CH 35.1

“What’s this?” Isabella asked, puzzled, as she glanced down at the instant jewelry fastened around her neck.

“It’s a gift.”

“A present?”

She had already received so much from him that this gift suddenly became a burden.

“I don’t need it. I’ve already received too much from you, Your Highness.”

“Just keep wearing it, and don’t lose it.” Duke Kyar said firmly.

Isabella nodded slowly.

She didn’t think any of her excuses would work, so Isabella gave up on persuading him.

“I will. Thank you.”

“I can’t see you for another week.”

It seemed that the time for conquering the beasts had come again.

Isabella understood.

She looked up at him and managed to say,  “Have a safe trip.”

Duke Kyar glanced at her and smiled.

“Okay, I’ll be back safely.”

When Duke Kyar left the room, Ignis hid behind the curtains and flew toward her.

“I can feel the power of a mana from that necklace!”

Ignice cawed while glowering at her necklace.

“Mana?”

“It’s a gemstone necklace that had magic on it!”

Magic?

What kind of magic did it have?

Anyway, Duke Kyar was never the type of man who would give her ordinary gifts.

Furthermore, he didn’t explain anything when he gave it to her, so Isabella had no idea if this necklace contained magic.

He told her not to remove the necklace, so maybe, it had protective spells.

Well, Duke Kyar was the one who gave it to her, and she simply assumed that it meant her no harm.

At least now, she had this much faith in Duke Kyar.

Isabella stared at the door where Duke Kyar had just disappeared while caressing the black pendant hanging from her necklace.

She was a little disappointed that she couldn’t see him for a week.

**

The next day after lunch, Kyle had received medicine from Isabella before returning to the academy.

Since Duke Kyar also went to subdue the majesty, Isabella enjoyed her ‘alone time’ for the first time in a long while.

In the meantime, the construction of the research institute began in earnest, and she occasionally went out once to check how it was going.

Other than that, she didn’t have much to care about.

The random architectural design that Ignis had picked was the best in the empire.

The person was so talented that Isabella believed his artistic soul had already burned out because of this research institute.

After going to the laboratory facilities, Isabella returned to her room, and Ria welcomed her.

“Sister, the survey you asked for is finished.”

Ria had completed the survey Isabella had asked for in just a few days.

Her sincerity, hard work, and loyalty had touched her when she looked into her eyes.

“Really? You worked hard.”

“To begin with, I discovered that most people wanted pain treatments on their muscles.”

“Really?”

The knights and the servants working in Rubella Castle seemed to suffer from chronic muscle pains the most.

“Shall we make that?”

She was able to study a lot of herbs for ingredients while creating the antidote so it would not be too difficult for her to make this particular medicine.

“I think everyone will love it if you make it.”

“Okay.  I will focus on this for my next study. Thank you, Ria. You did amazing.”

Ria shrugged at her praise, making her dance.

Ria could quickly soak in the information and accomplish any given task well.

Isabella was proud of her, but on the one hand, she was worried.

Can Ria stay like this?

Isabella felt sorry that the heroine, Seria, was doing this instead of finding her memories quickly to regain her kingdom.

“How are you doing here?”

“First of all, I feel good because you’re here with me, My Lady.”

“I told you to speak  to me comfortably.”

She kept telling Ria to speak to her casually, but Ria didn’t seem to listen.

“How dare I talk down on you, My La—sis…sister?  I can’t do this. It’s too much for my heart to imagine.”

Isabella was just as embarrassed for daring to speak to a princess of a Kingdom so casually.

“Then we must take it slowly.”

Isabella decided to take a step back, knowing that it wasn’t something to be forced.

“Yes. I’ll be going then. A lot of people have ordered red medicine today.”

Ria said brightly while placing the red medicine bottles in her basket.

“Thank you.”

After Ria left, Isabella began listing herbs to treat muscle pain in her notebook.

She thought it was good to make two types of muscle pain treatments—one could be taken orally while the other was applied.

“My Lady.”

She heard Marc’s voice calling her.

“You seemed very busy. There was no answer when I knocked, so I thought you weren’t inside your room.”

Isabella seemed too focused on her studies that she didn’t hear the knocking sound.