Episode 69

Marquis Barelotte charged over like an angry bull, shouting at me.

I immediately understood why he was suddenly picking a fight and bringing up Diana.

1. He wanted to intimidate me.

2. He wanted to make sure the nobles knew who I was.

While I wasn’t sure about the first goal, he was definitely succeeding with the second.

“Oh. So that’s….”

“The one with not-so-great abilities…?”

The nobles, who had forgotten about me after a year, quickly began to recognize me again.

Catching their renewed interest, the Marquis pressed his advantage, berating me.

“A saintess candidate should rely on her healing power, not peddle some quack medicine from the temple!”

“Quack medicine?!”

But before I could respond, Dr. Gordon shot up from his seat.

“Are you talking about me? Even the Duke doesn’t call me that! Quack, you say?!”

“Ahem. I didn’t mean it like that…”

The Marquis hesitated momentarily, thrown off by Dr. Gordon’s bold confrontation.

‘Atta boy! Way to go, old man!’

I cheered him on internally, likening him to a feisty Maltese.

But the moment didn’t last.

“Well, isn’t it a bit much for someone of your age to be humoring a child’s play? You’re just tarnishing the Duke’s reputation.”

The Marquis clicked his tongue, dripping with condescension.

“W-What does my age have to do with it? I’m still in my prime…!”

Dr. Gordon trembled with anger, his face turning red, unable to tolerate the jab at his age.

With my sole ally momentarily silenced, the Marquis smirked and began to incite the crowd.

“A miracle tonic, really! Does such a thing even exist? And for just 1 talent? It sounds like nothing more than a cheap scam! Don’t you all agree?”

The nobles quickly nodded in agreement.

“…Well, that does sound suspicious.”

“So, the rumors were true?”

“Rumors?”

“They say she’s selling this because her healing powers aren’t that great.”

The atmosphere quickly turned against me, but I wasn’t particularly fazed. I had anticipated this.

‘As long as I sell 250 bottles, that’s all I need.’

As I had considered earlier, the nobles didn’t expect much from a 1-talent miracle tonic.

But what if the drink they purchased without much expectation turned out to be surprisingly effective?

“Well, we’ll buy 10 more bottles anyway. I’ve never had a cold medicine work this quickly!”

“In that case, I’ll take 5 more as well. I need to share them with some friends.”

People who had experienced the effects began making additional purchases.

The Marquis’s mockery of the “mere 1 talent” actually worked in my favor by reducing the nobles’ hesitation to spend.

“Hehe! Thank you very much!”

I excitedly sold them more potions, though my small, chubby fingers struggled to hold more than two bottles at a time.

“Grandpa!”

“Yes, yes!”

Finally, I called out to the old man for help, and he quickly understood, handing out multiple bottles in my stead.

As people began to realize that the tonic was indeed effective, even more nobles, who had been hesitant at first, started approaching.

There were also those who needed healing but weren’t in a position to wait.

“Excuse me, is this safe for children to drink? My child is about your age, but I couldn’t bring him today because he had a fever this morning…”

“In that case, it’s even better! This tonic works particularly well for children.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You may not know, but the Duke of Kallios’s younger son drank this and his fever went away completely…!”

Dr. Gordon, now getting the hang of things, even started pitching the product himself.

In no time, nearly 50 bottles had been sold.

“Ugh…!”

Despite the Marquis’s efforts to dissuade them, people continued buying, causing him to stomp his feet in frustration.

“If this tonic is so effective, then give me one!”

Suddenly, he declared himself a customer.

“You said one sip would boost your energy, right? I’ll give this to Lady Cloud! Let’s see if she feels revitalized right away!”

He reached out, demanding a bottle, clearly intending to prove that it didn’t work.

‘Tsk. Why don’t you try it on yourself?’

I pointed nonchalantly at the small print on the flyer attached to the table.

“It’s written right here that there are some exceptions.”

“…What?”

The Marquis lowered his head, squinting at the paper.

Unable to read the tiny print, he brought his face comically close to it, trying to decipher the words.

It was likely difficult for him to make out the small letters.

 

“…Still undergoing clinical trials… injuries related to life, incurable diseases, chronic diseases, and aging… may have minimal effects?”

The Marquis finally managed to decipher the small print, stuttering as he read it aloud.

I had written it specifically to cover situations like this.

‘See, we’re not scamming anyone! We’ve listed all the things it doesn’t work on!’

Of course, the text was tiny, barely noticeable unless you looked closely, much like insurance fine print.

But the Marquis, feeling he had found something incriminating, lifted his head triumphantly.

“What’s this! So it’s basically useless, isn’t it?!”

“You said it was just child’s play, so why do you care? Don’t you even have 1 talent?”

I pouted and muttered, pretending to be sulky.

“Now I understand why Diana has to wear such cheap-looking clothes and shoes…”

The Marquis’s expression froze.

“W-What? What did you just say?”

“Well, if you can’t afford it, just leave. I won’t sell it to you.”

“You… you little…!”

The Marquis’s face twisted in anger, turning red as he clenched his fists.

With his face alternating between red and purple, he finally burst out in a loud voice.

“Everyone! Don’t buy this! You’re all being deceived! Look at this fine print…!”

“Didn’t you hear what the owner just said?”

It was then that a tall figure with dark hair and striking golden eyes appeared behind the Marquis, casting a long shadow.

The imposing, handsome man, who looked far too youthful to have two children, spoke in a voice dripping with irritation.

“If you’re not buying, then kindly leave.”

“D-Duke Kallios!”

I called out to him in a voice filled with relief, grateful for his timely arrival.

“Gasp!”

The Marquis spun around, startled by my call, only to come face-to-face with Duke Kallios and his son Edwin.

A cold sweat trickled down the Marquis’s back. He had witnessed firsthand during his last visit how much the Duke and his family valued this bold little girl.

“…D-Duke, Lord Edwin. I-I see you’ve arrived.”

He forced a smile, awkwardly greeting them.

But the Duke’s response was a frigid glare.

“Why are you causing trouble at someone else’s stall?”

“T-Trouble? No, I was just… curious because she’s a saintess candidate like Diana, but instead of relying on her healing powers, she’s selling other goods…”

“He called me a fraudster!”

“W-What…! When did I ever say that?”

At my sudden accusation, the Marquis jumped and turned to me, clearly flustered.

Of course, he hadn’t used the exact word “fraudster.” He had merely implied it.

But there was one big thing the Marquis, who was used to dealing with the more mature Diana, had completely misunderstood.

‘Kids often make up things when they tattle.’

If I were the heroine of a novel, I would probably just look pitifully at someone, hoping they would understand my plight.

But unfortunately for him, I was destined to be a villain!

“He even called Dr. Gordon a quack!”

“Yes, yes!”

Dr. Gordon, standing next to me, nodded vigorously in agreement.

The Duke and Edwin’s eyes narrowed dangerously as they turned their gaze on the Marquis.

“It’s quite the spectacle you’re making at an event for children.”

“I-I was just… concerned about the efficacy of an unproven tonic and wanted to verify…”

“If that was the case, you should have purchased one and tested it yourself rather than just making accusations, shouldn’t you?”

Edwin cut in sharply, following up on his father’s remark.

He glanced at the Marquis’s empty hands and let out a chuckle.

“Oh, I heard your finances have been tight lately. I suppose even 1 talent is hard to come by these days.”

“Ugh! Th-That’s not true…!”

“Apologies, Marquis.”

“Indeed, you should take note, Edwin. When people are financially strained, they can become overly sensitive about even small amounts of money. You should learn to be more understanding.”

“Yes, Father.”

The Duke and Edwin continued their exchange, completely ignoring the Marquis’s protests.

The Duke then turned to me with a warm smile.

“Did you hear that, Belze? When people are struggling, they can sometimes act out over small amounts of money. You should try to understand.”

“Yes, Duke! I’ll forgive the Marquis!”

I responded cheerfully, flashing a bright smile, while the Marquis trembled, his face turning beet red.

“B-But I didn’t say…”

“Is this what you’ve been secretly working on?”

Ignoring the flustered Marquis, the Duke stepped closer to the booth and examined the products on display.

“Ugh…”

The Marquis, intimidated by the Duke’s towering presence, found himself awkwardly pushed aside.

“Yes! Grandpa helped me a lot!”

“Ahem! No, no. I didn’t do much. Belze came up with the idea and brought it to fruition.”

Dr. Gordon modestly shifted the credit to me.

In reality, aside from the idea, I hadn’t contributed much to the development of this tonic. It was almost entirely Dr. Gordon’s work.

However, if I were too honest about that, it could disqualify me from the event, and Dr. Gordon had mentioned feeling a bit guilty about making commercial products as a doctor.

If he saw the endless rows of medications in Korean pharmacies, he’d probably faint.

Anyway, we had easily agreed on the business arrangement.

“Impressive.”

Unaware of these behind-the-scenes details, the Duke smiled approvingly at me.

“Then I’ll have to try it out for myself.”

As expected, my reliable and wealthy customer pulled out a hefty pouch.

It appeared to be a bundle of talents.

I quickly shifted into sales mode, my eyes gleaming.

“It’s 1 talent per bottle, but I’ll give you 5 bottles for free, Duke! How many do you need…?”

Before I could finish my sentence, the Duke dropped the entire pouch onto the table with a thud.

“I’d like to purchase about 100 bottles.”