Chapter 24: The Yellow Bird (5)

On the day Louis returned from the grand duke’s study…

Later that evening, in Louis and the twins’ room:

“Well done, Khan, Kani.”

“Yes, yes! It was fun!”

“It sure was!”

Louis praised the twins for spending the entire day playing with the grand duchess. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves immensely, their faces beaming brightly.

After acknowledging them, Louis turned his attention to Fin.

“You got all the intel?”

“Yes, sir!” Wearing glasses out of nowhere, Fin adjusted them once before opening the notebook he held close to him. He began reciting everything he had gathered.

“The grand duke typically wakes up at five o’clock in the morning. After a light warm-up session at the training ground, he has breakfast. Then, he immediately receives reports from the head butler and administrative officials before starting his workday.”

“He usually eats lunch around noon and enjoys light refreshments afterward. In the afternoon, he either inspects his feudal estate or finishes any remaining paperwork. After dinner, he practices magic until bedtime, which is typically around eleven o’clock at night. On average, he interacts with the madam five times per day!

Most importantly, they share the same bedroom, and she will soon be ovulating. Based on this information, I believe our chances of success are quite high. That concludes my report!”

“Excellent!” Louis appeared pleased with Fin’s findings.

I’m relieved that the grand duke and his wife don’t sleep separately!

Louis had worried their relationship might be strained enough for them to use separate rooms, but fortunately, it seemed unfounded.

With all conditions met, Louis reached his hand into a pocket dimension.

“Let’s see…”

His fingers moved quickly as if searching for something specific.

Rummage, rummage.

“Where did I put it?”

The first thing Louis learned when he began studying spatial holy magic was how to manipulate a pocket dimension. Over time, he had amassed various items within this space, though most were treasures from Genelocer’s hoard.

“Aha!” After much digging, Louis retrieved an old book with a pleased look on his face.

One Thousand Elixirs Using Eternity Pills

Louis had been obsessed with eternity pills due to his limited lifespan and the anxiety surrounding it.

Louis had stumbled upon this book while searching for ways to utilize elixirs beyond simply consuming them. After several experiments, he discovered that the elixirs described within were quite effective. Of course, these trials consumed a significant amount of his precious resources.

Genelocer scolded Louis for wasting elixirs meant for growth on concocting strange potions, emphasizing that one should never play with food. Consequently, Louis was forced to seal away “1,000 Elixirs of Mystery” deep in his inventory.

I didn’t realize it could be used like this.

The worn-out book contained a vast array of elixir recipes. This time, Louis focused on two specific ones.

Flip, flip…

His hand paused as he quickly skimmed through the pages, drawn by the name at the beginning of one section:

[Elixir of Bliss for Bored Couples]

Efficacy: A few drops can reignite the dying embers of love into a blazing inferno.

Warnings:

• 1. The type of medicinal herb used varies depending on the user’s physical constitution.*
• 2. For optimal results, take thirty minutes after a meal.*

One Shot, One Baby!

Efficacy: An elixir created for couples seeking to conceive with a proven success rate of 100%.

Warnings:

• 1. The type of medicinal herb used varies depending on the user’s physical constitution.*
• 2. Effective only for women during their fertile period.*
• 3. Both partners must consume the elixir for it to be effective.*

Hmm… The names might be provocative, but these elixirs seem reliable based on their effects. I can trust them.

Nodding slightly, Louis approached the wardrobe placed at one corner of his room.

Louis opened the wardrobe and stretched out his hand towards it. As he did so, Louis’s Dragon Heart resonated with Nature’s Spatial Attribute Power, imbuing it with his will.

“Expand.”

A simple command yielded immediate results. The interior of the closet, barely spacious enough for an adult man, grew to the size of a small room. With a grin at this display of magic, Louis awkwardly climbed inside. It was quite unusual to see such a powerful mage struggling merely to climb into a wardrobe.

Finally victorious over the closet, Louis grabbed its door handle.

“If anyone comes looking for me, say you don’t know where I am. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes!”

“Gotcha!”

With their replies, Louis closed the wardrobe door.

Click.

The door shut firmly. Several hours later, it finally reopened again.

In the dead of night, a tiny shadow was lurking around the kitchen of the grand duke’s castle.

Clang!

“Ack!” The shadow made a loud noise after accidentally bumping into some cooking utensils. It sounded even louder due to the late hour. Fin hurriedly scanned his surroundings as he recalled Louis’s instructions.

“Fin, sprinkle this medicine on the food that the grand duke and duchess will eat tomorrow.”

As Louis spoke, he handed Fin two small bottles containing shimmering liquids—one light pink, the other dark pink.

Fin tilted his head curiously. “Come to think of it, which ingredients should I use these on?”

After pondering for a while, Fin’s face brightened with realization.

“Oh well, never mind. Sprinkling them everywhere should work, right?”

His decision-making was swift, followed by immediate action.

“Heh-heh-heh.” Fin cackled as he flew around the kitchen sprinkling poison on all the food ingredients. Even after treating everything available, there was still half a bottle left.

“Hmm… I have quite a bit remaining.”

Pondering what to do with it, Fin eventually flew over to the grain storage area.

“They eat bread too!” With that proclamation, Fin waved his hand and drew water from one side of the kitchen. He mixed the poison with the water before flicking his wrist again.

Shwaaaah.

The mixture spread out like a fine mist and settled onto the grains.

“Mission accomplished!” Proud of himself, Fin vanished from the kitchen without any idea of the chaos his actions would cause.

The next night, Louis quietly slipped out of his room and scanned his surroundings. He flinched at voices nearby and pressed himself against the wall until he faded from view.

“What happened?”

“So…”

Two maids passed by where Louis was hiding. Once they were gone, Louis reappeared and grumbled softly to himself.

“I swear, Camouflage is the worst holy magic for its cost.”

Camouflage duplicated space around him, allowing Louis to blend seamlessly with his environment. Simply put, it worked similarly to how a chameleon changes color based on its surroundings. However, this meant that Louis could use it only while standing still; any movement would deactivate the spell.

Still, it’s better than nothing.

Louis cautiously made his way to the grand duke and duchess’s bedroom.

If Fin did as instructed, they should have consumed the elixir with their meal earlier today.

The elixir Louis concocted wasn’t some magical potion that would make them instantly fall in love. Rather, it was more like oil meant to reignite the flame of love within them. He had snuck out at night to check if his elixir worked properly.

Upon reaching the couple’s room, Louis pressed himself against the wall and vanished once again using Camouflage. Holding his breath, he strained his ears to listen inside the bedroom.

The grand duke couldn’t sleep due to his racing heart since early this morning.

Oh dear…

His wife was experiencing something similar. Her heart had been pounding unusually hard all day, and it got worse whenever her husband was near.

Ba-dump.

Their hearts echoed loudly in their quiet bedroom until their arms accidentally brushed against each other.

Flinch!

Startled, they gazed deeply into one another’s eyes.

“My lady…you look exceptionally beautiful tonight.”

“Oh, my lord…”

They exuded an aura of love as intense as when they’d first met at that social gathering. Soon, hearts symbolizing passion began flying around outside their room.

Louis’s face lit up with joy. “What a sacred night…” He nodded slightly as—

“Louis?”

“What do you mean by ‘sacred’?”

“Booo!”

The sudden voice from behind startled Louis, causing him to jump. He quickly covered his mouth and scanned the area, worried they might have been caught. Thankfully, hearts were still fluttering through the door.

Relieved, Louis waved at the twins innocently staring at him, as if shooing away birds. “Shoo, shoo! Off with you!”

“No way! Tell me too!”

“What is it? What’s going on?”

As the twins rushed toward him, Louis sternly grabbed their ears.

“Hey! Kids shouldn’t know about this stuff yet!”

“Ahhh, that hurts!”

“It hurts, Louis!”

“Shh! Be quiet and follow me.” Louis dragged the protesting twins along.

Behind them, countless hearts continued to float around the grand duke’s bedroom.

The next morning, the grand duchess looked particularly cheerful as she strode briskly toward Louis and the twins’ room. She spotted several maids bustling about, which piqued her curiosity, so she quickened her pace.

“Oh, you’re here?” The maidens hurriedly bowed upon seeing her approach.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, umm…” As other servants exchanged glances nervously, a more experienced maiden stepped forward to speak for them. “The children… They’ve disappeared.”

“What?!” The grand duchess’s eyes widened dramatically. “What do you mean they vanished? Where did they go?!”

“We aren’t sure… We definitely saw them asleep last night, but when we returned this morning, they were nowhere to be found. We have people searching throughout the castle now, but there has been no sign of them yet.”

“Oh n-no…!” The grand duchess’s face turned pale.

The maids felt too guilty to look her in the eye, knowing how much she cared for those children.

Just then…

“M-Madam!” A young maid hurried toward them and handed the lady of the house a letter.

“What is this?”

“It was found on Louis’s bed. It wasn’t there yesterday…”

Hearing this, the grand duchess quickly unfolded the letter. Elegant handwriting filled the page, which didn’t resemble that of any child. Startled, she composed herself and began reading it hastily.