CH 14

Translated by EunEun

Edited by Slowday

“The edible and nonedible part of the Tuberosum. Isn’t there a way to tell them apart?”

Shake. Shake.

Beatty shook her head back and forth to let him know that it was not possible.

This time, the people who followed the Young Master and the Young Miss opened their mouths.

“Ah! Then it must be that Young Miss is special!”

“The Young Miss’s shapeshifter ability! It must be that a squirrel shapeshifter has the ability to digest Tuberosum!”

Shake. Shake.

This time, too, Beatty shook her head.

What in the world was the answer?

The stares of the curious people were directed at Beatty.

‘Now is the time.’

Beatty took out the Tuberosum and didn’t let it go even as she was being transported to the medical room, then revealed her secret with sparkling eyes.

“The answer is this. This stem!”

“Stem…?”

Everyone’s gaze was aimed at the thin stem connected to the fruit.

“Usually people cut this stem to get rid of the leaves.”

It was a common practice to avoid dangerous leaves by cutting them off from the stems when pulling out Tuberosum.

“Actually, this stem is the antidote.”

“Antidote?”

Hearing the unexpected words, people’s eyes widened.

Beatty took out a Tuberosum’s stem that had been split into pieces, which had been kept in a separate pocket, and showed it to them.

“Earlier, I found a Tuberosum and brought it here….”

Hup!

“I just detached the stem apart and chewed it first.”

Beatty continued explaining as she chewed the stem and showed it off.

“Inside this stem, there is a liquid that neutralizes the poison.”

What she did right now was something that would be revealed two years later.

Eating both the stem and fruit of Tuberosum, which were commonly known as poisonous plants, could help prevent the harm of getting a stomachache.

‘Ironically, I found it out thanks to someone who attempted a suicide by consuming the whole Tuberosum.’

The detoxification effect of the stem was powerful, so even the most poisonous leaf could be neutralized and used as spices if they were cut off like the stem.

‘It is an antidote to Tuberosum poison, but for now, even with this, it’s already enough.’

Before eating the fruit, eat the stem first.

The impact of this simple solution on people was enormous.

“That kind of effect from the stem…?”

“It’s my first time hearing about it.”

The boy strode out in front of the people who were still in doubt.

Grab.

Without hesitation, he put the Tuberosum into his mouth according to the way Beatty taught.

“Hm, sure enough.”

He looked around with a nod.

“You saw it, right?”

“… Young Master is a lion shapeshifter, maybe he’s fine with it. Let me check with my body!”

“I’ll also try it!”

‘If we can use that for food, we might have solved the burnt-out army supply problem…!’

People who started to look bright with glimpses of hope volunteered themselves.

After a while.

Looking at the people who had no sign of sickness, Beatty gleamed with pride. She opened her mouth while her cheeks glowing red.

“Everyone realizes it, right?”

“Yes, originally the stomach will grumble right away, but.”

Usually, they had to run to the bathroom immediately even if they only swallowed a little bit of the fruit.

“My stomach is sensitive to this kind of matter, so I would get reactions right away. But there’s no sign at all!”

“Good gracious, it worked like a charm. I’m sure it’s a poisonous fruit….”

Ahem!

Beatty spoke confidently, sticking out her chest.

“This is the solution I told you about!”

The only solution that could replace the burnt-out army supplies!

Tuberosum grew everywhere, so as long as it was edible, using it as an alternative food could solve the problem at once.

Oho! Aha!

A clear exclamation mark appeared on people’s faces.

“Such an epoch-making discovery…!”

The astonished people opened their mouths.

“Young Miss, you have to write a letter. If you inform the commander on the battlefield about this…!”

“Yes! Of course, do that. Also, for the soldiers who are waiting for the supplies immediately—”

“Aha! We just have to dig these up and send them out! After all, it’s all over the place!”

“That’s right!”

They were exchanging words with each other.

“….”

Before they knew it, Count Zealot had a very ugly expression as he looked at Beatty and people who got along well.

“Count.”

Beatty turned her head to him, with a face full of a sense of achievement, her cheeks flushed beautifully as she had succeeded in persuading them.

“Now the Count also understands, right? The strength of Tuberosum!”

“… Yes, you’re very smart, Young Lady.”

The count replied to Beatty who talked with a bright smile on her face, with a forced smile.

“Hahaha! As Young Miss said, it’s a perfect plant that’s full of strength!”

“It’s a lucky charm!”

“No, it’s not. The lucky charm is our Young Miss.”

“Hoho, that’s right. The Young Miss is our territory’s greatest happiness!”

Ka-boom.

People surrounded Beatty and poured her with praise.

‘It won’t be good if this problem is already solved though…!’

A cold sweat ran down the Count’s neck as his anxiety reached its peak.

‘Damn it! How am I supposed to report to ‘that place’….’

The Count’s insides were turned upside down when he saw the people around him were delighted.

“That’s right, Count. This time the Count has almost made a big mistake.”

“Pardon?”

“If we hadn’t listened to this smart Young Miss, as the Count said, how would we have solved this great problem?”

“Ha, haha. That’s… right. It was my mistake.”

“Right! This time it’s the Count’s mistake! We almost missed out on our Young Miss’s clear solution!”

“Then, that’s a big deal!”

“Ha… haha…. Yes.”

Grit.

Concealing his boiling anger inside, the Count bit the insides of his cheeks compulsively.

Beatty smiled proudly as she witnessed the positive atmosphere.

‘With this, there won’t be such things like ‘the first retreat’, right?’

Deep inside her heart, she felt a sense of satisfaction she had never felt before.

For the first time ever, such joy was achieved by her own effort.

‘Later on, there won’t be another 10 years of Great War.’

Having gained confidence, Beatty puffed out her chest and thought.

‘I have to make use of this outcome as the price to let me stay in the Duke’s castle until my coming-of-age ceremony!’

Her coming-of-age ceremony was 10 years from now, so the period of the exchange was perfect for both parties.

No. This was fully preventing the Duke’s entire declining prestige.

‘And maybe, if I manage to negotiate the deal well, I can even get future business funds!’

“Ho ho ho.”

Beatty laughed like a smart schemer she read in a book. Her tail that popped out of joy fluttered like a fan.

***

Caw! Caw!

There were always crows flying above the battlefield.

It was because they knew that their abundant dinner would be served after the end of human fights.

“Damn it, those corpse eaters.”

The soldiers who sat down and cursed had no energy left to chase out the unlucky crows.

“Ah… I’m hungry.”

Because the army was under the Aslan Family, the Royal Family was only in charge of supplying military rations to protect the kingdom.

However, the Royal Family often sent tight-budget foods just enough to not starve them to death.

Originally it was already a small amount of food, but it had been a few days since the rations were delivered on time, and somehow the quantity was cut off.

Naturally, the soldiers had weakened because their diets were limited to only one meal a day with the remaining amount of food.

“I’m hungry….”

“Aish! Don’t whine about your hunger. I’m already hungry, and now I’m getting hungrier after replying to you.”

“… You know, right now you just repeatedly recite that you’re hungrier than me.”

Growl.

The sound of a person’s stomach was heard and the bickering stopped. Some of them gobbled down the grass they had plucked from the ground to fool their hungry stomachs.

And like that, the soldiers who were so low in spirits heard the long-awaited sound.

Rattle. Rattle.

“Oh! Oh…! Oh? Are you seeing what I’m seeing now?”

“T-That’s!”

They could see a train of carts in the distance.

“Woahhh!”

The voices of the soldiers filled with expectations rang out in the plains.

“Finally, is the distribution going back to three meals a day?”

“Let it be meat! Let it be meat! Please let it be meat!”

“You’re dreaming big. I don’t hope too much. Even crips dry food is good if the quantity is enough.”

While talking about their dream menu, they gathered around the carts with hopeful eyes. Then they saw the thing that was reflected in their eyes.

“Huh…?”

It was piles of Tuberosum that were loaded on top of a series of incoming carts.

“What’s this? Why the poisonous herb…?”

Yakety-yak.

A disturbance spread among the agitated soldiers.

“There must be a good one down there, right?”

“Don’t tell me… did they only send us this kind of inedible poisonous herb? If we search it properly, maybe we can find the real food supplies—”

While soldiers rummage through the carts in an anxious voice.

“….”

The Duke was reading a letter that arrived with the carts.