CH 10

“Lady, how much of this herb should I put in?”

“Put in two more spoons.”

The fragrant smell of pounded herbs spread through the private room. If you add about four more spoons of hibiscus flower and mix it with raspberry juice and honey, you should be able to balance the color and scent.

“By the way, Lady, what on earth are you making?” Daisy, who was helping me, asked.

To someone who didn’t know it, it might seem like making medicine or creating a dessert.

“This? Candy.”

“Can…dy?”

It would be more accurate to describe it as making a ‘drug that looks like candy.’

There was a reason why I made this medicine myself. Redian, whom I met in the basement that day, was in a state of being addicted to sedatives. It was clear that he suffered from extreme insomnia, in which he couldn’t fall asleep without taking sedatives.

I’m sure he’ll refuse if I give him medicine.

I never thought I’d use the method I used when I possessed the imperial pharmacist here. The youngest prince didn’t want to take medicine, so I made it into candy or chocolate as a gift. As a result, the prince, who should have been killed by the male lead’s scheme, was saved. Thanks to that, I was assassinated because I caught the male lead’s sight. Being good at everything was also a problem.

Of course, Redian wasn’t as young and weak as the prince. However, as his vigilance was severe, this strategy was used.

“Should I make one for you too?”

“Yes?”

Even so, Daisy’s chapped hands were bothering me. It was just a common case of dermatitis. Still, Daisy’s condition wasn’t that bad, so if you mixed aloe vera…  

“It’s okay if I don’t make it into candy.”

“Oh my gosh.”

Daisy’s eyes widened as I made an ointment by combining herbs in an instant.

“It will be effective if you apply it whenever you feel itchy.”

“I wonder if I dare accept something like this from Lady… Thank you.” Daisy, holding his hands together to receive the ointment, bowed. “I didn’t expect Lady would take care of me too. When did Lady learn this knowledge?”

It was natural for her to be thrilled if she thought about Siani before being possessed by me.

“Oh my. It feels like my skin has become softer, as if I had used a mana stone,” said Daisy, who applied a little ointment on the back of her hand. “On top of that, it’s amazing that it smells so good.”

“The maid who shares the same room with you looked particularly stressed about it. So share it.”

“It’s a very precious gift made by Lady, so I’ll share it with her. Thank you.”

I smiled tenderly.

Spread it everywhere. My skills were guaranteed anyway, so all I had to do was let them spread the news throughout the duchy. Pleasing the servants was a good thing for me too. No matter how well I try, it’ll be over if my throat is cut off by Redian like in the original story.

“That, Lady.”

“Yes?”

Daisy carefully spoke to me, who was lost in thought.

“How about making something for the duke as well? His hands chapped because he always handles the swords.”

“My father doesn’t need something like this. Because he has mana stone.”

The panacea here was mana stone. It was expensive and hard to get, but it didn’t matter to the high-ranking nobles.

“Even though mana stones are effective, there are times when severe side effects appear.”

However, except the treatment effect depended on the mana stone quality, everything was only disadvantageous. It was hard to find, expensive, and had severe side effects.

“From what I heard…” Daisy whispered, lowering her voice. “The reason why Her Majesty doesn’t go out at all these days is because of the side effects of the mana stones.”

“Her Majesty?”

“Yes. I heard that she had red spots all over her face.”

“What? How did you know that?”

“The more secretive the rumors, the more certain it’s real.”

That was true. Most of the nobles in society were deliberately created. On the other hand, the information from the maids was real.

If it was the empress, she would have been using mana stones all her life, but the side effect seems to be getting worse. If even the imperial family suffered that much, it would have been difficult for the duke to avoid the side effects.

“The ointment Lady made is different. Lady can give it as a present to His Grace.”

It was slightly interesting. Well, there’s nothing to lose. Especially for a duke who held a pen and sword simultaneously, something like hand cream…

Wait a second. Hand cream?

I looked closely at the material placed in front of me. Lime flowers with antibacterial properties, cinnamon leaves, yuzu powder with excellent cleansing power, and citrus peels containing vitamins.

At that moment. I have a feeling about this. My golden hand seemed to smell money again.

Cosmetics from natural ingredients. If it worked for the duke, I could use it as a business bait.

“I’m not making a comparison.” Daisy, who was looking at me, spoke with difficulty. “But Lady Luna picks out good tea leaves every week and gives them to His Grace.”

It meant I should try to be a nice daughter like Luna. But that didn’t suit me. But if that meant he would give me more money, I would consider it.

Luna Lev. Come to think of it, I had never run into Luna after the last meal.

“Can’t you see Luna these days?”

“Hmm, I guess she’s busy preparing for the soon-to-be welcome party for Grand Prince Benio.”

T/L note: Starting from this chapter the title for Ash Benio will change from grand duke into grand prince. 

Has time passed quickly? It seemed that the day Ash Benio would return to the capital was approaching.

“Because of that welcome party, every famous salon is fully booked, and you have to wait.”

Since Ash is being treated almost like a crown prince.

Currently, the emperor and empress have only one daughter. Thanks to that, Ash enjoyed popularity comparable to the crown prince. Since it had been a few years since he returned, all women in the capital must be bound to be excited.

“Lady, are you sure you’re not going to attend this party?” Daisy looked disappointed. “I heard that Lady was the only one who didn’t reply to his invitation.”

“I suppose so.”

“We never know. There must be a reason why the grand prince also sent the invitation to Lady.”

But I was only interested in the money I would make from this ointment.

“Well, I’ll think about it if the grand prince kneels before me and offers the invitation.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Other than that, there’s no reason for me to go, right?”

“But…” Daisy was surprised and amazed at my reaction. It couldn’t be helped because she remembered how Siani clung to Ash.

You make a lot of noise when you return. He gave all kinds of shame when he announced the annulled engagement to Siani. But it was funny that he sent an invitation to Siani. Did you think I’d run out barefoot and receive your invitation?

Whenever I was possessed, the first thing I dealt with was to cut off my relationship with the male lead. So annulling engagements, overturning marriages, and giving cool divorces were my specialties.

“Daisy, get me a box for this ointment. With a ribbon tied around this size.”

I drew a picture and explained the shape of the box to Daisy. It was an ordinary box that could be sold in a small store or in a stand.

“Ah, yes, I understand.”

Daisy tilted when she saw the drawing. She seemed to wonder why I asked her to get such a shabby box over a rare jewelry box.

“Ah, pick some wildflowers too.”

“Wildflowers?”

“I’m going to decorate the box for my father. If I’m going to play the role of a daughter, I better do my best, right?”

The personality of the deceased duchess could be known just by looking at the mementos left for Siani. She must have been a kind and modest person.

“Oh my, but Lady made two ointments. Shall I prepare two boxes?”

“No. Just get one ready. Because I will use this.”

I grabbed the remaining ointment and got up from my seat. Looking out the window, it was a dark night.

He must have fallen asleep soon. I didn’t have to make it into candy this time. Because I could apply it directly.

* * *

I purposely headed to the basement only after a little deeper night.

“P-Princess.”

“Gasp.”

The two trainees standing on guard looked surprised.

“H-how did you come here again at this late hour?”

“As far as I know, John is the trainer who is on duty today.”

I asked them who were making faces as if they had seen ghosts. “Where is John? Answer that at the same time in 5 seconds.”

“T-that John is not feeling well today.”

“John has an education today.”

The two men’s mouths shut.

He must have gone to Irik. It was something I expected. He would go to Irik every night and report the story of what happened in the basement. He must have told Irik about what I had done a while ago. Still, with one trainer gone… the basement became quiet.

“P-Princess, it’s not like that.”

“John is s-sleeping now.”

Looking inside the cage, I gestured with my eyes as if they were too noisy. Still, it seems they followed my words, telling them to move him inside the carriage.  

“Be quiet.”

I could see a sleeping figure curled up in the darkness.

“My child is sleeping.”

“C-child, w-whose child…”

Perhaps shocked, their eyes rolled back and forth.

Of course, just looking at those wide, square shoulders, it was very too much to call him a child. Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong to call him a child since he only ate candy-shaped medicine.

“When John comes, tell him I went to see Redian again.”

“…Cough.”

“I will look at every nook and cranny to see if there were any other injuries.”

Leaving behind the trainers who were avoiding my eyes, I entered the cage. Well, let’s get started.