A Genius Pharmacist Whom the Empress Is Obsessed With

12th painting. The first dialogue.

The marble-like, fresh white skin, the empty gold bowl, and the last awkward body movement. The first time meeting Huang Nv, she seemed more like a well-made doll than a human being.

Her appearance was unrefined, but Li De was not at all repulsed.

The current Huang Nv, with no trace of redness, was the most obvious evidence that the efforts Li De had put in before had not been in vain.

Ssss. The snake that had been clinging to Li De’s arm since the moment she saw Huang Nv raised its head. Her greedy gaze and posture suggested that her desire for the real Huang Nv had not yet completely dissipated.

‘…I still have to be careful.’

Li De used her vitality to restrain the excited snake and pay respects to Huang Nv.

“I, the Medicine Woman of the Herb Shop in the Village of Ruaru, pay my respects to the Huang Nv of the Empire.”

“…Yes.”

Huang Nv sniffed once, then slowly raised her index finger, her expression as if a long-neglected doll was being dusted off.

“First, sit down here.”

Huang Nv, who had been sitting alone on a single, high-quality sofa, pointed to the empty sofa and said.

“Thank you.”

Neither Huang Nv nor Li De said anything else after that.

The two of them spent a silent, exploring time, sharing information with just their eyes and body language, the silence, the sound of breathing, the unique atmosphere that every human being has, without uttering a single word.

As the maid Huga sat in a chair in the corner of the room, her fists tightly clenched. The current silence seemed unfamiliar to her.

When the tea in the cup had cooled, the princess opened her mouth.

“You have suffered a lot taking care of me. Thank you. It is because of your hard work that I was able to stand up like this.”

“No, it was just what I should have done.”

“…Is that so? But it couldn’t have been easy. Many officials had given up on me.”

Even though the princess had regained consciousness, her speech was awkwardly interrupted and her hands and neck moved jerkily. It seemed that she would need rehabilitation for quite a long time.

‘…Well, at least the life bead is clear like that, so I don’t have to worry.’

Looking at the clear and pure bead tied near the princess’s heart, I felt proud and relieved once again.

“Oh, the court ladies and the gentlemen wanted to take you as their personal physician. What do you think?”

“I apologize, but my abilities are weak, so I don’t think I can become Your Highness’s personal physician.”

“…Is that so?”

The princess, who had been leaning lazily on the sofa, corrected her posture for the first time.

“Yes. If Your Highness allows, I would like to return to my hometown as soon as possible.”

“Is that really true?”

For some reason, doubt was evident in the princess’s voice.

“Yes. There is not a single lie in my words.”

“Is that so?”

Even though Idun’s words were firm, the princess, as if unable to easily dispel her suspicions, stared at her with narrowed eyes for a long time.

Idun also stared back at the princess without flinching.

“Yes. I really intend to return to my hometown. I have no intention of lying to Your Highness.”

Idun looked at the princess and thrust in once again. She didn’t know why the princess suddenly became hostile towards her, but she wasn’t about to back down easily.

***

“You look tired. Would you like to rest? I’ll take you to the bed.”

As soon as Idun left the room, Huga rushed to Ruedimine’s side.

“Yes. It would be nice if I could have a cup of tea.”

Ruedimine carefully moved her weakened legs with Huga’s support. After lying down for a long time, her muscles had grown so weak that even walking to the next room was difficult without someone’s help.

‘…I really feel like a baby.’

Her appearance was so inexperienced and helpless compared to when she had once stood as the future ruler of the empire.

Ruedimine felt a little sad about how she had ended up in such a situation, despite always striving for perfection.

‘No. I should be grateful that I am still alive.’

Even though it’s like this now, as long as I’m alive, I can do something, right?

With her lips tightly sealed, Rudimine leaned on the back pillow, supported by Huga, and headed towards the bedroom.

“I will bring tea that is good for recovering from fatigue. If you have any business, please ring the bell.”

“Understood.”

Left alone, Rudimine felt a slight dizziness and leaned against the back of the pillow.

“By the way, that Aydun, the apothecary, was quite unpleasant.”

To be honest, their first meeting with Aydun was not pleasant at all. There was an indescribable strange smell coming from him.

I wanted to avoid Aydun as much as possible, but the countess, the viscount, and even Ella and the maidservants praised him as a good person and insisted on keeping him by their side.

“At that time, I wasn’t in my right mind, so I might have been mistaken.”

Overcoming the continued persuasions, Rudimine changed her mind and decided to meet Aydun once again. In order to return to the palace as soon as possible, she needed at least one reliable and capable person.

But the moment she faced Aydun again, the disgusting smell that emanated from him made the princess nauseous. Thanks to her training to not reveal emotions and weaknesses, she was able to pass it off casually.

Through two encounters, the princess became certain that the disgusting smell was Aydun’s unique aura.

“…Usually, those who emit such a smell are undoubtedly wicked and untrustworthy.”

She had never said it to anyone, but Rudimine was born with the potential of a mage. She couldn’t summon fire and wind like the great mages of the past, but she was able to read the energy that people possessed to some extent.

Thanks to that ability, she once occupied the position of the imperial princess.

“…That person called Aydun must have done something wrong.”

Rudimine chewed on her lower lip.

“What has changed? Nothing has changed. Just a corpse, a corpse.”

“Living like this is worse than dying. It’s quite pitiful. There’s nothing the nobles can do, seeing this.”

A voice that Rudimine had heard before automatically replayed in her head.

Because her consciousness was clouded, she couldn’t initially figure out who said such disrespectful words, but now it was clear that it was Aydun, the apothecary.

The only two who had taken care of her were Estelon, the head physician, and the apothecary Aydun. Although Estelon’s energy wasn’t great, he didn’t emit as foul a stench as Aydun.

In other words, judging solely by the energy they possessed, Aydun was a more remarkable figure than Estelon.

“Refusing the position of royal physician must have been a shallow trick to put me at ease.”

She wouldn’t be treated so gently like a fool.

“He will learn how deep and severe the sin of underestimating the nobility is.”

Rudimine clenched her fist, extinguishing her anger, and repeatedly pricked her finger. It was an action she took following the advice of Estelon, who said that moving her fingers slowly whenever she had time was good for training her muscles.

***

Having finished the audience with the princess, Aydun couldn’t help but be surprised in the completed apothecary’s room, where he was refining herbs.

“…I was asleep for a whole week?”

I thought it would only last for a day or two…but for some reason, even though I felt refreshed, I felt way too refreshed.

“Well, do you know how worried everyone was?”

The maid Piyaka, with her brown hair tied up, said as she cut the roots of herbs.

“Miss Ella didn’t even eat and cried a lot, and the marquis even visited the apothecary several times out of anxiety.”

Piyaka casually threw the finished herbs into a basket. It seemed that she was quite fast, as the basket, which was empty just 10 minutes ago, was now more than half full.

In case it’s contagious, I’m jokingly scolded Idoon.

“Piyaka, then what happened to Director Estelon? Wasn’t he locked up in the annex?”

Ah, that genius of misfortune.

Piyaka put down the knife she was holding and brushed her hand. It was clear that something had piled up with such force.

“The Princess is in the palace, so whenever the marquis interacts with the surrounding villages, he becomes very strict and authoritative. As a result, the people of the surrounding villages don’t really like the people of the Woomstendell Castle.”

The marquis’s attitude was not wrong. For the sake of safety, anyone would have to be strict.

“But when Idoon suddenly collapsed, there was no one to take care of Idoon or the patients in the palace.”

“So they called back Director Estelon.”

“Yes, that’s right. We needed someone to take care of the Princess as well. Although the marquis has some knowledge of medicine, he’s not at the expert level. It shouldn’t have been like this, but…”

Piyaka thumped her chest with her fist and continued speaking.

“The marquis must have called him back as well, because the Princess relies on him a lot. That damn jerk thinks he’s something now. He’s been interfering and meddling in every little thing in the palace these days.”

“Ah, that’s why.”

Idoon thought of Director Estelon, whom he had met in front of the Princess’s bedroom.

He had scolded the maid for cleaning mistakes, for not doing enough, and had been giving a lot of nagging lectures, but as soon as he saw Idoon, he raised one corner of his mouth and made an unpleasant smile.

“If that damn jerk becomes the Princess’s personal physician, it will be really sad. So I hope you will become the Princess’s personal physician.”

“…I’m not sure yet. I’m still inexperienced.”

Idoon laughed awkwardly and picked up the herbs. He never intended to become the Princess’s personal physician, even if it was to prevent the red snake from attaching itself to the Princess again.

“But I’ll do everything I can.”

Even the herbs he was currently handling were newly brought in, considering the Princess’s constitution.

“Well, let’s finish this task quickly. Otherwise, I’ll end up starving for dinner.”

“That should never happen.”

Piyaka picked up the knife she had decisively put down again. Thanks to her, Idoon was able to focus on his work quietly.