Chapter 240: Ambrose's Booming Business
Even late at night, the castle laboratory was brightly lit by candlelight. Isabel sat at her desk, head lowered, meticulously organizing a full day's worth of experimental data.
Before Ambrose returned, she had never had this much to sort through.
It wasn't for lack of diligence. Rather, she simply couldn't carry out experiments as quickly as he could.
Her lich mentor could control over a dozen Mage Hands simultaneously. He functioned like an entire assembly line alone.
Not only that, Ambrose possessed a far deeper foundation in alchemy. In a single instant, he could devise multiple possible formulas along with the corresponding experimental procedures.
While he couldn't deduce the effect of a potion from theory alone, every adjustment he made was precise and purposeful. As a result, the sheer volume of experimental results he produced in a single day was astonishing.
It was more data than Isabel might generate in half a month.
And it wasn't just a matter of recording all the data—it all had to be categorized and organized.
To verify the final outcomes, Ambrose had even spent half an hour personally teaching her how to tabulate results and create bar and pie charts.
Isabel admitted she had never encountered such statistical methods under her previous master. Either he didn't know them, or he had deliberately withheld them.
After experimenting on her own, she quickly realized how much clearer and more intuitive this approach was. Tables granted her a far sharper understanding of how variations in material quantities affected the results of her experiments.
"The gap between me and Master is still far too great..."
Isabel sighed softly. If Ambrose had been the one to discover that strange slime, he would have already produced far more—and far better—potions from it.
Her enthusiasm for learning had never been higher. Even staying up through the night didn't bother her in the slightest.
From where she stood nearby, however, her maid Cardina couldn't help but feel concerned. "My lady, aren't you going to rest?" she asked gently. "These things can wait until tomorrow."
Without even looking up, Isabel replied, "That won't do. My teacher asked me to finish this tonight and deliver it to him. Bring me another vial of vitality potion."
"But..." Cardina hesitated, then couldn't help complaining, "Your master is far too harsh."
Isabel immediately raised her head. Her expression turned unusually serious as she warned, "Cardina, you must never say a single bad word about my master. Never. Do you understand?"
Cardina had spent quite some time with Isabel, yet she had never heard her speak in such a stern tone. Realizing that she had said something foolish, she quickly fell silent. It seemed that the relationship between her lady and her lady's master was far closer than she had imagined, so much so that not even a mild complaint was allowed.
Could the two of them have...? Cardina pondered the thought and found nothing particularly strange about it. Isabel was undeniably beautiful, and that gentleman appeared young and handsome. They looked quite well-matched. Still, her lady was too kind, while that man was so demanding. No matter how she looked at it, he didn't seem like a good person.
Cardina worried that the man had been deceiving Isabel all along. Yet Isabel's concern ran even deeper. She feared that Ambrose might have overheard Cardina's earlier remark.
After all, her master was a lich. She had personally witnessed Ambrose disembowel two adventurers who had invaded the castle, turning them into undead. She had even helped clean the laboratory afterward.
Though he treated her well, Isabel constantly reminded herself never to provoke him. Cardina was a good person. She didn't want to see her lying lifeless on a dissection table the next day.
Thus, the two women continued their late-night work, each burdened with entirely different worries. Meanwhile, Ambrose lounged comfortably in a long-unused chair, chatting with his friends from the Elegiac Society.
His recent journey through time had been immensely costly, but the rewards had been equally immense.
If nothing else, obtaining the heroic spirit of Arthur Lyon alone was an astounding boon.
During that time, Black Rose had been busy secretly gathering raw materials in the orcish mountains and had had no time to deal with Ambrose. Now that a ceasefire had been reached, she had returned to the Umbral Depths. It was finally time to discuss the problem of Arthur Lyon.
[Black Rose: Can you confirm that it's truly Arthur Lyon's heroic spirit?]
[Megaman Tiga: No. That's why I've already contacted the elves. The previous elven king adventured alongside Arthur Lyon for many years, he should be able to make an accurate judgment. According to Catherine, he should arrive in about half a month.]
According to Catherine's reply, the old elf took the matter extremely seriously. If not for the many unresolved issues within elven society, he would have flown over immediately to reunite with his old companion.
[Black Rose: Then we'll wait until it's confirmed.]
Her reaction was unexpectedly indifferent. Ambrose had thought she would be eager to meet her ancestor, or even tempted to transform Arthur Lyon's spirit into a ghost.
That kind of deal could definitely be negotiated. If necessary, Ambrose could even lend her the spirit for a few days so she could vent her anger by beating Arthur Lyon senseless. Surely she'd be willing to pay for that.
Yet her lack of interest piqued his curiosity. [Megaman Tiga: You don't seem very interested in Arthur Lyon. He's your ancestor and the founding emperor of Lyon. Shouldn't you care about him, even if in the form of hatred?]
[Black Rose: Why should I care? It wasn't Arthur Lyon who turned that nation into what it is today.]
It sounded as if Black Rose knew something about the truth. If Arthur Lyon wasn't responsible for the current state of the Lyon Empire, then who was?
Ambrose didn't bother with subtlety. [Megaman Tiga: Care to share anything you might know?]
[Black Rose: It's nothing special. I haven't studied the histories in detail. All I know is that, while Arthur Lyon was alive, the empire didn't discriminate against—or persecute—other races the way it does now.]
Black Rose had been part of a minor branch of the royal family when she was young. Then, one day, her father suddenly became emperor for an absurd reason: his Lyon bloodline was the purest of all remaining descendants. The previous emperor had failed to produce a more suitable heir and was forced to pass the throne to him.
By luck, Black Rose herself could control the Draconic Armament, making her the heir apparent.
But she had chosen to flee. She had no desire to be locked inside the palace as a breeding device.
In truth, her knowledge of royal secrets was limited. Or rather, long before her generation, much of that knowledge had already been lost.
Many within the royal family no longer even understood why they had to preserve the bloodline so obsessively. After all, the Draconic Armaments had sat untouched in the treasury for over a thousand years.
Even without it, Lyon remained the most powerful nation on the continent.
Some believed the obsession was pointless, causing tragedy after tragedy while producing increasingly unfit rulers.
Bloodline alone was not enough to govern an empire. Proper education and cultivation from a young age were essential. A random candidate could not simply be placed onto the throne.
Yet by this point, anyone who could make that set of silvery-white armor in the treasury glow even in the slightest could become emperor. Was it any wonder the empire declined with each generation?
Seeing he wouldn't get much more out of her, Ambrose changed the topic to business.
[Megaman Tiga: I've settled beneath the desert in a massive underground ruin. It's perfect for our cultivation project. As I mentioned before, we can begin large-scale production of the living mercury spirit golems.]
[Black Rose: Good. Let me know what you need. Better yet, I can have a tunnel dug to connect the Umbral Depths with your dungeon. It'll make transporting materials much easier.]
Ambrose hesitated.
Mutual access would certainly reduce costs, but it would also be like handing over the keys to his front door. More importantly, his living mercury slimes could self-replicate as long as sufficient metal was available. That was a secret he had no intention of revealing. If Black Rose discovered it, she could simply take over his production line herself. How could he collect the rest of his payment then?
But outright refusal might raise suspicion.
After some thought, he replied, [Megaman Tiga: That would be ideal, but I'm afraid it won't be easy. These ruins... I have no idea which civilization built it, but they did so using unbelievably durable materials. Catherine and I spent half a day just to leave a shallow mark on the gate.]
[Black Rose: That's impossible. Even the two of you together couldn't damage it?]
Ambrose sent over a memory crystal he had recorded earlier. He had done so in hopes of sharing it with others to learn about the mysterious materials the giants had used.
After reviewing it, Black Rose responded, [Black Rose: This is absurd. How can such materials exist? And if a civilization possessed them... how did it fall?]
[Megaman Tiga: Who knows? I'm curious too. Let's forget the tunnel. We'll stick to our usual approach: a stable teleportation array. It's more expensive, but far more practical.]
[Black Rose: Agreed. Once it's ready, I'll come see your new home. Oh, and about the legendary corpse I took from the orcs, I'll send you the details. I need the soul prepared as soon as possible. It's urgent.]
Urgent?
Ambrose wondered if she was planning to attack Lyon already.
Even with the Silvermoon Knight dead, Lyon still possessed the largest number of legends—and the strongest military force—on the continent.
He chose not to pry too much. [Megaman Tiga: If it's urgent, you could ask others for help. I'm sure Gareth and the others would be happy to assist.]
[Black Rose: Relax. I'm not marching on Lyon just yet. I've waited this long, after all. I'm in no hurry. There are simply... some problems in the Umbral Depths that need to be resolved.]
Only then did Ambrose relax. [Megaman Tiga: In that case, leave it to me. I'll make sure it's done right. Though... the cost won't be low.]
[Black Rose: Name your price.]
[Megaman Tiga: The soul itself won't be legendary, but a soul that can control a legend's body will cost at least ten million gold.]
[Black Rose: I'll give you twenty million. Make it perfect.]
Ambrose couldn't help but sigh in admiration. As expected of a queen. After expenses, this deal alone would net him at least eighteen million gold in profit.
