Days in the Jilgista Kingdom
1
Thank you for finding this among so many novels.
「Layla,
have these documents done by tomorrow. Also, I will be reporting the results of
our current research to His Highness the Second Prince tomorrow morning,
so put together a brief summary for me.」
「Certainly.」
This is the
medicinal herb laboratory located within the Jilgista Royal Palace. It
is a small department with only three staff members, and the time is currently
seven in the evening. Looks like another all-nighter today, I thought,
as my stomach let out a small rumble.
The desks are
arranged in a U-shape, with my boss and fiancé, Carter-sama, in the
center. My desk and that of my younger sister, Aisha, are lined up
facing each other on his left and right. The only difference being that my desk
alone has documents piled up as high as my head.
Carter-sama
walked briskly past the other side of that mountain of documents. The sudden
gust of wind nearly blew the documents away, and when I hurriedly pressed them
down with my hands, I was told, 「Learn a little from your sister and keep
things organized.」
「Haa.」
Hearing the loud clack
of the door closing, I instinctively slumped over my desk. I haven't slept
properly for days now. My body feels heavy and my head aches from chronic sleep
deprivation.
There are very few
people researching medicinal herbs in this country.
We investigate the
characteristics of various medicinal herbs and create new medicines from them,
but research is not always guaranteed to succeed. Sometimes, it can take years
before any results are produced.
During that time,
you have to enviously watch as the colleagues who started working at the castle
at the same time rapidly climb the career ladder; simply put, it's not a popular
job.
The medicines
completed as a result of our research here are mass-produced daily by the Pharmaceutical
Department and put into circulation, so it's not as if we aren't being
useful, though.
The ones who have
served as the directors of this medicinal herb laboratory for generations are
the family of my fiancé, the Raybeen Earl Family. Currently, the eldest son, Carter-sama,
is serving as the director, and due to a manpower shortage, I, his fiancée,
along with my younger sister, have been drafted to help.
The engagement
between me, the Viscount's daughter Layla Wilbas, and the Earl's son Carter
Raybeen, was
decided four years ago, when I was fifteen and Carter-sama was twenty.
Because my
grandfather once produced excellent research results at the medicinal herb
laboratory, it was an engagement ordered by the King so that my family
would support the Raybeen Earl Family well into the future, and I have been
constantly striving to acquire knowledge to meet those expectations.
「Telling
me to produce the research results by morning means pulling an all-nighter,
huh.」
I have no choice but
to do it. I rolled up my sleeves and headed to the adjacent testing room, but……
「What
is this?」
A mountain of test
tubes, beakers, and flasks were piled up in the sink. Moreover, many of them
still had liquids inside. It's so hard to wash them once the sediment gets
caked on!
「Aisha,
you went home without washing them again, didn't you.」
I placed both hands
on the sink and hung my head in dismay. Aisha abandoning her work and
going home is nothing new, but a wave of exhaustion suddenly bore down on my
shoulders.
「It
can't be helped. I guess I'll start with this for now.」
I scooped water from
the water jug at the edge of the laboratory and first filled the sink. I
decided to soak the ones with caked-on grime for a while. Taking the relatively
clean ones in hand, I proceeded to wash them in order.
Aisha doesn't
seem to have any interest in researching medicinal herbs, and her grades at the
academy were at the very bottom. However, our parents laughed, saying that
women are more charming and cute when they're a little foolish, treating even
her bad report cards as a charm point.
Conversely, as the
top student, I was apparently lacking in cuteness despite being a woman. I was
even scolded with things like, 「What's the point of studying?」
and 「Having
better grades than a man is shameless.」
Even so, if it means
I can be of use to Carter-sama, I don't mind. With red hair, green eyes,
and features as perfectly sculpted as a statue, Carter-sama is a
wonderful person who is wasted on someone with my plain looks. With my brown
curly hair and copper-colored eyes, I have worked hard so that at least my
inner qualities would be a match for him.
If only I were at
least as beautiful as Aisha.
Just because we're
twins doesn't mean we look exactly alike. While I take after our father, Aisha
takes after our mother. Her pink-blonde hair and ruby-red eyes are a
mesmerizingly beautiful color, unlike my dull red. With her incredibly
translucent skin and slender, white fingers, she possesses the appearance of a
delicately crafted doll made by the gods.
……No, no, I
shouldn't compare myself to others. I am me. If I thoroughly complete what I am
capable of and build upon it, I'm sure Carter-sama will understand.
That was what I believed. Until this night.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Xavier O'Donoghue
Anton Lim
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Sébastien Dionne
Z
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
