‘I think Leoni will be anxious to find out that neither of his parents were at home.’
Luciel stopped by Leoni’s room in the east wing. Leoni’s past spoiled behavior may have been attributed to his parents’ inability to take care of him often.
‘This time, the two of them are giving a lot of love, but when they are not, I have to make up for them.’
Because children always need kind and warm attention.
‘They say that childhood memories shape the rest of a person’s life.’
Leoni just woke up and was drinking Coco Syrup, a medicine to help with growth given by Cicline. She often stopped by to check on Leoni’s health.
“Sister.” (Leoni)
“Little Madam, you are here.” (Cicline)
“Hello, you two. Leoni, did you sleep without taking the syrup last night?”
“Uh. I forgot it.”
“It’s okay to forget about it for a day, Young Master.”
“No, no.”
Cicline said so, but Leoni climbed out of the bunk bed, stood on his tiptoes, and compared his height with Luciel.
“I’ve grown this big. Right? Look!”
Leoni hurried Cicline for an answer, and dragged the giraffe doll.
His height seemed to have really grown in the meantime, he was about two centimeters taller than last time. On the other hand, Luciel was the same.
“Sister, you don’t take medicine?”
Leoni, who was intoxicated with a sense of victory, grinned. He twitched his chubby cheeks and raised his mouth like a little villain.
‘He is in a good mood, seems like he has not heard of the subjugation yet. I think it’s better for me to tell him directly than to wait for Sasha to pass on the news.’
“Doctor Cicline, please wait outside for a bit. We have something to talk about, don’t we?”
“Yes. Then, Young Master, if there are no uncomfortable places, I’ll see you next time.”
Cicline gave a sympathetic glance, said goodbye to Leoni, and left the room.
Luciel carefully picked her words. Knowing that his parents went away without a word might break Leoni’s heart.
“Leoni. Father and Mother went on a mission far north today. They came back quickly last time, so maybe this time we won’t wait long.”
“Yes. I know.”
“How?”
“Mom slept with me earlier before going to work.”
Luciel was relieved. It seemed that they went without worrying Leoni about it.
“I see. In the meantime, Leoni can just listen to the teacher and have fun as usual. Let’s eat something delicious with Sister.”
“Yes!”
Talking like an adult, Leoni responded using honorifics as usual and nodded his head.
“Come on, and this is a gift.”
Luciel pulled out a black rabbit doll from her strawberry bag and held it out. A cute red ribbon tie was warped around its neck, and its fluffy fur was very soft.
“This is a friend to go to bed with Leoni. Its name is Benny.”
“Benny?”
“Even if you sleep alone at night, Benny will protect you.”
Leoni’s pomegranate eyes lit up, and he held Benny tightly in his arms.
“Wow, Benny. Let’s go to sleep.”
It was still early, so Leoni, who had been babbling around with a drowsy voice, fell asleep again. At the sound of his soft and comfortable breathing, Luciel smiled and moved lightly to the outside.
As she went down to the parlor in the east wing, Cicline was waiting for Luciel while chatting with Eva and Sasha.
“I told Leoni about the subjugation, gave him a rabbit doll, and he fell asleep again.”
“Well done, Little Madam. You saved Sasha’s troubles.”
Sasha rejoiced at Eva’s words and lifted the hem of her skirt as a token of gratitude.
Luciel decided to walk along with Cicline to chat. But it wasn’t long before she asked what she was curious about.
“Doctor Cicline, how it’s going with the preparation for the exam?”
Actually, I was going to ask if the studies were going well, but I turned around the words because I thought it would be burdensome.
“The exam….”
Cicline’s expression was a bit dark. It was a face with some concerns.
“What happened?”
“It turned out that this round even has a special test for practical skills. I’m confident in my writing skills, but I am worried about my practical skills.”
“If it’s practical skills…….”
As Luciel blinked her eyes, Cicline added an explanation.
“The challenge of this practical test is to develop a drug with a completely new effect by combining two or more of the suggested ingredients.”
“Wait. Why they are giving out such a difficult test?”
Cicline nodded her head helplessly.
“This is a test that only people who have been studying drug development for a very long time can pass. I have no hope.”
Luciel patted her lips and thought. Developing a drug was not a problem that could be solved in a short period of time.
One had to know the compatibility of the ingredients with precision, and it took a lot of time and effort to figure out the proportions between them.
Moreover, it takes even more time to test and prove its safety.
“Even if you have a lot of experience unless you are someone who knows the material in advance and is good at handling it…Is there anyone who will pass this test?”
“Ah, fortunately, the ingredients were presented in advance, but it’s not like we don’t have time, it’s just not enough time to experiment with all the ingredients to see if they work or not.”
“Where can I see them?”
Cicline unfolded a guide that she had received and showed it to Luciel.
There were thirty materials that were written in detail, and most of them were unfamiliar, but among them, ingredients she knew caught her eye.
It was ‘Tatea, Ruga leaf, and Thierry fruit’. The very materials planted in Luciel’s greenhouse garden.
‘Oh, these ingredients…Those are ingredients for mana nutrients!’
I wouldn’t expect to secure the ultimate stability of the product in this test anyway. All we have to do is prove whether it works or not.
Luciel took Cicline’s hand with a hopeful face.
“Doctor Cicline has tried making medicine a few times. Coco syrup, cold medicine, and pain relief patches. So I’ll give you a recipe. But it is up to you to bring out the efficacy of that medicine.”
“Recipe?”
“Yes, it’s something I’ve been wanting to ask for a long time. To produce Mana Nutrient.”
“Mana……Nutrient?”
Cicline asked back in surprise and Luciel nodded her head.
“Yes. It is also a way to solve the instability of mana. Once this nutritional supplement is completed, Doctor Cicline may become very popular!”
“Then…How do you know about such a great drug?”
Cicline’s eyes grew very large, but Luciel couldn’t even reveal that she was a returnee, she could only smile lightly.
“I can’t tell you that. Sorry.”
Cicline was a bit frustrated, but presuming Luciel had a backstory for that, she asked.
“Then why are you telling me this wonderful recipe?”
“……Because I believe in you.”
Luciel again only replied with a smile, because she couldn’t possibly say that this was something Cicline herself had made in the future.
Maybe this is exactly what the Imperial Family was looking for, so they could take her away. If that’s the case, at least the mana supplement is complete.
‘But I can at least take on a promise from her, can’t I?’
“Doctor Cicline, when the medicine is finished, can I be the first one to take it? After that, you can go to another place with better conditions than Bellstein. Wherever you go, you can make your dream of becoming a pharmacist come true. But as much as possible, I would like that you don’t go to the Imperial Family.”
Cicline, who had been silently listening to Luciel, answered.
“No, I will be a pharmacist in Bellstein, even if better conditions come. The person who made me want to challenge myself to be a pharmacist is Little Madam. Most of all, the people of Bellstein estate need me.”
She replied so while holding Luciel’s hand tightly. For some reason, Luciel’s heart was filled with emotion, it was becoming so full that it seemed to make a jewel at any moment.
“I will write down the recipe right away and send it to you. Go ahead, I won’t take more time from your research. The ingredients are all ready in the greenhouse.”
“Yes! My heart is pounding so hard right now. There are many ways to think about how to use the ingredients, how to properly prepare them, and how to mix them in proportions. I’ll go!”
“Yes, I hope you can succeed.”
Luciel proudly looked at Cicline, cheering her on as she disappeared for the greenhouse, and turned around.
* * *
Even though it was a season close to midsummer, outside the manor where the temperature was controlled by climate magic, the bitter cold penetrated into the coat and armor.
Still, thanks to moving to the closest camping site to the snowy field, they were able to reach the barracks at once.
The barracks were decorated as a strategy meeting room, the Duke, Duchess, the Black Wing Knights, the Wizards and Mages, and even the Commanders of the units bellow them, started discussing.
Jarga said.
“Isn’t Munraken a nocturnal monster? We will have to recover our stamina until the evening and move before they can be active.”
“No. As soon as we’re ready we would better get as close as possible. As Commander Jarga said, it’s a nocturnal monster, so it is not active during the day.”
“You mean to approach with a surprise attack? But do you know where their lair is?”
Anastasia the Leader of the Wizards asked.
“Well……I’m sorry for the late reveal, but I wasn’t simply away from the Duchy for a while. I was also in charge of Munraken subjugation in the Freedom Guild Subjugation Squad. So I know them well. I also feel a great sense of responsibility to know that there were some that had not been cleared out yet.”
“……What?”
It was known that Soliaphe was a skilled swordsman, but that she was a member of the subjugation corps was a fact only known to her family and closest aides in Bellstein.
When some of the knights were startled, the Duke lightly nodded and answered.
“It is true. The strategy of subjugating Munraken is completely under her command.”
“Yes, sir.”
With her husband’s support, Soliaphe’s blue eyes sharply shone when she took complete control of command. Soon everyone listened to her without batting an eyelash.
She was donning armor, armed with strong eyes and solid will, unlike when she was the Duchess in the castle.
“…The Munraken den must go beyond the deepest valley of the Pine Snowfields. They are encamped near the salt cave on that region.”
“If you had wiped out the den in the past, they would have gone somewhere else.”
At Jarga’s point, Soliaphe shook her head.
“No. They can’t get out of that salt cave by instinct.”
“…What is this all about?”
“An enormous mana reservoir was accumulated over a thousand years and condensed in salt, and Munraken evolved and grew by eating that salt for a long time. They don’t leave to protect it.”
“Where did you get that information?”
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“Marcus, the victim this time, has been studying Munraken for a long time. His whole family was attacked by one.”
Soliaphe, who answered calmly, unfolded the map and pointed to one place.
“The first step is to figure out the number of opponents, and the second step is to wait at this point and make a surprise attack. They are weak against fire, so it would be best to prepare gunpowder, fire arrows, and fire attribute magic.”
When the command was given, the Commander and the vice-captain of each unit went out of the barracks to deliver them to the soldiers.
Everyone moved in unison, but somehow a chilling tension that could not be erased fluttered around. A battle was imminent.