Chapter 2: A New Beginning
After leaving the mansion, Lieselotte made her way to the neighboring nation, the Madeucas Empire.
She had come to have tea with an acquaintance, a female merchant, at a café on a street corner filled with the lively noise of the bustling market and the fragrant smell of freshly baked bread.
“Hii, Lottie.”
“Amanda.”
“It’s been a while.”
The female merchant, Amanda.
She served as the vice president of the OTK Trading Company, the largest commercial guild in the empire.
The two had met once in the past when Lieselotte accepted a sudden commission, and they had become friends through that encounter.
Amanda knew very well about Lieselotte’s solid abilities and her complicated circumstances.
Lieselotte told Amanda that her husband had been unfaithful and that she had divorced him.
“That must’ve been rough.”
“But you made the right choice.”
“From my perspective, that guy is absolute sh*t.”
“He managed to rise that far thanks to you, Lottie… and yet that smug-faced b*stard.”
Amanda snorted in obvious irritation.
‘Even Lieselotte had such a wonderful friend.’
In the original story, even after witnessing the affair, Lieselotte remained obsessed with him.
And that obsession ultimately led to her downfall.
“So, what are you planning to do now?”
Her merchant friend asked while elegantly sipping the warm tea rising with steam, carrying the refreshing scent of bergamot.
“Well…”
“If I could just practice alchemy freely, that would be enough for me…”
However, living in this world required money.
If she had any value, it would be her extraordinary skill as an alchemist.
Lieselotte Fart had a grandfather who was a great alchemist.
She had learned potion brewing and magical tool creation directly from him.
This skill was the only way she had to earn money.
“Then why don’t you start your own workshop?”
“I’ll support you.”
“A workshop…”
An alchemist’s workshop.
She had indeed once dreamed of having a place she could call her own.
Faced with her friend’s unexpected suggestion, Lieselotte blinked in surprise.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“As long as you pay me back properly with profits.”
‘I ran out with nothing but the clothes on my back.’
‘I have no money.’
‘My relatives are all gone, and there’s no home left for me to return to.’
‘This… is a chance.’
‘I can’t let it slip away.’
“Yes.”
“I promise.”
The two women reached across the table and firmly shook hands in an elegant yet resolute grip.
“Still, Miffiore really is an idiot.”
“To throw away such an incredible wife.”
“Thank you.”
“But I don’t care about him anymore.”
Lieselotte smiled gently and gracefully.
Then she moistened her throat with the fragrant tea that carried a pleasant, refined bitterness.
Nice