While Selena and Hasten looked around, David scanned the herb patch. As a skilled inspector, he could tell right away that there was no one else around besides them. David, who confirmed the existence of the herb patch with his own eyes, laughed in vain as if it were ridiculous.
His eyes narrowed.
'There's everything.'
From highly addictive narcotic plants to expensive and hard-to-find herbs used to make precious potions, to rare plants that even he had never seen before, all kinds of things were grown in the herb garden.
'Are all these things grown and distributed here?'
A cold smile appeared on David's lips. He knew that the underworld of the empire was rife with hallucinogenic drugs and extremely vicious poisons. Even hard-to-obtain potions and medicines were often secretly traded. David had been tracking down the sources of such backroom dealings for a long time.
However, despite his best efforts, the results were not great. Even if he found traces with difficulty, they were only minor. For the medicines to be distributed in such large quantities, they would have required a huge cultivation area, but he could not even pinpoint the exact location. But who would have thought that they were hidden in the Cursed Forest?
'That's why I can't find it'
He clenched his fist. With this, he could pinpoint the weak points of the rat-like bastards that were eating away at the empire.
'I'll have to do something about it as soon as I get back.'
While David was making such plans with a sullen expression.
"There is no one."
Selena, having checked the safety of the surroundings, guided the two to a shabby shack. They prepared a comfortable place to lie down inside the shack and carefully laid Karina down.
"The Grand Duchess's body is cold, so we must find something to cover her warmly."
"Then I'll look for things like a blanket, some clothes, and a kettle to boil water."
At David's words, Hasten searched the room diligently. However, there was nothing of use anywhere in the shabby hut. Empty flasks, strange jars, unidentifiable herbs that gave off a musty smell...
"Did you say that the owner of this shack was a wizard?"
"That's true, but it seems like he didn't stay here very long. He didn't have any of the usual blankets or clothes."
Hasten sighed and answered, unable to find anything useful. In the meantime, Selena, who had run out of the hut, returned. In her hands were a few clumps of grass that looked like they had just been dug up.
"What is that?"
Selena answered David's question with a serious expression.
"This is a herb called 'Pistareo.' It has the effect of removing the toxins of polluted magic and calming the mind and body."
Selena gave David and Hasten a handful of each of the herbs she had picked.
"Chew it and swallow it whole. That's how it works the fastest."
And as if to demonstrate, she put a few strands of the herb in her mouth and chewed them. However, Karina was not in a condition to chew and swallow the herbs at the moment. Selena searched for a bowl in the hut where she could put the herbs. Fortunately, tools for putting or grinding herbs were scattered everywhere. Selena put the herbs in the shallow bowl and began to tear them into small pieces.
"What are you planning to do?"
David asked, watching Selena do the same.
"I'm thinking of burning some finely chopped herbs to create incense. It won't be as strong as eating them directly, but it will still be effective."
"Wouldn't it be better to just squeeze the juice and feed it to them?"
"If you feed the wrong food to someone who has passed out, they may fall into prayer and become more dangerous."
"What if it's a small amount? What if it's a small amount that won't go down your throat?"
Selena nodded after thinking for a moment about David's words.
"I don't think it would be a problem if it were just moistening the lips. It might even be more effective than the scent."
"Then I guess I can do it."
After hearing the explanation, David suddenly took the bowl of herbs from Selena's hand and said.
"Yes...?"
When Selena, bewildered at having her work taken away from her, asked again, David answered with a solemn expression.
"You never know when the wizard you witnessed will return. I'll do this, so you go and get the herbs the Grand Duchess needs."
"Ah..."
Selena let out a gasp. David certainly had a point. There would be nothing more disastrous than encountering a wizard here.
"Okay, then I'll go and make some medicine to help restore your stamina and raise your body temperature."
"You should come with her. It'll be faster if we do it together than alone."
David also ordered Hasten, who was next to him, to help Selena find the herbs.
"Yes, I understand."
So Selena and Hasten were forced to leave the shack as if they were being chased out by David.
"Hmm..."
Selena came out and let out a strange snort.
"What's the matter?"
"Hasten asked, seeing her displeased face.
"That is..."
Selena, her words trailing off, walked away from the hut and continued speaking.
"The two... Did something happen to them while they were being held captive by the monster?"
"What's going on?"
Hasten looked as if he had no idea what he was talking about.
"His Highness the Crown Prince's attitude towards Lady Karina... What should I say..."
Friendly? Casual? Unpretentious? No. It gave off a more subtle vibe than that.
"It feels a bit closer... than I thought."
Selena, choosing her words, quietly brought up the topic of my question.
"He is the Crown Prince, so he must not be foolish. The Grand Duchess is also a noblewoman, so he must have the chivalric spirit of a gentleman taking care of women, something like that."
"Well, it felt a little more personal than that..."
One of Selena's eyebrows drew a slant.
"The two of them were captured by the monsters together. They went through hardships together, so I guess they feel a sense of kinship."
Hasten thought simply, but Selena thought differently.
"No, that's..."
But David's gaze towards Karina seemed a bit subtle. When they first met, David could have been wary of Hasten because he didn't let him approach Karina.
However, when Hasten offered to carry Karina, he flatly refused and carried her himself, and he was concerned about Karina's condition the whole time he came here. He even took away the work they were doing and pushed them away from the hut as if he were kicking them out. In the end, he ended up being left alone in the hut with Karina.
'It definitely seems different from a sense of homogeneity...'
But Hansen didn't dare to say that thought out loud.
"Let's find it quickly. We don't have time to waste."
Selena came to her senses at Hasten's urging. The important thing now was to cure Karina. To do that, they had to find the herbs first.
'For now, let's just think about getting out of the Cursed Forest safely thoughts and focus on finding herbs.'
Luckily, she didn't have to go far.
Selena decided to shake off her distracting
"That's what I'm talking about..."
Hasten, who was carefully examining the herbs Selena was digging up, tilted his head and asked.
"Did you say Pistaeo? Are you digging that up again?"
Selena shook her head.
"It looks similar, but it's a different herb. It's called 'Alphas', and it's a herb that helps calm the mind. When eaten or made into tea, it warms the body, helps with mental and physical stability, and recovery from fatigue, and is also used for wound healing and detoxification."
"Um... No matter how I look at it, it all looks the same..."
"..."
Hasten seemed completely unaware of the difference, even in Selena's explanation.
"Different. Alphas have slightly larger leaves. The stems are thicker. The medicinal properties are also different. Alphas helps raise body temperature, and Pistaeo is used to treat insomnia."
"Really? I didn't know that was effective against insomnia. Oh... I already took it, so doesn't that make me sleepy?"
Hasten showed his reluctance as if he was having trouble since he hadn't even fully exited the Cursed Forest yet.
"Eating a little bit won't make you so sleepy that you can't come to your senses. It's used for insomnia because it helps you sleep better when your mind and body are stable, and it also helps you have good dreams when your energy is restored."
Selena reassured Hasten not to worry.
"You know so much?"
"..."
That left her speechless for a moment. She couldn't help but know. Before her husband died, Selena had been threatened by the Countess of Vestianne and had been taking the herb almost every day to relieve stress and insomnia. She knew exactly how effective it was. However, she didn't bother to tell Hasten about it. Selena laughed it off and continued.
"A handful or so is enough to just drive out the poison and help stabilize the mind and body. If it's really effective, it might help the user have good dreams when they sleep."
Selena added, her hands moving busily as she dug up the herbs.
"If the medicine worked well, Karina must be having a good dream by now."
***
At that moment, Karina was actually dreaming. However, from Karina's perspective, that dream was not something that could be said to be a good dream, even in vain.
One day in the past. A banquet hall in the palace was attended by Karina, who had just had her debutante ceremony.
"Like an unlucky redhead."
"..."
The sharp, venomous words pierced Karina's heart.
"She can walk around with that kind of hair color. She's thick-skinned, even though she looks like this."
"I don't know why she keeps standing out and annoying me."
"Perhaps she came here to offend Her Majesty the Empress."
"I think she can do anything if the Marquis of Milliner enjoys the Emperor's favor."
Karina's father, Marquis Milliner, and other nobles from other factions slandered and ridiculed Karina. It was a palace banquet to celebrate the birthday of the Empress of the Empire. Naturally, the Empress and her entourage, who were the main characters of the banquet, were the center of the event. The Emperor, who was not on good terms with the Empress, only showed his face at the beginning of the banquet and disappeared. The same was true of Marquis Milliner, who followed the Emperor around.
However, Karina had to stay in this position until the end.
'This is a banquet hosted by the Empress. If you don't want to be laughed at by the Empress's family, the Duke of Dandelica, you must remain until the end. Do you understand?'
Marquis Milliner had made such earnest requests to Karina. Of course, he had no interest in how Karina would be treated in the banquet hall.
"The more I look at her, the more I feel bad. Isn't there a saying that red hair brings disaster?"
"I've heard of it too. And that's the proof that they are immigrants from another country."
Originally, there were few people in the empire with deep red hair. The Marquis of Milliner was a red-haired noble who came from another country when the empire was founded. Due to the active efforts to blend in with the empire, the number of children with red hair decreased over the generations, but there were still children born with red hair. Karina was one of those children. The Marquis of Milliner did not like Karina's hair color either. Wasn't it a hair color that seemed to be a stigma that revealed her origins?
Because of that, Karina could not be happy. Discrimination and criticism have continued since childhood. The once bright girl had soon become stained with an inferiority complex and sadness. The traces of that cruel bloodline and terrible origins were still tormenting her today.
"Doesn't it look unusually red today? It's truly ominous."
"That's what I mean. It looks like you're covered in blood."
"Oh my, you're walking around like that. If I were you, I'd be so embarrassed I wouldn't even be able to raise my head."
Karina smiled like a doll as if she didn't hear anything, and the corners of her mouth trembled. That day in particular, it was especially hard to listen to such malicious words. So Karina ran away and went to the furthest and most secluded terrace there. She planned to calm her aggrieved and miserable heart a little while facing the cold wind in front of the terrace railing and then go back.
"Ah..."
Tears flowed from her eyes without her knowing. Karina tried to suppress her emotions by breathing heavily. But it wasn't easy. The more she tried to hold it in, the harder it became to breathe.
At that moment.
Rustle.
"...!"
A presence was felt in a corner where no one had thought there was anyone. Karina, startled, turned around and met eyes with a tall, handsome man.
It was Jeremiah, who was quietly enjoying the breeze alone there.
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