Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The territory of Fister is located in the kingdom...
Fister is located in the southwest of the kingdom. It is neither by the sea nor by a port that brings in wealth; nor does it have precious mineral deposits. Mining alone can satisfy the livelihood of most common people.
Furthermore, the lords here are generally mediocre; despite holding the title of Viscount Fister, they have rarely even set foot in the palace. The current Viscount Fister is forty-eight years old and has only met His Majesty the King twice—both times during the King's wedding to the Queen.
Therefore, the entire territory of Fister has long been at the bottom of the kingdom's many territories, and the common people here can only barely make ends meet.
White Pine Town is quite famous throughout the entire Fister Territory for producing white pine wax.
A piece of white pine wax board, about half a person's height and two arm's length long, can easily replace paper for recording and drafting. It can be repeatedly erased, is very durable, and is much cheaper than paper.
Even the churches based here have been able to use it to replace candles made of pure beeswax for daily lighting.
There's no other way. Only wealthy places can support wealthy churches. In poor places like Fister Territory, Viscount Fister keeps all the tax revenue he collects very carefully every year. If it weren't for the church's power, he probably wouldn't have been willing to part with even a tiny amount of tax. Every little bit counts.
As for the common people who come to church to worship and pray, their livelihood has long been squeezed dry by taxes, and they cannot provide any help to the church.
In short, white pine wax has always been a best-selling product in Fister territory. The common people living in White Pine Town all have some savings, enough to support a family of seven or eight people.
However, Mela's father was an oddity in the town because he only had Mela as his daughter.
And after his wife's early death, he remained steadfast in his decision to remarry and have a male heir, despite the constant attempts by relatives to persuade him to do so.
He said that Mela was his only heir.
*
Inside the cave, Silas had barely finished speaking when he inwardly cursed, realizing he had carelessly revealed Mela's origins.
Apart from Hall, even Ducwato didn't know that Mella came from White Pine Town.
Realizing he had done something wrong, Silas couldn't help but try to steal a glance at Mela's expression. Unfortunately, Mela was holding him in her arms, and from his angle, he could only see a section of her long, fair neck and a large shadow around the square neckline.
On the contrary, Lex could see Mela's beautiful profile as soon as he turned his head.
As if she hadn't heard Silas's self-destruction at all, Mela's expression was very calm, her eerie green eyes were illuminated for a moment by the sudden lightning strike.
It reminded Lex of the tsavorite brooch he had once glimpsed in his mother's jewelry box.
Stunningly beautiful.
"White Pine Town is a good place. Every year, cartloads of candles made from white pine wax are transported out. But the royal palace probably doesn't need cheap white pine wax candles for lighting, does it?"
Mela looked at Lex, her tone relaxed, as if she were joining a harmless chat.
In Mela's opinion, it really wasn't a big deal.
Whitepine Town is where Mela was born and raised. It used to be her home, but after her identity as a witch was inadvertently exposed, she had to leave with Silas—or rather, flee, since they were rushing around desperately, not daring to sleep, for fear of being caught by Viscount Fister and the church's pursuers. But now Mela's home is in the Dark Forest, in that messy little cabin, and Lex is now a member of that cabin, so she doesn't mind talking to Lex about her past.
There was nothing shady involved.
"I have used white pine wax candles."
To Mela's surprise, Lex said.
Seeing Mela raise an eyebrow slightly, a habit she often used to show interest, Lex briefly explained the whole story to her:
“Candles made of pure beeswax are too expensive, costing ten copper coins each. Every night, the palace is brightly lit with thousands of candles burning at the same time, burning real coins. I think this is too extravagant, so I’m trying to find a cheaper alternative.”
So Lex found white pine wax candles.
Before presenting it to everyone, Lex naturally had to test its effects first.
Candles made of white pine wax and candles made of pure beeswax look very similar, and it is impossible to tell the difference without careful examination.
As for the scent, white pine wax comes from white pine trees and naturally carries a pine scent, while beeswax has a faint sweet scent. Which one is better or worse depends entirely on personal preference; at least Lex doesn't find pine scent unpleasant.
However, candles made of pure beeswax burn without smoke, which is precisely why they have always been sought after by nobles and the church.
But Lex went to the window, opened it, and the wisps of white smoke from the burning pine candle were immediately dispersed by the wind, posing no real threat.
Considering that a white pine candle only costs two copper coins, Lex thought it was absolutely worthwhile to replace all the candles in the palace with these.
However, this matter still requires the consent of King Nurenger IX.
Therefore, Lex deliberately had his servants replace the candles on the candelabra beforehand during a banquet, and only when Nurengel IX noticed something amiss did he slowly reveal the truth.
"And then?" Mela asked.
"Later, my plan failed, and the matter was dropped." Lex tugged at the corner of his lips, not wanting Mela to see the slight bitterness spreading in his heart.
Unlike his nonchalant attitude, Nurenger IX was absolutely furious that time.
Not only did he berate Lex in front of the Pope and Fernando, using the most scathing language, but he also forbade him from interfering in palace affairs in the future.
If Fernankiel hadn't stopped him, Nurengel IX would have done more than simply throw a silver goblet at Lex's head.
Actually, Nurengel wasn't angry because Lex was meddling in palace affairs; he was angry because Lex dared to boss him around.
Nurenger IX loved a life of luxury; as the king of the country, he was entitled to enjoy the best of everything.
Even if he spends money like water—isn't all of this money still his? It's just temporarily held in the hands of nobles and commoners.
It was through this incident that Lex discovered Nurenger IX's incorrigible nature.
As for the Church, Lex narrowed his eyes. The Pope and the Queen Mother had colluded, and the Pope's instigation was one of the reasons why Nurenger IX was so furious.
The pot-bellied old pope, whose fingers were adorned with jewels and rings, solemnly accused Lex of disrespecting God by using white turquoise candles. How could he possibly fool the gods with such cheap goods? If the gods were angry, they would bring disaster upon the entire kingdom.
And as king, Nurenger IX was the first to be punished by the gods.
Even if Pope Nurenger IX wasn't initially that angry, the Pope's words would have made him furious.
“Nurengol IX is wrong, you are right. Even a copper coin is money, how can you just squander it like that?” Even without knowing the specifics, Mela stood by Lex’s side without hesitation.
Given her stingy and miserly nature, Lex was not at all surprised that she would have such thoughts.
But in this world, probably only Mela would be so blunt as to say that Nurengel was wrong, after all, witches and royalty don't get along.
However, since Mela initially lived in Whitepine Town, does that mean she wasn't born a witch? Lex couldn't help but look puzzled.
In the church's propaganda, witches are born sinners, so people must not come into contact with them lest they be tainted by their sins and be reborn as animals to be whipped and suffer every day.
“Since some people are born witches, there are also people like me who become witches later in life.” Mela repeated what she had mentioned to Silas to Lex.
Only someone as intelligent and quick-witted as her could become a true witch through her talent.
Otherwise, you'll end up like Lex.
“Look at you, you’ve read through so many of my books, yet you can’t even recite a single incantation,” Mela gave a vivid example.
"Back then, I memorized the Sleeping Charm after only hearing it once."
Mela remembered that she was alone on the mountain when she encountered a strange woman. The woman was wearing a black cloak, which covered her completely. As soon as she saw Mela, she immediately stood up from the rock she was sitting on and prepared to leave.
Not only that, the woman didn't even dare to look Mela in the eye.
However, Mela had been by her father's side since childhood, learning about herbs and healing. She had also seen her father treat seriously injured patients. The woman in front of her carried the same strong smell of blood as those patients, and Mela could tell she was injured just by smelling it.
“Do you need my help? My father is a doctor, and I learned how to stop bleeding from him. I also have some herbs in my basket that can stop bleeding,” Mela asked kindly.
"No need," the woman said, refusing Mela's offer.
Her voice was unusually hoarse, as if her teeth were grinding on grit.
"You don't have money? That's okay. If you're willing to be my patient, I can stop your bleeding for free." Mela was very understanding.
Of course, she also had her own little schemes.
Because Mela is a girl, even though she has been by her father's side since childhood and helped him, she still cannot gain the trust of the townspeople.
This made Mela very upset.
She was worried about not finding a patient willing to let her handle their cases herself.
Therefore, even if it was free, Mela wanted to persuade the woman in front of her to agree.
However, just as Mela was about to approach, after taking only one step, she immediately heard the woman mutter a few words in a low voice.
The next second, everything went black for Mela, and she fainted.
Later, after getting to know the woman and learning that she was a witch, Mela realized that the woman had cast a sleeping spell on her.
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