Chapter 29
It was the day I planned to visit Farham. Specifically, his laboratory.
I discreetly left the palace through the back gate. If the Empress visited a subordinate’s residence, rumors could spread.
We rode through the bustling streets in an ordinary carriage favored by nobles. The streets were particularly lively, with people hanging lanterns and setting up stalls. I turned to the knight accompanying
and asked,
“Is there a festival?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The night market starts tomorrow evening. It’s the best festival for the commoners.”
A night market. How romantic.
I could count the number of festivals I had attended. I had never truly enjoyed one, always living a busy and tough life.
In this world, I wanted to experience such things. Laughing and chatting without a care.
Perhaps I could go with Lady Mare and the maids.
“When does the night market end?”
“It lasts for a week, Your Majesty.”
A week… That’s shorter than I expected. Still, I could probably spare so ti to visit.
After a while, the carriage arrived at the back gate of Baron Farham's residence. Farham was waiting for
and led
through the back door.
“The laboratory is in the basent. Please be careful on the stairs.”
I followed him down the steep stairs. We descended for quite a while before entering the laboratory.
“Oh, this is impressive.”
The laboratory was more sophisticated than I expected. The distillation equipnt and experintal tools were quite elaborate.
“How did you manage to gather all this?”
“So of it was difficult to acquire from abroad, and I also requested so items from glassworking artisans.”
“You must have gone through a lot of trouble.”
“No, not really. I collected these things as a hobby over ti.”
“May I see the indigo you have refined?”
“Of course. This way, please.”
Farham took out a glass dish from a drawer. Inside was indigo, which had turned into a blue paste.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, for wasting such precious indigo…”
“It’s alright. We still have so raw materials left. Don’t worry too much. If necessary, we can ask the guild for more.”
“I apologize.”
I touched the indigo on the dish. It felt slick and wet. It was clear that oil had been used.
Using oil for plant extraction was a good choice. So, the problem was likely the type of oil used.
“May I see the reference book you used for the extraction?”
“Yes, here it is.”
He handed
an old research book. It was so dusty that I could sll it. The section marked with a bookmark detailed plant extraction.
“…Hmm.”
After reading it, I understood the cause of the failure.
“Did you perhaps use nut oil?”
“Yes, the book ntioned it was widely used for plant extraction.”
I had hoped he could manage with the knowledge of this world, but the information was insufficient. Relying on existing literature alone wasn’t enough.
It seed I needed to provide so guidance.
“Nut oil isn’t bad, but olive oil would be better for indigo.”
“Olive oil? But…”
Farham seed troubled.
“I understand. Olive oil is quite expensive. But His Majesty is providing support, so don’t worry about the cost. Use it generously.”
Leto wouldn’t skimp on funds for this. If the dicine were produced, he’d even buy an olive grove.
“Once the extraction is successful, making the ointnt won’t be difficult. Just mixing it into a cream used by noblewon will show results.”
I smiled at Farham.
“We’re almost there, Baron Farham. Please hang in there a bit longer.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Farham nodded resolutely. He reminded
of myself in the past, struggling to create dicine.
I truly hoped Farham would succeed, for his own sake.
Separate from this, the issue with research books was more serious than I had thought.
Sharing my knowledge had its limits. This place had its own customs. This empire needed its own research books.
Farham and I ascended the stairs back to the back gate.
Sothing felt off. The knights were standing by the carriage, unusually alert.
“Why are you all out here? You could have waited inside.”
“Your Majesty, it’s—”
At that mont, the carriage door burst open.
“…!”
Soone I didn’t expect was sitting inside. Farham exclaid in surprise,
“Your Majesty?!”
Leto put a finger to his lips. Farham covered his mouth. But I was just as shocked.
“How did you get here?”
“I ca to pick you up. It’s late.”
I looked up at the sky. It was just sunset, not exactly late. How long had he been waiting?
I suddenly recalled our conversation from a few days ago.
"Did you think I planned to sit idly and wait to win your heart? I’ll do everything I can."
Could this be part of his “everything”?
Leto waved a hand at Farham, signaling him to leave.
“Well then… Please return safely.”
Farham stepped back. Leto extended his hand to . I took it and stepped into the carriage.
I hesitated. Papers were scattered around him. Had he been working in the carriage?
“You seem busy. You could have sent soone to pick
up.”
“You have a talent for making people feel unappreciated.”
He folded the papers and placed them aside.
“With a husband who has eyes, who else would I send to pick you up?”
Husband. No matter how many tis I heard it, I couldn’t get used to it.
The carriage started moving. Leto pointed to Farham’s house, growing smaller in the distance.
“I saw you coming out of a cave-like place earlier.”
“The laboratory is deep underground. It would be nice if he had a better environnt.”
Leto nodded.
“We’ll see to it. How is the progress on the indigo?”
“They seem stuck at the most difficult stage. I gave so advice, so I think they’ll succeed soon. And—”
“And?”
“They might need so funds to get past this stage.”
“I’ll tell them to charge it to .”
He didn’t even ask what the funds were for. Reliable in this regard.
He looked at
curiously.
“You look like you have sothing else to say.”
Sharp as a knife. I was hesitating.
“Farham’s failure was due to the lack of proper research books. This empire needs proper pharmaceutical research books.”
He listened intently.
“If possible, I’d like to gather people and write a research book. Even if it has to be done secretly.”
I had to live in this world. If so, I wanted to continue my life as a researcher.
Also, writing research books could pave the way for my future. I couldn’t just remain the divorced empress.
Leto was silent. Did he dislike my proposal?
“Well, I’m not asking for permission. I was hoping for so support. If you don’t want to, I’ll do it on my own.”
“Why do it secretly?”
“Pardon?”
“Why do it secretly?”
“The Temple won’t sit idly by. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
Leto extended his hand. Did he want
to hold it? I hesitated but gave him my hand.
He opened my hand and gently stroked my palm with his thumb.
It tickled and felt strange. It was as if he was searching for sothing important in my palm.
“I have no intention of keeping anything you do a secret.”
He kissed my palm gently. His lips were warm and soft. It was surprising, but not unpleasant.
“What should we do?”
“About what?”
“How can I make the whole world know how amazing my wife is?”
“Do you want to show off?”
“More than just wanting to, I’m desperate.”
I tried not to smile but couldn’t help it. He was so earnest with such foolish-sounding words.
“I’ve been thinking about sothing for a while. Tell
if you think it’s a good idea.”
“Go ahead.”
“We should establish a dical office in the palace. As an official institution of the royal family. It will write research books, develop and distribute dicine. Of course, it will have many staff and significant funding. And you—”
He kissed the back of my hand this ti.
“You will be the head of it. A sort of chief officer.”
I widened my eyes.
…It was a wonderful idea. Almost like a dream. I wanted to agree imdiately.
But practical concerns ca to mind. I suppressed my excitent and spoke.
“The Temple won’t sit idly by.”
“I’ll protect you.”
His blue eyes were unwavering. They promised to shield
from any anxiety.
“We need the approval of the nobles in the council. They might oppose it because of the Temple.”
“I know. There will be a commotion in the council. But many nobles have realized the need for drug developnt after what happened with Master Quinass. If we persuade them well, we might have a chance.”
I had felt that, too. Many nobles had asked
about the painkiller and its effects after the funeral. So even expressed their willingness to invest.
“We only need to suppress the nobles close to the High Priest. It all cos down to the High Priest. Leave it to .”
But there was one last problem.
“Even if I beco the chief officer, I won’t be there for long.”
I subtly reminded him of our agreent. We would get divorced.
He smiled and moved to sit beside .
“We’ll see about that.”
“You’re confident. Is this also part of ‘everything you can do’?”
He tucked my loose hair behind my ear.
“If you’ve noticed, I hope you’ll comnd and encourage my effort.”
“Noticing it makes
worry. I might give you false hope.”
“Disappointnt is my concern. You should focus on whether you want to do this.”
…I wanted to, of course. But could I really start with just this desire?
Then Leto spoke.
“Just accept it for now. You can discard it later. No harm, right?”
It was a straightforward way of thinking. It cleared my mind.
“Alright. I’ll stabilize the dical office before I leave the palace. Then I’ll hand it over to Baron Farham.”
“Really?”
He smiled. He looked calm, but he must have been hopeful.
“And I’ll write the proposal for the council.”
“You?”
“It should be written by soone who understands dicine. I want to prepare the ground for where I’ll be.”
“As you wish.”
He kissed the back of my hand. This ti, a bit longer.
“When is the council eting?”
“In a week. Can you manage?”
“I’ll try.”
I would be busy for a while. I had to be prepared.
Colorful lights passed by outside. Leto followed my gaze.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“The night market starts tomorrow. It lasts a week.”
“Do you want to go?”
“No, I need to write the proposal.”
Leto quietly looked outside. The colorful lights reflected in his glassy eyes.
“If you finish the proposal within a week, let’s go.”
“With you?”
“Yes. You want to go, don’t you?”
Every ti, I was amazed. It was as if he knew my heart. Even parts I didn’t know myself.
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