Chapter 266 Sylvia And Paracelsus
"By the way, I've heard that the Mr. Paracelsus (real) was quite handsome, so I bet he was popular with the women in the flower street, right?"
"Well, I heard that his wife had passed away, so I imagine many of them wanted to comfort him."
"What about Ms. Sylvia?"
"At that time, I was foolishly head over heels in love. He was my first customer as a courtesan, and I eagerly looked forward to his visits, which were only once or twice a month. But when I was chosen as the princess of the brōtḥel, he couldn't afford to be my customer anymore due to his financial situation."
"That must have been sad."
"However, because we couldn't meet anymore, he confessed that he truly loved me, and I was able to tell him that I loved him too. The most we could do was exchange letters and go on dates once a month on my only day off. We promised each other a future and encouraged each other to work hard. I was eagerly waiting for the day I could leave the establishment, working hard to earn money."
As Sara listened to Sylvia's story, she noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes, realizing that the tale would have a sorrowful ending. Yet, she remained silent, not wanting to interrupt.
"But when the day of my departure from the establishment was just a month away, a nobleman offered to buy my freedom."
"Is that something you couldn't refuse?"
"Technically, we're allowed to refuse, and the establishment can't hand over a courtesan against her will."
"From the way you say it, it sounds like it's almost impossible to refuse."
"Yeah. Everyone has debts to the brōtḥel. If a courtesan who has been a princess is to be bought out, not only does the debt need to be paid off, but a large celebration fee also has to be given to the shop. Naturally, the shop will desperately try to convince her to be bought out. I've heard that in terrible places, they even punish girls who don't want to leave."
'It sounds like a common story. Don't these women have any safety net?'
"But if she was about to quit, then she probably didn't have any debts left to the brōtḥel, right?"
"Yeah, I was supposed to finish paying off the last installment, and I obviously refused to be bought out. But when the brōtḥel owner heard that, he got furious and locked me up."
"How cruel..."
"The one who helped me was Theofrastos, the pharmacist who came to check on a girl who was sick in bed. He noticed I was locked up and helped me escape from the shop."
"Wait, but even if you were locked up, if you were still under contract, wouldn't both of you be breaking the law by escaping?"
"That's true. He knew that, but he was kind enough to let me go. He said, 'I can just quit being a pharmacist, so Ms. Sylvia, you should escape and be happy.' He even went to get me a ride and took me to the outskirts of the royal capital where he (real Paracelsus) was waiting. Even though he was struggling for money himself, he gave me some too."
'Wow, Mr. Paracelsus sounds pretty cool.'
"And then we escaped and started a new life. About 6 months later, I realized I was pregnant with his child. He was so happy and wanted to tell his parents. So he headed to the royal capital. ...We were just too naive."
Sylvia sighed deeply, staring off into the distance.
"That person who said he would be back in a few days still hasn't returned even after ten days. I got worried and wrote a letter to Theofrastos, also known as the fake Paracelsus, who had quit being a pharmacist. And in Paracelsus's reply, I found out that... 'my husband was killed in the royal capital'."
"What?!"
"The nobleman who was supposed to take me away was bragging to others because he got a good response from the brōtḥel owner. But then, right before it was supposed to happen, it turned out that I ran away with a man, and the nobleman was furious because his reputation was ruined. Out of spite, he had my husband's family watched by mercenaries and ordered them to capture me or my husband if we showed up."
"To not give up even after 6 months, what a persistent man."
"That's true. And it seems he tried to torture my husband to make him reveal my location, but my husband never told him where I was, even until the end. Paracelsus (fake) told me this and hurried to come to me. He brought my husband's hair with him."
Sylvia quietly shed a tear.
"At that time, Paracelsus (fake) was invited to the Grandchester territory."
"You were invited by the previous Marquis Grandchester, right?"
"Yes, that's right. So, Paracelsus had the Marquis Grandchester mediate and help resolve the trouble with that nobleman and the brōtḥel. But I was warned that if I stayed single, he wouldn't give up, so I decided to have a fake marriage with Paracelsus and go to the Grandchester territory. I wanted to safely give birth to that person's child."
"So that's what was going on."
"My friendship with Paracelsus is strong, but we never developed romantic feelings for each other. Ah, but being together this much, there might be a kind of family love. His great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren are cute too. Paracelsus said he would always help me if I found someone I liked, but my heart seems to still be with my first husband."
Wiping her tears lightly with a handkerchief, Sylvia smiled. However, to break the somber mood, Alicia, who was sitting next to her, started talking energetically.
"Sara, don't be fooled by the atmosphere. What Sylvia said isn't a lie, but it doesn't mean she won't fall in love again, okay? Sometimes she seems to remember and ends up making young lovers and wandering around. The number of lovers who broke up because of Sylvia is so many that you'd need both hands and feet to count them! You should think that those knights from earlier are also targets!"
'Oh wow, she really is a total predator just like she looks.'
"Moreover, everyone knows that there's no blood relation to Paracelsus's descendants, so all the men in my family are crazy about Sylvia. It's like a rite of passage in their boyhood! Plus, Sylvia herself knows this, so she teases them a lot. That's really bad behavior."
"Hey, that sounds bad! I just don't want to forget the thrill of love. If you don't fall in love, you'll get old, right? Alicia, you should also stop just studying and find love!"
"Sylvia, you don't age thanks to the fairies!"
"Oh, Ms. Sylvia is also blessed by the fairies?"
"That's right, Miss Sara. Even though she can't see the fairies herself, she's loved by Paracelsus's fairy, and her age has stopped."
"Eh, is that really possible? Where does the magic power come from?"
"I heard that the magic power comes from Paracelsus. Many people are sad that their lifespan differs from their partner when they receive the blessings of fairies, so sometimes the fairies give blessings to families they like. It seems to use a lot of magic power, though. So when Sylvia start to age, it means Paracelsus's lifespan is also coming to an end."
'So if Fey likes it, does that mean my father can also receive blessings? I need to talk about this when I get home.'
"I see. Seeing Ms. Sylvia's youth and beauty, I can be sure that Mr. Paracelsus is still alive."
"Thank you. It's a bit embarrassing to hear that from a beautiful girl like Miss Sara."
Sara and Sylvia exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
"So, for now, it means that Mr. Paracelsus being asleep doesn't mean he abandoned his family, right?"
"To be honest, Paracelsus has already become a symbol for our family. Miss Sara. We respect him if he's here, and if he's not, we just praise his achievements."
"I see, I understand, Alicia."
Sara took a breath and continued.
"I plan to wake Mr. Paracelsus."
"That's fine, but the last words written to wake him are something I can't even read. I haven't been taught. If you came to ask about that..."
"No, it's okay. I can read it."
At that moment, Sylvia dropped her cup onto the saucer with a clatter.
"No way... Miss Sara is..."
"I might be one of the people Mr. Paracelsus has been looking for."
"What's going on... I can't believe it really exists. It wasn't just a figment of Paracelsus's imagination."
"You didn't believe, did you?"
"To be honest, I didn't, Miss Sara. He's been alive for 300 years, so I thought it was just an old man's delusion."
"Actually, the founder of Grandchester is the same as me. That's why the diaries and documents passed down in the Grandchester family use the same writing as Mr. Paracelsus."
"I see. In that case, please wake up Paracelsus. He's definitely oversleeping."
"That's true. 40 years is a bit too long. I'll go wake him up soon, but Ms. Sylvia, are you coming with me?"
"No, I'll wait here. That person's tower already belongs to Miss Sara and Alicia, right? Then we need to prepare a place for him to return to."
Sylvia smiled nostalgically.
'She said she doesn't have romantic feelings, but maybe now she could actually fall in love with Mr. Paracelsus?'
Sara vaguely thought about something that would probably get her a "mind your own business" if she asked them directly.
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