Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Monica's Secret Potion
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Monica seemed to notice my gaze falling on the liquid pooled on the floor.
Her already pale face grew even whiter.
Then she frantically swept at the floor with her palms, trying desperately to wipe it up.
But in the process, the hand that had already been pricked by the shattered cup got cut even deeper.
I gritted my teeth at the sight of blood seeping from Monica's mangled hand.
"Monica, what happened here?"
"M-Mariella, well, this is..."
"Tell me the truth. I'm the one who personally busted the Marsio Potion factory in the De Buyer County."
Marsio Potion.
An opaque, pinkish liquid like strawberry milk.
I never imagined an illegal diet drug—made by mixing monster bodily fluids with embezzled military combat enhancers—would turn up in my cousin sister's room.
Monica kept her hand pressed to the floor, her eyes downcast.
Her lips trembled like those of someone in utter despair.
"I-It’s all my fault. I wanted to lose weight, so I s-secretly got it..."
Monica squeezed her eyes shut and began trembling violently as she spouted excuses no one would believe.
The trial for Count De Buyer still hadn’t concluded.
I’d heard they’d kept only a portion of the stockpiled goods as evidence and destroyed the rest.
There was no way Monica could have obtained something like that on her own.
Around this illegitimate child, ignored by her father and scorned by her stepmother, the only people who might help were the few maids who’d served her since childhood.
"Uncle got it for you, didn’t he?"
"N-No, he didn’t!"
"If Grandfather gets involved, everything will come to light. You won’t be able to take the blame alone and call it a day."
"I-It really was me. I-I somehow..."
Monica clutched at my legs.
Even with her palms scraped raw, she showed no sign of pain—proof she’d been taking the drug for quite some time.
I pitied Monica.
When I first came to this house and endured every torment from Uncle’s family, she was the only one who’d reached out to me.
"A lowborn fake bastard and a real one."
That’s what Aunt called us.
"Tell me the truth. If you do, I’ll reconsider reporting this to Grandfather."
Monica, clinging to my skirt with tear-soaked eyes, looked up at me.
"M-My father... said I had to lose weight first to make the engagement happen properly. He said I was lazy, so I should at least take the medicine... S-So..."
"How long have you been taking it?"
"A-A little over a week."
"What about meals?"
"The medicine makes me n-not hungry at all... I-I only had a glass of milk yesterday morning."
I let out a deep sigh as I looked down at Monica, who had noticeably withered in just a few days.
No wonder she collapsed.
It wasn’t from the training being too hard—it was from starving herself.
The drug probably made her feel energetic, but that was just an illusion from its awakening effect.
With her calorie intake failing to keep up with her basal metabolism, collapsing was inevitable.
At least the usage period was short.
A week to ten days wasn’t long enough for severe addiction.
But as relief washed over me, fury toward Uncle surged right after.
How could he feed something like this to his own daughter?
Monica was only just sixteen.
By my past life’s standards, she was barely a student. Even by this world’s, she was still a minor.
And yet, her own father thought to give her a drug laced with monster fluids?
He must have seen the reports investigating cases like Nina’s.
Reports had come in stating that withdrawal symptoms led to binge eating or extreme aggression.
Some victims even lost short-term memories.
I’d been there when Grandfather roared in rage upon receiving those reports.
How could he give such a dangerous drug to Monica?
"You went too far too. How could you just take it because Uncle told you to? You heard it contains reevi monster fluids."
"B-But I have to make this engagement happen."
"Uncle’s forcing it on you. If you don’t want it, I can go to Grandfather right now..."
"N-No!"
Desperation flashed across Monica’s face.
"I want that engagement. P-Please, Mariella. Keep it a secret. Please."
"You want the engagement?"
"I want to leave this house as soon as possible—even a day sooner. My f-father, Madam, Mark... I want to get away from all of them."
Her words left me speechless.
"Please, just pretend you didn’t see. If this engagement fails, Father said he’ll s-sell me off as a second wife to some old noble..."
Tears began plopping onto the carpet from Monica’s eyes.
Monica couldn’t have been unaware of the side effects of a diet drug laced with monster fluids.
But she wanted it so badly—to lose weight somehow and secure the engagement—that she took it anyway.
In political marriages like this, dieting wasn’t even a real factor, but it was the only effort Monica could make.
It’s a golden opportunity to screw Uncle over properly.
He’d smuggled out illegal drugs slated for destruction and fed them to his daughter.
If Grandfather found out, Uncle’s position as Director of Military Affairs would vanish in an instant.
But Monica, who knowingly took the drug, would be punished alongside him.
The western engagement would naturally fall through, and then Monica might really end up sold off to some old noble, just as Uncle threatened.
A child’s marriage was entirely the parents’ domain, after all.
It was obvious how Uncle—stripped of his director position—would treat an easy target like Monica.
"You really want to lose weight that badly?"
"Y-Yes. If not, I..."
"Got it. I’ll help you. And I’ll keep the potion a secret."
"R-Really?"
Monica’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t expected it.
"Yes. But that doesn’t mean you can keep taking this potion."
"Th-Then?"
"Will you do exactly as I say? There’s a way to lose weight while having fun. You can eat whatever you want too."
"There’s a method like that?"
"Yeah. But you can’t take this drug anymore. If you touch it even once more, no matter what you say, I’ll stop everything and go straight to Grandfather."
Monica hesitated for a moment, glancing between the spilled liquid on the floor and me.
Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she bit her lip hard.
"I’ll do whatever you say."
"For real?"
"Y-Yeah. I’ll h-handle telling Father myself. That I’m stopping the medicine."
Her voice trembled pitifully at the end, like a goat’s bleat, just imagining it terrified her that much.
Still, she was trying to muster her courage.
Mark had inherited Uncle’s brutal temper completely.
I knew exactly how furious Uncle would get at Monica rejecting the drugs he’d sent, so I quickly shook my head.
"No. Just accept the drugs as they come. Don’t take them."
"I-I can just take them? You trust me?"
"Yeah. Once you start the exercises I teach you, you won’t even think about drugs like that."
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
By shattering the cup with the potion earlier, Monica had unwittingly erased all evidence that Uncle had sent it to her.
So there was also the intent to stockpile the drugs Uncle sent, just in case they might come in handy later.
In case I need to screw him over down the line.
Unaware of my scheming thoughts, Monica looked at me and gave her first faint smile of the day.
"Thank you, Mariella."
"Save the thanks for later. First, eat the tonic dishes Grandfather sent."
I’d roughly cleaned the floor and opened the door. The servant waiting outside wheeled in a cart.
Steam still rose gently from the steamed dishes piled high with seafood as big as a child’s head.
I could see Monica’s throat bobbing as she stared, having barely eaten properly for days.
"B-But if I eat this..."
"You promised to do as I say, right? Step one: recover your stamina by eating lots of healthy food."
After a long hesitation, Monica finally gave in and picked up her fork.
"Mmmph..."
Her mouth leaked out something like a sob of delight at the first proper meal in ages, revealing just how delicious it was.