Chapter 40

Chapter 40

[If you want to know information about the academy, it would be quicker to find someone else. For now, I’ll give you the answer to the medicinal herbs you’ve been curious about.

Tatea is for cold and body aches. Ruga leaves relieve inflammation and pain. Thierry fruit is good for fever. How to grow them is…(omit because it’s too long)…It will be easier if you ask for help from a pharmacist or someone around you who knows plants well.

But…are you really a man?]

It was a chilly reply, it seemed that he wrote about medicinal herbs with sincerity. In the last sentence, my heart was pounding.

‘You didn’t already notice that I sent it, did you?’

I promised myself that I wouldn’t be a bother to him, so I’d be really embarrassed if I got caught. However, I couldn’t help but worry because Maximus was around him.

In her next letter, Luciel felt that she should try harder to pretend to be a boy. She looked at the teddy bear next to the bed as if it was Kizef, and muttered to herself.

“Don’t notice that it’s me so soon.”

Luciel read the letter from Kizef once again and filled her lips with a soft smile. The meticulously filled out letter had a very elegant handwriting.

“He writes well.”

It’s just a contract marriage, but maybe it’s because it’s the first letter Luciel received from her husband. She felt good. Then she suddenly remembered the title of ‘her husband’, and she became ashamed of herself.

“I thought this kind of thing bothered him, but surprisingly, he answered me with sincerity.”

Anyway, now that I know the information about the herbs, I’ll have to visit Cicline next. Although she currently works as a pediatrician, she will be interested in herbal medicine.

Luciel recalled what happened when she heard the conversation between the crown prince and Cicline in the past.

‘If you are Dr. Renny’s daughter, you can be trusted. I will let you attend the Academy of Herbal Medicine. You’ll be formally educated and become an Imperial Pharmacist who will be my strength.’

‘M-Me? R-Really? Thank you. Thank you, your highness. It has been my long-time dream to enter the Academy of Herbal Medicine and become an Imperial Pharmacist.’

Cicline’s original dream was to follow in her father’s footsteps. She wanted to be like Dr.Renny, going to the Academy of Herbal Medicine and becoming a great pharmacist. However, it seems that the deceased father was opposed to her daughter becoming a pharmacist.

‘Why was he against it?’

In any case, the Crown Prince sponsored Cicline, and for a while, she was successful as a pharmacist. But… her success did not last long.

Shortly thereafter, I only heard news that she had been arrested on charges of poisoning the Emperor’s medicaments, and that she had been executed along with the Marquis, who was alleged to be the initiator of the rebellion.

The details of the inside story are unknown, but she would have avoided such an ending if she hadn’t become an Imperial Pharmacist.

‘Did Cicline’s father guess that his daughter would have such an end? I hope she has a happy ending in this life.’

Luciel, who was making plans for her next move, soon fell asleep.

* * *

As soon as she woke up the next morning, Luciel went to see Cicline. Just in time, she was watering a small pot. The expression on her face was so full of affection that even Luciel who looked at it felt better.

“Little Madam. Welcome.”

“Oh, do you also grow plants?”

“Yes, I’m reading herbal medicine books these days, and I’m going to try to make medicine with herbs.”

Luciel thought this was good. It was a perfect timing to naturally bring the story out.

“Actually, I came here to ask the Doctor how to grow these herbs. You know a lot about herbs, right?”

“Yes, I will tell you from what I know.”

Luciel exclaimed childishly, as she held out a note with the name of the herb written on it. Cicline’s eyes widened.

“Tatea, Ruga tree, and even the Thierry Fruit. They are all commonly used as medicinal herbs. Why do you want to grow these?”

“There is an empty flower bed, so I think it would be good to grow plants that are helpful to people if possible.”

“You have a unique and bold idea.”

Cicline stroked Luciel’s hair and wrote in detail how to grow herbs.

“Thank you very much.”

Luciel bashfully smiled at her and took a leap of faith.

“Do you not want to be a pharmacist?”

The woman’s eyes, who were looking at Luciel, soon became blurred. She had a dark face.

“I wanted to be an Imperial Pharmacist. But it costs a lot of money, and it is very difficult. To live, we have to make money right away.”

“I see. But I hope you continue to do what you like. The Imperial Palace is not the only place in need of pharmacists. I think there must be another way. So, keep studying!”

At Luciel’s consolation, Cicline quietly nodded her head as she unraveled her own story.

“I grew up looking at medicinal herbs from a young age, and I love treating and helping people. You are right, Little Madam. I will work hard without giving up.”

“Good idea. Can I ask you a favor later?”

“Yes, of course.”

Luciel smiled softly and grabbed her hand and said. A smile suddenly appeared on Cicline’s face.

“Then I’ll go buy some herbs.”

“Yes, I’ll go help you later.”

Luciel took the note that Cicline had written down and put it on the book she brought so that it would not wrinkled, and then she went on her way. Next, she tried to look for Eva, but then, changed her direction.

“Father-in-law would be happy if I told him directly…… wouldn’t he?”

He gave me a little greenhouse, and he was deeply curious about what I was going to plant.

Luciel walked to the Duke’s office. Every time she goes there, she gets nervous but before she knew it, she reached the door of the office. When she looked at the signal in the door, it had the side with the black dragon hanging around.

‘He’s inside.’

Luciel clenched a small fist and knocked on the door.

“Father-in-law. It’s me.”

“Luciel?”

As the door opened, the Duke welcomed Luciel with a friendly face.

“Welcome. What can I get for you?”

The Duke naturally led Luciel to a chest of drawers full of sweet treats. Luciel was briefly distracted by the chocolate he took out, but soon opened her mouth.

“I finally decided which plants to plant in the greenhouse.”

“What is it?”

When the Duke asked a question as he sat on the sofa, Luciel also came up to him and tried to sit on the sofa. However, the sofa was too high for the short Luciel to climb up alone.

The Duke gently grabbed Luciel and made her sit on the sofa. The action was so sweet that it made her happy. Every time this happened, I thought of how wonderful it would be if the Duke were her real father.

“I want to plant herbs.”

After calmly listening to Luciel, the Duke said.

“I’ll ask Eva to buy it at the herb market. What herb are you going to plant?”

“It is these. Tatea, Ruga Tree and Thierry Fruit. They are all medicinal herbs that are useful in everyday life.”

“I see. But were you interested in herbal medicine?”

When the Duke gave her a look of surprise, Luciel thought about it for a moment and then shook  her head.

“If possible, I want to grow plants that will help Bellstein.”

It wasn’t quite a lie. Those herbs are not only used as supplements for mana, but are also used as excellent medicinal herbs. It could be used as medicine for sick people. However, there was no pharmacist affiliated with Bellstein. To get treatment, you had to go through a doctor or a healer.

“If there were a pharmacist in Bellstein, the injuries and minor ills of the soldiers could be quickly healed!”

The Duke who saw Luciel like that, also had a positive expression.

“……That’s a good idea.”

“I need someone who knows about herbs.”

The Duke answered, touching his chin.

“Even if it’s not a professional pharmacist, there are doctors in the castle, so you can ask them.”

Luciel pretended to think naturally, and said.

“Then I will ask Ms. Cicline. Seeing how she made me Coco syrup last time, I think she makes good medicine and is very interested in herbal medicine.”

“……Are you talking about the new doctor?”

“Yes. Her dream is to become a pharmacist. If she studies for that, she might become a good pharmacist. So… May I grow herbs with her in the greenhouse garden?”

“If you want.”

“Thank you, Father-in-law!”

Looking intently at Luciel who was that happy, the Duke continued,

“It is a wonderful idea to plant medicinal herbs. Even if people get hurt, you don’t have to worry.”

The Duke reached out and stroked Luciel’s soft hair. Her heart warmed up at the touch and words of praise. She couldn’t hear such words from Count Orbia, no matter how much she made jewels for him.

Is that why?

As such, the praise of the Duke, her father-in-law, was sweet no matter how many times I heard it. More than the chocolate or jelly he gives her.

So I got greedy.

‘I want to be praised more.’

‘I want to be loved more.’

Luciel was startled by the sudden thought that popped into her mind. It was a voice of her heart that she had not known until now. Desires were awakening one by one after she came to Bellstein.

These were the desires she buried a long time ago.

Before she died, she had been praised by her older sister, but not by adults.

As a child, Luciel’s older sister was always sickly. She didn’t know at the time, but maybe she was even weaker because she was forced to make jewels every time. Such an older sister used to get badly ill from a mild cold or headache.

Luciel knew nothing, so she could only see her shivering sister suffer from the sidelines. And even in her young heart, she realized how painful it was.

“I hate not being able to do anything when someone is sick.”

“……?”

A mysterious light appeared in the Duke’s eyes. Luciel gently raised her small hand over the Duke’s hand, which was four times larger than hers. Then, with eyes moist like a puppy, she worried about him.

“So, Father-in-law shouldn’t get sick.”

“Do you mean me?”

There were only a handful of times in the life of Louivid von Bellstein that he was sick and ill. Even if there were times when he made other people sick or made them unable to wake up forever.

The Duke was dumbfounded and gently stroked the soft hair of the child who was worried about him because she was too cute.

“You are the one who should not get sick. I’m always worried because you are weak.”

There was sincere concern in the Duke’s eyes.