Chapter 122
But soon I had to swallow my self-deprecating sneer.
‘I’m having ridiculous thoughts.’
The reason Luwen acts so informally with me is because I raised him that way. It could be considered a form of gaslighting. I’ve always told him he’s not just a simple servant, that we’re like brothers, practically family.
‘Luwen is angry like this because he sees me as his brother. I shouldn’t misunderstand.’
If the roles were reversed and the 1st Prince had requested Luwen, I would have done the same to extract him. It would have been the same even before I realized my feelings. Who would want to hand over someone precious to that contemptible person?
Luwen exhaled an unusually long breath and lowered his hand. Judging by his noticeably heaving chest, he still seemed agitated, but I spoke to see if he was in a state where conversation was possible.
“Have you calmed down a bit?”
“…I apologize. I was disrespectful to you, young master.”
“There’s no need to apologize. You did it because you were worried about me.”
Luwen nodded slowly, his face full of regret. He kept glancing at my arm. He seemed concerned about having grabbed and pulled me.
“It didn’t hurt.”
“But I grabbed you firmly…”
“Still, it didn’t hurt. If it had, I would have said so.”
I twirled my arm around and gave him a gentle smile. Seeing me move it well without any sign of pain, he let out a small sigh of relief.
“I’ll brew some herbal tea, so sit down.”
“We don’t have time for that. If we need to talk, let’s do it at the mansion. We can even talk in the carriage on the way back. Right now—”
“Luwen.”
It seemed he needed to calm down more to have a proper conversation. I cut him off and moved to take out a kettle from the cupboard and filled it with water.
“Could you light the brazier?”
“…Young master.”
“I want to drink some tea too.”
Luwen reluctantly lit the brazier. Then he naturally opened all the windows for ventilation.
I placed the kettle on the brazier and took out dried herbs. First, something with a calming effect—
‘Huh? Wait… herbs?’
Now that I think about it, there might be a suitable herb?
‘What was it?’
I couldn’t remember clearly. I think I saw it in Master’s study, but it’s quite fuzzy.
Since knowing the type of poison is essential for treatment, I was well-versed in poisonous herbs that threatened human life. Now I needed something non-life-threatening that would cause symptoms that would make the 1st Prince back off. I hadn’t studied this area deeply, so I hadn’t thought of it, but it was definitely in the herb family.
I vividly remembered being surprised to learn that some herbs have toxic properties, when I had thought all herbs were edible. Among them was an herb that caused temporary red spots when it contacted skin. Add some fever and coughing to that…
‘This could work.’
Typically, unexplained rashes are concerning. Plus, if my skin is blotchy, he won’t feel like taking me.
The problem was that I couldn’t remember the name. Since herb merchants would have no reason to handle it, it might be difficult to get immediately.
But I have Linder. If I tell him to get it, he’ll surely bring it. For that, I absolutely needed to know what it was.
‘Time is tight, so I need to hurry.’
I sat across from Luwen and poured the fragrant herbal tea into cups. First, I needed to calm Luwen down and persuade him. If I explained my plan, he would understand and help.
“Here, drink it while it’s warm.”
Despite my urging, Luwen acted as if he wasn’t interested in the tea. Perhaps expressing his desire to rush out, he kept shifting his gaze between the entrance and me.
I leisurely picked up my cup, savored the aroma, cooled the hot steam, and took a sip. Clank, only then did I put down the cup and begin.
“We could flee like this. But would someone of his temperament graciously let go of a commoner who rejected him and ran away?”
“That’s…”
Luwen, who had been nervously moving his lips, let out a sigh and relaxed his shoulders.
“No, he wouldn’t. If he were a compassionate person, he wouldn’t call a student to his bedroom in the first place.”
“Exactly. Then what do you think will happen?”
He no longer looked at the entrance. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the steaming teacup and made a groaning sound.
“Eventually… I think he’ll discover your true identity.”
Luwen’s speech slowed down. He looked so devastated that I thought he might have reached the same conclusion as I had.
“Yes. And after that?”
“He’ll summon you to—”
Luwen gritted his teeth and continued with difficulty.
“The imperial palace.”
“Right. If that happens, I won’t be able to refuse. No excuse will work.”
As if he had painted a grim future, Luwen’s face distorted. He let out repeated sighs as if trying to relieve his frustration.
“This matter needs to end in Norman’s name. So, I have a plan. Would you like to hear it?”
Luwen jerked his head up. Hope bloomed in his desperate gaze. Even though I hadn’t explained the plan yet, he seemed to trust me completely.
“Please explain what I need to do.”
“Sure. First…”
After explaining to Luwen, I told him it was urgent to find the herb whose name I couldn’t remember. But unlike before, he somehow looked displeased.
“What? You don’t think it will work?”
“No. That’s not it, but I’m worried…”
“Ah, the herb’s toxin isn’t fatal to humans. It just causes some rashes that disappear.”
Even though I explained calmly, he still seemed reluctant. But there was no other solution. Since nothing could be worse than me facing the 1st Prince, he would eventually have to help me.
“Count…”
“Master?”
“Yes. Count Rodiahim’s advice to me is concerning.”
“Ah.”
I think I understood. My body was damaged by poison. I had developed immunity to the poison I had consumed, but due to my weakened state, I could die even from a non-lethal dose. So while others might only experience simple skin rashes, I might develop different symptoms.
This was something I hadn’t known, but Master discovered it when trying to determine if I could be treated after learning the cause of my weakness.
‘The poison remaining in your body hasn’t been completely detoxified, and it can’t be in the future.’
‘…’
‘Your detoxification ability has significantly decreased due to repeated consumption in your childhood.’
I suspect not only my detoxification function but also my immunity has weakened considerably. That’s why I catch colds and groan with illness every winter.
“He told me to be extremely careful not to let harmful substances touch your body. The reason is—”
“Because poison remains?”
“Yes.”
“I know that too. That’s why we need to find the herb.”
There are plenty of toxic plants that cause rash symptoms. But since they could be dangerous to me, I had excluded them from the options from the beginning.
“Knowing that… Sigh.”
Luwen sighed deeply as if giving me a hint.
“Isn’t there another way?”
“Hmm. Should I slash my face?”
“Young master!”
Luwen, turning pale, opened his eyes wide. He seemed quite shocked.
“I’m joking.”
“Please don’t make such frightening jokes. I’m afraid because you seem like you might actually do it.”
Have I always kept my word so well?
‘Well… I did keep most of my promises to Luwen.’
It seems the trust built gradually shows itself at times like this. It was just a joke.
“Young master, you treat yourself carelessly. You must know that Master’s advice to me was because you push yourself beyond your limits.”
…Huh? That was a different reason than what I thought.
Feeling awkward on my own, I smiled slightly, which made Luwen look displeased. He seemed to have a lot to say, so I quickly brought the topic back to its original point.
“Since there’s no other way, let’s use the herb for now. According to my memory, it will only cause very slight rashes. That should be fine.”
Since it’s not a deadly poison, it should be okay. At this point, even if the symptoms worsen, it’s not bad. Since there are various diseases accompanied by rashes, it won’t be easy to deduce that the herb is the cause.
What concerns me is when they suspect an unknown contagious disease. It’s fine if only I am isolated, but I’m worried the entire academy might be thrown into chaos. In such cases, the principle was to isolate until it was certain there was no contagion, as even people of high status might be infected.
‘Though I’m not sure if they’ll follow it.’
To be honest, I was a little worried if they would follow the principle. I would need to stay sick until they left. It would be an endless race.
‘But the 1st Prince would surely act as he pleases.’
Fortunately, his reliability is very high in this aspect, so I didn’t need to worry too much.
“…Since there’s no other way, I understand.”
After long consideration, Luwen said. Awakened from my thoughts, I immediately threw out the next issue.
“I think I can find the book I saw in the medical department library. The problem is we don’t know when the 1st Prince will visit the medical department library.”
“I’ll go alone.”
“The herbal medicine section is quite extensive. It would be endless to examine all those books one by one. It would be fastest if I went to find it.”
If we could just know the 1st Prince’s movements, we could prepare. But now we had no information. I wanted to grab Alteo, but as he would be with the 1st Prince as part of the delegation, that wasn’t feasible either.
“Then I’ll move with Norman, and we’ll ask for help from your former roommates.”
…Why is he suddenly calling me Norman?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
