Now that the Second Prince has returned to the palace, Locard intends to focus on his life at the academy for the time being.
He planned to dig through the dark ground here and there to see if there were any gems he could dig up. However, when he saw the third lion’s legitimate daughter, it seemed like the project had failed from the first attempt.
He knocked on the door of the academy office where he had arrived without any delay.
Locard smiled and said to the academy director who greeted him warmly.
“I would like to see the entrance exam paper. Is that possible?”
“Of course, Your Excellency. You can check your own exam paper at any time throughout the year.”
“What I want to see is Labori Siha’s exam paper.”
Labori Siha, the top student of the academy.
The academy director looked at him with a puzzled expression and then got up from his chair.
The academy director had no doubt that Prince Kydel knew the academy’s rule that only his own report card and exam paper could be viewed.
Therefore, he decided that there was no need to bring it up again and make both parties uncomfortable.
“Please wait a moment, Prince Kydel.”
Locard knew so many soldiers and knights who died in vain on the battlefield that it was hard to remember them.
However, the time he risked his life was rewarded every moment like this. Any door would gladly open as long as he stood in front of it.
The apothecary clerk said incomprehensibly.
“You really like delivering?”
“I have to work hard.”
I smiled and replied, then put on my cloak. Then I put my basket on my arm and went out into the street.
As it turned out, the order from Mr. Whined Royman, who was not an alchemist but an imperial apothecary, arrived in two days. He must have been an alchemist by profession.
The palace apothecary, I couldn't help but be happy with such a big-time customer. If I could just keep him in check, my position as an apothecary would also grow by leaps and bounds.
He planned to dig through the dark ground here and there to see if there were any gems he could dig up. However, when he saw the third lion’s legitimate daughter, it seemed like the project had failed from the first attempt.
He knocked on the door of the academy office where he had arrived without any delay.
Locard smiled and said to the academy director who greeted him warmly.
“I would like to see the entrance exam paper. Is that possible?”
“Of course, Your Excellency. You can check your own exam paper at any time throughout the year.”
“What I want to see is Labori Siha’s exam paper.”
Labori Siha, the top student of the academy.
The academy director looked at him with a puzzled expression and then got up from his chair.
The academy director had no doubt that Prince Kydel knew the academy’s rule that only his own report card and exam paper could be viewed.
Therefore, he decided that there was no need to bring it up again and make both parties uncomfortable.
“Please wait a moment, Prince Kydel.”
Locard knew so many soldiers and knights who died in vain on the battlefield that it was hard to remember them.
However, the time he risked his life was rewarded every moment like this. Any door would gladly open as long as he stood in front of it.
***
The apothecary clerk said incomprehensibly.
“You really like delivering?”
“I have to work hard.”
I smiled and replied, then put on my cloak. Then I put my basket on my arm and went out into the street.
As it turned out, the order from Mr. Whined Royman, who was not an alchemist but an imperial apothecary, arrived in two days. He must have been an alchemist by profession.
The palace apothecary, I couldn't help but be happy with such a big-time customer. If I could just keep him in check, my position as an apothecary would also grow by leaps and bounds.
I was a little excited that I could make a big deal out of shortening the promised period. As I hummed a tune in the rental carriage, I recalled what had happened that morning.
The Count said he would hold a coming-of-age ceremony for me next month on my birthday, so I should think about how I wanted to do it.
But I couldn’t think of anything. I didn’t have any noble friends to invite, and I wouldn’t grow a beard after my next birthday.
I could have spent today feeling depressed thinking about that, but I was even feeling slightly excited about the possibilities of this alchemy-like medicine business.
However, when I arrived at the Third Palace, I realized that there was a problem I hadn’t thought about.
That was the palace where the various administrative affairs of the imperial family and the servants lived. In other words, it was the palace’s business-only space.
To enter there, you had to leave your name on the register, and if I wrote “Loire,” it was obvious that there would be a problem.
What the heck...
I realized this fact only after entering the palace, and my body froze.
“What’s your name?”
I was absentminded, and when the palace guards urged me, I ended up saying my childhood name.
“Lorisha Loba.”
I felt sorry for the Count, then I wondered if I should feel sorry for him, then I didn’t want to feel sorry.
‘Count, I’m working right now. I’ll be an adult in two days, so I think it’s better if I can wipe my own nose.’
I steeled myself and followed the palace servant inside.
“Please wait here.”
‘I thought the palace would be grand...’
Abandoned in a small, ordinary waiting room, I sat on the long sofa with a basket in my arms. I didn’t recognize anyone, so I pulled my hood back on for no reason.
If His Highness the Second Prince showed up, I wouldn’t be able to avoid it, but there was no way such a noble person would be in a place like this.
After a while, a young man wearing the same robe as Mr. Royman came in.
The man’s robe was stiff and luxurious. Mr. Royman seemed to be a very frugal person.
“Follow me. The director wants to see you inside.”
“The director?”
Mr. Royman was definitely the director of the pharmacy. In times like this, I should call him by his formal title to build trust.
“Aren’t you looking for Director Royman?”
“Yes. I’m looking for Director Royman.”
I got up and followed him.
He led me out of the building and into the backyard, then passed by and headed further and further into the corner. There was a herb garden there.
“Oh my gosh!”
Mr. Royman was sitting on a small wooden chair wearing work gloves, peeling herbs with a knife.
“Director Royman, I brought a deliveryman.”
When the man who had taken me in said this, Mr. Royman laughed quietly.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t know you’d come this quickly.”
“I’m a bit like that. Hahaha!”
I felt embarrassed about laughing awkwardly, so I made an embarrassed expression again. I looked around and saw that there were quite a few different kinds of medicinal herbs planted in small quantities.
Self-sufficiency! It wasn’t a good situation for business.
The director said to me, whose eyes were wide open.
“Shall we take a look at the items?”
I quickly opened the basket and showed it to him.
“Look. I’ve only picked the best parts from the items that came in.”
When he smiled softly, I said confidently,
“Whether it’s medicinal herbs or alchemy materials, just ask me whenever you want.”
That’s the nature of alchemists. They are a tough race that makes the same mistakes over and over again, trying to accomplish a task that no one has ever accomplished in thousands of years.
So if you, director, order from me again and again and again...
Even though I was lost in that delusion, I tried to smile as calmly as I could on the outside.
Then he smiled awkwardly and said,
“Should I pay the balance now? Or should I write a receipt for the store?”
“If possible, I’ll just pick it up in person. I brought the receipt. It’s like a superstition for the first transaction. Of course, if it’s inconvenient, the receipt is fine.”
It was a complete lie. I just wanted to touch and enjoy the fruits of my labor with my own hands.
I need that level of pleasure in my life too...
“If you wait in the waiting room, I’ll bring it to you. I’ll respect your superstitions. By the way, what’s your name...?”
“It’s Lorisha. When you come in, ask for Lorisha Loba. Thank you for the first transaction, Director Royman!”
I smiled and turned around.
‘Wow, I’m a little upset. You seem like a really skilled apothecary!’
I couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of holding the money I had earned in my hands. I wasn’t sure if this transaction would continue, but when I remembered that I had decided to live only for today since I had given up on the academy entrance exam, I felt better again.
I walked toward the waiting room. I walked, kept walking...
After a while, I found myself lost in the palace, carrying an empty basket.
I had passed through the back garden, so I thought I would see the entrance to the waiting room if I returned to the back garden, but instead of seeing the waiting room along the way, the flowers planted were becoming more numerous and more splendid.
I looked around and there was no trace of the servants who had been coming and going diligently until a few minutes ago.
'I'm done. This time, in a different sense.'
As I thought that, I heard a loud laugh.
I instinctively knew who the voice was and a chill ran down my spine.
It was him, Prince Locard Kydel.
"What are you doing here? Are you doing a commoner's play today?"
"Are I doing half a play?"
When I answered that I was half a commoner, Prince Kydel slightly raised his eyebrows as if he were sorry.
He leaned his shoulder against the entrance of the building and smiled at me, then walked gently into the garden where I was.
"If you say it with good intentions, how about accepting it with good intentions, Miss Loire?"
"Well, strangely, it's hard to tell Prince Kydel's good intentions."
It was a complete lie. I just wanted to touch and enjoy the fruits of my labor with my own hands.
I need that level of pleasure in my life too...
“If you wait in the waiting room, I’ll bring it to you. I’ll respect your superstitions. By the way, what’s your name...?”
“It’s Lorisha. When you come in, ask for Lorisha Loba. Thank you for the first transaction, Director Royman!”
I smiled and turned around.
‘Wow, I’m a little upset. You seem like a really skilled apothecary!’
I couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of holding the money I had earned in my hands. I wasn’t sure if this transaction would continue, but when I remembered that I had decided to live only for today since I had given up on the academy entrance exam, I felt better again.
I walked toward the waiting room. I walked, kept walking...
After a while, I found myself lost in the palace, carrying an empty basket.
I had passed through the back garden, so I thought I would see the entrance to the waiting room if I returned to the back garden, but instead of seeing the waiting room along the way, the flowers planted were becoming more numerous and more splendid.
I looked around and there was no trace of the servants who had been coming and going diligently until a few minutes ago.
'I'm done. This time, in a different sense.'
As I thought that, I heard a loud laugh.
I instinctively knew who the voice was and a chill ran down my spine.
It was him, Prince Locard Kydel.
"What are you doing here? Are you doing a commoner's play today?"
"Are I doing half a play?"
When I answered that I was half a commoner, Prince Kydel slightly raised his eyebrows as if he were sorry.
He leaned his shoulder against the entrance of the building and smiled at me, then walked gently into the garden where I was.
"If you say it with good intentions, how about accepting it with good intentions, Miss Loire?"
"Well, strangely, it's hard to tell Prince Kydel's good intentions."
Even if you catch a pickpocket, you still look like a thug.
I admit that I’m being sensitive, but he wasn’t treating me like any other noble lady anyway.
If he had met Misha here, he would have politely bowed to her and asked why she was there and if there was anything he could do for her.
I’ve already seen that kind of dignity and class in him, so I don’t think it’s just my guess.
Prince Kydel frowned and stood in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You haven’t answered yet? The Count hasn’t entered the palace today, so what are you doing here? Are you looking for me...?”
I wanted to slap my eyes which were shaking aimlessly. But before that, his last words made my eyes focus tightly.
Me, you? Why?
I shouted.
“The delivery has arrived!”
He repeated as if he was imitating a foreign language he had never heard before.
“Delivery?”
“I work at a herbal medicine shop now. You saw my other half at Zebron, and this is my other half today, Your Excellency.”
I was mentally preparing myself to act calmly no matter what expression he made. I didn’t want to show him my wavering expression, whether he thought of me as a nobleman who delivered grass or an ungrateful woman who was trying to make a little money outside and was disgracing my father’s name.
Then he opened his eyes wide and said as if he had been in trouble.
“There’s nothing you can’t do?”
I briefly lost consciousness. Of the million or so things I could have expected, that was not the case.
I was dumbfounded.
“Why, why is it a question?”
“Doesn’t it require considerable knowledge of herbs to work there?”
“Yes, yes! I know those herbs very well.”
“...? Pfft.”
I admit that I’m being sensitive, but he wasn’t treating me like any other noble lady anyway.
If he had met Misha here, he would have politely bowed to her and asked why she was there and if there was anything he could do for her.
I’ve already seen that kind of dignity and class in him, so I don’t think it’s just my guess.
Prince Kydel frowned and stood in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You haven’t answered yet? The Count hasn’t entered the palace today, so what are you doing here? Are you looking for me...?”
I wanted to slap my eyes which were shaking aimlessly. But before that, his last words made my eyes focus tightly.
Me, you? Why?
I shouted.
“The delivery has arrived!”
He repeated as if he was imitating a foreign language he had never heard before.
“Delivery?”
“I work at a herbal medicine shop now. You saw my other half at Zebron, and this is my other half today, Your Excellency.”
I was mentally preparing myself to act calmly no matter what expression he made. I didn’t want to show him my wavering expression, whether he thought of me as a nobleman who delivered grass or an ungrateful woman who was trying to make a little money outside and was disgracing my father’s name.
Then he opened his eyes wide and said as if he had been in trouble.
“There’s nothing you can’t do?”
I briefly lost consciousness. Of the million or so things I could have expected, that was not the case.
I was dumbfounded.
“Why, why is it a question?”
“Doesn’t it require considerable knowledge of herbs to work there?”
“Yes, yes! I know those herbs very well.”
“...? Pfft.”
Prince Kydel couldn’t help but laugh as if he had heard something new.
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