A Genius Pharmacist Whom the Empress Is Obsessed With

“Dare you touch my belongings?”

After living for over five hundred years, one doesn’t get easily surprised by ordinary things.

No, it’s more accurate to say that emotions themselves become dull.

Believing that someone suddenly jumps out from under the bed, or that there’s poison in the food one mindlessly picks up.

Or that during sleep, chunks of thigh or arm fat are cut off. Those pitiful attackers seemed to believe that by consuming the immortal flesh and blood, they would gain longevity.

“Unfortunately, they all died in the end.”

After experiencing such things, one naturally says, “Yeah, that could happen.”

But unexpected events always occur.

“Hey, are you finally coming?”

Eden furrowed his brows after a long time. Someone was sitting in his room, in the chair he always used. It was none other than a man who looked exactly like Eden himself.

“….”

Eden stood there quietly, and the other Eden faintly smiled.

Except for the clothes he was wearing, everything from head to toe, and even his unique mannerisms, were all identical to Eden himself.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Well… I was just wondering if you could appear normally, for once.”

Honestly, I was a little surprised. Even if it was just for a moment, I thought it was a dream. But I couldn’t catch the lizard that was laughing so cheerfully.

“Don’t get too angry. I had my own reasons for coming this way. Do you know how much I traveled to find you? I really suffered.”

The other Eden, Adrian, let out a deep sigh. Watching his appearance, Eden couldn’t help but laugh secretly.

“Does he lick his lips like that?”

Adrian was a dragon. Even from far away, Eden could sense in which direction he was. Despite that, Eden could still listen to his friend’s exaggerated sigh, so he crossed his arms and obediently listened to her words.

“After suffering so much to come all the way to this remote place, the castle guards this time didn’t allow entry without a permit. So I just jumped over the wall.”

“Jumped over?”

“The guards were more strict than they seemed on the surface. Especially that earl guy. He’s quite fierce and observant. I almost got caught.”

“So you roamed around as me?”

“Yes. Although it was a bit surprising, everyone willingly let me go. There’s no need to worry too much.”

“…But I’d like to know who I ran into.”

Eden sighed briefly as he spoke.

Despite Adrian’s reassurances not to worry, Idun had a feeling that this disturbance wouldn’t end smoothly. Given that most of the servants knew that he spent his evenings with the Countess, it was no surprise that there were rumors circulating.

From the perspective of the servants, it was impossible to imagine why Idun, who should have been in the Countess’s reception room, was wandering around the garden.

“You should relax a bit more. It’s not pleasant to feel like I’m having a conversation with you.”

“Oh, right! I forgot.”

With a clap of his hands, a bright light emanated from the body of another Idun who had been sitting in the chair.

After a moment, the bright light faded, revealing a young woman with flowing blonde hair sitting cross-legged on the rocking chair. She was the unique human form of Adrian that didn’t resemble any other.

“But Idun, I’ve been curious about something since earlier. Can we start with that?”

Under the flickering yellow candlelight, Adrian’s dilated pupils shone.

“What are you curious about?”

“…What is that thing hanging on your left arm?”

Adrian’s voice turned chilly, and golden mana bloomed from her fingertips.

As soon as she spoke, the red snake that had been quietly hanging on Idun’s arm raised its head, revealing its discomfort.

“I thought you were hiding me behind a mere snake. No way. How dare you try to deceive me.”

Adrian got off the chair and approached Idun slowly.

“So, who did this?”

“No, Adrian, just a moment.”

It would be troublesome if I breathed out Breath. Idun, who noticed that Adrian had become extremely excited just from his footsteps, quickly took a step back, but the doorknob had already been securely locked.

Adrian, who had approached Idun, grabbed his neck in one breath.

It was almost impossible to resist the tremendous power of a dragon. Idun limp and bowed his upper body without any strength.

“Tell me quickly. Who is the bastard who did this filthy act to you.”

While Adrian’s face, which was just a few centimeters away, seemed calm, it was filled with deep anger.

“If she could cast such a curse, she must have sensed my aura that was attached to you. How dare she touch something that belongs to a dragon…. It’s clear that it has come out outside of my humble abode. Or maybe I was too quiet, that’s why.”

“….”

“Idun, I’m not in a good mood, so tell me quickly.”

I can’t avoid Breath. Idun opened his mouth quietly.

“It was… it was me.”

With that short confession, the blazing anger in Adrian’s eyes quickly faded.

***

The next morning, Idun, who woke up earlier than others, quickly headed to the apothecary.

After preparing the princess’s medicine on time, the garden became noisy as Idun started making the medicine that people from Umstendel often seek.

“What’s with all the noise?”

The cat, Adrien, who had been sleeping soundly by the sunny window, stretched his body and yawned.

If he had a proper social status, it would be one thing, but the current Adrien was nothing more than a wandering vagabond.

“But it’s not like I can bring royal favor….”

Adrien readily accepted Idun’s argument that it was much easier to bring in a lost stray cat than to bring in someone with an uncertain status to the heavily guarded Umstendel Castle.

“But the headmaster wouldn’t leave so easily.”

“Oh, the headmaster who said he had nothing to do?”

Adrien, who had been sticking his head out of the window with his front paws, quickly lost interest and lay back down. Judging by his constant yawning and stretching, he was very sleepy.

“Wait, at least drink this before you sleep. It’ll make you feel better.”

Idun took out a bottle of medicine from the drawer where she kept emergency supplies and threw it to Adrien.

“Oh, a fatigue recovery potion? Nice.”

Adrien caught the thrown bottle with his front paw and immediately drank it without hesitation.

“Now I feel better. It tastes even better after a long time.”

“I’m glad you like it. I found a good herb around here that tastes sweet. By the way, wasn’t yesterday too much?”

“It’s not too much, it’s just that my mana got dirtier. It wasn’t like this just six hundred years ago….”

Adrien wiped the medicine off his mouth with his front paw and mumbled.

Last night, Adrien couldn’t get a wink of sleep because he was researching curses. It didn’t matter much that he couldn’t sleep for just one night, as he was a dragon, but unraveling and assembling the complex formula of the curse took quite a lot of effort.

“I know you can handle it, but still, don’t push yourself too much. If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to solve it.”

“…It’s not difficult! It just takes a little more effort!”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

“…You’re not even listening with your ears. That’s why they say you shouldn’t pick up things that fall on the road. I wonder why I ended up picking you up and causing all this trouble.”

While listening to Adrien’s continued grumbling, Idun picked up a fluffy cushion and headed towards the window.

“If you’re going to sleep, use this too. It’s bad for your body to sleep on a hard surface.”

Adrien glanced at the cushion Idun held out, then wagged his tail and said,

“…Damn it, you really have to return to my lair in a week. There’s still pure mana left in my lair.”

“I got it. So, just take the cushion for now.”

Adrien grabbed the cushion while snorting.

“I’ll be resting here. Wake me up later.”

Idun looked at the flickering candle that seemed like it could go out at any moment and headed back to her work desk.

While she thought she had been working diligently during her stay at the castle, now it seemed like she didn’t have enough prepared medicine. Even if a new resident physician came, it would take some time for them to adapt, and she didn’t want the castle residents to experience any difficulties due to a shortage of medicine.

Cautiously, Adrienne’s voice floated over from the side.

“That red snake is really dangerous. You’re just enjoying yourself now, but you can’t be careless. If you weaken, he’ll catch you and eat you in a moment.”

“I know. But I have you by my side, right? So it’s okay, right?”

Ydeen spoke as he tasted the medicine with a small spoon.

Adrienne’s tail couldn’t help but twitch for a moment at that.

***

“…a ghost?”

Ridimine couldn’t help but feel a sense of misunderstanding at the sudden revelation.

“Yes, a ghost.”

The pharmacist, who was trimming her hair, answered without hesitation.

“There was someone who saw Ydeen’s ghost in the garden yesterday.”

“…that pharmacist?”

Ridimine bit her lower lip. The man’s pharmacy was usually only visited when someone’s heart was turned upside down in a single day.

“Yes. They were all a bit scared, not knowing if it would appear again tonight.”

As she listened to the pharmacist’s words, something clicked in Ridimine’s mind.

“Then I should go and meet that pharmacist, just to be sure.”

“Really?”

“My people are scared, but how can I just sit here and do nothing?”

Even before her hair trimming was done, Ridimine stood up from her seat.

“Tell that pharmacist right now.”

At Ridimine’s sudden command, the pharmacist was left gaping with her comb in her hand.