bookpub Chapter 43 The Death of Rosa
Chapter 43 The Death of Rosa
"I was worried you'd think the position was too dangerous and wouldn't let him go."
Zag sighed.
David said, "I was a little worried, so I talked to him for a long time yesterday and told him that he could only work for a year and that he would have to come back to be a blacksmith after that. He agreed."
"That's a good thing too. If he can realize his dream, you won't have to worry about the issue of successor anymore."
"Yes! But Lilia is also very interested in blacksmithing; she might become the best female blacksmith in the Eastern Territory someday! Of course, if she tests positive for spirituality at the church school, I will definitely let her inherit that Gray blacksmithing book!"
"That's hard to say. After all, while your and Lily's spirituality isn't high enough to be recommended to the Golden Palace by the church school, it's enough to explore the field of magic. Perhaps Lilia can truly inherit your bloodline and talent, and even be more powerful!"
After chatting for a while, Lily brought lunch to the long table.
A whole roasted chicken, a large bowl of cabbage soup, and a serving of creamy baked mushrooms, black pepper roasted lamb, a pickled herring, baked potato pancakes, and garlic bread for each person, as well as Lily's specialty red currant cheese rolls, were all placed on a large plate in the middle of the long table. The drinks included several bottles of mead and Lily's special blend of storax flower liqueur.
The mead was for Zag and David, while the clematis liqueur was for the two children and Mrs. Marsh. The latter was a sweet, non-alcoholic drink made from clematis syrup, with some herbs from Lily's own garden added for its calming effects. However, because it was so complicated to make, this was only the second time Zag had seen it in all these years.
After several rounds of drinks, while everyone was eating and drinking, Aiden suddenly rushed back.
"Uncle Zag! Ah, you are... Mrs. Marsh? I'm so sorry to bother everyone!"
Aiden had never met Mrs. Marsh, but that wasn't hard to guess.
He looked flustered, his face was pale, and he didn't seem to be in good condition.
Lily was the first to notice something was wrong. She went to meet her and asked with concern, "What happened? Why do you look so pale?"
Aiden replied, "Something big has happened at the association's headquarters. They're really short-handed. Mr. Liam asked me to go help out, and I probably won't be back tonight. I have to come and get my armor and some decent gear. The sword they gave me is like a toy; it's completely unusable!"
David, hearing that Aiden was coming to collect his armor and "something useful," grew anxious: "What's going on?"
"Mr. Liam and the mage sent by the lord have found the cult's lair. Most of the people inside have fled, but there are many experimental subjects who were fed some unknown alchemical potion... They are all slaves transported from Margarita Island, many of them Gory and some Quen. Lady Grace has also been accused of knowing about it. We need to send people to monitor Lady Grace and check for dangers. We also need to make sure nothing goes wrong before the people from the Golden Palace arrive..." After explaining in a few words, Aiden turned to Zag, and sadly took out a letter and a money bag, handing them over. "Uncle Zag, please accept my condolences. Rosa, the girl you helped, she has passed away... This is her suicide note and belongings. In the letter, she asked us to give you this money, and also said... Never mind, you can read it yourself. Anyway... my condolences..."
"Rosa...is dead!?"
Zag stared wide-eyed, holding the letter in disbelief and checking it repeatedly.
Aiden nodded: "Yes, she can't write. She paid Mr. Matthew 5 pence to write this letter. I even went to Mrs. Weyland's Fragrance and Apothecary this morning. Mr. Matthew said he didn't expect it to be a will; he thought it was just a thank-you note."
Zag didn't open the letter. He was still reeling from the news of Rosa's death, unable to understand it: "How did she die? She shouldn't have died! She had nearly 200 shillings in savings, a house, and even the skill to make redcurrant jam. She could have easily survived in town. How could she have died?"
Aiden remained silent for a long while before whispering, "She...she was killed by her father..."
"By her...father!?"
"She went to Mrs. Weyland's Pharmacy and bought a bottle of Healing Hand, thinking that this all-purpose healing potion could cure her father. However, the investigator refused to let her see her father, so she sneaked in through the kitchen window at night when the investigator was dozing off."
"She made thorough preparations, not only bringing the Healing Hand but also many ritual props, probably thinking that if the Healing Hand didn't work, she would pray to Meredra to lift her father's 'curse'... She mentioned in the letter that she believed it was a curse."
"But... when the investigators heard the screams and rushed over, she was already on the verge of death, her body almost torn in two... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone into such detail, but anyway, she didn't even make it to the warehouse before the investigators ran in."
"This letter and this bag of money are the only things left near her body. The investigators took them away after examining them, and then asked me to pass them on to you this morning."
My condolences, Uncle Zhage.
Zag did not shed a tear.
Or rather, he is not yet able to fully accept the whole thing Aiden was talking about, to the point that he is unable to give an emotional response.
His hands trembled as he opened the letter, muttering to himself, "She was so young, with such a bright future ahead of her, how could she die? She shouldn't have died, she shouldn't have. I clearly tried to persuade her, maybe the Golden Palace could help..."
The letter was short and looked more like a thank-you note than a will.
The main content was to thank Zag for his kind help and for defending her father, and to say that she planned to try the Healing Hand and Meredra's blessing ceremony—the latter of which she remembered from a communal ceremony she attended with her father at the church monks in town.
However, the letter did not specify Rosa's father's situation, only stating that the money was a thank-you gift to Zag "after things were over".
Clearly, "the end of the matter" refers to the death she had already anticipated.
"Modo is so foolish, risking his life for something with absolutely no certainty! Utterly foolish!"
At some point, Snowball strolled over to Zag's feet and started meowing and complaining.
"This kind of fool isn't worth your sadness! Whether you wait a few more days to see if the people from the Golden Palace can help—though it's highly unlikely—or simply live well and find a way to get revenge, since she's already seen what that despicable and disgusting alchemist looks like, either choice is better than what she's doing now. But look at what a stupid thing she did! Using a ritual she doesn't understand at all, she killed herself and made everyone around her grieve for her! Foolish! Utterly foolish!"
"That's enough, Snowball!"
Zag didn't care whether others would have doubts. He first stopped Snowball's incessant chatter in a hoarse voice, and then said in a low voice, "I should have agreed to the request for 120 shillings in the first place."
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Elderflower Cordial: Also known as Elderflower Water or Elderflower Syrup, it is a beverage passed down from the ancient Elven civilization. It is not an alcoholic beverage, and the name "cordial" is simply due to human beings' beautiful fantasies about the ancient Elven civilization.
The preparation method is not complicated: put honey or sugar into water, boil it into syrup, cool it, add fresh succulent flowers to soak for more than 24 hours, and then filter it with cheesecloth to make succulent flower syrup. Using succulent flower syrup as a base, add ice water, sparkling water or other beverages according to different taste preferences to make succulent flower drinks.
Authentic Mannosperm syrup is made with ice water infused with lemon juice and mannosperm juice. The mannosperm juice, when dissolved in the water, creates naturally fine, dense bubbles, resulting in a unique flavor. Since mannosperm only grows near the Lake of Origin in the Kingdom of Lunaran, to mimic this bubbly texture, the merchants of Norther invented a method of directly mixing Mannosperm syrup with sparkling water, which has been highly praised.
However, the pure-blooded elves looked down on this trickery. The Kingdom of Lunaran issued an official statement and enacted corresponding laws, stipulating that any sparkling beverage made with sparkling water or other non-Gandhi fruit juice could only be called Sparkling Water. Only those made with Gandhi fruit juice were allowed to be sold and advertised under the name "Gandhi Flower Gandhi Wine".
Of course, people always use the same name in private, since the laws of Lunaran don't apply to citizens of the Eternal High Kingdom.