Chapter 54

The soldiers surrounded the withering well, and the civilians surrounded them in several layers.

No one really knew what was happening, but they had come out to see the commotion. The soldiers did not drive the crowd away; they only warned them not to push.

Soon, a particularly grand carriage arrived, and a woman in a greenish-blue robe, completely veiled, stepped out. The woman, guided by the soldiers, walked through the crowd.

"The magician will now draw water. Please bring your containers from home."

Though the soldier announced this, almost no one moved. Everyone wanted to see the magician draw water. Since magicians hadn't been born in decades, most people had never seen magic.

Still, a few people from the neighborhood ran back with water jugs.

"Please, into this one!"

"Sure, I'll fill it."

The voice was young. It was whispered everywhere that the recently registered magician was a young woman.

The woman in the robe extended her hand toward the water jug.

"Here you go."

Everyone thought water would flow from her palm, but it didn't. The owner of the jug peered inside, and it was already full of water. He dipped his hand in, scooped some up, and took a sip. He shouted to the crowd with a look of surprise.

"Hey! This water is incredibly delicious!"

Hearing this, many people ran home to fetch their water jugs.

When the people returned with their jugs, they were disappointed to find that the magician had disappeared, leaving only a few soldiers behind, but they were relieved to see the stacks of barrels.

"The magician has filled these barrels with water and has already moved on to the next well. If you need more, she will provide it, so don't worry."

The healing properties of the water Alesia produced were kept secret for a while. They were concerned about a water shortage and wanted to prevent people from areas that didn't lack water from gathering.

Still, the rumor that "the magician's water is incredibly delicious" spread quickly, and the number of people gathering at the well to get water increased day by day.

"It's dangerous for so many people to gather. Let's have the barrels filled at the palace and then distribute them. The people should already know that the magician is helping and that there is plenty of water."

Markus told the officials this. Alesia wore a veil at the palace, and only a few people had seen her face.

She entered the palace with a simple outfit, carrying vegetables with many vendors, and then changed into her robe in a prepared room before filling the barrels with water. The task of filling the vast number of barrels was completed quickly, and the palace staff were amazed by her endless magic.

The magician appeared in the palace every morning and then disappeared again. The servants whispered that she lived deep within the palace.

The mulberry saplings were being planted around the perimeter of the farm by the government to utilize the rain, which had spread beyond the farm's boundaries. Sero laughed, saying the farm wouldn't expand any further; it was already at its limit.

Even after Alesia gained the ability to use magic, the rain still fell when she slept. She didn't know how to stop it. Since it happened when she was unconscious, she couldn't control her magic. She could only think that her magic power was overflowing.

"If silkworms are raised on mulberry leaves grown by my rain, the effect of the silk should be the same, no matter who weaves it," Alesia said. Under Markus's direction, people were recruited to raise silkworms and weave silk. The silk produced using the mulberry trees outside the farm would be the property of the state, and Alesia had no objections.

The mulberry fields surrounding the farm were officially designated for the country's first silk production and were guarded by the soldiers. As a result, the farm was protected by many soldiers.

Isabel was heading to the region where the disease caused by the Medama fly was spreading, a task related to the country's work, which she readily accepted.

"The poor are suffering, right? That's my job."

At the site, to prevent people from realizing the power of the silk itself, the silk was soaked in water, which was said to be a magical potion, before being applied to the eyes.

The parents of the infants, seeing their infected eyes heal with a brief application, bowed and thanked Isabel, but she always stopped them.

"No, no. I just used the magician's water potion. Don't bow! You're healed thanks to the magician, not me!"

...

"I'm sorry, Alesia. I know you're busy drawing water, but I'm happy we can meet even for a short time."

"I'm happy to see you, Your Highness."

"Call me Edna. Alesia, you're such an important magician for the country now! I'm glad you didn't end up with Faril."

"Huh?"

Seeing Alesia's surprise, Princess Edna realized the situation and quickly dismissed the others.

"Faril demanded that you be handed over. You didn't know about this?"

Alesia nodded silently, and Edna's face became slightly stern.

"Really. Why didn't they tell you? You should have been informed. They just think women should be protected... but..."

After the detailed explanation, Alesia's conversation with Princess Edna became distracted.

(Five hundred gold coins? They paid such a huge sum to Faril to keep me? That money is all from the taxes the people paid. If I produce water and silk, and such a large sum still goes to another country, isn't that a huge loss? Oh, how frustrating!)

Alesia couldn't grasp her true value.

After the short tea party, she got into a carriage at the civilian entrance, guarded by disguised guards, and returned to the farm.

The locals thought the farm was a high-end place where the queen's favorite fruits were grown. Recently, the state had created mulberry fields around the farm and recruited people to take care of them, providing new job opportunities and improving the lives of the residents in the poor areas.

Alesia was feeding vegetable scraps to the chickens, lost in thought. Five hundred gold coins. It was an astronomical amount. That man, though he was a real jerk, Faril was no better.

"Frustrating. He severely injured Ethan. Shouldn't we be the ones demanding compensation? This is so unfair."

At that moment, she noticed an egg rolling under a shelf where the chickens usually rested.

"Why don't they lay eggs in the nest? Even if they hide them, they'll be found... Hmm? Hmm?"

Someone had said something similar before.

A scene from her previous life flashed in her mind.

A long, low-ceilinged room. A cold, bare room with no decorations, the floor and walls made of stone.

A few years before the great flood.

The king, who was her fiancé, explained how to enter the room while saying the same thing.

"Building such a room, you'll starve to death if you hide in it forever. And if the enemy enters the palace, they'll find you anyway. But the prime minister is just a worrywart."