Poisoned old man

After sailing for two days, the ship briefly stopped at another port city, where some passengers disembarked and new passengers boarded.

On the second day, Elena and Leonard were still on the deck, basking in the sun, enjoying the sea breeze and the sea view. One of them was a low-level mage and the other was a golden knight, and they were not afraid of the little wind and sun at all. Naturally, they preferred to stay outside rather than in a room with only one window.

Elena lay in the wide chair, listening to Leonard talk about the customs and interesting stories of the coastal cities.

I have to say that Leonard has rich travel experience. He talks about whatever he thinks of. There is no main plot, but he tells it in an interesting way.

Elena was listening attentively, which was helpful for her to understand the world and the country, but suddenly a cough came from the side, and the cough became louder and louder, more and more rapid, and more and more violent, as if it was about to cough out the lungs.

When the violent coughing finally subsided, Elena smelled a smell of blood, and this smell of blood was not normal, it had a rotten smell.

Elena smelled it, and Leonard naturally smelled it too, and they both looked at the person who was coughing.

He was an old man with gray hair, dressed in respectable clothes, and accompanied by two servants.

The old man had a handkerchief covering his mouth, and some blood could be seen in the center of the handkerchief. It looked like he had coughed up quite a lot of blood.

The old man saw Elena and Leonard looking at him. He wiped the corner of his mouth and gave an embarrassed smile: "Sorry to bother you."

Elena shook her head: "It's okay, but it seems that it's not good for your health to be here in the sea breeze when you are sick."

The old man took a sip of the warm water brought by the servant, rinsed his mouth, spit it out, took another sip of warm water, and swallowed the cough that was still surging. "I feel a little seasick in the room, so I want to come out and get some fresh air."

The sea breeze blew past, quickly blowing away the smell of blood and rot.

Having said that, it seems that there is nothing more to talk about between strangers.

Elena turned back.

Leonard continued the story he had just left unfinished.

However, not long after, the coughing sound was heard again.

Elena couldn't help but turn a deaf ear and a blind eye, so she turned around and looked at the old man, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

The old man changed the handkerchief covering his mouth. He saw Elena looking at him and said, "I'm sorry to bother you again. I'll go back to my room now."

"No, that's not what I meant." Elena quickly stood up and explained, "I wanted to ask you what disease you have. I happen to have some potion with me, and I can give you a bottle if it's suitable."

The old man hesitated when he heard about the potion, but an older servant beside him immediately asked, "Do you have an antidote? A restorative potion will do. We're willing to pay a high price for it."

Antidote? Poisoned?

Elena shook her head: "There is no antidote, but I have brought strength-enhancing drugs." One bottle of strength-enhancing drugs is equivalent to five bottles of recovery drugs.

The servant was a little disappointed, but still said, "Thank you. Can I buy you a bottle of stimulant?"

Elena asked the maid beside her to fetch a bottle of potency potion: "No need, it is fate that we can meet during the journey. Please accept my gift."

The maid brought the energizing potion, and Elena took it herself and walked towards the old man, pointing her finger at the seal: "You can verify that the seal is intact and has never been opened."

The old man took the energizer with a smile, opened the bottle and took a sip: "No, I believe you."

Elena didn't understand yet, but Leonard, who was sitting on the wide chair, smiled.

It seemed that the old man recognized him.

But who is this person?

Who could this person be at this age and with this kind of temperament?

Leonard searched his mind.

While Leonard was searching, Elena and the old man were still talking on the other side.

"What kind of poison have you been poisoned by?" Elena asked curiously.

After drinking the energizing agent, the old man felt much better and the cough that had been coming up was temporarily suppressed.

He smiled gently at the girl in front of him. "This is Mokai snake venom. This kind of poison is quite troublesome. I don't have a suitable antidote with me, so I can only suppress it temporarily. But I just ran out of it today, so I'm sorry for disturbing you just now."

It was the venom of the Mokai snake. Elena knew that the venom of this snake was of a higher level and required an antidote that was also of a higher level. It could probably only be purchased in big cities.

Elena could make it as long as the raw materials were available, but there was no need. The old man looked like a noble and could buy the antidote after getting off the boat. There was no need for her to make it herself. He was just a stranger she met on the journey, and she would not rush to please him.

"It's okay, you're injured, and we all understand." Elena smiled sweetly, "I wish you success in buying the antidote and a speedy recovery."

"Thank you for your blessing." The old man bowed politely. "My dear lady, you gave me a gift, and I want to give you one too."

Gifts, who doesn’t want gifts?

Elena blinked her big eyes: "What gift? Is it sweet candy?"

The old man smiled and said, "I do have candies, but candies are not enough to express my gratitude. I have something else I want to give you."

The old man asked the servant beside him to get the gift.

The servant quickly brought the gift, which was a jewelry box.

The old man opened the jewelry box and found a flower-shaped brooch inside, with the jewels inlaid on it sparkling in the sunlight.

"This brooch is more suitable for a young and lively girl like you. I hope you like it."

Elena really likes it. Which girl would not like such shiny jewelry?

"Thank you for your generosity." Elena immediately pinned the flower-shaped brooch on her clothes. "Does it look good?"

The old man nodded: "It looks good."

Elena turned to Leonard again: "Does it look good?"

Leonard also nodded.

Elena was very happy.

Returning to her chair, Elena showed off her new brooch to Ronald: "Is it beautiful? Are you envious? Do you regret it?"

The last question was obviously meant to tease Leonard. What she wanted to ask was, if he had known that the old man was so generous, would he have rushed to give the energizing agent?

Leonard laughed out loud: "If it were me, his gift would be more than just a brooch."

???

What's the meaning?

Elena quickly reacted: "You mean, you can cure him directly, so he will give you a better gift? Or he knows you and knows your identity, so he will give you a better gift?"

"Both." Leonard gave her a look. "If I were to help, the reward wouldn't be just this. Besides, he's much richer than you."

"Humph!" Elena was unconvinced, "I'll be rich soon too."

She now has three revenue sources: restaurants, spices and sauces, and magic potions. Once the cattle farm develops, that will be four revenue sources, and she will soon become a millionaire.

When she has money, she can buy land, a lot of land, and then she can be promoted to a noble title.

Therefore, she will soon become a great noble and a great lord.

"Well, you have ambition, work hard." These were clearly words of praise and encouragement, but something about what Leonard said was not right.

Leonard has seen too many people and things. For someone like Elena, it is too difficult to become a tycoon or a great lord.

Because she is too kind.

He said he wanted to build a road, but that was just a suggestion from the standpoint of political rule. Unexpectedly, she spent so much money to build such a good road, and in the end only charged such a low toll. She was very happy to collect such a small amount of toll.

Also, she was very disgusted with Eli and Bernie, but she only disliked them personally and did not vent her anger on their families. If other lords did not kill those who failed to seize power, they should have exiled them, but she seemed to have never thought about it and was too tolerant.

Another point is that she has a very strong sense of justice and cannot stand oppression. The former sheriff and the Cornflower Pharmacy teamed up to bully the cowherd and wanted to cheat him of his money. This kind of thing is too common, but she could not tolerate it at all. She had a big outburst and not only fined them, but also put the sheriff and the pharmacy manager in jail. Such an upright lord is too straightforward and easily broken. Once people know his temper and personality, he can easily be used by his subordinates.

Alas, apart from these, the most terrible thing is that she earned so much money, but she didn't spend much of it on herself. Instead, she spent it on building roads and raising cattle. If it were any sane lord who could spend 20 or 30% of the money, he would already be very ambitious in governing and a great leader.

A lord who is so good at spending money only means that she can still make money, otherwise she would have squandered everything and gone bankrupt long ago.

She really couldn't do it without him watching over her.

Leonard was thinking about these things in his mind, and he said it casually, "Well, be ambitious and work hard." This sentence is correct, but the tone is too casual.

"What do you mean!" Elena, feeling treated perfunctorily, put her hands on her hips angrily.

Leonard, who was yelled back to his senses, had to change his tone and praise him again: "I praise your ambition. If you work hard, you will definitely become a great lord. I believe in you, you will definitely do it. I also want to make money with you."

Alas, she is still a little girl, so we should just coax her.

Elena: ...I always feel like he's just being perfunctory with me. It makes me angry.

Ever since Elena gave the old man the energizing potion that day and the old man gave her a flower-shaped brooch in return, the two of them have become friends. Whenever they meet in the rest area, they will say hello to each other.

That day, Elena and Leonard met the old man again in the restaurant.

"We meet again." The old man smiled gently. "So lucky! Can I treat you guys to a meal?"

Elena glanced at Leonard, who didn't object.

Elena accepted it happily: "Okay."

The three of them sat down and the waiter brought the menu.

Leonard was the fastest. He ordered steak without even opening the menu.

The old man quickly ordered one as well.

Elena was the slowest to order food. She looked at the menu from left to right, then from right to left, but still couldn't make a decision.

Because she was tired of the dishes above, she really had no appetite.

After much deliberation, Elena finally settled on a set meal.

The waiter brought the dishes quickly.

The old man picked up his knife and fork and started eating slowly.

Elena stared at the bread and bacon on the plate in a daze.

Leonard took out a jar from his space ring, snapped the lid open, and scooped a large spoonful of black sauce onto the steak on the plate.

This is black pepper juice, a new sauce developed by Elena. In addition to the main ingredient black pepper, it also contains several other spices. The taste is much better than simple black pepper juice.

"Do you want it?" Leonard asked Elena.

Elena nodded: "Come on."

Leonard gave her half a spoonful.

The old man looked at the jar curiously: "Can I ask what this is?"

"This is black pepper juice," Leonard replied, handing the bottle to him. "Would you like some?"

The old man took the can, took a clean fork and scooped a small spoonful, smelled it carefully, and took a small sip. His eyes widened.

"It tastes very good." The old man praised, put the black pepper juice on the spoon into the plate, and then scooped another spoonful.

After sharing the black pepper juice, the relationship between the three seemed to become closer. As they chatted, the topic gradually shifted from the weather and health to themselves.

"Let me introduce myself first. I am the Marquis of Truro from Barona County." The old man said gently.

The County of Barona, whose full name is the County of Baronalariki, is located north of the Earl of Barnet's County of Rosyth.

Marquis is a title one level higher than Earl of Barnet, and two levels higher than Elena.

Elena's emerald eyes widened slightly in surprise. "It's His Excellency the Marquis. I was so rude earlier. I'm Viscount Field of Rosyth County."

The Marquis of Truro was also a little surprised: "Such a young Viscountess?"

"Yes." Elena lowered her head slightly, her eyes drooping, "My father and brother both passed away in accidents."

"I didn't expect that. I'm really sorry." The Marquis of Truro apologized.

"It's okay." Elena forced a smile.

Leonard simply said: "I am Leonard."

The Marquis of Truro had clearly recognized him, but now he had a look of sudden realization on his face: "Are you the Knight of the Four Fields Meteor?"

Leonard nodded.

"I'm truly fortunate to have met you and to have made your acquaintance." The Marquis of Truro bowed. "When I saw you before, especially your long beard, I suspected you might be the Knight of the Four Fields Meteor, but I couldn't be sure. I've only met you twice, so I'm far from knowing you."

Leonard smiled and said, "I'm lucky to meet you, too." It was a very flattering compliment.

The Marquis of Truro looked delighted.

After the meal, the three of them briefly chatted about some topics, such as their destination. Elena and Leonard were going to the royal capital, while the Marquis of Truro was going to disembark at the next port, which would be his territory once he got there. He wanted to return to the castle to recuperate and heal the poison.

After the dinner, the three said goodbye to each other, and Elena and Leonard went back to the room together.

"You can make friends with Truro." Leonard said suddenly.

"Why?" Elena asked curiously.

"He's a fairly upright person, and there's not much bad talk about him." Leonard recalled some of the good reviews about the Marquis of Truro. Generally speaking, in the aristocratic circle, having no bad reviews is already a good review.

Elena nodded: "Okay, I will." Knowing more nobles with good character would be very beneficial for her, a young noble who had just entered the circle.

Walking quietly back to the first class cabin, Leonard sent Elena to the door. He suddenly said, "Truro has been poisoned for several days. He is old and his body may not be able to bear it for much longer."

Elena's eyes lit up. Taking the initiative to show goodwill and make the other party owe you a favor is a very good way to build a closer relationship: "Okay, then let's go find him and remove the poison from him."

"Wait." Leonard raised his finger and pressed it against Elena's forehead, feeling somewhat helpless. "It's too deliberate for us to go find him so soon. He won't get off the ship until tomorrow afternoon. Let's go find him at noon."

"Okay." Elena accepted his opinion obediently.

At night, the passenger ship is still moving forward. With the help of the magic circle, the passenger ship shakes very little, and even at night, it will not affect the passengers' sleep.

Ugh, the sound of vomiting was heard in a luxurious guest room.

Several servants went in and out, dumped out the dirty water, and brought in clean water.

The Marquis of Truro lay in bed, his face pale and a layer of cold sweat on his forehead.

"Master, please let me go and beg the Knight. Your body can't take it anymore." The valet knelt beside the bed and begged bitterly.

The Marquis of Truro waved his hand with obvious weakness: "Don't go, it's too late." His voice was thin and there was obvious panting.

"But, but..." The valet's eyes were filled with worry.

After the Marquis of Truro coughed and vomited again, the valet clenched his fists, not willing to be scolded or even disgusted by his master, and turned and ran out of the room.