The Abandoned Duchess Seems to Want a Peaceful Life - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Appraisal and Separation

At Julius’s request, Ed brought water, salt, three cups, a spoon to mix them, and then something with as much moisture as possible, so he brought a basket of winter apples from the kitchen.

Winter apples are a wild variety of apple that grows in the Moltre Forest and, as the name suggests, fruits in winter. They are about twice as small as regular apples and have a vivid red color typical of apples.

What I have here are apples that Lloyd, an apprentice soldier from Enkar Village, found while fishing in Moltre Lake and brought along with the fish he caught.

“When performing an appraisal, how do you proceed, Lady?”

Asked this, I reconsider my own method of appraisal.

“In my case, when I touch the object I want to appraise and think about doing so, the nature of what it is comes to mind. If I appraise something unknown to me, it feels like I recall a memory from somewhere in the past, and information about the appraised item comes to mind.”

“Then, let’s focus on your fingers that touch the object during appraisal. You mentioned you touch the object, but there should be a layer of magical power between your fingers and the material.”

Julius, while talking, tossed a lot of salt into the water and stirred it roughly with a spoon.

Melfina shifted her gaze from Julius and stared intently at her own hand.

“Magical power…”

“Appraisal” was a talent that Melfina had naturally acquired over time.

Most talents develop when a person’s suitability combines with their experiences and surroundings during childhood. Even without being taught, she understood the method instinctively and had used it without much conscious effort until now.

“I think it will be clearer if you actually try to feel it while performing ‘appraisal,’ but first, let me show you my separation technique.”

Julius said this and offered the prepared saltwater to Cedric. Cedric, making a somewhat displeased face, scooped a small amount of water with a spoon and tasted it.

“It’s definitely saltwater.”

“Now, I’ll give it a try. First, I’ll perform appraisal, and then I’ll separate the water and salt.”

With that, Julius raised his hand, and silently, the water in the cup began to levitate. While Melfina watched in amazement, Julius maneuvered the floating water, which formed a perfect circle beneath his hand, and moved it to a cup placed beside it.

With a splash, the water fell into the new cup.

Although some of the splashed water scattered onto the table, the amount of water in the new cup was nearly the same as in the original.

“Here you go.”

“Is it customary for me to taste it for poison?”

“If I, the one demonstrating, say it’s salty water, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish if it’s a trick or not. Or would you prefer for the Lady to taste it?”

Cedric looked somewhat reluctant but stirred the spoon in the cup of water, then scooped up a small amount and tasted it.

“It’s definitely water.”

“Now, take a look at the original cup.”

Receiving the cup from Julius, I peered inside. There was a white, powdery substance inside.

I touched it with my finger and performed an appraisal.

“It’s salt, isn’t it?”

As Julius said, it seems the result of separating the salt from the water solution made by combining salt and water.

“Is the magic layer you used to float the water during the demonstration the appraisal magical power?”

“Yes, that’s right! Lady, how did you know?”

“Levitation magic is typically associated with wind magic, and while it might be possible with water magic for water, I didn’t sense any magical presence from you. I don’t know of any non-magical method to make only water float.”

When a magician uses magic, one can often sense a unique pressure or presence nearby. While I’m not sure how skilled Julius is at controlling magic, it’s hard to believe he could use magic without any detectable pressure.
“Considering methods I don’t know in this context, it would be those not involving magical power. And Julius, you mentioned that appraisal creates a layer of magical power. So, I wondered if what you did to extract or float the water was related to that.”
“Your understanding is impressive. Yes, that is indeed the layer of magical power that those with ‘appraisal’ unconsciously manipulate. I have a significant surplus of magical power, so handling a size like that is no issue, but most people have much smaller layers. Since magical power isn’t visible, it’s rare for someone to notice it unless they are taught by an alchemy master.”
It seems that someone in history happened to notice this layer and, while researching it, developed the technique of separation.
The method was then passed down from master to apprentice and refined over time. I can imagine how that process unfolded.
Melfina picked up a winter apple from the basket, touched it with her fingers, and activated appraisal.
Winter apples are fruit trees native to mountainous areas that bear fruit in the depths of winter. The skin is red, and even after falling to the ground, it doesn’t rot until spring, providing food for small animals emerging from hibernation and aiding in seed dispersal. The flesh is hard but sweet, and the seeds contain a small amount of alkaloids.
Usually, I’m absorbed in the results of appraisal that come easily to mind, but I could indeed sense a tiny amount of magical power between my fingers touching the winter apple.
—This is the magical layer.
Compared to the size of the water Julius made float, this is indeed a very modest size. It’s only a few millimeters across and as thin as a sheet of paper. Without focusing on it, I might not have noticed it at all.
“Try to first focus on shaping the layer into a round form, like a full moon. It is closed, so nothing inside leaks out. By visualizing it this way, you can ‘separate’ the contents from the layer.”
The target for extraction is not the winter apple itself but what is contained within it.
Inside the winter apple are various substances, including water, fructose, dietary fiber, vitamins, and more.
From within it, I select one specific component to extract.

If I were to only perform a general “appraisal,” it might take some time to grasp the sensation. However, Melfina had already had a similar experience before.

—It’s just like when I selected yeast.

Selecting what I need from what is present through appraisal is something Melfina had continually done since coming to the Enkar region.

Yeast exists everywhere in nature—on vegetables, fruits, grain husks, flowers, and leaves. Melfina had extracted various types of yeast and used them to brew ale, selecting the most suitable yeast for fermentation through a process of trial and error.

Compared to that, extracting something known to be within the winter apple didn’t seem particularly difficult.

Julius described the roundness using the moon, but Melfina’s sense was closer to a soap bubble. It was thin, unstable, and swayed. It felt like trying to support something that might pop at any moment with hands wet from soap water.

“Concentrate your magical power with your fingertips and gradually expand the layer. The size of this layer will determine the volume of what you can separate. Visualize placing only the desired component within this layer. The clearer your image, the purer the separation will be. The most straightforward example is water. No human has ever lived without drinking water.”

Julius’s voice seemed to come from somewhere distant.

The concept of water is quite vague.

Whether it’s flowing in a river, standing still in a lake, or crashing in the sea, it’s all called water, but each has a different nature.

Moreover, is it right to call the liquid mixed with many components in the winter apple simply “water”?

—I need a clearer image of water.

As I focused on the magical layer, I gradually managed to expand it. However, once it reached a certain size, I began to feel a suffocating pressure in my throat.

At first, I thought it was just nervousness from trying something new, but soon I felt a sticky sweat forming, and I could sense my body temperature dropping as if the blood was draining from me.

“At first, be careful not to make the layer too large. If you don’t have an excess of magical power, you don’t need to worry too much, but when you’re not used to it, the magical power can be overwhelming.”

“—You should have mentioned that earlier.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to succeed in separation on your very first try!”

Startled by Julius’s cheerful comment, Melfina looked down and saw a small, perfect circle of magical power forming at her fingertips. It was gradually expanding, while the surface of the winter apple was beginning to dry and form small wrinkles.

“Mary, the cup!”

“Yes!”

Mary quickly handed over an empty cup, and Melfina swiftly directed the circle of magical power over it. As soon as she exhaled in relief, the circle burst, and the water fell into the cup.

The amount was very small—perhaps just a teaspoonful.

Receiving the cup from Marie, Melfina tilted it.

“…Ah, it’s water.”

She had expected a hint of apple flavor, but it was just plain water.

Yet it was indeed extracted from the winter apple through Melfina’s magical power.

“Ahaha, Lady, you’re truly fascinating! I never expected you to drink it!”

“Oh, was it inappropriate?”

“No, it’s a wonderfully curious thing to do. Truly marvelous.”

Julius seemed delighted by how entertaining he found the situation.

“Lady Melfina, are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I felt a bit lightheaded during the ‘separation,’ but I’m fine now. —Still, separation is incredible. Is this a form of magic?”

Melfina possessed a magical attribute but had a small amount of magical power, making it difficult to activate magic. Despite this, the ease with which she could produce supernatural phenomena brought both joy and a bit of anxiety.

“Separation uses magical power but isn’t considered magic. Anyone with appraisal, regardless of their attribute, can use it. Moreover, it’s not as unreasonable as magic. As an Ivory Tower magician, I must say that magic is truly an unreasonable force. It produces flames from nothing, flows water, creates wind, splits the earth, and causes freezing. How trivial it seems in comparison to separate or extract something from what already exists. Separation is not magic but an alchemical technique using magical power—if I had to name it, perhaps it could be called magic in contrast to ‘magic.'”

“Magic…”

“Isn’t it a good term, even if I just came up with it? The Ivory Tower folks take pride in magic as a divine act and often look down on alchemy, which I think is truly foolish. As you say, defining what it is is the beginning of understanding and, ultimately, analysis. Magic feels like a sudden, unreasonable force to me. Of course, it is also a field worth studying, but it seems elusive, and I can’t help but feel that I’ve tried every approach.”

Julius spoke cheerfully, and after hydrating his throat with the water he had separated, he displayed an innocent, childlike smile.

“I was thoroughly bored at the Ivory Tower. I thought there would be no new experiments left, and I always wanted to do something more enjoyable and practical. I’m really glad I came here, even if it was a bit of a stretch!”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Not only had Maria saved her life, but Julius’s newfound approach to magic would likely be directed straight at her curiosity.

If that happens, his curiosity about the Enkar region might suddenly wane, and he would probably return to the capital city with the same abruptness as his departure from the Ivory Tower.

For a lord’s mansion that needs alchemical expertise temporarily, this might be an unexpectedly ideal development.

While Julius’s excessive curiosity and impulsiveness are certainly dangerous, it seems he might not leave the Enkar region voluntarily even if employment is refused. It might be better to spend some time working with him than risk him doing something unsupervised.

—The options aren’t many.

“Lord Julius, then, would you be willing to lend your strength to the Enkar region until you feel it’s the right time to leave?”

“Certainly, Lady! I’m confident that the time spent here will be very meaningful!”