When The Silver Bell Of Charlotte's Pharmacy Rings (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Charlotte liked the air of dawn.
The earlier the morning—before people had awakened—the better.
That moment, when she inhaled the cool air chilled overnight and the chaos of people jostling, shouting, fighting, crying, and laughing had sunk beneath the paving stones, leaving only silence, was when she felt most at peace.
But this morning was slightly different.
Charlotte woke from a light sleep while it was still dark outside, checked the clock on the wall, and lit the lamp.
After dressing and catching the damp scent of oil as the flame drew it in, she pulled her long hair up nearly to the crown of her head, tied it, donned a silk hat typically worn by men, and stepped outside.
Amid the dim, bluish air, she saw glimmering lights floating about.
One of them landed with a soft tap right on Charlotte’s hat, followed immediately by a tiny, giggling sound.
“Fussy Charlotte, sorceress Charlotte—where are you off to at such an early hour?”
Charlotte waved her hand dismissively above her head, as if shooing away gnats.
“Don’t talk to me, annoying fairies.”
At that, several of the lights darted toward her like bullets, clearly offended.
When Charlotte’s eyes widened, she saw among the cluster of lights tiny, humanoid figures with limbs.
Yet they hardly resembled humans—their glossy skin shimmered like freshly polished glass and came in many colors.
The glimmer came from the wings on their backs, fluttering softly.
“Naughty Charlotte! We’ll punish you if you keep talking like that.”
“We’ll play tricks on your herbs.”
“We’ll spill ink on your dresses.”
The angry fairies each grumbled in turn with indignant voices.
Charlotte waved her hand once more as if swatting insects and walked steadily down the quiet dawn street.
“Yes, yes—go ahead, mess with my herbs and spill ink on my dresses. Why don’t you just set my shop on fire while you’re at it?”
The fairies let out tiny shrieks, then began giggling among themselves again.
After circling briefly above Charlotte’s head, they flew off like a swarm of fireflies.
Upon reaching the square, Charlotte looked up at the towering clock tower and the fountain decorating its base.
Since the fountain’s mechanical devices only activated when touched by sunlight, no water spouted at the moment.
But clear water pooled below, with a few fish lazily swimming.
The clock tower rose so high it seemed to pierce the sky.
Massive gears and intricate machinery stood proudly visible even in the darkness, boasting of their craftsmanship.
Completed over ten years by royal engineers before the revolution, this clock tower had survived even when revolutionaries destroyed every other relic of the old monarchy.
It endured because it was the great pride and symbol of the Roanoke Kingdom.
With a clack, a gear shifted, and the enormous hand—thicker than a windowpane—moved.
Charlotte stood still for a moment, gazing up at the tower, then scanned her surroundings before walking around to the fountain’s right side.
Placing her palm on the smooth, black wall of the clock tower, she heard a tight, straining sound as if a latch were being forced open, and a recessed space appeared.
Charlotte squeezed her body into the hollow and pushed firmly.
With a strained creak, the door opened. Though the interior was dark, lamps scattered throughout provided enough light to see.
“It’s Barrett.”
She spoke into the darkness. Her voice rose upward, echoing as if winding around clockwork springs.
“Come in.”
From the deep shadows came a low, resonant voice.
Yet it didn’t sound entirely human—it carried an odd, mechanical distortion.
Though most would have fled in fear from such an eerie sound, Charlotte calmly walked toward its source.
Two figures stood there, faces veiled in black. One sat in a chair; the other stood.
In front of the seated figure rested a handheld device resembling a rounded-mouthed amplifier.
It was a voice modulator—the source of that unnatural tone.
“It feels like we haven’t seen each other in a long while.”
As the seated figure spoke, the distorted, crackling voice emerged once again.
Filtered through the modulator, everything except the cadence changed, so Charlotte couldn’t tell whether the speaker was male or female.
She couldn’t even guess their age, but she bowed politely.
“It’s my first visit since greeting you a month ago.”
“A month… Feels longer than that. Well, have you made any harvests?”
Instead of answering, Charlotte pulled two small tincture bottles from the leather satchel slung at her side.
One contained the monster extracted from Baroness Lireld; the other had been given to her by Tae Mi.
The seated figure nodded, and the standing one—likely an attendant—took the bottles from Charlotte.
From inside the tincture bottles, Charlotte heard faint rattling—sounds from the monsters—but she paid them no mind.
After all, they couldn’t possibly escape unless someone pulled the cork stoppers.
“One came from the parasite inside Baroness Lireld. The other is…”
“The one that tried to devour the daughter of that man named Grimmel?”
Charlotte blinked but showed no surprise, nodding calmly.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“As far as I know, you didn’t visit Grimmel’s house yesterday.”
Charlotte took a breath, her chest swelling slightly.
Knowing well that lies were both impossible and pointless, she lowered her gaze obediently.
“No, that’s correct, Your Majesty.”
“Then this other one is that limping fellow’s doing?”
“…His name is Tae Mi.”
“What did you say?”
“His name. It’s Tae Mi—not ‘that limping fellow.’”
After boldly correcting him, Charlotte sighed and bowed her head a moment later.
“Please forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty.”
The seated figure burst into laughter.
Filtered through the modulator, it sounded like raindrops hitting a rusted tin basin.
“Very well. Tae Mi… He was your father’s last teammate, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“And the sole survivor who brought back your father’s remains.”
Charlotte, silent for a moment, frowned slightly and gave a faint, bitter smile.
It felt as if she’d shoved a lump of salt into her mouth—her jaw stiffened and tingled.
“Only part of the remains.”
“Yes, that’s right. Your father was an exceptional hunter. It’s a tragedy what happened. Had he lived, he might have found ‘the Shadow Beast’ by now. After his final party was wiped out, no human monster hunter dared venture deep into ‘the Land of Torment’ again. There hasn’t been another hunter as skilled as your father.”
Charlotte began to feel uneasy and wished to end this conversation.
Being face-to-face for too long with this mysterious ‘client,’ whose name she didn’t even know, made her stomach churn.
She couldn’t pinpoint why—whether it was his arrogance or the painful memory of her father’s death.
“I will find it.”
“You must. After all, your father’s contract has now become yours… And you surely hold strong feelings toward that creature yourself. But facing it alone might be too much for you, wouldn’t it? Would it not be difficult without my aid?”
Charlotte swallowed hard and nodded silently.
His Majesty spoke.
“Go now, Charlotte. You’ve done well. I’ll send your payment as usual.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
She turned, lifting her skirt slightly like an actress leaving the stage.
Until the moment she closed the door behind her, she felt His Majesty’s sharp gaze pricking her back like needles.
Damn it, Charlotte cursed inwardly, pushing the door shut with her back.
As she stepped away, the recessed section seamlessly resealed itself into a solid wall.
The rising sun began to illuminate the rooftops of the Roanoke Royal Palace.
Steeply sloped, spire-like roofs shimmered faintly like rippling water.
The finest glass and silver window frames reflected the light brilliantly.
It was beautiful, but Charlotte turned her eyes away without emotion.
〈There hasn’t been another hunter as skilled as your father.〉
Charlotte’s face twisted, her lower lip trembling faintly.
[This is the timeline separator]Duke Elinak, Matiel, was among the first in the Roanoke Kingdom to begin his day.
He opened his eyes just before sunrise.
All preparations for his morning routine were completed before the duke awoke, and his servants attended to him under the direction of Lichten, his secretary and head butler, who stood always by his side.
At the breakfast table, a young apprentice servant brought newspapers and neatly stacked them beside Matiel.
He read every newspaper published in the kingdom without exception—even the occasional lowbrow ones, which he didn’t mind.
After all, he wasn’t reading them for idle gossip.
“Lichten.”
Lichten, standing precisely three paces away, approached Matiel.
“You called, my lord?”
“Send a letter to the owner of this newspaper.”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
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To be honest, Tae Mi is my favorite character in this novel.
Wow that’s grotesque. I didn’t think this novel was going to be so gorey