Chapter 250 – 70. To the Primeval Forest (1)
Saturday morning. Chloe was excited for the first time in a while.
I woke up earlier than usual and checked my clothes and makeup several times. Thanks to that, the servants of the mansion were very nervous from the morning.
“Hmm. Eyebrow makeup. The line is subtly raised upwards. Please redraw it.”
“All right! Miss!”
It’s already the 5th time since I fixed only the small eye makeup. Chloe groaned inwardly.
‘In order to hold on to Yulian-nim’s heart, you have to be completely perfect, starting with your makeup. So I paid a lot of money and hired artists who are very good at makeup… But I don’t like it.’
However, the time Julian decided to visit the mansion was in the morning. So even if she falls a little short of her standards. She couldn’t help it
‘I’m going to make up for today and get fired right away…’
And Chloe checked her elixir and poison in her mind. Since the reserve platoon’s group training, I haven’t used poison much. The amount left was sufficient.
Then, the important thing today is the leap. To make Julian completely fall in love with him. He also needed the help of an elixir.
‘But I know very well that ordinary aphrodisiacs don’t work. So I guess I’ll have to change my strategy.’
Reinhardt’s special lineage. Maybe that’s why, but the weak medicine didn’t work on the count.
Of course, with her own charm… Julian embraced her as if he were intoxicated by her aphrodisiac.
Anyway, what was the strategy for Chloe this time? Chloe herself drank the special elixir she had made.
‘If I drink it when my body temperature and breathing rises moderately… It’s an elixir that makes my body odor even stronger.’
For this strategy, I ate all sorts of foods called natural aphrodisiacs for a while. And even herbs or teas with scents that men especially like.
Through that aphrodisiac, the scent of a female, no, a woman spreads through. If it was that scent, it would surely enhance Yulian’s taste.
‘Eww… I get excited just thinking about it.’
Chloe calmed down. Don’t be in too much of a hurry. A few days from today. Count Julian asked Chloe to give her time first.
If it were that clever count. Apparently Reinhardt made time with her because of the important things of the Alter Baek family and her child Tern family.
‘It will definitely be of great help to you. Chloe. Especially about the race for Aitern’s successor.’
I didn’t explain specifically what would happen. However, it is not a one-day promise, but a long accompaniment that lasts for several days.
The night is long and the two of you are me with blood boiling. It was the perfect opportunity to spend a hot night with the count after a long time.
It’s been a long time since I haven’t slept with Julian. For a while, I wasn’t the only one who was annoyed.
“Please be more careful. Today’s makeup is very important.”
“Ah, I see. Miss Chloe.”
Time passed by putting on makeup like that. Meanwhile, Chloe thought to herself what had happened recently.
‘I’m too busy these days.’
The successor race mentioned by Julian. That was the reason Chloe was busy. The situation in the empire is unusually fluctuating.
So, the two older brothers.
Hand in hand with Cardinal Grius in the center and Orhain family in the south, respectively. Taking this exquisite moment as an opportunity, he was preparing for the final counterattack in the successor race.
‘Huh. It will never go according to my brother’s wishes.’
Fortunately, the eldest brother had already caught the rotten rope. Choosing Cardinal Grius.
I heard that there was a big commotion at the Victory Day banquet he hosted a while ago.
Although Cardinal Grius was extremely reticent so that nothing leaked out. Grius’ assassination attempt. If that’s true, it means that Grius, the real power of the empire, is also shaking.
‘Then big brother doesn’t have to worry about it. So the problem is the little brother.’
The younger brother married a young lady with distant blood from the Orhain family. Because of that connection, he is showing off his friendship with Duke Pedro quite a bit.
‘It’s as if Orhein has monopolized the road leading to the primeval forest. Resources from the Demon Kingdom. If the younger brother secures that distribution channel, it will be really difficult.’
The primeval forest is a treasure trove of precious resources that cannot be obtained anywhere else in Island. And even if it wasn’t a primeval forest, the Demon Kingdom had many useful resources.
Unlike humans. Except for the dwarves, the demons have no interest in resource development. So, Chloe’s hair has been complicated lately.
‘I’m sure my little brother planned something big… If that succeeds, the tower I built might collapse.’
Chloe suddenly looked in the mirror. His own beautiful face. It seemed that his nerves had been on edge lately, to the point of being a bit crumbly.
‘Because I have to take care of that before polishing. I can never lose to that damn bitch.’
The thought of the cheeky red-haired witch made her hot again. But Chloe tempered her anger.
It was because one of the servants informed Chloe of the news she had been waiting for.
“Count Julian von Reinhardt has arrived!”
***
Chloe got into my carriage. And I was a little surprised by Chloe’s appearance.
‘It took more effort than usual.’
Although she was Chloe who always dressed up like a noble lady of high status. Today, I showed more concern.
The system’s artist characteristics were telling me that the makeup Chloe was wearing was more like a painting.
“I’m happy to be able to spend such an intimate time with the Count… Hmm?”
And the moment I fully climbed into the carriage. Her expression wrinkled as she spotted Tricia in the carriage.
“Oh. Who is this? Is she a maid to help the Count and me?”
“No. This is Tricia, who will be with us on this occasion. It’s the first time I met you, but I still don’t have a relationship with you. Because it’s Cecilia’s real sister.”
“Hello. This is Tricia.”
Tricia greeted Chloe politely.
Tricia’s outfit is like her when she’s not doing her job, even if it’s her shaggy outfit. As befits her Demon King, she was very dignified in that greeting.
For a moment, Chloe seemed to recognize that.
“Hmm. It’s a dignified greeting. Come to think of it, Cecilia too. She’s a dignified person for a commoner. Nice to meet you. Tricia.”
Chloe answered the greeting. Cecilia is a great artisan that she manages herself. For Chloe, who has a nasty personality, she seems to have taken care of Cecilia’s older sister.
As I finished greeting her, Chloe clung to me.
“Anyway, what the count said is that three people go like this? That’s a good thing for the successor race. I’m really looking forward to it, but I can’t get a sense of what’s going on… I’m curious, hehe.”
And I pressed her upper body full of volume to me. Tricia watched it with interest.
Then, all of a sudden, Tricia spoke.
“Are the Count and Lady Chloe lovers?”
At that, Chloe’s face widened.
“Oh. Are you that cheeky? Yes. Of course. The Count and I are already… Lovers in love with each other.”
“Okay. Somehow they seemed to get along well. But isn’t the Count engaged to Her Highness, Princess Lilia?”
“Huh. That’s it, though. An engagement that was made only because of an arranged marriage. The only woman the Count has in her heart is me.”
“Nice. It’s such a romance. It sounds like something out of a romance novel.”
Tricia grinned as if she was really interested. Tricia seemed a bit playful.
Intoxicated by the word “Lover” Thrown by Tricia, I turned Chloe, who was making an ecstatic expression, back to reality.
“Ruler. Stop chatting. As I said, I didn’t bring these two together to play. Chloe, you’re busy too, and Tricia was someone who had a job. Let’s talk about what we need to do.”
Then Chloe’s eyes changed.
“Anyway, I was curious. First of all, where are we headed?”
I haven’t told Chloe yet where I’m going. I answered meekly.
“I’m on my way to the Pantheon.”
“Pantheon… Hmmm. I see. Are you even preparing for the polishing match?”
“No. If it was just that much, I wouldn’t have come to pick you up like this.”
“Then…”
“Pantheon. To be precise, I plan to find the hidden portal there.”
Chloe’s expression hardened instantly.
***
Chloe said embarrassed.
“It’s a portal. Portals are the remains of an ancient empire that are extremely rare even in Island… And it’s the first time I’ve heard that there are portals in the Pantheon. No. Rather, if you go to the portal, of course there is a destination beyond that, right?”
After thinking about it for a moment, he hurriedly continued.
“Even though the empire is vast. Still, if you hurriedly steer through the imperial roads and carriage stations, there’s nowhere you won’t be able to get to quickly. Even so, the fact that you have to use a portal means that it is a place where you can only go through a portal. Isn’t it?”
“I know you well.”
And Chloe was silent for a moment. If she had reached a conclusion soon, she asked me with a puzzled expression.
“Perhaps the destination the Count is talking about. Perhaps it is not the territory of the Demon Kingdom, right?”
However, Chloe already had a confident look on her face. After all, it was like a smart Chloe. I nodded meekly.
“Accurate. To put it in more detail, I intend to enter the primeval forest.”
“The primeval forest… I didn’t expect it. It is a more unexpected place.”
The primeval forest is the sacred place of demons. So, by the standards of the Holy Empire, it is a disrespectful place that should not be mentioned carelessly.
But the moment you heard me. Rather, Chloe made her red eyes shine even more.
“Hmm. Heir to the great Reinhar family. And the count, the son of the Great Saint Agnes, will enter the primeval forest. Do you really intend to slaughter all the demons living there?”
Tricia’s ears perked up at those words. He made a surprised expression.
“No. I have no intention of that.”
“Hmm…”
And Chloe shut her mouth for a moment. At least, that head must be spinning faster than the rotation of my mana heart.
Then, as if organizing her thoughts, she spoke to me.
“If it’s Count Julian, then that’s probably it. I believe it because I said that it would help my successor competition in the first place. And if you were the Count, you wouldn’t be blindly jumping into death. I won’t ask for details. You will find out later.”
“Hoo. Trespassing into the territory of the Demon Kingdom is itself a matter of heresy questioning. Are you still okay?”
“Oh. Is that so? But there’s no way the Count doesn’t know that. I don’t think it’s bad to try once.”
Then, after a little moxibustion, he covered his face with a fan and said.
“What… Is that where the Count asked me to go with him? That’s why I want to go.”
That was a very good answer. After all, it was like the Chloe I had tamed well.
However, Chloeni still has the blood of a cold alchemist and merchant in her essence.
‘I’m sure he’s already knocked on the calculator.’
As expected, Remegeton floated in the air. The Grand Duke of Gourmet, I felt that the name was watching Chloe.
It meant that now Chloe was looking forward to the work in the primeval forest and the income to be gained from it.
I said.
“Thank you for saying that. However, it might be taking a precious young lady from someone else’s house to death. Maybe I should show my sincerity.”
I took a loaf out of my pocket. Chloe recognized it immediately.
“Isn’t this arsenic?”
Arsenic. It was the same substance commonly used as poison. Soon, Chloe understood what I meant.
“You mean to swear an alchemist’s oath?”
“Yes. Because you believed in me Should I be able to repay that kind of thing? What will happen in the primeval forest in the future? Chloe, it will definitely help you. I swear by the name of the goddess Istia.”
After putting arsenic on my hand. After a while, the place was lit up with light. If this oath is false. The toxic arsenic changes into more intense poison and spreads throughout the body.
Of course nothing happened. Since what I said was true, it wasn’t even that the pandemonium was activated.
“Really. No matter how strong you are against poison… The oath of alchemy is different. Even if the Count recovers, the miasma of that arsenic will fill the inside of this carriage.”
And I saw an unexpected expression. For a moment, Chloe put on an uncharacteristic, girlishly shy expression.
I couldn’t see her face properly with her quick fan.
After taking the alchemist’s oath, the carriage arrived at Pantheon and Istia.
And in a place that no one in the Istia Pavilion could have imagined. The three opened a portal and entered the primeval forest.
