Arcane Innovator

I accepted the richly bound book from Jenny's outstretched hands and quickly incanted the very first spell Lily taught me. Before long, a small flame appeared at the top of my palm, and full of curiosity, I eagerly began reading.

Jenny simply stared at me in confusion as I was engrossed in the book. Apparently, she hated reading and only did it during her study lessons with the esteemed Court wizard. So she couldn't quite understand what I found so interesting in those old books.

I simply smiled, throwing a look at her bewildered face. I was a firm believer in that old saying that knowledge was power. And I also knew that books were the greatest source of knowledge known to men. Not to mention I quite like reading.

But there was no point explaining that to the young girl, so I instead thanked her again for doing this. I knew that Jenny took on a tremendous amount of risk stealing the book from the Bookroom.

Yet, it wasn't as complicated as it may have seemed at first glance, as most servants in the keep didn't know how to read. This meant that only a single custodian took care of the whole book room.

In time, Jenny also quickly learned that the old servant liked to drink and get merry with the maids in the evening.

Thus, it was pretty easy for her to come and "borrow" a few books without anyone noticing during the night, as despite being a de facto prisoner in the keep, she had the privilege of unrestricted access to the book room.

Jenny was apprehensive at first about this but, in the end, agreed. And now I can read whatever I want.

We were hiding in a secluded courtyard, and the guards didn't patrol all the way there, so during the night, we were totally alone, making it a perfect place for some light reading before bed.

As I skimmed the book's contents, looking for something interesting, I told Jenny about the city and its people and how they were preparing for winter. I also told her tales about the Harvest Festival and all the colorful stalls filled to the brim with many delicious treats, and she hung on my every word.

She, in turn, told me most of what Sir Roderick was teaching her, which was mainly similar to Lily's own lessons, although there were some slight differences.

Where Lily enthusiastically explained the concepts behind the various spells and gave me vivid examples of their possible applications, Sir Roderick relied primarily on simply memorizing the book's boring contents.

So I was again reminded how lucky I was I could stumble upon such a fantastic teacher as Lily and couldn't wait for winter when all this craze around the launch of our new elixir would be gone, and I could wholeheartedly focus on my own studies.

We sat there chatting for hours, and only when the horizon started getting a hint of blue, signaling the coming of dawn, did I realize that we had talked almost a whole night.

Thus, I quickly wrapped things up and said goodbyes to Jenny with a promise I would meet her here again in a week, and she happily agreed, promising she would bring me more books to read.

I then hurried through the dim streets back home, hoping to steal a few hours of sleep before having to attend to my duties.

Finally lying in my bed, I slowly drifted to sleep while thinking about how well everything had been going for me so far. However, my wishes for a nice sleep were brutally interrupted not even an hour later.

I snapped my eyes open as I heard a loud banging on my door. "Master Darian! Master Darian! Please, it's urgent!"

I groggily got up from my bed and hurriedly donned a dressing gown; I then reluctantly opened the doors only to find an agitated-looking maid, her eyes wide with fear. "Please, Master Darian, you are needed downstairs. There are some guests..."

I instantly frowned as it was very early to be receiving any guests, signaling this would not be any sort of pleasant visit. "Tell them I will be there in a minute."

I quickly dressed myself and headed downstairs. And indeed, it wasn't. As soon as I arrived downstairs, I saw Jorn desperately trying to bar our old acquaintance, Leopold von Scholl, from entering.

However, this time, he wasn't alone but accompanied by someone else... I narrowed my eyes at the tall, imposing figure, who was flanked by two guards on each side, all dressed in a uniform bearing the Count's insignia on their capes.

I could tell at first glance by the stranger's hard, piercing gaze that he was a seasoned warrior, and although I had never met him in person, I couldn't help but gulp nervously as I instantly recognized him by his elaborate uniform - the Magistrate.

"Make way in the name of the count!" The Magistrate bellowed. I frowned as I noticed the guards were already reaching for their weapons, and Jorn was doing the same.

I quickly raised my hand, stopping Jorn from doing anything rash, and hurriedly addressed our new guests. "What is the meaning of this?"

The chancellor stepped forward, wearing an intricate black robe and donning a victorious smirk. "I told you there would be consequences if you didn't comply! But clearly, you weren't listening and tried selling potions once again."

I finally realized what this was about, so I quickly gathered my composure and looked at the chancellor steadily. "What do you mean? We aren't selling any potions. It was you who explicitly forbade us from doing this very thing, no?"

He moved closer to me with a clear annoyance. "Then what is this?" He said as he produced a small vial from his pocket.

I instantly recognized the vial's contents and put on an air of confidence. "Ah, that is our new elixir! As you can see, it clearly looks and tastes nothing like a potion would. We also didn't make it with any alchemy - it is purely an herbalist concoction that solely relies on the natural qualities of herbs..."

The chancellor frowned. "You're lying! Even though I can't yet say for certain how you managed to alter it - this is clearly a potion!"

I shook my head. "I'm telling you the truth. We simply found a way to unlock the herbs' full potential..."

"Then you surely wouldn't mind if we looked around, would you?" The Magistrate interjected with a subtle smile playing on his lips.

I frowned as I turned my head toward this mysterious upholder of justice, and I couldn't help but wonder how the haughty chancellor managed to convince someone like him to entertain this farce.

"Of course not," I replied, forcing a smile while trying to keep my voice steady. "You're welcome to inspect everything we have. But I can assure you, you will find nothing illegal here."

The Magistrate snorted, clearly unconvinced. "We'll see about that," he muttered, turning to his men. "Search the premises! Check everything, leave no stone unturned."

I froze as I imagined them rummaging through all our things and staining our valuable carpets with their dirty boots. Thus, I quickly raised my hand, stopping them. "Please, that won't be necessary. I will take you to our laboratory..."

I then reluctantly took them directly into the basement as I knew it was the only way to get rid of them without any violence.

I could see their suspicion mixed with curiosity with which they observed all those weird apparitions in there.

"As you can see, there are no inscriptions or Alchemical formations..." I confidently proclaimed with a subtle smile playing on my lips. "In fact, we are not using any Alchemy whatsoever, so your accusations have nothing to stand on..."

They obviously didn't believe me, so they meticulously checked every nook and cranny of the basement. I stood in the corner the whole time, ensuring they didn't damage anything while silently praying they would overlook Lily's magical circle.

Luckily, they didn't seem to notice it, as the engraved symbols appeared extremely dim when the enchantment wasn't activated, almost invisible if you didn't know what to look for.

Ultimately, they found nothing incriminating, only the same things you would find at any other herbalist workshop.

Putting aside the Alchemical formations, we didn't even use the fancy Alchemical scales and other precise measuring instruments that most Alchemists used in their workshops.

For one, they were overpriced and extremely complicated to get. But the main reason was that because we were making a single type of basic elixir that didn't require any precise dosage, thus it was acceptable to measure things simply by eye.

I could see the chancellor's annoyed face as he talked with the Magistrate, and I had to try very hard not to burst out laughing. I inconspicuously moved closer to listen to their conversation.

"...I'm sorry, Leopold, but given his status, I can't simply arrest him on nothing but assumptions without any concrete evidence." The Magistrate whispered apologetically.

I didn't catch what the chancellor replied to him, but by his enraged look, it wasn't anything pleasant.

In the next moment, he turned his head toward me and bellowed. "You think that you won today, but don't be mistaken... We won't let something like this slide! I will personally take this matter to the Count himself, and let's see what he has to say about this...!"

I swallowed nervously, seeing his indignant eyes, and at that moment, I realized this issue wouldn't be solved anytime soon.

Indeed, only a few short days after this incident, I received an official summons to the Court to attend a public hearing instigated by the Alchemist Guild, which was accusing both me and Theo of fraud and obstruction of the Guild's directives, which was to be presided by his exalted majesty - the Count of Ereneth himself.