After having some fun with Annie, we leave the thoroughly ruined Ralia on the bed. I unstore our clothes and we get dressed. I then head over to the prince who immediately breaks down into tears as he sees me. I undo the barrier and he starts crying,

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, no more!"

I emotionlessly undo the wrist and ankle restraints and use magic to pull him back into the cage.

"Thank you. Thank you."

He just sits in the cell, constantly thanking me for taking him away from the water. Wow. These two are absolutely pathetic. A little pain, some water, and a cursed succubus rune and they break like a toothpick. Honestly. I may just kill him, or turn him into a labor slave. I dunno yet. Annie looks at the prince and says,

"Honestly, I didn't expect someone who could kill his fiance without a shred of guilt to break so easily. I guess that water was enchanted with something?"

I laugh slightly and say,

"Nope. Just water. It's a type of torture used in the Tortoise Isles. It's called Isle water torture. For some reason, having a consistent drip of water on your forehead while restrained is incredibly awful. I didn't expect it to work, but here's proof that it does."

I knock on the bars of the door, which earns a jump from the prince.

"I was thinking about making Ralia become a maid to do your harder duties. After all, there's no need for my precious little girl to hurt her hands any longer."

I hold her hands and kiss her palms, which earns a blush from Annie. I love this. How she acts all innocent even after everything we did the past hour. She clears her throat and speaks up,

"W-well… If you wish to use her in such a manner, I will not object."

I smile and walk over to the still exhausted Ralia. I slap her to wake her up and say,

"You remember what I said when I first captured you, right?"

Ralia tears up and shakes her head no,

"I-I'm sorry mistress… I- I do not…"

I slap her again, and repeat myself.

"Your name is now Jenna. I found you begging for money in the commercial district and took you under my wing. You're incredibly grateful to me and will do anything I ask of you without question. You love me with every fiber of your being. You feel like your only purpose in life is to serve me. You will literally die for me if need be!"

I added that last part in, but she pissed me off after forgetting.

"I'll come get you tomorrow. Don't forget that. I'll be here tonight to change your face permanently. It won't hurt."

I take Annie's hand and leave behind Ralia who just sadly says,

"Y-yes mistress…"

I look behind me and say,

"My lady. Not mistress."

Then Annie and I leave the room and I teleport us back to my bedroom. I walk over to the couch and ask her,

"Baby, do you mind asking my father to have the ingredients delivered for my bath? With this much Jelpan oil, we'll have enough for both of us."

As Annie leaves, I spot a small stone on the table in my room. I forgot I had asked for that to be delivered. I use telekinesis to bring the rock over to me and start filling it up with enough mana to make it a 3rd circle stone. It has a dim blue glow to it

"With this, Countess Triapan should be satisfied. I know her daughter has been stuck at the second circle for a while now. This should give her the nudge she needs. And, it'll keep us out of their debt."

I nod my head and write a note for the countess.

[Lady Triapan, I thank you deeply for your generous gift. I honestly wasn't expecting to ever be back to full health after what happened. You and your daughters generosity has reached me. I have heard that Lady Janet has been having difficulties reaching the 3rd circle, so I have sent a 3rd circle mana stone for her use. I have also included the recipe for the mixture I'll be using for your personal use. It is known as the Sculpted Body Mixture. It's a mixture that helps with recovery after devastating injury or sickness. However, if used on a healthy person, it should help with the gathering of mana as well as beautify the skin. I hope this helps the both of you! ,Lady Rosanna Pultovia.]

(Rosanna's letter →)

After finishing the note, Annie comes back to my room. After a few minutes the servants bring all the ingredients needed for the mixture.

"Alright, Annie. Are you ready?"

Annie nods her head and rolls up her sleeves.

"Yes, my lady!"

I take the piece of paper and read it out slowly.

"Two stalks of Gheringer."

She takes two stalks of a yellowish reed that has a strong scent of ginger to them. She then takes a mortar and pestle and grinds it up before putting it into the water and mixing it in. The water turns slightly yellow.

"One stalk of Verinder."

She takes out a green plant that ends in a sharp blue point. It smells slightly like rotten apples. She makes the plant into a paste and mixes it into the water, turning the mixture green.

"One handful of Lavender petals."

She gets up and walks over to the lavender plant I keep in my room, picking off a handful of leaves. They smell like lavender. Obviously. She mashes them into a paste and mixes them in. The lavender doesn't fully dissolve, but instead floats on the top of the tub. Lavender is known for its ability to gather natural aura, the method knights use to gain strength.

"A cup of Jelpan oil."

She uncorks the bottle and immediately a spicy smell fills the room. It smells like cinnamon, nutmeg, and jalapenos. She takes a measuring cup and measures out a little over a cup by accident, but it doesn't matter. We're not doing alchemy. Well, not technically. The Jelpan oil is necessary due to its inherent ability to soak literally into your bones.

"And a gallon of minotaur blood…"

Ugh I've been dreading this moment. She uncorks a dark brown jug full of… *gag*

Annie uncorks the bottle and pours it into the tub. The smell is absolutely rancid. As much as I hate it, the minotaur blood is necessary. It's the main strengthening ingredient of the mixture. Minotaurs are legendary for their strength and their naturally born aura-knight level. If I had been anything below a count, I never would have been able to receive this. Of course, this blood dyes the water red, but the scent of the Jelpan oil and the herbs makes the scent vanish.

So, when all these things are mixed together, what happens? The Jelpan oil is actually the only oil in the world that dissolves in water. It'll also dissolve the lavender that floats on the top. The Jelpan will sit in the tub for about ten minutes, mixing with the different ingredients and creating the mixture. The oil will then absorb all of the ingredients. After that, I'll get in the bath.

The oil will then slowly work its way into my skin and towards my bones. My bones are one of the things that haven't been strengthened yet. The mixture will cause my bones to grow as strong as a minotaurs, so long as I pour a small amount of mana into them while taking this bath. That, I didn't inform the countess of. While it's true that this mixture will beautify and strengthen someone, it doesn't truly penetrate the bones and instead slightly strengthens muscles and skin, possibly by about 5%.

Well, that's what the mixture does. I'll have to create some others that will strengthen my organs, skin, and muscle, but those will be rather simple to gather. Jelpan oil would have been easy to steal, but I needed an excuse for my body to become strengthened for me to "start" my journey as a mage.

While I may not need to hide myself, I still wish for my family to not believe me to be a demon.

The bath finishes settling, and I get in.

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AN: i hate cliffhangers.