I Thought I Was Married, But I Was Left Alone, So I'll Live as I Please. So Please Don't Mind Me Anymore, My Lord of the Border - Chapter 2

“Alright, first I’ll exchange these medicines for cash!”

I retraced the path we’d taken by carriage and walked toward the town I’d seen from the window.

The sun was still high. If I could sell the medicines, I should at least be able to afford tonight’s inn.

As I walked, the wind carried the scent of medicinal herbs, lifting my spirits.

Carts passed over the cobblestones, the aroma of herbs rising around me. In this country, even the air itself felt like medicine.

The scent of dried herbs hanging over the street seemed to grow slightly sweeter when exposed to the sunlight.

Ah, irresistible.

“Wow, amazing! I’ve never seen so many varieties before!”

There were plenty of herb shops in the Kreuz territory too, but there the herbs were displayed merely as components for prescriptions.

Here, however, it felt like the herbs themselves were treated as individual products.

Each leaf had its own story, each fragrance its own value.

They preserved the charm of the herbs while enhancing their qualities through processing.

I couldn’t help but rush over to a stall and bring my face close to the dried herbs.

Even materials that were just graphics on shelves in the game became so much more exciting when I could actually touch them in reality.

“So fresh, with such a strong scent and the firmness of the leaves is perfect!”

“Oh, bro, you can tell that?”

The young shopkeeper’s eyes widened happily.

Yes, I can tell. I just know when I see them.

I have a feeling that if I made medicine with such excellent materials, I could create something incredible!

I want to start compounding right away.

“This Lacam leaf—the drying is perfect! And it’s thick yet uniform—what kind of skill does that take!? If I made an antidote with this, it would probably be insanely effective!”

“Haha, you really get it, don’t you? Hearing that makes all the effort worthwhile.”

All the numerous products had unfamiliar processing methods applied to them, and the more I looked, the more I wanted them.

I’d bought graphic herbs in the Kreuz territory too, but they were all powdered to withstand transport.

I’d thought it was convenient for easy processing, but seeing the real things like this made that seem bland.

This one would be crushed and mixed with reagents, that one soaked in oil to extract its medicinal properties… this fruit, if mashed, would make an ointment for…

Recipes kept popping into my head.

“Ooh, this is the best…!”

I accidentally let my true feelings slip and the young man laughed.

“Wanna buy some?”

“I do! I really, really do… but I don’t have the money right now… I’ll definitely come back when I have some!”

“Is that so? Well, come again.”

“Yeah!”

Just looking at the products, I could feel the passion this territory’s people had for medicinal herbs.

I really like people who love medicine.

I need to make cash quickly. Standing before these herbs, my fingers are itching unbearably.

Since I was practically thrown out of the mansion and shoved into a carriage, I barely managed to pack my important alchemy tools and the medicines I had on hand into my trunk.

Of course, they didn’t give me any money.

“Hey, are there any apothecaries around here? I want to sell some medicine.”

“Sell medicine, huh? Well then, I think the shop at the end of the alley on the right would be good. The old owner’s cranky, but he’s picky about medicine. If you have good stuff, he’ll pay well for it.”

“Okay, thanks!”

Waving, I left the stall.

My heart felt more excited than when I was heading to my fiancé’s mansion.

“Sigh, I’m going to be busy every day from now on. I want to find a place to live and settle down quickly.”

From now on, I’ll live not as the noble Ash Kreuz, but as the alchemist Ash.

Goodbye to all those troublesome obligations!

I tried to psych myself up, but the cold attitude of my fiancé whom I’d never even seen cast a shadow over my heart.

“Were the bad rumors about me spreading…?”

That wasn’t me.

Those were the bad rumors about my cousin who attended social events in my place.

He had zero interest in alchemy, no intention of studying or learning manners, yet he happily carried the ‘Kreuz name’ around.

I hadn’t expected to be welcomed, but I’d hoped they might at least treat me like a normal person.

If they’d known the real me, would they have smiled at me, even just a little?

The image of my fiancé, who hadn’t even looked up from his documents, surfaced in my mind, and I shook my head as if to fling it away.

The world isn’t that sweet… huh.

“…Well, whatever! It doesn’t matter anymore!”

The past doesn’t matter now.

What I need right now is to sell my medicine, secure lodging, and eat a good meal!

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

Clenching my fist tightly, the excitement in my chest swelled again.

The warm wind pushed at my back.

I took a deep breath of that wind mixed with the scent of medicinal herbs, savoring the thought that my life as an alchemist was finally, truly beginning.