Aidele didn’t even spare him a glance.
She walked straight to an empty stall on the right side of the hall and pulled back the velvet cloth.
Over two hundred Crystal Bottles were arranged in neat rows, refracting halos of starlit blue and amber under the lights.
Instantly, the gazes of several nearby Stewards who were browsing for Potions were drawn over.
"This is..."
A Level One Peak Steward with white hair and a scar on his face walked over.
He picked up an improved [Starlight Potion], held it up to his eyes, and examined it carefully against the light.
A few seconds later, his pupils abruptly contracted.
"This purity..."
He snapped his head up to look at Aidele, his eyes filled with incredulous shock.
"Miss Aidele, this Potion... which master’s work is this?"
His voice wasn’t quiet, and several other Stewards and Guard Captains soon gathered around.
Aidele’s expression remained neutral, but the tips of her fingers tightened slightly.
"These Potions were refined by my Honored Guest Elder... Wizard Marcus."
"Marcus..." the scar-faced Steward repeated in a low voice, the shock in his eyes deepening.
He asked no more questions and directly pulled out the stopper.
A crisp, refreshing wave of Energy, tinged with the scent of Starlight, instantly filled the air.
Several nearby Wizards who were browsing Potions at other stalls paused in unison.
They all turned their heads at once.
"May I try the Potion?"
Aidele’s heart tightened, but her face showed no trace of fear.
"Of course."
Without hesitation, the scar-faced Steward tilted his head back and downed the Potion.
As the liquid went down his throat, it transformed into a gentle yet surging stream of Energy that instantly flooded his Sea of Spirit.
He closed his eyes, feeling the Energy circulate and nourish his Sea of Spirit.
It even seemed to be faintly pulling in the surrounding Magic Power, causing it to gather on its own.
Three seconds later, he opened his eyes.
They were terrifyingly bright.
"The effect... it’s at least forty percent stronger than the standard Moonlight Condensed Dew and Soul Crystal Fragments on the market!"
His voice trembled with uncontrollable excitement.
"And the impurities are minimal! There are almost no residual side effects!"
The moment his words fell, the atmosphere in front of the stall changed abruptly.
The eyes of the surrounding Stewards and Guard Captains instantly burned with fervor.
"How much for one?" A burly Guard Captain in Leather Armor pushed to the front, his voice urgent.
Aidele stated the price.
It was double the market price for standard Moonlight Condensed Dew.
But no one hesitated.
"I’ll take ten!"
"Give me twenty!"
"I’ll take all the rest!"
...
The instant after Aidele announced the price, a clamor of competing bids erupted.
The space in front of the cart was instantly packed.
Arms stretched out, clutching Magic Stone Bags or Crystal Cards.
Aidele stood rooted to the spot while Delia scrambled to handle the trades.
She watched the chaotic yet fervent scene before her, her heart trembling slightly.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging emotions within her, and began to collect money and hand out Potions.
Her movements were a bit clumsy, but orderly nonetheless.
Not far away, the mocking expression on Edwin’s face had completely frozen.
The wine glass in his hand tilted slightly, and amber liquid spilled out, landing on the stone floor with a faint SIZZLE.
But he didn’t even notice.
He just stared intently at the explosive scene in front of Aidele’s stall, his expression so dark it seemed venom might drip from it.
’This is impossible... Could it be?’
He muttered to himself, his teeth grinding audibly.
’That piece of trash from some backwater island... how is this possible...’
The two Guards behind him were also stunned, the sneers on their faces long gone, replaced by sheer astonishment.
The Thunder Eagle on his shoulder seemed to sense its master’s mood and flapped its wings uneasily.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, Rodney, steward to her eldest brother Edmund, was standing in the shadows.
He held a cup of plain tea, the gentle smile on his face unchanged.
But in the depths of his well-like eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible glint of coldness flashed.
He quietly watched the frenzy at Aidele’s stall, then glanced at Edwin’s sullen face.
Then, he slowly took a sip of tea and set the cup down.
He turned and left the hall without a sound.
In less than half an hour, all two hundred-plus Potions had been snatched up.
The last Steward to buy a Potion clutched a small bag of Crystal Bottles and hurried away, his face still flushed with excitement.
The area in front of the stall was empty once more.
Aidele stood there, looking at the empty velvet cloth on the cart and the heavy Magic Stone Bag in her hand.
The weight against her fingertips felt so real it was almost dizzying.
Delia came to her side and gently patted her arm.
"Miss, we should head back," she said softly, her eyes filled with a gratified smile.
Aidele nodded and put the Magic Stone Bag into her Dimension Ring.
As she turned to leave, she suddenly stopped.
She looked back toward the left side of the hall.
Edwin was still standing there, his face ashen, his gaze terrifyingly sinister.
Their gazes met in midair.
For a second.
Aidele said nothing, only lifting her chin slightly.
Then she turned and walked out of the hall without looking back.
Her back was ramrod straight.
「By the time they returned to Golden Oak Street, it was evening.」
Old Finn stood at the Workshop entrance, holding a pipe as smoke drifted slowly upward.
Seeing Aidele and Delia return, his cloudy eyes swept over their empty cart, then landed on the flush that had not yet completely faded from Aidele’s face.
Then, he asked nothing.
He simply nodded and turned back into the front hall.
But Old Finn noticed that a look of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, had appeared in the young miss’s eyes.
In the courtyard, Ian sat under the old Golden Oak Tree, holding an empty Crystal Bottle and examining it carefully against the setting sun.
Traces of starlit blue still clung to the bottle’s inner wall, faintly glowing in the twilight.
Gaga was perched on his shoulder, rubbing its little head against his cheek.
"Ian, we did it! Gaga!"
Its voice was full of excitement.
"Mm," Ian acknowledged, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
He put the empty bottle away and looked at the approaching Aidele.
"How did it go?"
Aidele walked up to him, took the heavy Magic Stone Bag from her Dimension Ring, and placed it on the stone table.
The bag fell open, and the surging Energy waves from a large number of High Level Magic Stones refracted the sunset into a brilliant halo.
"We sold everything," she said softly.
"The price... was more than double what we estimated."
The Tier One Bloodline Potions, in particular, were even more sought after than the Starlight Potions.
It was something that could rapidly increase one’s strength, which seemed to be even more popular in a place like the Central Continent, where only the strong survive.
Aidele had already accepted commissions for over a hundred [Rock Bear Potions], as well as an even larger quantity of Starlight Potions.
She hadn’t set a firm delivery time, as that needed to be discussed with Ian.
Right now, Ian was the best card in her hand; she didn’t dare make any rash decisions.
Her voice paused for a moment as she looked at Ian.
Her expression was complex, filled with gratitude, excitement, and the thrill of finally seeing a glimmer of hope.
"Ian, thank you."
Ian shook his head.
"There’s no need to thank me. This was what we agreed upon."
He picked up a High Level Magic Stone, rubbing it gently between his fingertips.
The cool touch, the pure waves of Energy.
Then he looked up at Aidele.
"But this is just the beginning," he said, his voice still calm.
"From now on, they won’t just be watching."
Aidele’s eyes sharpened. She nodded, her fingers tightening into a fist.
"I know."
She took a deep breath, her spine straightening even further.
"But I... have nothing left to fear."
After they discussed and agreed on a delivery schedule, Aidele hurried off again to prepare more ingredients.
The sun sank completely below the horizon, and the sky turned a deep, inky blue.
Inside the stone building at No. 12 Golden Oak Street, lights began to flicker on one by one.
And news that "Aidele has recruited a highly skilled Magic Potion Alchemist" had already spread like wildfire through the middle and upper echelons of the Justice Clan.
The expressions on certain people’s faces began to turn ugly.
Certain schemes also began to be quietly adjusted.
The undercurrents were churning faster.
And at the center of the whirlpool, Ian sat under the old tree in the courtyard.
A silver glint swirled quietly in his eyes.