Chapter Nine

In a drawing room at Lerdin's mansion...

"Haaa~ What brought you here, my childless nephew?"

Sasha Reosra, the one who used to work as the nanny of the current Count of Lerdin, entered the room with a disappointed and frown like expression.

"I have come to see you after a long time, aunt. I-"

"Just tell me what it is you want to say already! I'm old! I was suppose to be outside admiring my grandchildren's work in the garden while basking under the sunlight!"

She sat down on the soft chair and then handed her cane to her maidservant.

"Understood"

Robin took out the tiger balm from his bag and gently gave it to Sasha's hand as he knelt down in front of her.

"A present for you. Please try using it on where you are feeling aching pain"

"Lilia, put some on my shoulder"

"Understood, madame"

The maidservant opened the bottle and took a little bit of the tiger balm and smeared her palms with it.

"How fragrant. Unlike those weed smelling oils~"

Sasha complimented even before she made contact with the oil which made Robin happy.

Lilia then started to gently massaged Sasha's shoulder, including the base of her neck.

Her soft hands, smeared with the balm oil, gave a relaxing and soothing sensation to Sasha's skin, bones, and muscles!

"I can see why you came here and made a fuss. After a long while, you finally brought something worth having"

Sasha was smiling with ease now that the aching sensation subsided and was changed into a cool and refreshing one.

"I assume you have at least a dozen of this on you to sell me, right?"

"I will make sure to bring them next month"

"This is the only bottle you have with you?" Sasha asked with her brow raised, not expecting Robin to say such a thing.

"Yes. You see, the one who made this is Lalaine, your grandniece, sister's eldest daughter. And she is the only one who know how to make this as she is the creator of it"

"That little girl?"

The image of Lalaine when she was only a child flashed through her mind.

"Silly me, looks like I have forgot the passage of time after being away from Reosra for so long. Tell me, she is as beautiful as Annabeth, right"

Robin's voice was about to crack but managed to hold it in.

"Of course she is. Many young men are trying to even get a chance to dance with her"

As someone with the same priorities as Annabeth, Robin knew Sasha will become enraged if she finds out Lalaine's hair was cut short, similar to a man's as it went against the common sense of nobility.

"Is that so? Then, bring her here the next time you visit. I will gladly introduced her to some promising young men I know of" Sasha said with a merry tone, thinking of ways to help her family that she has forgotten.

"I... I..."

"Is something wrong?"

Robin begun to sweat profusely.

"Nothing at all. I am sure she will be delighted to hear that. She is currently busy making more of this balm oil. So I apologize in her stead for her absence today"

"Hahaha! That is alright. I will get to meet my grandniece who has become a smart and beautiful woman befitting her last name. Do make sure to make her beautiful when you come here.

I will hold a simple gathering so that she can get to know other people"

Robin could not say anything else as he did not want to spoil his aunt's mood.

'I'm sorry, Lalaine. But there is no way getting out of this one now'

...

After proceeding with the documents that were needed to be filled with, both Gregory and Heinrich's past were burned away.

With new identities, they can now go wherever they want without facing the discrimination of being a slave.

"Is this where we will be staying from now on?"

"Yes. Your rooms are at the back on the first floor. Other than my room with a sign hanging on the door at the second floor, feel free to explore the house"

"....."

"You can go now if you want"

"Understood"

Heinrich walked faster and entered the house with excitement.

"Please understand that he is still a child"

"You don't have to worry, because if anything I am happy to see that he is eager and lively.

Also, you two will start working three days from now. For now, try to get accustomed around here"

"Understood"

After entering the house, the two were busy finding out the new place they will be living in from now on.

"It is... clean. So clean"

Gregory who was used to a messy working station was in awe how orderly the place he will be working on.

"Practicing proper hygiene will prevent the accumulation of dirt. Even more so in a place where we make medicine and other necessities"

Heinrich entered one of the room and to his surprise, it was a well ventilated room with the breeze from the outside.

Despite being sunset, there was still sunlight lighting the room.

"Master, I have a question"

"What is it, Gregory?"

Gregory pointed at a cylindrical metallic beam at the hallway.

"That one. The placement is odd for it to be a simple decoration, so I was wondering what sort of purpose it has"

Lucifer laughed but quickly hold himself back.

"Since the sun has yet to totally set, we should go down so you two can see it for yourselves"

With the stairs on the right going up, the three took the stairs on the left that goes down.

"....."

The two were left paralyzed in place.

The basement which was supposed to be dark was filled with natural light and a refreshing breeze.

Above them were glass, which covered most of the ceiling, that spread the sunlight evenly, illuminating the entire laboratory where they will be making and storing the medicine.

At the center of the basement was a well made U shape table made of wood.

As they looked around, they then noticed that instead of brick walls, there were drawers on the bottom half and shelves on the upper half on the three sides of the basement.

They then noticed a small wooden ladder that can be used to get the items on the shelves.

At the side of the stairs was a rocking chair that was facing the ventilation pipe.

"The beam at the center of this house is connected to the glass on the roof. This beam was made in a rush which is why it was blocking the way.

Since it might break if it gets hit, someone with the power to control metal covered the glass beam without the metal touching the glass.

Simply put, the work space has to be good enough for people to work on"

While I did my best to explain how it works to uncle before we left Reosra, to think he not only had his workers set up the ventilation pipes in this entire house but also put something like this into place in just a month, I'm starting to think that I have been underestimating his connections.

"....."

As individuals who grew up and live near the commercial city of Lerdin, they knew what it meant to become a slave.

"Is something wrong?"

Slaves can become gladiators, toys for amusement, or ragged dolls for their master to vent their anger on.

"No... nothing is wrong, master"

Gregory and Heinrich's eyes were starting to well up tears.

The laboratory that was basking on the golden light gave a sense of warmth to the two.

"I will be going up first to the kitchen to ready the food then" Lucifer said before leaving.

In order to tame slaves, it was natural for them get beaten up or to be blackmailed.

As such, when Lucifer offered them to drink the poison, the two felt that it was better than to stay in the slave market because they were promised to be compensated for their worked.

Heinrich asked with a trembling voice, "Old man, will you teach me what you know?"

And yet completely different from the bare minimum amount of treatment they were expecting, as pharmacists who became slaves, it was the most ideal situation for them.

"Of course. That will depend on whether you can actually learn it though" Gregory laughed dryly as a tear flowed down his cheek.

As the sun set, the lights in the basement vanished, making the two to go up.

As they got back up, they picked up an enticing aroma coming from upstairs at the second floor.

"Shall we?"

"Alright"

With Gregory leading, the two went up and saw three bowls on the table.

"It is clam chowder. I am assuming that you are not allergic to it"

"N-no. We are not, master. Right, Heinrich?"

"Yes! I do not have any allergy!"

"That's good. Come sit down and eat while it is hot"

"You mean... on that table?"

"Of course. Were you expecting me to order you two to eat on the floor?"

"....."

There was silence in the room that left them staring at each other.

"You didn't actually think of that, did you?"

"....."

The two remained silent.

"Sigh... just come here already"

The two sat down obediently and stared at the bowl in front of them.

"It is not necessary for you to do the work, master. Though I am not as knowledgeable in food as you, I am confident I can make something tasty"

"Gregory"

"Yes, master?"

"While I do trust you both to some extent due to the poison you have taken, my trust for you or for Heinrich is not enough for me to simply let you touch the food that I will also be eating.

If you think of it from my shoes, you could also poison me, no?"

"... I apologize for my short sightedness. I hope in the future I will be able to gain your trust enough for me to cook something for you"

"I will be waiting for that then"

________________________________________________________

Note here!

The sunlight reaching the basement through the glass beam was made possible due to the use of lenses.

A set of convex lens forming a semi-spherical shape on the roof was connected to the beam, the beam is then made of a series of lenses that will let the light pass going all the way to the basement while the ceiling on the basement was filled with a pattern of concave lens to spread the light evenly.

I personally do not know whether this actually work or is possible, but let's just say it is since this is fiction.