CH 47

Chapter 47: Pharmacist’s Proposal

That day, Ernesta slept in her room. Her waking up was relatively natural and nothing special.

Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summ...

Stretching in the midst of bird chirping, she slapped her cheeks to psyche herself up.

“… Alright!”

First, she headed to the washroom. After washing her face, she returned to her room and put on some suitable clothes from her closet.

Yes, she felt good. Her body was as light as when she used to help out at North Star, and her mind felt clear. With this, she could surely pretend that nothing had happened and play the role of a substitute.

Even if she confirmed “that incident” with Ivan and obtained confirmation, she could certainly remain calm.

As she finished fastening the buttons on her chest, there was a knock at the door.

Spotting the figure of a timid girl, Ernesta whispered her name.

“Dasha, thank God…!”

Running over and taking the small hand, Dasha’s face twisted with leftover immaturity.

“My Queen, I… I have come to request time off today.”

Dasha bowed her head to the point of kneeling while holding Ernesta’s hands tightly.

Looking at her trembling shoulders, it was easy to see how much this girl had suffered.

Too many truths had come crashing down on her overnight. It was a bolt from the blue, and no doubt her family was thrown into chaos.

“I’m truly sorry. My family is to blame. If the law won’t punish my brother, then… We’ll have to kill him ourself.”

“Huh?”

Ernesta let out a stupid voice at Dasha’s unsettling words, still looking down.

“Dasha? Um, did I mishear something? You didn’t say anything dangerous, did you?”

“…”

“Say something, please! Hey, Dasha! I’m not worried about it, so… Let’s just lift up our faces for now?”

Dasha finally lifted her face at Ernesta’s prompting. Although Ernesta breathed a sigh of relief for the time being, Dasha’s eyes were filled with strong determination, and there was no trace of the fragility from earlier.

“I appreciate your kindness. My Queen has shown excessive consideration to someone like me. Let me take responsibility for my brother’s actions and bring him to justice.”

At that moment, Dasha exuded a dignified air that could be compared to that of a female warrior.

Ernesta grimaced as she realized the strength possessed by the werewolf women. She didn’t want to learn about it in such an unusual way.

“Wait a minute?! Please don’t do that! No one wants it, and we’ve already resolved the situation. There’s no need to cause a tragedy on purpose!”

“No, let me do this! To kidnap My Queen of all people…! Only death can compensate for that.”

“Excuse me.”

Just as a troublesome voice interrupted, the corner of a thick book hit the redhead on the head. Ernesta opened her mouth and watched the scene, then shifted her gaze to the owner of the book.

There was Johan, reaching out through the open door. She hastily invited him in, and he bowed with an unruffled attitude.

“I apologize for being rude by coming to My Queen’s room this morning. I heard a loud voice and couldn’t help but investigate.”

“No, it’s fine… Dasha, are you okay?”

She spoke hesitantly, but Dasha was crouching and holding her head. But when she lifted her face, she was definitely staring at the perpetrator of the recent atrocity.

“What are you doing, Prime Minister?!”

“You should calm down. Children shouldn’t be rude.”

Ernesta was surprised. It was the first time she had seen the two of them talk, and they seemed to be on good terms. Perhaps it was because they were childhood friends with a family connection.

“You haven’t even met him yet. Even if you can’t forgive him,  just beat him up. If you take a life, you must be prepared to pay with your own.”

“Then I am prepared to do so…!”

“Sigh, siblings being foolish together, huh.”

“What…!”

Dasha was speechless at the sigh mix-ins. Ernesta also thought that it was not appropriate for someone to say that to a young woman, but it seemed like it wasn’t something the Prime Minister was especially concerned about.

“Listen. If you do something like that, your parents will lose both of their children at the same time.”

“Ah…”

Dasha’s eyes were shaking with shock. For a kind-hearted girl, the words just became a fatal blow to her.

“Lord Zavesky too, it’s such a pity. What would he be thinking in front of the two adjacent tombstones?”

“U… Uuuu…!”

“And what about your younger brother left behind? Considering how gentle he is, I’m sure he’ll be worried for the rest of his life.”

“Uuuu…”

Johan’s observations were accurate. Dasha had completely lost her fighting spirit and ended up putting her hands on the floor.

“If you understand, then get to work quickly. What are your duties for today?”

“The preparation for My Queen’s morning, preparation for lunch, laundry, and preparation for bedtime…”

“Very well. If you want to atone for your family’s sins, then work hard and fulfill that.”

With a smirk, Johan bid farewell to the queen and left the room. Confirming that Dasha remained on all fours without moving, Ernesta decided to take the plunge and go outside to find Lord Slezak.

“Lord Slezak!”

She called out to the bureaucrat with broad shoulders, and he immediately turned to her with narrowed eyes behind his glasses.

“What can I do for you, My Queen?”

“Thank you for what you did for Dasha. I want to thank you properly.”

Johan’s face softened as if he had expelled some venom. It was a momentary expression, but the most vulnerable one he had shown.

“…It can be inconvenient if a capable maid quits. That’s all.”

Despite his words being delivered in a dismissive tone, his severe gaze was more relaxed than usual. Apparently, this man had a hard-to-read personality as well.

Ernesta smiled and nodded. Without acknowledging whether he noticed it or not, Johan turned on his heel and left.

The day after the big incident turned out to be a day off for Ernesta.

Feeling completely fine, she felt a bit guilty about it. Engeberg came to check on her in the morning, a young man who had served as her escort during the incident apologized for what happened, and she also carried out interviews related to the incident. However, before noon, she found herself with nothing to do at all.

Deciding to gather her courage, Ernesta visited Ivan’s room. She had been hesitant, thinking it might bother him, but she was still concerned about his injury.

She knocked on the door and opened it to find Ivan sitting up in bed, reading a book. She breathed a sigh of relief at his healthier appearance than she had expected.

“You’re awake. Is it okay if I come in and chat with you while you read?”

“You didn’t hear any objections from me before now, so why not? With work taken away from me, I don’t have much to do.”

“I guess so…”

It seemed that the werewolf tribe all had a similar mindset that injuries would heal just by spitting on them.

As Ernesta hesitated in front of the door, Ivan narrowed his eyes curiously and gestured to the chair next to him.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

“Ah…yes, thank you!”

There is a part of herself that is so delighted with such a simple suggestion.

Ernesta approached the bed quickly and sat on the delicate box chair, chanting in her mind to remain calm.

“How are you feeling?”

“No problems. I feel like I can do more exercise already, though.”

“That’s good to hear. But you still need to take it easy on exercising.”

“I know. I’ll behave myself so you won’t worry.”

Ernesta closed her mouth and lowered her reddened face.

It was annoying that Ivan could so easily say such things, even though she was already trying her best to act normal. She felt embarrassed even when expressing her gratitude.

Just when she was about to fall into silence, the savior arrived.

“Hello, Your Majesty…oh, my apologies for not realizing you were here, My Queen.”

The one who appeared was Jaromir. He had a grandfather-like face with a smile, and as he put his hand on the door, he said he would come back later.

“Please wait, Dr. Jaromir. Don’t worry about me.”

Ernesta jumped off the box stool in a hurry, not noticing that Ivan was frowning discontentedly.

“You’ve come for an examination, haven’t you? Please go ahead.”

“Thank you for your concern…well, I can’t help but notice His Majesty’s expression, but shall I proceed with the examination?”

Jaromir sat down hesitantly on the box stool. He immediately began to unwrap the bandages of the injured person, so Ernesta pretended to casually look away.

The examination was over quickly, and the pharmacist took out replacement bandages and medicine from a leather bag. It seemed to be a prescription for two weeks, with a considerable amount of it.

“Change the bandages morning and evening, take the medicine, and rest as much as possible, you should recover smoothly.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

“Now then, let’s wrap the bandage once more.”

Jaromir said, taking the bandage.

However, he paused and spun around to face Ernesta while sitting.

“Actually, let’s have My Queen do it.”

Ernesta stopped moving, surprised by his sudden request.