Chapter 267
Isolde’s Tears
As Eivass took his signature and prepared to leave, he encountered Yulia in the hallway.
“Brother!”
Her eyes widened slightly, and she rushed over like a little cannonball, throwing herself into Eivass’s arms and hugging him tightly.
The girl nuzzled against Eivass like a little cat, her warm breath tickling him.
“Don’t be like this, Yulia,” Eivass said helplessly. “You should be glad I took a bath and didn’t come back smelling of blood mixed with essential oils… or I would have suffocated you.”
That was originally meant to avoid offending the old gryphon.
“It just smells like bath powder,” Yulia mumbled softly.
She looked up, saying with some anticipation, “Brother, I can make bath powder too… Can we use mine later?”
“Sure,” Eivass teased. “When I get back, I’ll switch to yours. If it’s good, I’ll ask Her Majesty the Queen if we can replace all the bath powder in the Royal Palace with yours.”
Bath powder was similar to the body wash of this era, a type of alchemical product. When added to water, it would turn the water in the bathtub into something like sparkling water with tiny bubbles. It didn’t foam like body wash, but it could be used for both showering and bathing, cleaning the body while saving water.
Perhaps the only drawback was its smell… it had a distinct sulfur scent that would take a while to dissipate.
“Then don’t wait until you get back! I have a batch right now—Brother, remember to take it with you!”
Saying so, Yulia led Eivass back to her room. Perhaps because she sometimes conducted alchemical experiments, her room was not as close to Isabel’s as Eivass’s. Eivass’s room was only a hallway away from Isabel’s, less than a three-minute walk.
However, Isabel’s and Yulia’s rooms were basically mirror images of each other… meaning that even if her room exploded, it wouldn’t harm Isabel.
Yulia had been busy with her alchemy studies before. Eivass didn’t want to disturb her and didn’t know when she would be in her room, so he hadn’t visited her.
Seeing Yulia’s room, he felt it fit his impression perfectly—although many of the alchemical equipment in Yulia’s room had been damaged and rendered unusable due to the attack on No. 14 Ronin Street.
But now, her batch of alchemical equipment was even more complete! Not only that, but it also looked significantly more expensive.
Although Eivass knew nothing about alchemical equipment, it was like the difference between a top-tier graphics card with a luxury water cooling system and lights, versus a graphics card from two generations prior with air cooling—a visually apparent price difference.
“These were given to me by my teacher,” Yulia said proudly. “For example, this crucible, this is…”
She subconsciously wanted to explain and show off to Eivass. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she quickly realized that Eivass was on a tight schedule today, so she curbed her excitement and abruptly interrupted herself.
She packed a large stack of powders, divided into tea-bag-sized portions, and handed them to Eivass. She also picked out a set of potions for Eivass. It was a row of test tubes with a stand, which could be secured in a travel case.
“These are the best potions I’ve made recently, and I’ve kept them for you.” Yulia’s eyes sparkled as she pointed and introduced them: “These three bottles are vitality potions, which speed up the recovery of life force and are specially prepared for you; this bottle is snake venom ointment, a very effective potent poison that can be applied to weapons and is a neurotoxin; this jar is hemostatic powder, I specially added medicinal herbs to prevent scarring. If you want to save mana, Brother, you can use this for them, and it will have a similar effect.”
“This bottle is a featherfall potion. After drinking it, your weight will be reduced to one-sixth. Besides preventing falls, it will also allow you to jump higher and run faster!”
“This bottle is a petrification potion. After drinking it, you will enter a petrified state. If you are poisoned, you can use this to save your life, or you can give it to others, or even throw it at them. Splashing the potion on someone will also petrify them.”
“This bottle is an ointment for removing petrification… this one wasn’t made by me. Because the teacher said that petrification potions are very dangerous and must be used with a counter-petrification medicine, so I included it as well.”
Yulia excitedly hopped in place, looking at Eivass with anticipation. “How is it! How is it!”
“Very well done, Yuli,” Eivass said, smiling and patting her head. “You’ve advanced to the second energy level now, and I’m sure you’ll be able to make even better alchemical potions in the future.”
Although Yulia’s potions were useless to Eivass… he decided to take them with him. It represented Yulia’s heartfelt effort.
Yulia opened the travel case and secured the potions inside. “Brother, look! I’ve also prepared some clothes for you…”
“…Lily will pack those, Yuli,” Eivass said with some helplessness. He could see at a glance that Yulia had intended to pack the potions for Eivass, but felt the travel case was too empty, so she had filled it with miscellaneous items like clothes. Eivass even saw Yulia’s favorite plush toy, ‘Mr. Dad,’ a strange cult doll that looked like both a rabbit and a bear, stuffed in there as well.
“I might be a hindrance if I go, so I’ll have Mr. Dad go in my place,” Yulia said with a radiant smile.
She paused, suddenly remembering something. “Oh, right… and this. I almost forgot.”
Saying so, Yulia rummaged through the travel case and pulled out an exquisite jewelry box. Eivass opened it and found a silver necklace with a teardrop-shaped green gemstone pendant. This was the necklace Isabel usually wore to school!
“Isabel asked me to put this in for you,” Yulia explained from the side. “She said she was lending it to you in her personal capacity… because if she gave it to you, she was afraid you wouldn’t accept it.”
Eivass gently touched the teardrop-shaped green gemstone, and it seemed he could still feel a faint warmth from it. It wasn’t an illusion; it was indeed emitting a slight warmth, slightly higher than Eivass’s body temperature.
The moment Eivass touched the necklace, a light screen unfolded before his eyes:
[Tears of Isolde]
[Extraordinary Equipment (Deep Purple)]
[Accessory – Necklace]
[Extraordinary Trait: When receiving a fatal injury, there is a 50% chance to reduce the damage by half (once only).]
[Extraordinary Trait: When receiving a severe injury, there is a 50% chance every hour to stop the deterioration of the injury for one hour.]
[Spell: Sacred Healing (Female use only, once per day)]
[Requires: Light 3]
[Immediate contact, immediately effective]
[“—These are the Tears of Isolde. Whose tears are they?”]
This item was so precious that it made Eivass pause for a moment.
“…Is it that valuable?” Undoubtedly, this was something Queen Sophia had given Isabel to protect herself—it wasn’t something that could be lent out casually, even for Eivass, who was about to become the Minister of Affairs. Although it was only deep purple, it was probably more valuable to the Royal Family than golden equipment. Moreover, its most important effect would be nullified after one trigger. Even if borrowed by Eivass, if he actually triggered this effect, its value would be greatly diminished.
But Eivass also knew that if he returned this item… Isabel would likely be heartbroken. So, he simply put the necklace around his neck. Although it was a women’s necklace, it didn’t look bad, surprisingly.
Eivass placed the jewelry box in the suitcase and said to Yulia, “Thank Isabel for me.”
“Okay~” Yulia said, her voice trailing off with deep meaning, her hands clasped behind her back.
Meanwhile.
Haina had already woken up from a nap on the train. The train was so slow that Haina felt she could easily outrun it. Its only advantage was probably saving effort. She hadn’t slept very well because of the rattling of the carriage. Leaning by the window, Haina yawned and took a sip from her water bottle.
“—Is that wine?” At that moment, someone across from her spoke up.
“It’s water, sir,” Haina replied politely after a glance. The man had a rather distinctive appearance—not handsome, not ugly, but memorable. He was as gaunt as decaying wood. He was nearly two meters tall. His back was slightly hunched, and his black hair, which fell below his shoulders, was like wet seaweed, forming small, tangled curls.
—Wild elf? Haina wondered internally, but politely kept her thoughts to herself.
“I thought so… a young inspector like you wouldn’t be drinking in the morning,” the man said with a smile, his voice a slightly hoarse, magnetic sound. “Are you also going to Shepherd’s Bay Country?”
His voice was quite pleasant, Haina thought. Calm and elegant, it conveyed a good upbringing, reminding her of Chief Inspector Edward.
“Yes, I’m from Shepherd’s Bay Country,” Haina replied readily. But for some reason, she felt a sense of caution in her heart. It was the complete opposite of when she first met Eivass—at that time, her common sense told her Eivass was problematic, but her subconscious kept telling her Eivass was harmless; now, she couldn’t find any fault with the man, but her instincts kept warning her—this person was suspicious, dangerous.
“What is your profession?” Haina asked reflexively. As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had been a bit rude. “Sorry… occupational habit.”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing I can’t say,” the noble man, who was possibly a wild elf, said with a gentle smile. “My name is Yeats, and I’m a poet.”
I had insomnia again last night… I’m updating early today. I’ll check for typos after posting and then go back to sleep! This is over seven thousand words today, posted in two chapters!
