Chapter 239: Cruelty

Chapter 239

Cruelty

Finally, the 3 arrived at the government store. Celey went inside to select the cauldrons while also educating Ellie about the characteristics of a good cauldron. Ellie only listened half-heartedly, as she had already received a high-end, expensive cauldron from the Setter family as a gift, the kind that couldn’t be found in ordinary government stores.

When it was time to pay, Ellie volunteered to cover the cost for Celey. Despite Celey’s protests, Ellie was too quick, leaving Celey feeling a bit indebted. However, in the end, it was just the price for the information Celey had shared.

After they parted ways, Celey gave Ellie several more warnings to be cautious. As much as she wanted to help, there was only so much she could do. Being merely a 4-star level apothecary without any significant status, she had to be very careful with her words. If she accused someone in the kingdom of collaborating with the enemy and committing treason, she would have to bear the responsibility for those words. Such severe accusations could easily backfire on Celey herself.

Ellie returned to her room, acting as if nothing had happened, and asked Zoey not to mention any of this either. Fortunately, Zoey didn’t grasp the gravity of the power struggles and simply thought that people from another kingdom were plotting something dirty. Her sole duty was to protect Duchess Ellie, so what happened to Prince Jason didn’t concern her, as he had Ryker, his personal knight.

So, the two girls went their separate ways to rest. However, Ellie felt that someone had been following her. They seemed to be observing Celey’s movements earlier, suspecting something. Seeing Celey contact Ellie made them follow to investigate further. Ellie’s normal behavior reassured them somewhat, unaware that the entire city was now Ellie’s eyes and ears.

Ellie was aware of the soldiers’ every move. It was no surprise that she overheard conversations about what Celey had mentioned earlier.

"It seems that Apothecary Celey isn’t suspicious at all. She didn’t tell Duchess Ellie anything."

"Hmm? How can you be so sure? They might have spoken secretly."

"Hah, that’s impossible. I heard their relationship is quite good. If she knew this city was in trouble, she wouldn’t leave Duchess Ellie out here with the prince."

"Mmm, true, but keep an eye on her anyway. I feel that she looks at us with some displeasure."

"Understood. But that’s just her nature. I’ve heard she has enemies everywhere. Apothecary Celey is too straightforward, strict in her actions, and more than half the apothecaries working with her don’t like her."

"Haha, let it be then. That way, she won’t be too important. Let her continue to create problems with the apothecaries. Those idiots will be too busy to bother us. In this camp, the only ones we need to watch out for are the soldiers and apothecaries. The students are too busy completing their missions to worry about our movements."

"Exactly, sir. But...do you really intend to kill all the students? Those kids come from influential families..."

"Hmm? What are you talking about? Me? Kill them? They’re just unlucky. It’s the work of the Rhea Kingdom!"

“Haha, that’s right. sir.” Though he felt guilty about sacrificing so many people, he knew his leader had a personal grudge against the high-ranking nobles. It was no surprise that knowing so many noble offspring would die in this situation brought him a sense of satisfaction.

As a subordinate, he could only agree. They were in this together, after all. Besides...the Rhea Kingdom would be arriving soon, so they shouldn’t let internal conflicts arise over the lives of others.

“By the way...that group of soldiers who botched the mission last time seems suspicious,” said the lower-ranking soldier. Ellie, eavesdropping, couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.

Initially, she hoped they were from different groups, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Mmm, failing the assassination mission is one thing, but...their behavior upon return was very odd. I think they might be as that person said. Last time they followed them, there was the second young lord of the Setter family, known as the vicious Demon. Maybe...that second young lord used them to gather information and send it back.”

“Ah!! If that’s the case, then we...”

“Haha, don’t worry. That person had anticipated it. He knew the assassination would fail. When followed, there was not only the prince, but also two members of the Setter family. The members of the Setter family can’t be trusted, they are too strong for a few low-ranking soldiers to handle. So, it was understood that those soldiers were expendable when used. Who would have thought the second young lord would counterplan and turn the tables?”

Ellie narrowed her eyes as she listened. It was as the two soldiers said. On that day, after the prince intended to execute the soldiers per the kingdom’s law, Aman stopped him and used a counter-strategy instead. He planned to use the soldiers to find the real culprit. However, even Aman didn’t realize that some enemies knew his habits too well, leading to a double-cross!

“Knowing that the second young lord might do that, they used it to their advantage. They let the prince use the soldiers to hunt the culprit, who was believed to be someone within the kingdom. Sacrificing one fish is easy. By focusing only on the nobles within the kingdom, they won’t notice the true death approaching. Once they believe they control the game, that’s when they’ll regret it!”

“Ha ha ha, that person is truly brilliant. I’m terrified.”

“Exactly, which is why I chose to follow them instead of the royals.”

“Lucky for me, being close to you gave me this opportunity.”

“Haha, don’t thank me yet. You still have much to prove. Keep pushing the potion production. We are spies for the Rhea Kingdom, so we must gain the Ares Kingdom’s trust. Once my potion-producing prowess is recognized, they’ll promote me because of my carefulness and effort, making it easier for me to work for Rhea.”

“Understood. I’ll push for faster potion production.”

“Good. But don’t make it too obvious. If anything jeopardizes our plan, I won’t spare you.”

“Y-Yes, sir!” After responding, the lower-ranking soldier quickly took his leave. He needed to check on the apothecaries’ work progress. However, before he could continue his work, his eyes widened suddenly, and he fell unconscious.

As the sunlight faded away and nightfall crept in, the young man’s eyes slowly opened after being asleep for more than 3 hours. He felt intense pain in his neck and recalled the moments before he lost consciousness, realizing he was in a dangerous situation!!

“Ah. Ugh. Ugh!!” The large man tried to get up but quickly realized he was tightly bound to a large tree. In front of him, illuminated by the moonlight, were a petite woman with sharp eyes and another woman dressed in full armor. He didn’t recognize the armored woman, but he knew the woman in light green.

Duchess Ellie!!

“You don’t need to rush to speak. I’ll give you plenty of time for that. For now, calm down and stay still. You have no way of escaping,” Ellie’s cold voice made the young soldier tremble with fear. The look in her eyes was terrifying. Knowing her status as the future lady of the Setter family made him even more suffocated.

“Good that you understand how to behave. First, I need to explain something to you, which is...” Ellie grinned sinisterly as she locked eyes with him, increasing the pressure.

“I...have put something inside your body. It’s a gift I got from Young Lord Owen. He told me that if I wanted to control someone, I just needed to use this. After that, they would obey every command. For example, this squirrel.” Ellie picked up a squirrel she had caught. She dropped a clear liquid into its mouth, then placed it down and gave a command.

“Stay still, this is my order.” The squirrel didn’t understand human commands, so when Ellie put it down, it looked around hesitantly at first. However, after just a few seconds, as it prepared to leap away, it collapsed and died instantly.

The effectiveness of the drug made the young soldier almost die of fright. Didn’t she just say that she had given him the same drug? If so, wasn’t he already halfway to the underworld?

“Huh, now you understand how to behave around me, don’t you?” The young soldier trembled, tears streaming down his face—not from sorrow, but from sheer terror.

Ellie smiled in satisfaction at his reaction. In fact, she didn’t have any magical drug like she claimed; she used spores to digest internal organs instead. However, it had the same effect as the drug she mentioned: if he displeased her, he could die at any moment.

“Good, you’re quite smart. In fact, I knew you were clever from the start. When you joined that cunning squad leader, I knew you could be useful.” Hearing this, the soldier became even more terrified. He didn’t know how Ellie had learned this information, but her presence made it clear she had suspicions about him.

“Alright...my first order is...I want to know what your plans are. Spill everything.” Ellie sat down on a nearby rock, her eyes showing she wasn’t just a kind-hearted girl, or just saying nonsense. This wasn’t a bluff; if she saw no use in him, there was no need to keep him alive.

Zoey walked over and removed the gag from the man’s mouth, holding a small knife to his throat in case he screamed. Although it was her first time handling a human in this way, Zoey hadn’t grown up in the same peaceful environment as Ellie.

She lived in a society where death was always near, whether from starvation or displeasing the nobles. The lives of commoners were no different from cheap playthings, and even nobles...there was a lot of news about nobles who were once wealthy but eventually met their end in the tower. That’s a stark contrast to Ellie, who grew up in a peaceful era, fighting only with knowledge and skills. Therefore, Zoey had no trouble holding a knife to someone’s throat and being ready to kill.

Of course, the large man, a mere low-rank soldier, had no courage to defy the two women. It was obvious that he was so shaken that he didn’t know how to resist. Seeing the squirrel die had drained all his strength.

“M-My, my lady I...I didn’t...”

“Hmm? Still thinking of lying?” Seeing Ellie’s expression, the soldier immediately burst into tears.

“Duchess Ellie, sob. I had no choice. If I didn’t join, I wouldn’t be able to live peacefully. Many who refused didn’t survive under the leader. Some were lucky not to be noticed, but I was targeted because of my skills. If I didn’t serve, I wouldn’t survive, and my family...”

“Didn’t I ask for your plan? Why are you rambling about unrelated things?” Ellie tilted her head, and with a single flick of her finger, the soldier’s pinky finger was digested.

“A-Aaah...”

“Keep your voice down if you don’t want me to order your death right now.” Ellie’s malicious smile and difficult command made the soldier stopped his scream.

Ellie’s cruelty was evident, at a level that he couldn’t resist. His finger suddenly disappeared into the air, and the terror nearly drove him to bite his tongue off. Despite the pain, he couldn’t scream due to her command. Seeing him suppress his agony and sweat profusely, Ellie tossed a potion to Zoey, who understood what Ellie want and immediately administered it to him.

“I hope this time...you’ll say something useful.”

Seeing Ellie’s terrifying smile, the soldier could only swallow with difficulty. Who would have thought that the future lady of the Setter family could be so ruthless? He no longer wondered why she held such a high position; she was perfectly suited for the Setter family.

A crazy family that could conquer cities by its own strength. A family filled with abnormal people like Second Young Lord Aman, and now Eldest Young Lord Owen! If this vicious woman were to join the family, it would be entirely fitting.