Chapter 12 – Valenberg Tea Party

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The reason Baron Reiningen was involved with the suspicious social group was, in fact, quite simple.

Baroness Reiningen had fallen ill with a disease for which there was no known cure. She had been given a terminal diagnosis, and the baron had been desperately searching for a way to save her. After numerous failed attempts, he was on the verge of despair. That’s when a group of shady individuals appeared, claiming they had a cure. In short, the baron had been swindled by a cult.

The solution to the baron’s problem wasn’t particularly complicated. All we needed to do was find a way to cure the baroness. Once that was done, the baron would cut ties with the cult, and Claudia’s worries would be resolved. Of course, the cult wouldn’t let go of their newfound pawn so easily, but that would naturally resolve itself once my goal was achieved.

The real challenge was curing the baroness’s illness. Doctors had already given up, claiming there was no known treatment. I didn’t have the medical knowledge to come up with a solution myself. So, how could this be resolved?

The answer was surprisingly simple: a magical potion, a staple of fantasy stories. Yes, the legendary panacea—the Elixir.

But wait, isn’t this just another scam?

“How did you even get your hands on an Elixir?”

Frederica nodded along to my explanation but then asked the obvious question. As she pointed out, Elixirs weren’t exactly easy to come by.

“That’s right. I always thought Elixirs were just legends…”

Claudia added with a gloomy expression. To the people of this world, Elixirs were indeed legendary—a mythical cure-all that could heal any illness and even bring the dying back to life. Even the greatest alchemists in the world couldn’t easily produce one. The recipe was unknown, and the ingredients were nearly impossible to obtain.

“But ta-da~ I happen to have one right here.”

With that, I pulled out a small vial from my pocket. It was a tiny glass bottle, slightly larger than a finger, filled with a golden liquid that emitted a faint glow. Just by looking at it, anyone could tell it was no ordinary item.

Frederica and Claudia were stunned.

“Is… is this the real thing?!”

“Should I get a certificate of authenticity?”

Frederica shook her head at my question.

“No. Liese, if you’re the one bringing it, it’s probably real…”

Claudia silently agreed with Frederica’s conclusion. At this point, doubting the authenticity of the Elixir was pointless.

“This should cure the baroness’s illness.”

I held out the Elixir, but Claudia hesitated, unsure if she should accept such a priceless item.

Elixirs were undoubtedly incredibly valuable. After all, they were legendary potions capable of healing any wound or illness. But for me, they were practically worthless. I currently had three more vials in my pocket, and if I asked Rota, who was back at the hotel, I could easily retrieve dozens more from storage.

Honestly, I didn’t even carry them around for my own use. I only kept them on hand in case I needed to use them on someone else. At this point, it was nearly impossible to injure me in any meaningful way, and even if I died, I’d just start a new loop. Plus, I had plenty of other methods to recover from injuries.

So why did I have so many Elixirs? Well, there wasn’t really a reason. It was just a case of the classic “Elixir Syndrome” common in RPGs. Any gamer would understand. Elixirs are precious recovery items, so you want to save them for a critical moment. The problem is, you never know when that moment will come. Facing a strong enemy? When your health is critically low? During the final boss fight?

And so, the Elixirs pile up in your inventory, unused, until you finish the game. I had done the same. I collected Elixirs, thinking I might need them someday. But as I progressed through the loops, the opportunities to use them dwindled. I gained more abilities, learned how to handle events, and found other ways to recover from injuries. Eventually, the Elixirs just kept piling up in storage.

I even considered selling them, but that wasn’t easy either. A legendary potion isn’t like a precious gem—it’s not something you can just sell without consequences. So, I ended up with a surplus of Elixirs, useless to me but too valuable to discard.

To me, these legendary potions were nothing more than shiny trinkets. Of course, I couldn’t explain that to anyone else, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Take it and use it to cure the baroness.”

“But…!”

“It’s fine. In return, will you lend me your support?”

“Yes! The Reiningen family will never forget this kindness!”

Honestly, I would’ve liked to offload about ten vials, but doing so would’ve raised too many questions, so I settled for just one.

Claudia carefully accepted the Elixir, holding it as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. She looked back and forth between me and Frederica, unsure of what to do next. It seemed she was worried about how to store it properly.

“Fredie, could you get something to store this in?”

“Of course. We should have a suitable jewelry box.”

Frederica gestured to a nearby servant, who soon returned with a small, elegant box. It was just the right size to hold the vial, lined with soft fabric to prevent breakage, and secured with a dial lock.

“Th-this is too extravagant…”

“Nonsense. Such a precious item deserves an equally precious container. If you store it in something shabby, people might think it’s a fake.”

“Ah…!”

Claudia bowed repeatedly in gratitude. She carefully placed the Elixir in the box and left with a maid.

Once we were alone, Frederica stared at me.

“Why on earth were you carrying something like that in your pocket?”

I hesitated, unsure how to answer. Her question wasn’t just about why I had the Elixir in my pocket—it was a subtle way of asking if I had more.

And she was right. I currently had three more vials in my pocket, and if I asked Rota, I could retrieve dozens more from storage.

“Why? Do you want one too?”

“You have more?!”

Frederica was shocked, clearly not expecting me to actually have another. I smiled and silently placed another vial on the table.

“Is this really real…?”

She seemed a bit skeptical now that I’d produced a second one so easily. Proving its authenticity wasn’t hard.

I pulled out a small knife I carried for self-defense and, without warning, stabbed it into the back of my hand.

“Liese…?!”

Frederica screamed in panic, but the knife was already embedded in my hand. A sharp pain shot through me, and I winced slightly. It hurt more than I expected, likely because I was still in a child’s body. But I’d experienced far worse pain before, so I didn’t react much.

“Liese…! What are you doing?!”

Frederica stared at my bleeding hand in horror. The servants nearby were also panicking.

I pulled the knife out, and blood gushed from the wound, splattering onto the table and our dresses. Oops, I hadn’t meant to get blood on Frederica’s dress.

I opened the vial of Elixir and let a single drop fall onto my hand. In an instant, the wound healed completely, leaving no trace behind.

“See? It’s real.”

I showed Frederica my perfectly healed hand. She stared at it, still in disbelief.

“…Was that really necessary?”

Well, it was the quickest way to prove it, but in hindsight, it might’ve been a bit excessive.

“Sorry. As an apology, here’s another one.”

I took the opportunity to offload another vial, placing it on the table.

Frederica’s lips twitched as she watched me pull yet another Elixir from my pocket. She clearly hadn’t expected a third one.

After a moment of stunned silence, she took a deep breath and asked, “Just how many of these do you have…?”

I simply smiled and said nothing

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