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.
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