Chapter 54:

The Gifted Potion Maker

Witch’s First Espionage Mission in 200 Years

Silhvester Holmes walked in wearing a long tailcoat and hat, a cigar balanced between his fingers. His faithful companion, Warner Jotsen, followed closely behind.

Silhvester took a long puff. Perfect circular smoke rings drifted through the air.

He frowned.

“The tobacco seems off today, Jotsen.”

Warner reached into his coat and produced a tiny bottle.

“Just add one drop of this Calculus Potion. It will increase the potency.”

Silhvester narrowed his eyes.

“But it will also sting my throat.”

“One drop, yes.”

Warner raised a finger.

“Two drops will increase the nicotine considerably.”

Then another.

“Three drops will cover your throat in rashes.”

Silhvester stared at the little bottle. Warner smiled.

“It is all about the dosage, Silhvester.”

Silhvester’s eyes widened.

“ Oh! So this is how Rilene Rattler was turning a beauty potion available on the market into vanishing cream—by adding a different potion and changing the composition itself!”

Warner blinked.

“Vanishing cream?”

“The features are literally vanishing!”

Silhvester burst into hearty laughter.

“Oh, the poor unsuspecting souls who ended up using it.”

Warner stared at him.

“Oh, that female.”

Rowland closed the book.

Elena had one hand over her mouth, while Silvi’s tiny painted mouth had animated itself into a perfect little circle. Sybill sat beside Rowland, their fingers awkwardly interlaced between them.

Rowland’s amusement slowly disappeared.

“Wait.”

Everyone looked at him. His expression changed.

“Just like the clarifying tincture Grandmaster Erasmus told us about.”

“The what?”

Silvi and Elena shouted in unison.

“You guys didn’t tell us?”

“Oh, we the wanted to, but the Sammy and the animal madness…”

Sybill scrunched up her nose.

“Yes,” Rowland said. “We asked him weeks ago.”

Elena leaned forward.

“Then clarify.”

“It depends entirely on the dosage of the tincture.”

Rowland raised one finger.

“One drop can enhance the sleeping effect.”

He raised a second.

“Two drops slow the deterioration of eyesight.”

Then a third.

“Three drops completely prevent the damage to the eyesight.”

Elena stared at him.

“Then why did Dad have blindness and I didn’t?”

“Because Old Man Jack isn’t a herbologist,” Rowland said. “Grandmaster said potion-making is a real science. Old Man Jack boiled some nightshade leaves to create a diluted mixture and probably added whatever herbs he knew were supposed to help someone sleep. That was his main goal, after all.”

Rowland paused.

“I asked Grandmaster why he chose blue nightshade when there are other herbs that can induce sleep. He said its calming and sleeping properties are far more potent than the herbs usually taken for that purpose.”

His expression grew solemn.

“ King Andrew had lost the wife he loved, another woman stood accused of killing her, and his son was gone. Then there were the burdens of the crown on top of everything else. Grandmaster said the toll on him was immense.”

Sybill nodded.

“Yes. Old Man Jack’s potion was the useless water with the sleepy effect.”

“Exactly,” Rowland said.

“What you took was a tiny drop in a tall glass of water, so heavily diluted that the effect would have been very weak.”

Sybill immediately looked towards Elena.

“But it was the having an effect. You did make the whole castle go very sleepy that one day, remember?”

Elena slowly lowered her cup.

“But Dad actually lost his sight.”

Sybill nodded, holding her chin.

“Maybe he was the taking it without the tincture.”

Rowland continued

"One other thing".

“But there is someone who is a genuinely gifted potion-maker. She assisted Grandmaster Erasmus in developing the clarifying tincture itself. The patent has yet to be granted.”

He raised a finger.

“It’s not very common, you see.”

Rowland leaned back slightly.

“Grandmaster Erasmus said the clarifying tincture reaches its full potency only when it is prepared beneath an open sky, with clean country air around it and enough moonlight to draw out its properties. That was why Mother taught some of the villagers how to make it for her. Their homes stood among open fields, so the conditions were almost perfect.”

He paused.

“She paid them a small fee for every batch they prepared. It allowed them to earn something for themselves without feeling as though they were simply accepting charity. And when Mother sent food or supplies to the village, they could accept them without hesitation because they were helping her in return.”

Sybill looked towards Elena.

“It was the Zeena Longbottom. The Rowland’s mother.”

Elena blinked.

“Seriously?”

Rowland nodded.

“Grandmaster Erasmus examined the bottle in front of us when he summoned Old Man Jack.”

Silvi’s button eyes narrowed.

“One drop encourages sleep.”

She tilted slightly.

“Two protect the eyes.”

Another pause.

“Three prevent the damage entirely…”

She went very still.

“Oh.”

Elena frowned.

“What?”

Silvi looked at her.

“Lucy.”

The room quieted.

“She may have been serving him that tea without it.”

Rowland’s expression changed.

“The Grandmaster assured us he was taking the potion himself.”

He looked towards the others.

“Then your theory may be right.”

“And Mariana could be involved too,” Elena said.

Then her eyes widened.

“She sensed his eyesight returning.”

Sammy looked at her.

“What?”

“When she arrived.”

Elena sat straighter.

“She even said something like…”

She imitated Mariana’s airy voice.

“Almost as if you can see me again.”

Silence fell over the room.

A few weeks had passed since Natalie’s return to the castle, and the place already felt considerably more cheerful.

The oppressive quiet that had once seemed to hang over every corridor had begun to lift. Andrew smiled more often now—the kind of smile that reached his eyes. Both father and son found themselves hovering around Natalie relentlessly, and she seemed more than pleased to have them there. Even the servants moved through the halls with lighter steps.

Natalie’s return was still being kept secret from most of the kingdom, but within the castle walls, her presence had already changed everything.

The castle dining hall had been restricted to only a handful of servants. Only those personally recommended by the Queen herself had been allowed inside.

Sybill looked around the room.

“The castle is the keeping so many secrets, the Silhvester books pale in the comparison.”

Rowland nodded dreamily, watching her as though this were the most profound analysis he had ever heard.

Chef Mario stood near the table, wiping tears from his eyes at the sight of Queen Natalie. Phillip remained beside him, happily nodding along with everything his mentor said.

Only Madam Candace and Helen had been permitted to remain inside.

Sammy sat between Andrew and Natalie. Chef Mario had taken one of Sammy’s hands in both of his and was kissing it repeatedly while crying hysterically.

“My Prince! My Prince!”

Sammy looked helplessly towards Elena.

Elena calmly spread butter across her toast.

“Oh boy.”

She took a bite.

“So Dad decided to let some people in on it, huh?”

“Your mom is the gorgeous, Sammy.”

Sybill pointed towards Natalie.

Her long jet-black hair had been arranged into an elegant braided bun, while the rich blue of her gown brought out her piercing blue eyes. A kind, gentle smile softened her features.

Sammy nodded while discreetly wiping Chef Mario’s kisses from his hand.

Rowland smiled.

“So Mariana really was involved.”

He relaxed slightly.

“That means my parents are officially off the hook.”

Sybill, Elena, and Sammy exchanged looks.

Rowland’s smile disappeared.

“What was that look?”

He looked between them.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Sammy shifted nervously.

“You remember what I saw when you rescued me from the second kidnapping?”