Antidote 1
The guard knight spoke to me bit by bit about the situation Prince Elliot
was placed in. Given his position, he probably didn't tell me everything, and
what he did say isn't necessarily all true. However, I thought his words that
the Prince seemed to be struggling between his excellent older brothers and the
arguably abnormal expectations from his grandfather were not a lie. When I was
told that the Prince studied abroad after being told to achieve results in the Kanista
Kingdom, but Ashren-sama hindered that, I wanted to argue back, but
I firmly swallowed my words. Because Ashren-sama handles everything
smoothly without showing his hand or speaking his true intentions, people tend
to think he has natural talent, but that is not the case. Of course he has
talent, but I know that he reads books and repeats his research late into the
night. I have never mentioned it because I don't think he wants me to touch
upon it, but I respect that side of him.
「Prince Elliot's behavior towards you, Layla-sama, is not
excusable just because of that. However, I wanted you to know.」
「I understand. I will keep the story you told me only in my heart.
However, I have no intention of marrying anyone other than Ashren-sama.」
「Yes, I am aware of that. Furthermore, personally, I would very much
like him to become Princess Stira's prince consort.」
I wonder about that too, though.
There is certainly room for sympathy, but no matter what the
surrounding environment is, I think what kind of life one leads ultimately
depends on one's own will and choices. There are people in this world who
aren't even provided with those choices, but Prince Elliot shouldn't be
one of them.
Leaving a heavy feeling in my chest, I headed to the room where Ashren-sama
was waiting.
Usually, right about now, we would have been happily experimenting with
the Monitares flowers together, I thought, but I switched gears in my head and
braced myself to do what I could.
Thinking that, I entered the room, only to find Ashren-sama
playing with the monkey.
「...Ashren-sama, this is not the time to be playing.」
I don't think I am to blame for involuntarily glaring at him with a
reproachful gaze. What are you doing? In this state of emergency.
「Does this look like I am playing? When I tried to move extra tables
from my room and your room together with the servants and line up the
experimental tools, it got on my shoulder and head to get in the way.」
「That is because you feed it.」
Thinking it couldn't be helped, I reached out to the monkey that was
grooming itself on top of Ashren-sama's head, and suddenly realized
something.
「Ashren-sama, this monkey was licking the
Monitares sap, wasn't it.」
「Is that so? I didn't see it, though.」
「It was when we were gathering the flowers.」
I didn't observe it closely, just caught sight of it out of the corner
of my eye a few times, but it was absolutely licking the sap.
「Why hasn't this monkey developed Bareinurake disease? Do animals
not catch it?」
「No, if I recall correctly, there should have been cases of onset in
animals... monkeys, I think.」
In that case, is it a matter of the incubation period? But, as I
lowered my gaze, several Monitares petals that the monkey had eaten and ravaged
were scattered on the floor.
「...Could it be possible that these flowers acted as an antidote?」
「The flowers? Alright, let's test it then.」
Ashren-sama nodded as if it were only natural
and began to pick up the petals from the floor. Even though it was an eccentric
idea, he listened to me without denying it.
In the past, my opinions were never sought, nor was I ever asked.
But Ashren-sama always respects me and believes in me, and that
makes me unbearably happy.
I went to the kitchen, got the leftover Monitares sap, and transferred
it into a beaker. The thick orange sap was more viscous than honey, and when I
tried to scoop it up with a spoon, I felt a resistance as if it were being
pulled from below.
Since it was an experiment, I prepared to measure it properly and take
notes. I put petals cut into two-centimeter squares into the beaker containing
the Monitares sap and mixed it with a spoon. It was sticky and hard to mix, so
I gripped the spoon tightly like a toddler and took turns mixing it with Ashren-sama
for about five minutes, but...
「There isn't any particular change, is there.」
Toxic sap is sticky. I thought that if this lowered the viscosity, it
would be effective, but it was impossible.
「...Um.」
「You want to try various things, right? Go ahead. I will make the fever
reducer.」
Even without me saying everything, Ashren-sama grasps my
feelings.
But making the fever reducer alone would be difficult, I thought, just
when there was a knock on the door and a maid called out, "Is there
anything I can help with?" It seems Blake-san asked her to follow
up with us.
「I have no knowledge of medicinal herbs, but I can cut, boil, and wash
things.」
「That is more than enough. Then, please wash these medicinal herbs, cut
them into three-centimeter lengths, and boil them for thirty minutes.」
When he explained the amount of water and the heat level in more
detail, the maid said, "I will ask the chef to help as well," and ran
out of the room. In the meantime, I decided to heat the sap containing the
petals with the alcohol lamp I had prepared. I hoped this would cause a change
in the sap's viscosity, but things don't go that smoothly.
The monkey was as energetic as ever.
Perhaps it's effective if taken immediately after eating the sap, but
impossible once time has passed? But even if that were the case, it doesn't
change the fact that the flowers have a detoxifying effect.
「If so, the question is how to extract that component, isn't it.」
The distillation method using steam that I tried for the perfume
probably won't work. Although fragrance and detoxifying components have
different qualities, I think the probability of success is low. In that case,
how about the extraction method using the solution I originally intended to
try?
「Ashren-sama, I am going to go to my room to
get the solution we talked about in the garden. I will also put the monkey in
my room while I'm at it.」
「That helps.」
Carrying the monkey that had been jumping around on the bed, I headed
to my room. I found a servant on the way, so I decided to leave the monkey with
them and asked them to check on it every hour. If the monkey also shows
symptoms, I'll have to think of another method.
「I brought it.」
「I split the tables into two locations. Please use the one over there, Layla.」
「Yes.」
I headed to the table prepared for me and placed the large bottle
containing the solution I was carrying with a thump. Ashren-sama
was surprised, saying, "You brought that much of it?", but I intended
to do the prep work and bring them back before they withered if I found any
rare medicinal herbs.
The color of the solution is pink, and I poured it into four beakers.
Next, I put the chopped flowers into two beakers, and the mashed flowers into
the other two. Just as I finished this, Blake-san returned. The time was
one o'clock in the middle of the night.
「Blake-san, why don't you take a short rest?」
「I can't do that while the two of you are working so hard.」
「It is a race against time for us. Considering it takes a full day from
onset to death, and factoring in the time for the antidote to be absorbed by
the body, we have to make it by tomorrow evening.」
「An antidote? Aren't the two of you making a fever reducer?」
Come to think of it, I hadn't told Blake-san the story about the
monkey and the Monitares flowers. Briefly explaining, I told him that Ashren-sama
was making the fever reducer.
「There was a rapid development during the few hours I was away from the
villa, wasn't there.」
「That's how Layla always is. Her ideas and perspective are
wonderful.」
Being praised unconditionally by Ashren-sama, feelings of
happiness and embarrassment washed over me simultaneously.
「I-It is just a hunch, so you are overestimating me.」
「A hunch based on your achievements and knowledge as a researcher is
exactly what talent is. You really need to have more self-awareness and
confidence.」
Even being told that, I still end up thinking 'Someone like me'
in the corner of my heart. As if seeing right through my feelings, Ashren-sama
added, "Though that's also a good part about you."
「The two of you respect each other, don't you. I am envious that you can
be with someone like that. By the way, are there any medicinal herbs you lack?
I cannot make medicine, but I am knowledgeable about plants so I can go gather
them. I am going to the botanical garden to gather Monitares flowers, so if you
tell me, I will bring back plants from the greenhouse as well.」
「You are going to the botanical garden right now? It is dangerous.」
「But the flowers here alone aren't enough, are they? It's fine. This
area is a peaceful countryside town, so public order is good.」
「Blake, what are your sword skills like?」
「I can't brag about them; they are completely useless.」
Since it's a countryside town, there probably aren't any bandits, but
there is a high possibility of wild beasts appearing. Even though I felt I
couldn't let him do something so dangerous, it was also true that there were
few flowers left.
「Could you wait a moment? There is an understanding person among Prince Elliot's
guard knights, so I will go ask if we can borrow one knight. If I tell them we
are making an antidote, they should cooperate. I will also try asking the
coachman who came with us. He is a former knight, after all.」
「In that case, I will go. Even I have a corresponding title of nobility.」
「Thank you very much. But from the feeling I got when talking with him
earlier, he will probably understand. Ashren-sama, could you wake the
coachman and ask him?」
Asking Blake-san to stir the four beakers until I returned, I
headed to the third floor.
The guard knight readily accepted and even lent us two young knights.
Returning to the second floor with them, Blake-san left the room,
switching places with me.
Now then, wondering what happened, I looked at the beakers, but as
expected, just stirring them didn't cause any changes in the four beakers. I
had a feeling it wouldn't go that easily, after all. This is truly just a
hunch, though.
There are two containers each of the chopped and mashed flowers. I
heated one of each. I had to mix them so they wouldn't burn, while also mixing
the unheated beakers, so I was busy. I wished I had four hands. Just at the
timing when I was thinking that, the maid who offered to help brought the
medicinal herb juice in a pot, saying, "It's done." Furthermore, she
said, "Is there anything else I can do?", so I asked her to mix the
unheated beakers.
Even though it was three in the morning, everyone was kind. The servant
I asked to check on the monkey also came every hour and told me it was sleeping
quietly. Its breathing wasn't particularly rough, and there seemed to be no
problems with its physical condition.
Which means the possibility that the Monitares flower has a detoxifying effect was becoming increasingly high.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Taylor King
Z
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----