, as if she were invisible.
“Ouch!”
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
“I-I’m so sorry.”
How many times had she bumped into someone like this? Josette had had countless encounters with passersby. Her once elegant party dress was tattered everywhere and covered in various stains, reducing her to a state that made her look like a beggar.
“I will definitely find him.”
With firm resolve, Josette searched for a certain person.
Time rewound to a certain holiday, when Josette was indulging in her hobby of food tourism.
“Today, I will absolutely get my hands on those limited-edition skewers! There are only twenty of them!”
Today, her first destination was the skewer shop, where she aimed to obtain the special skewers, limited to twenty per day. She had missed out last time because she was too late, making this her second attempt. She had left home a little earlier than before and moved through the crowds. Josette was undeniably beautiful with a great figure, making her stand out. She utilized her talent to blend in with the townspeople, which made it easier to move around unnoticed. However, this had its drawbacks; people no longer recognized her as an aristocrat and treated her like any other pedestrian, leading to collisions. The Josette of the past would have been furious and yelled at the offender, but she no longer felt that way. This was because she had once yelled at and even slapped Kent for a similar reason, and in reflection, she had resolved to refrain from emotional outbursts. Strangely, since changing her mindset, she found that people no longer recognized her as Duke’s daughter Josette. Even with her special ability activated, she was treated as a person; people would respond when she spoke to them, and shopkeepers would call out to her normally. While initially perplexing, she now effectively utilized this convenient talent.
“Hey, miss. Got some good medicine here.”
“What is it? I’m in a hurry.”
“Oh, come on, don’t say that…”
Josette was taking a shortcut to her intended destination. As she proceeded down a slightly less crowded alley, a middle-aged man suddenly started speaking to her familiarly.
“Actually, I sell a peculiar medicine called Elixir. You’ve heard of it, right? It’s a wondrous thing that cures any illness instantly. Plus, after drinking it, you feel euphoric, and it makes difficult things seem bearable. I’ll give you a good price today. How about it? Want to buy some?”
“No, thank you. I’m in a hurry.”
“Understood. I’m usually around here, so feel free to call out to me anytime if you feel you need it.”
The man spoke to Josette like that.
(If only I had bought that medicine, Elixir, back then, I could have immediately treated the Prince when he fell ill.)
Josette regretted not buying the medicine at that time. She thought that if she had bought it, she wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of searching for the man who sold it now. When Lord Gordon collapsed, Josette was told that he had contracted a peculiar illness unique to royalty. This disease had claimed the lives of many royals, including the previous King. For some reason, only royals contracted it; there were no reported cases among relatives of the Duke’s family or those who had left royal lineage through marriage. Josette, as a member of the Duke’s family, was aware of the disease’s danger. Although researchers had attempted to combat this disease in the past, the rarity of cases had hindered their progress, and it remained an incurable illness. However, Elixir was a legendary medicine said to cure all ailments, something even the Duke’s and Royal families could not obtain. Oddly enough, it was being sold in town. At the time, Josette was preoccupied with the limited-edition skewers and headed to her intended shop without hearing the details from the man selling it.
“Where did I see that person? I have absolutely no memory of it.”
Josette remembered the man’s face well, but due to her haste, she couldn’t recall where she had met him. She was now searching the town aimlessly out of necessity. She had thought that if she walked around, she would eventually remember, but she had been walking through the town for two full days without a break, yet had not encountered any familiar scenery. The heels she wore had broken from walking for so long, and she was now almost barefoot. Her dress was in tatters, a sorry sight, but its insulating properties barely held up. The disposable hand warmers she had inside had exceeded their usage time and were now cold lumps of metal. The harsh winter cold relentlessly stole Josette’s body heat and energy, and the damage, especially from her unprotected feet, was significant, slowing her pace.
“I need to find him soon; I’m reaching my limit.”
Josette entered a dark alley and took a few steps before losing her balance. Fortunately, the path was narrow, so she was able to support herself against the building’s wall, just managing to prevent herself from falling.
“Hey, miss. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but… I found him!”
Someone who seemed concerned called out to Josette.
“Found him? You don’t mean a guard… no, that’s not it.”
The person who spoke to her was a middle-aged man. He was the very person Josette had been searching for over the past two days. When Josette said she had found him, the man tensed for a moment but relaxed his guard upon seeing Josette’s tattered attire, which made her look like a beggar.
“Please sell me the medicine, Elixir.”
“Oh? Are you a customer? Sure, how many do you want?”
“Everything you have.”
Josette told the man the name of the medicine he had offered her before. Unsure of its effectiveness and judging it would be difficult to find him again if she ran out, she decided to secure as much Elixir as possible.
“All of it? Unfortunately, I only have five bottles right now. If that’s acceptable, I’ll sell it to you.”
“Understood. Please, with that, then.”
“Right, right. But can you afford it? You don’t look like you have much money on you.”
“Ah!”
Josette had left the castle without any money. She realized this now and gasped. However, time was limited, and she had no guarantee of Gordon’s safety if she had to search for this man again. She needed to bring the Elixir back to the castle as quickly as possible.
“That’s right. How about exchanging it for the accessories I’m wearing?”
“Accessories, you say? What kind do you have? Let me see them before I decide.”
“Understood.”
Josette took off her hair ornament, earrings, necklace, bracelet, and ring, handing them to the man one by one.
“Will this be enough?”
“Wow, miss. You’re wearing incredibly expensive things, aren’t you? Even I, an amateur, can tell these aren’t ordinary items just by looking. Are you sure you want to do this?”
The accessories Josette was wearing were worth enough to build several commoner houses. The man was astonished by the accessories adorned with jewels of an unbelievable size; even an amateur could tell they were extraordinary.
“It’s fine.”
“Then it’s a deal. Here, I’ve given you the five bottles of Elixir.”
“Yes, I’ve received them.”
“W-well then, I’ve sold all my merchandise, so I’m heading back. See ya! Hahaha. I can afford a delicious meal today!”
The middle-aged man handed Josette the five small bottles of Elixir and quickly walked away.
“I finally got them. With this, Lord Gordon’s illness should be cured. I must hurry back to the castle.”
Josette mustered her remaining strength and started walking back to the castle.
Josette, in her tattered state, began walking towards the castle.
Next time, the story will return to the protagonist’s point of view. We are planning a scene with intense interaction, which has been a while. (This is a plan, so please forgive me if the story doesn’t progress that far.)
