I was sweating profusely, worried that Prince Kydel would call me 'Miss Loire' in front of the apothecary.
However, Prince Kydel overtook us and called my name.
"What are you doing, Miss Lorisha."
Oh, smart kid.
I glared at the back of his head and followed him.
Director Royman approached me and whispered.
"How do you know Prince Kydel?"
"Um, between the kidnapper and the hostage?"
"..."
The director gave up asking any more questions and walked on.
Soon, a large door appeared in front of us. There was a small desk next to it, and when Prince Kydel went over and said something, the palace servant there got up and disappeared.
We followed Prince Kydel into the door.
"Turn it off..."
While Prince Kydel lit the lamp, I covered my mouth.
A tall and wide bookshelf that was so tall that I couldn't see the end even if I raised my chin all the way. Most of the books that I could see had lion emblems on their spines.
This was the royal library.
How did that man know that I had wanted to come in here!
At that moment, Prince Kydel called me nervously. He wanted me to be nervous.
“Miss Lorisha.”
“Yes! Yes, Your Excellency.”
The director was also in bad shape. He was leaning against the bookshelf with his robed arms stretched out.
It was as if he was feeling the books with his whole body...
Prince Kydel glared at him, his face suppressing his anger. Judging from that, it seemed like he had patience, but he didn’t use it on me.
He cleared his throat and said,
“Director, what book should I look for?”
Director Royman stepped back from the bookshelf with a look of disappointment and answered.
“I’ll look for information related to the disease. But there will be very little. You two, look for anything related to Amata.”
I looked at the two of them, not knowing what was going on, and Prince Kydel furrowed his brow and explained.
“We need to find a way to cure the parasites we got from the land of the Amata tribe. That’s all I can explain.”
The director continued.
“There are surprisingly many anecdotes inserted into the history of war. Since the history of war is ultimately a story of death, there must be a clue.”
“Is it possible?”
Prince Kydel asked me, so I nodded. And we each dispersed to the three directions of the library.
Prince Kydel didn’t say anything, but it was obvious who was suffering from the parasite infection right now.
Second Prince Grayon.
I was involved in something dangerous right now. The fact that I, a nobody, had entered the royal library and that I knew the secrets of Grayon’s health.
However, the fact that I was now in the royal library gave me joy as much as fear. If I did well, I might be able to read the secret anecdotes of the royal family!
I quickly looked through the index and pulled out books related to the Amata tribe.
I heard a soft conversation behind me. I tried to keep my voice as quiet as possible, but I couldn’t help but hear the conversation in the quiet space.
However, Prince Kydel overtook us and called my name.
"What are you doing, Miss Lorisha."
Oh, smart kid.
I glared at the back of his head and followed him.
Director Royman approached me and whispered.
"How do you know Prince Kydel?"
"Um, between the kidnapper and the hostage?"
"..."
The director gave up asking any more questions and walked on.
Soon, a large door appeared in front of us. There was a small desk next to it, and when Prince Kydel went over and said something, the palace servant there got up and disappeared.
We followed Prince Kydel into the door.
"Turn it off..."
While Prince Kydel lit the lamp, I covered my mouth.
A tall and wide bookshelf that was so tall that I couldn't see the end even if I raised my chin all the way. Most of the books that I could see had lion emblems on their spines.
This was the royal library.
How did that man know that I had wanted to come in here!
At that moment, Prince Kydel called me nervously. He wanted me to be nervous.
“Miss Lorisha.”
“Yes! Yes, Your Excellency.”
The director was also in bad shape. He was leaning against the bookshelf with his robed arms stretched out.
It was as if he was feeling the books with his whole body...
Prince Kydel glared at him, his face suppressing his anger. Judging from that, it seemed like he had patience, but he didn’t use it on me.
He cleared his throat and said,
“Director, what book should I look for?”
Director Royman stepped back from the bookshelf with a look of disappointment and answered.
“I’ll look for information related to the disease. But there will be very little. You two, look for anything related to Amata.”
I looked at the two of them, not knowing what was going on, and Prince Kydel furrowed his brow and explained.
“We need to find a way to cure the parasites we got from the land of the Amata tribe. That’s all I can explain.”
The director continued.
“There are surprisingly many anecdotes inserted into the history of war. Since the history of war is ultimately a story of death, there must be a clue.”
“Is it possible?”
Prince Kydel asked me, so I nodded. And we each dispersed to the three directions of the library.
Prince Kydel didn’t say anything, but it was obvious who was suffering from the parasite infection right now.
Second Prince Grayon.
I was involved in something dangerous right now. The fact that I, a nobody, had entered the royal library and that I knew the secrets of Grayon’s health.
However, the fact that I was now in the royal library gave me joy as much as fear. If I did well, I might be able to read the secret anecdotes of the royal family!
I quickly looked through the index and pulled out books related to the Amata tribe.
I heard a soft conversation behind me. I tried to keep my voice as quiet as possible, but I couldn’t help but hear the conversation in the quiet space.
“She's an apothecary clerk, but she's really good at using the bookshelves.”
That’s because I used to frequent the Count’s personal library. The Count’s library was like a small city library.
However, since I was an apothecary clerk to Director Royman, it was natural that I would look suspicious. It probably seemed difficult to continue acting like an apothecary clerk.
Oh.
Now that I think about it, how did Prince Kydel know that I knew how to use the library...?
That guy might be scarier than I thought, I felt wary.
I should sit him down and ask him some serious questions.
Prince Kydel whispered calmly to Director Royman.
“I see?”
Ha. It was so absurd.
Even the director was silent as if his answer was absurd.
Perhaps he felt awkward too, so he added after a while.
“Miss Lorisha said that when she was shut up.”
‘...What?’
If the situation wasn’t like that, I would have grabbed him by the collar and told him to sit down.
But unlike him, I was a sane person. Right now, I have more urgent matters to attend to.
Soon, the only thing in the room was the sound of pages turning. There were many records related to the Amata tribe, but there was no specific index for parasites.
My throat was starting to hurt. It must have been dawn, but I could still feel the tension between the two people, so I couldn’t tell them to rest.
After a while, Prince Kydel began to read aloud.
“The chieftain of Amata said, ‘They refuse our land, so they cannot escape the suffering from their stomachs. We mock their foolishness every day.’”
When the director approached and looked at Prince Kydel’s book, he added.
“It’s a record of the soldiers on the Tunbar front suffering from a strange disease fifty years ago during the Agael War, and they were repeatedly defeated. Could this strange disease be it?”
“It’s a very possible story. But the refusal of the land...”
“It’s probably not about territory.”
“...Dirt!”
“Dirt?”
“Some animals suppress parasitic infections by eating dirt. That’s what the chieftain meant!”
“...We should keep this between us.”
The two looked at each other and laughed awkwardly. I thought I knew why.
Asking His Highness, the Second Prince, one of the small suns of the empire, to eat dirt. The parasitic infection alone was enough to make him look bad.
But that wasn’t the issue right now. At that time, the three of us were simultaneously worrying about the same thing.
Director Royman said gravely,
“But it’s not even a few days to get the soil from the Tunbar Mountains, Your Excellency.”
I was only worried about the distance, but it seemed there was a time limit as well.
However, Prince Kydel stood up with determination.
“We can send pigeons and have the garrison leave first... Will the amount that can be loaded onto pigeons be enough? If we mobilize several pigeons...!”
“That’s a good idea! We won’t need a lot. We can just get the urgent amount like that and get the rest through messengers...”
“Um...”
I cautiously intervened, but the two were so excited about how much soil a pigeon could carry that they ignored me.
I ended up having to go between them and say,
“It shouldn’t be hard to get Amata soil.”
The two looked at me like I was an idiot.
“I’m from the Tunbar Mountain village. I used to sell Amata pots at the market there.”
“Miss Loba.”
The director called me out, so I quickly said,
“People called that jar ‘the worm jar’. When you put grain in it, all the worms inside die. A jar is made of clay, right?”
“...”
“...”
“Aren’t there any jars among the loot you brought?”
The two opened their eyes wide and looked at each other and laughed.
Prince Kudel answered,
“There are many. We even collected daily necessities for the scholars, so there is enough pottery.”
He asked me with a much softer expression.
“Would you like to come with me?”
I wanted to say yes, but I couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing the imperial loot warehouse.
I answered bashfully.
“If you think I can be of help.”
“Of course.”
He told the director.
“I’ll take it to the lab right away.”
“I’ll wait.”
We quickly put the books back where they were, and in the meantime, Prince Kydel opened the door and watched. We followed his lead and left the library.
After the director left, I followed the Prince down a long staircase in the palace.
“Wow...”
I felt Prince Kydel’s gaze, wondering what kind of exclamation that was, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to that.
I really couldn’t figure out what to do.
Should I be amazed by this enormous underground warehouse filled with spoils from generations, or should I be afraid?
This dark space seemed to speak volumes about the scale of the empire’s power.
However, it was difficult to say such things in front of someone who had just returned from war, so I tried to act casually.
He seemed to have read my expression, but he didn’t say much.
“Would you like to choose?”
“Me?”
“I saved you from running all night to Tunbar, so that’s nothing.”
Anyway, you’re good at talking.
I made a bashful expression and headed to the section where the Amata tribe’s items were gathered. There were several jars lined up on the shelf.
I chose the prettiest one.
“If you’re going to give me something precious, please.”
When I subtly revealed that I knew that the protagonist of today was the Second Prince, his expression hardened.
I said calmly,
“Who else in the empire would make you run all night? Aren’t you going to the director?”
Then Prince Kydel shook his head and walked ahead, carrying the jar at his side.
Director Royman’s room was beyond the herb garden we had seen last time. It was a rare annex to the palace, perhaps because of the risk of experimental accidents.
When we entered, he wrapped the jar in cloth and broke it with a hammer to reduce noise.
I gaped at the sight of the alchemy and medicine tools that filled the laboratory. It was so amazing, but I had no idea what they were used for, so I was just surprised. Still, it was fun.
The director ground a piece of the jar into a fine powder and diluted it in water.
Then he put it in a glass jar and stirred it with tongs, and it smelled exactly like vomit.
After a while, a white thread-like thing came out of the tongs and wriggled. It was writhing as if it was in great pain.
If that was the parasite, was that really vomit?
That’s because I used to frequent the Count’s personal library. The Count’s library was like a small city library.
However, since I was an apothecary clerk to Director Royman, it was natural that I would look suspicious. It probably seemed difficult to continue acting like an apothecary clerk.
Oh.
Now that I think about it, how did Prince Kydel know that I knew how to use the library...?
That guy might be scarier than I thought, I felt wary.
I should sit him down and ask him some serious questions.
Prince Kydel whispered calmly to Director Royman.
“I see?”
Ha. It was so absurd.
Even the director was silent as if his answer was absurd.
Perhaps he felt awkward too, so he added after a while.
“Miss Lorisha said that when she was shut up.”
‘...What?’
If the situation wasn’t like that, I would have grabbed him by the collar and told him to sit down.
But unlike him, I was a sane person. Right now, I have more urgent matters to attend to.
Soon, the only thing in the room was the sound of pages turning. There were many records related to the Amata tribe, but there was no specific index for parasites.
My throat was starting to hurt. It must have been dawn, but I could still feel the tension between the two people, so I couldn’t tell them to rest.
After a while, Prince Kydel began to read aloud.
“The chieftain of Amata said, ‘They refuse our land, so they cannot escape the suffering from their stomachs. We mock their foolishness every day.’”
When the director approached and looked at Prince Kydel’s book, he added.
“It’s a record of the soldiers on the Tunbar front suffering from a strange disease fifty years ago during the Agael War, and they were repeatedly defeated. Could this strange disease be it?”
“It’s a very possible story. But the refusal of the land...”
“It’s probably not about territory.”
“...Dirt!”
“Dirt?”
“Some animals suppress parasitic infections by eating dirt. That’s what the chieftain meant!”
“...We should keep this between us.”
The two looked at each other and laughed awkwardly. I thought I knew why.
Asking His Highness, the Second Prince, one of the small suns of the empire, to eat dirt. The parasitic infection alone was enough to make him look bad.
But that wasn’t the issue right now. At that time, the three of us were simultaneously worrying about the same thing.
Director Royman said gravely,
“But it’s not even a few days to get the soil from the Tunbar Mountains, Your Excellency.”
I was only worried about the distance, but it seemed there was a time limit as well.
However, Prince Kydel stood up with determination.
“We can send pigeons and have the garrison leave first... Will the amount that can be loaded onto pigeons be enough? If we mobilize several pigeons...!”
“That’s a good idea! We won’t need a lot. We can just get the urgent amount like that and get the rest through messengers...”
“Um...”
I cautiously intervened, but the two were so excited about how much soil a pigeon could carry that they ignored me.
I ended up having to go between them and say,
“It shouldn’t be hard to get Amata soil.”
The two looked at me like I was an idiot.
“I’m from the Tunbar Mountain village. I used to sell Amata pots at the market there.”
“Miss Loba.”
The director called me out, so I quickly said,
“People called that jar ‘the worm jar’. When you put grain in it, all the worms inside die. A jar is made of clay, right?”
“...”
“...”
“Aren’t there any jars among the loot you brought?”
The two opened their eyes wide and looked at each other and laughed.
Prince Kudel answered,
“There are many. We even collected daily necessities for the scholars, so there is enough pottery.”
He asked me with a much softer expression.
“Would you like to come with me?”
I wanted to say yes, but I couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing the imperial loot warehouse.
I answered bashfully.
“If you think I can be of help.”
“Of course.”
He told the director.
“I’ll take it to the lab right away.”
“I’ll wait.”
We quickly put the books back where they were, and in the meantime, Prince Kydel opened the door and watched. We followed his lead and left the library.
After the director left, I followed the Prince down a long staircase in the palace.
“Wow...”
I felt Prince Kydel’s gaze, wondering what kind of exclamation that was, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to that.
I really couldn’t figure out what to do.
Should I be amazed by this enormous underground warehouse filled with spoils from generations, or should I be afraid?
This dark space seemed to speak volumes about the scale of the empire’s power.
However, it was difficult to say such things in front of someone who had just returned from war, so I tried to act casually.
He seemed to have read my expression, but he didn’t say much.
“Would you like to choose?”
“Me?”
“I saved you from running all night to Tunbar, so that’s nothing.”
Anyway, you’re good at talking.
I made a bashful expression and headed to the section where the Amata tribe’s items were gathered. There were several jars lined up on the shelf.
I chose the prettiest one.
“If you’re going to give me something precious, please.”
When I subtly revealed that I knew that the protagonist of today was the Second Prince, his expression hardened.
I said calmly,
“Who else in the empire would make you run all night? Aren’t you going to the director?”
Then Prince Kydel shook his head and walked ahead, carrying the jar at his side.
Director Royman’s room was beyond the herb garden we had seen last time. It was a rare annex to the palace, perhaps because of the risk of experimental accidents.
When we entered, he wrapped the jar in cloth and broke it with a hammer to reduce noise.
I gaped at the sight of the alchemy and medicine tools that filled the laboratory. It was so amazing, but I had no idea what they were used for, so I was just surprised. Still, it was fun.
The director ground a piece of the jar into a fine powder and diluted it in water.
Then he put it in a glass jar and stirred it with tongs, and it smelled exactly like vomit.
After a while, a white thread-like thing came out of the tongs and wriggled. It was writhing as if it was in great pain.
If that was the parasite, was that really vomit?
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