“Ugh…”
Ian struggled to sit up and cleared his throat with a dry cough. I naturally reached for a glass of water on the bedside table and handed it to him.
“Will my eyes return to their original color with this medicine? Will they never turn red again?”
His words were mature for a mere 6-year-old child. Despite being the youngest person here, his commanding tone was natural.
Grandfather responded respectfully, as one would to a superior. After all, in terms of status, Ian was the highest-ranking person present.
“No, the medicine I prepare is meant to suppress the prophetic ability. However, the bodily pain and the change in eye color are side effects of prophecy, so using the medicine should reduce these symptoms.”
“So I have to live in constant fear of when my eyes might turn red again?”
Ian seemed more concerned about the redness of his eyes than the pain caused by prophecy.
Grandfather looked puzzled at his question, and frankly, so was I. Even though the Emperor despised the prophets of Stefan Kingdom, Ian was still his son. Would it really be an issue?
“It’s conceivable to hide eye color changes as a different ailment, especially since there’s no one left who knows about the prophets of Stefan Kingdom.”
“In fact, none of those who were called to treat Ian’s illness had any inkling of ‘divine illness.'”
“Your Highness’s grandmother, the Empress Dowager, was also a red-eyed prophet. So, if your Highness’s eyes change color, no one will find it strange.”
“That’s the problem…”
Ian spoke bitterly. He seemed more concerned about his father learning about his condition than external perceptions. A plot worthy of a melodramatic novel unfolded in my mind.
Understanding his concern, I nodded, but Grandfather still looked clueless.
Grandfather had always seen the world too innocently. He couldn’t imagine that a parent could harm their own child.
“At just 10 years old, even I understood things Grandfather didn’t.”
Ian rubbed his temples as if suffering from a headache.
“What’s crucial is that I cannot have red eyes if I want to preserve my life!”
“Changing the color of your eyes won’t affect your life.”
Grandfather still didn’t seem to understand. I refrained from speaking out, as it would seem odd to persuade Grandfather of this.
Ian continued, sounding like an old soul beyond his years.
“People don’t only die from illness.”
Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Grandfather cautiously asked.
“…Is that so important to you, Your Highness? It’s not advisable for a pharmacist, but changing the color isn’t impossible. However, the herbs used for this are quite toxic, so a pharmacist must prepare them directly.”
Finally, Ian nodded in relief.
“Then visit me once a week with the medicine. If anyone asks, say you are a perfumer bringing me fragrance.”
The chamberlain looked at me with a warning gaze.
“Best keep that tongue in check.”
Now that Grandfather has passed, I am the only one who knows how to prepare that medicine. For 17 years, I have been visiting the palace once a week under the guise of delivering perfume.
Today was another day for my visit to the palace.
As I prepared to go to the palace, I noticed a letter that had fallen near the door. Picking it up, I saw it was from the “Calobanian Empire Perfumers’ Guild” – a name written on an exceptionally luxurious and expensive-looking envelope.
“Here we go again. These people have plenty of money…”
Originally, dealing with perfumes was also part of a pharmacist’s job, so it wasn’t strange for me to frequent the palace under the guise of handling perfumes.
However, as time passed, things changed over the 17 years. As the profits from selling perfumes grew, perfumers emerged as a specialized profession, and a separate Perfumers’ Guild was established.
Given that this guild had more money and political power than the Pharmaceutical Guild, they had significantly taken over the rights to manufacture and sell perfumes.
They claimed that non-guild members making perfumes threatened the livelihood of professional perfumers.
I had been making perfumes for Ian while keeping the secret and visiting the palace, but the Perfumers’ Guild was quite displeased with this. They seemed to believe they deserved the honor of creating perfumes for the Crown Prince.
Rumor had it that they had been sending various perfumes to Ian, claiming they were better than mine, and asking him to entrust his perfume needs to them – but to no avail.
Now that Ian hadn’t changed his perfumer, they started pressuring me to either join their guild or stop making perfumes altogether.
Joining the guild as a perfumer, even though I’m primarily a pharmacist, didn’t appeal to me. Plus, I didn’t want to pay the hefty membership fee.
While the guild did offer benefits like networking opportunities with nobility or featuring in their perfume catalogs, these weren’t necessary for me.
Making one bottle of perfume as an alibi and joining the guild seemed like an overkill.
“And making a personal gift of perfume isn’t something the guild should restrict.”
Despite their indignation that the Crown Prince’s perfumer wasn’t a guild member, they continued to contact me with persuasion and threats.
“I know what the letter will say without opening it. Either stop gifting perfumes to Ian or join the guild.”
I tossed the letter into my bag, planning to use it as kindling later.
“If they keep threatening me, maybe I’ll tell Chamberlain Simons.”
The Crown Prince’s chamberlain was still robust after 17 years and valued Ian’s well-being above others’ lives. Informing him that the guild was causing trouble would certainly resolve the issue.
“But I’m too scared he might dispose of the people involved to actually tell him.”
Ian, seemingly impatient for my arrival, scolded me as soon as I entered the room for not only being infrequent but also late.
I fanned myself and cheekily replied, “I’m busy too, you know. And with the rain, the roads were a mess. Getting here was tough. The public carriage drivers are reluctant to enter the palace.”
Today’s delay was partly due to my late departure and also because the driver refused to enter the palace, forcing me to walk from the city gates to Ian’s residence.
The Calobanian Empire usually doesn’t experience harsh winters; it’s rather dry. But unusually, a lot of winter rain poured down yesterday.
Thankfully, the paths inside the palace were paved with flat stones, saving me the trouble of walking through muddy roads. Otherwise, my shoes and the hem of my skirt would have been a mess.
“That’s why I say I should send a carriage for you.”
I grimaced in response to his suggestion.
“No way. What kind of pharmacist… I mean, perfumer gets a carriage service?”
“It’s not that unusual. Artisans favored by the royal family have often received more recognition than many nobles. For instance, a tailor who caught the fancy of Empress Martiang was even provided a carriage by the palace to commute daily.”
“Empress Martiang was the one who almost got beheaded for extravagantly spending the royal treasury, right?”
“True, she almost got beheaded, but in the end, it was those who wanted to behead her who ended up on the guillotine. The important thing about that incident is the creation of the guillotine, a humanitarian device.”
“I fail to see the humanity in an efficient tool for beheading. And the real lesson from that history isn’t the guillotine; it’s to avoid unnecessary luxury and wasteful spending. What if you start indulging in extravagance by following that?”
“Don’t worry about the royal finances; they’re overflowing. We have enough to build a palace for Jane. If you agree, I can even build a large herb garden next to it.”
I made a face of disgust. I had to draw the line at his jokes, or he might actually start constructing a palace.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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