Episode 72
Murmur, murmur. From the early morning, the outside was extremely noisy. Unable to bear the sound of people whispering, Natasha finally flung the window open.
“Could you all be quiet?! It’s impossible to live with this noise!”
“Huh? Look at that, isn’t that the lawyer lady?”
“Oh my, finally seeing your precious face. Have you been well?”
Despite Natasha’s deeply furrowed brow, the people on the first floor greeted her warmly.
“Miss Lawyer, you should come down and have a taste! I was so shocked, thinking our town’s famous bakery was going to disappear!”
“It’s a relief that it reopened~. How’s your health?”
“Haha, yes. Thank you for your concern.”
Damn it.
Leaning against the window frame, Natasha looked down at the people, who were once again lost in their own world.
Even if she shouted again, they wouldn’t listen. Unless she went down there and stuffed a piece of bread in their mouths, that was.
Click.
“Why are you just standing there like that?”
Just then, Ivan entered the room, and at the same time, a delicious aroma tickled Natasha’s nose.
Turning her head swiftly, she saw Ivan carrying an armful of bread.
“Oh, did you see the people downstairs? Today is the reopening day of Jeanette’s bakery. The whole town gathered because of the buy-one-get-one-free event.”
“…I know.”
Natasha responded in a half-dead voice.
“Still, since you live upstairs, she set aside some bread for you. Here. Jeanette sent this, saying you might have trouble going out for lunch today.”
Ivan placed the bread on the table. The freshly baked bread sat there, proudly flaunting its beauty, tempting Natasha.
“…Since she was kind enough to set it aside.”
Giving in, Natasha took a bite of the bread.
The nutty flavor of the grains spread through her mouth, followed by the sweet taste of red bean paste lingering on her tongue.
Even Natasha, who wasn’t picky about food, found the taste extraordinary.
“Has she gotten even better…?”
“Is it that good?”
Ivan, removing his outer coat, quickly grabbed a piece of bread. Taking a bite, he was momentarily speechless.
“Wow….”
The noise outside was no longer a problem. The two of them silently devoured the bread.
When Ivan got up, saying that such great treats called for tea, Natasha firmly commanded him.
“Sit down.”
Fortunately, their peaceful tea time remained undisturbed.
***
The problem started the next day. The morning after successfully reopening, Jeanette didn’t open the bakery.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. Most of the shops in the area were closed. The streets, usually bustling every morning, were eerily quiet.
Finding this phenomenon unusual, Natasha and Ivan headed downstairs.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Jeanette! Are you inside?”
But there was no response. Pressing her ear against the door to listen, Natasha subtly signaled Ivan with a nod.
There was no hesitation.
Crack!
Ivan broke down the door. Through the shattered doorway, they saw Janet collapsed on the floor.
“Jeanette!”
“Ugh… ugh….”
As Natasha held her, Jeanette’s body was shockingly hot. Her face was flushed red, and she was drenched in sweat.
“What the hell is this…?”
“Natasha! Lowell is here too!”
From inside, Ivan hurriedly carried out Lowell in his arms.
The symptoms were the same. He was burning up and barely conscious.
“We need to get to a doctor!”
Natasha headed for the nearest clinic.
However, when she arrived, she was stopped in her tracks by the endless line of patients stretching in front of the doctor’s house.
“Ugh….”
“Oh dear, oh dear….”
Groans echoed from all around. They were all familiar faces. People Natasha had at least seen once while living in this town. She hastily grabbed someone nearby and asked,
“What on earth is going on?”
“Miss Lawyer, haven’t you heard? This all started suddenly last night!”
“Is it some kind of epidemic?”
“No, no. Look at me, I’m fine! This is all because of that Jeanette’s bakery! Everyone who ate her bread got sick!”
The man grumbled angrily.
“I don’t know what she did to that bread, but I won’t let it slide! Playing tricks with food—there’s a limit to that! I didn’t expect this from her, really….”
People around him nodded in agreement.
“Good thing I didn’t eat the bread my mom brought home yesterday! If I had, I’d be stuck in bed just like everyone else!”
“I’m never going there again!”
If they had brought Jeanette out, she might have been stoned.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Natasha couldn’t believe Jeanette would do such a thing. There had to be some kind of mistake.
In the end, Natasha and Ivan managed to push through the crowd and buy a few bundles of medicinal herbs with fever-reducing properties before heading back.
***
“Ugh….”
“Jeanette. Are you awake?”
“…Natasha?”
Janet murmured in a dazed tone. Fortunately, the medicinal herbs had worked. Lowell’s fever had also gone down significantly, and he was sleeping more comfortably.
“Did I… collapse?”
“Yes. What exactly happened?”
“Ah….”
Jeanette slowly retraced her memories. There was nothing out of the ordinary. She had simply baked bread all day long.
“Did you eat or touch anything unusual?”
“No… I was so busy all day… I just kept baking….”
Could the bread really be the problem, as the townspeople said?
Natasha narrowed her eyes.
“…Did you add any new ingredients to the bread?”
“Huh? The bread? Uh… I did switch to grains from the Riette Trading Company….”
Natasha immediately grabbed a handful of the grain piled in the corner of the room. At first glance, it looked like ordinary grain.
Crunch.
Chewing a piece whole, she noticed a faint, peculiar scent at the end. Without a word, she handed some to Ivan.
He also chewed a little, swallowed, and nodded.
“…Is something wrong with it?”
Jeanette’s voice trembled with unease. Even she could tell something was seriously wrong.
“…Listen carefully and don’t be alarmed,” Natasha said calmly.
“This grain is toxic.”
“What?!”
“I told you not to be alarmed.”
Natasha gently pressed down on Jeanette’s shoulders as she tried to sit up abruptly.
“It seems to be a type of poison that distorts the body’s natural magic flow. It blocks part of the magical pathways that circulate like blood, causing magic to accumulate in one spot. The body then reacts by attacking itself, leading to a fever.”
“Then my bread… hurt people….”
Ivan quickly tried to reassure her.
“Fortunately, since it was baked, the heat probably weakened the poison. Otherwise, it could have been much worse.”
For people who had just chewed raw grains filled with poison, Natasha and Ivan looked strangely unaffected.
“Then you both should go… see a doctor….”
At her words, Natasha and Ivan briefly looked at each other before smirking.
“We’re fine, Jeanette.”
“Huh?”
“A lawyer should at least have some resistance to poison.”
Ivan grumbled that he wasn’t a lawyer, but Natasha brushed it off lightly.
***
“Did such a thing happen?”
She was worried that something might have happened to Carlos as well, but her concerns proved unnecessary. Carlos looked perfectly calm.
“I thought you liked Jeanette’s bread. You didn’t eat it yesterday?”
“I did, but if the poison disrupts magical energy, then it’s useless against me.”
At his words, Natasha let out a small “Ah” in realization. That made sense—he was the Duke of the North, an unparalleled martial genius.
It was hard to imagine, but if he wielded a sword, no one could stop him. The ruler of the harsh northern lands couldn’t possibly be a swordsman incapable of handling magic.
“What do you intend to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I doubt you’ll just sit still.”
A ridiculous response, but also the correct one. Natasha was not the type to take this lying down.
“For now, I’ll gather similar cases. This grain likely wasn’t sold only here. I heard there have been similar incidents in some parts of the East.”
“And then?”
“A simple farmer wouldn’t have tampered with his own grain. There must be another reason. I’ll find out what it is.”
What came next was obvious.
“Once I have all the evidence, I’ll file a lawsuit.”
“As expected.”
“Of course. I’m a lawyer, aren’t I?”
Just because Natasha specialized in divorce cases didn’t mean she couldn’t take on other lawsuits.
Carlos chuckled slightly, as if he found Natasha’s confident attitude amusing.
“?”
Noticing her strange look, he tried but failed to suppress his smile.
“Oh, my apologies. Please continue.”
Natasha narrowed her eyes at him briefly but let it slide.
“…Ahem. Anyway, Ivan and I will be away from the office for a while. We came to ask if you could look after Jeanette and Lowell in the meantime.”
“Of course.”
“There won’t be much trouble. They’ve already taken detoxifying herbs, and since the grain was heated before consumption, the poison isn’t too strong. Given time, they’ll naturally recover…”
“Miss Natasha.”
Carlos interrupted her detailed explanation with a gentle voice.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry.”
“…Thank you, Your Grace.”
For some reason, his words put her at ease.
She had felt uneasy about leaving Jeanette and Lowell behind while they were still sick. Ideally, she would have left them with Ludwig, Lowell’s father, but Jeanette had adamantly refused, which led her to knock on Carlos’s door instead.
“We’re in your debt.”
“Debt? That’s not…”
He started to deny it but then trailed off. Seeing Natasha’s puzzled expression, he stiffened and corrected himself.
“On second thought, I suppose it is a debt.”
“Well, if you’d like, I can compensate you…”
Offering money to the Duke of Winchester, who had more wealth than he could ever spend, felt absurd.
“Money is unnecessary.”
“Then what?”
“…I’d like something more valuable than money in return.”
Natasha inwardly groaned. Damn it. What could be more valuable than money to the ruler of the North?
How much does he plan to wring out of me?
She hadn’t taken him for someone so cunning, but now he seemed terrifying. She swallowed nervously.
“We’ll discuss the details once you return.”
Not stating it outright only made it more suspicious. He was definitely planning to demand something outrageous!
“…Alright.”
Natasha nodded reluctantly, holding back her tears.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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