Chapter 262: The Pernicious Tincture

Things unfolded just as Ron had predicted. A month later, when Ron and his companions appeared at Carolina's welcome banquet, Daniel and Liya were indeed among the guests, and the couple was striding quickly toward him.

However, while Liya was practically glowing, Daniel was a picture of grief and indignation.

"Ron!" Before his wife could say a word, Daniel threw an arm around Ron's shoulder and pulled him aside. The middle-aged man looked even more haggard than before, yet the light in his eyes shone brighter.

After glancing around to make sure they were alone, Daniel lowered his voice and growled in Ron's ear, "What in the world was that tincture you sent Liya! Do you have any idea how much misery that Alchemy Potion of yours has caused me?!"

"As far as I know, I've never done anything to cross you, have I? How could you do this to me?!"

Though Ron had a pretty good idea of what was going on, he feigned ignorance. "Uncle Daniel, what are you talking about? I was only thinking of your marital bliss. How could I possibly want to harm you?"

"You little brat!" A muscle in Daniel's cheek twitched. It had been a while, and the circles under his eyes seemed even deeper now. "Do you have any idea? Your Aunt Liya used to want it twice a day. But less than a week after your potion arrived, my... workload has at least doubled!"

"It's a good thing you have a shred of conscience left. If you hadn't come to visit Carolina, I'd probably be headed for an early grave!"

As he spoke, Daniel glanced fearfully at his sweet, gentle, and virtuous wife. To Ron, Liya was radiant, but in Daniel's eyes, there was a faint, dark aura lurking behind her cheerful expression.

For the past few days, he had been using travel fatigue as an excuse to cut his "quota" down to half of what it used to be. But now that they were in Carolina, Daniel figured there was no escape.

"Uncle Daniel, you're exaggerating. How could..."

"Cut the crap!" Daniel shot Ron a vicious glare and held out his hand. "Do you have any more of that Alchemy Potion? Here's ten Gold Coins. Give it all to me, now!"

'Ten Gold Coins? That wouldn't even cover the cost of the ingredients!'

Still, Ron compliantly took a small cardboard box from his satchel and handed it to Daniel. "Uncle Daniel, there are twelve vials in here. Each one is about a two-week supply. If you use them sparingly, they should last you about half a year—"

"Use them sparingly?" Daniel chuckled dryly. "I'm not going to use them myself. I'm eliminating the root of the problem!"

"That fellow from the Fernandez family... he can't quite perform. I'm going to sell all of this to him. I'll make a killing!"

"Ah, is that so?" Ron's face lit up with understanding, then immediately clouded over with disappointment. "Well, that's a real shame. I was going to give you this as a bonus, but the Fernandez family and I don't get along. I guess I'll just forget it..."

"A bonus? What bonus?" Hearing there was a freebie, Daniel immediately started rummaging through Ron's satchel. Ron didn't stop him, allowing him to pull out a small, green vial. "This? What is it?"

"It's a tincture to restore one's stamina. It helps make up for the... depletion caused by the first potion," Ron shrugged. "I was going to give them all to you, but since you're planning to sell the others, I can only give you this one."

Ron looked up at the ceiling, tapping his fingers as he calculated. "As for the rest... let me think... how does one hundred Gold Coins per set sound?"

"...You really have a head for Alchemy, kid." Daniel rolled his eyes so far back into his head he could have seen the ceiling.

"You flatter me."

"Fine," Daniel tossed a pouch of coins into Ron's satchel and took all the potions. "Give me one night. If they're effective, I'll find you."

"And if they're not... well, you probably won't be seeing me tomorrow morning."

After Daniel hurried away, Liya came over to chat with Ron. Compared to her husband, the master archer was much gentler. But after expressing some conventional concern for her junior, she suddenly gave a soft snort.

"Ron, I doubt you came all the way to Carolina for some nonsense about 'peace and friendship,' did you?"

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked, feigning surprise. "The bad blood between myself and Carolina was all instigated by that villain Ming Datiss. Now that he's dead and his conspiracy has turned to ash, we're neighbors. We should at least—"

"You can use that line to fool those fat-bellied slave owners, but don't fool yourself," Liya said, swirling the wine in her glass as her eyes swept across the other guests. "Are you really that benevolent?"

"I saw you watching that balding Mage earlier. You're here for him, aren't you?"

Ron blinked. "Was it that obvious?"

"The slightest stir within several hundred meters doesn't escape these eyes," Liya said, retracting her gaze. "Others might not notice, but that doesn't mean I won't."

"But I truly don't have any ulterior motives."

"Suit yourself." Having failed to get anything out of him, Liya lost interest and turned to leave. "Anyway, just let us know if you need help. As long as you don't cause too much of a stir, we can lend a hand."

"Thank you, and please thank Uncle Daniel for me." Ron was sincere.

"Don't thank us. Aive is with you, after all," Liya said with a casual wave of her hand. "But I should warn you about one thing: that Necromancer isn't here in the flesh. His interactions with his surroundings, and his supposed identity—they don't match."

"What?!"

Ron's heart lurched. He had been observing Henry Robertson for some time but hadn't noticed the slightest trace of Illusion Magic!

"Don't rely too much on Magic. If Magic could solve every problem, there would be no need for people like me, would there?" With that parting advice, Liya left his side to go speak with her daughter.

As for the other two members of the Rose Council who had received letters, neither Hendrix nor Old Feibo had managed to attend, but they had both sent representatives. Old Feibo had naturally sent Carlos's older brother; the two brothers had been apart for months, and if not for the formal occasion, they looked ready to drink themselves into a stupor.

The spice merchant, on the other hand, sent an elderly Half-Elf steward. According to Constance, this steward, Sred, was a key figure who had followed Hendrix since the beginning of his enterprise. Though Sred was mostly living in retirement now, he could still represent Hendrix's will at important functions.

For some reason, however, whenever Ron approached Steward Sred, he seemed to catch a familiar scent wafting from the man.

'The smell of old age? Perfume? Or maybe a lingering soap scent?' After a moment of hesitation, Ron decided not to dwell on the Half-Elf's origins. Hendrix undoubtedly had his secrets, but Ron needed him as an ally. Besides, the spice merchant operated mainly out of Rose City, so even if there was a problem, it had nothing to do with him.