Chapter 14
The next day.
After finishing her morning paperwork, which had been extremely busy, Penelope headed to the workshop.
At that moment, workers were carrying barrels into the workshop.
They were the caustic soda and fruit oil that Penelope had ordered.
The ingredients needed to make soap.
“I heard that you are making soap, my lady. Please let us help you.”
Perhaps the steward had informed them beforehand.
Two maids approached and bowed their heads.
Penelope was slightly surprised.
“Two people are going to help me? Aren’t you busy?”
Halo was an extremely poor territory.
The number of servants working at the estate was also far too small.
To explain how busy they were…
There were times when one maid had to do the work of five people.
However, the maids looked at Penelope with bright expressions.
“Thanks to your efforts, my lady, we were able to get rid of our biggest worry. If it is something you are doing, we should roll up our sleeves and help you.”
“Please trust me. I’m actually the strongest person in this castle.”
The maid Giselle said proudly as she rolled up her sleeves.
Laura also looked excited and showed her willingness to help.
Penelope smiled softly.
“Thank you just for saying that. Besides, you will need to learn how to make soap too, so come inside and watch carefully.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“We will remember.”
The two maids looked at each other and quietly smiled.
Most of the servants working at the estate already had a favorable opinion of Penelope.
Even after the lord’s death, she did not show her sadness.
Instead, she continued managing the territory firmly.
That left a deep impression on them.
Especially…
There was no resident in Halo who did not know that she had gone alone to the Imperial Bank and borrowed money.
Penelope was always calm and graceful.
Without ever raising her voice.
To the maids, she had already become someone they admired greatly.
“First, could you bring some clean water?”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
Giselle quickly went to get water, wanting to show off her strength.
Laura did not want to lose and rolled up her sleeves as well.
“I’ll prepare the other things.”
The two maids busily carried out the tasks Penelope had given them.
Clean water.
Caustic soda.
Fruit oil.
And wooden molds for making soap.
Everything was placed on the shelf.
Finally…
Penelope rolled up her sleeves.
At that exact moment…
As if he had been waiting for this moment…
The mage suddenly opened the door and entered.
“Everything is prepared, right?”
“…As you can see.”
Penelope answered with a slight frown.
Until now, he had been doing nothing.
And now he wanted to appear at the final moment and take credit.
It was extremely annoying.
“Good.”
Ahwin’s mind was completely filled with thoughts of experimenting.
His eyes, hidden behind his hair, sparkled brightly.
A small smile appeared on his face.
At the same time, the two maids’ faces turned pale.
As expected… he really is strange, just like the rumors said.
Mages really are full of weird people.
Without knowing what the servants were whispering about him…
Ahwin pointed toward the door leading to the inner room.
“Move these inside. All of my equipment is there.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
Laura answered obediently.
Penelope suddenly stopped.
…Wait. A mage’s equipment? Why is it inside the estate?
The mage had clearly arrived at Halo Castle with nothing.
He had not even brought his wand or staff, which were essential weapons for a mage.
There was no way he could have personal equipment here.
Before Penelope could express her doubts…
Laura opened the door connected to the inside of the workshop.
Penelope froze.
Laura, who opened the door herself, was also shocked.
“Good heavens… What is that?”
Laura opened her mouth wide and rubbed her eyes.
Beyond the door…
Another world existed.
Magical tools with complicated lines intertwined together.
Experimental equipment releasing smoke fiercely like chimneys.
Mysterious reagents with every color imaginable.
It was a terrifying room.
A place where touching the wrong thing could cause an explosion like stepping on a landmine.
It was exactly what one would expect from an alchemist’s laboratory.
Penelope swallowed dryly and asked,
“Why are those things… No, how are those things inside Halo Castle?”
“That place isn’t Halo Castle. It’s my workshop. I only connected it to this castle’s door by opening a portal.”
That is possible?!
Penelope couldn’t close her mouth.
Should I consider this illegal trespassing? Or should I consider it a miracle created by a mage?
She couldn’t decide.
Even after showing such an unbelievable miracle…
Ahwin spoke casually.
“Move quickly. Without those tools, an experiment like making soap with green herbs wouldn’t even be possible.”
“…”
He was right.
A mage needed a mage’s tools.
Penelope had asked him to make green herb soap without providing anything.
It was like asking someone to cook without any tools.
Of course, the mage would bring his own laboratory.
It’s just that the fact he can do something like this is completely unbelievable.
At that moment, Ahwin waved his hand.
“Move faster. Don’t touch anything inside. Just place the ingredients beside the table.”
The maids flinched.
They did not want to enter that dangerous-looking laboratory.
Penelope asked instead of them.
“Is that room really safe?”
“I cleaned the area around the table. If you only move around there, there won’t be any problems.”
“No, but…”
Doesn’t that mean there will be problems if we touch anything else?!
The more Penelope learned about the mage…
The more she realized how unpredictable he was.
He had his own world.
He ignored common sense.
And no one knew what direction he would suddenly move in.
“If we enter like this, nothing really bad will happen, right?”
“If you really want to know, try touching anything.”
Ahwin answered with a small laugh.
The fact that he didn’t make jokes like normal people made jokes annoyed her even more.
Penelope tightly closed her lips and looked at Ahwin with a frightened expression.
Then Ahwin stared back at her.
His eyes sparkled brightly.
It was the gaze of someone observing something interesting.
Penelope flinched.
“Actually… there is a problem, isn’t there? Like if we enter, we might get trapped forever and never come out…”
“That won’t happen. Though I do want to try it once.”
Ahwin lightly laughed.
For some reason…
He looked strangely happy and excited.
Why is he suddenly laughing? I really can’t understand what he’s thinking.
In the end, Penelope turned toward the maids.
“Remember what the mage said. Do not touch any experimental equipment inside.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Please trust us.”
The maids gathered their courage and carried the ingredients into the laboratory.
They felt uneasy.
But they couldn’t show weakness in front of their lady.
Fortunately…
The accident they feared never happened.
As if there had never been anything dangerous inside the mage’s room.
Once everything was prepared…
Ahwin began explaining.
“The process is simple. Mix water and caustic soda in equal amounts, then combine fruit oil and this oil at the proper temperature.”
Ahwin picked up the green reagent bottle on the table and shook it.
It was basically green.
But at the same time, it looked like emerald.
It had a mysterious color.
“This is the green herb extract I made myself. We will mix this with the soap ingredients.”
“Wow, the process is simpler than I expected.”
Penelope answered brightly.
She had already relaxed.
Simpler?
Ahwin, who had endured the pain of extracting the green herb drop by drop throughout the night, criticized Penelope’s careless attitude.
“I extracted it one drop at a time all night. Don’t you feel anything after hearing that?”
“Hmm… You must have felt quite peaceful while doing simple work?”
Penelope answered without thinking.
Apparently, it was not the answer Ahwin wanted.
His eyebrow twitched.
No, isn’t what I said correct?
Penelope knew very well that Ahwin was still suffering from the pain of heartbreak and couldn’t sleep properly.
Every time she saw him…
The dark circles under his eyes were obvious.
And his face was always pale.
Heartbreak caused emotional pain.
On the other hand…
Simple repetitive tasks brought peace to the mind and body.
Therefore…
Alchemy experiments must have been quite beneficial for Ahwin.
If not, then what kind of answer does he want?
“Ah, staying awake all night must have been very difficult for you.”
“…I shouldn’t have said anything. Let’s just start working.”
Ahwin found a pure white laboratory coat in the corner and put it on.
Then he wore gloves and goggles.
He handed another pair of gloves and goggles to Penelope.
“Ah, thank you.”
Penelope obediently accepted the protective equipment.
Then she turned to the maids.
“You two should go get gloves and cloth to cover below your eyes. Breathing in caustic soda directly is very harmful to your health.”
“Yes, understood.”
The maids obediently followed Penelope’s instructions.
A short while later…
Penelope, along with the two maids, began making soap.
