Baby Pharmacist Princess

“Princess, what can we do with these fruits?”

Late afternoon.

In the kitchen of the White Night Palace.

Sophia, Mrs. Nania, the eldest gardener Tombi Grandpa, and the head chef Dexon were all gathered around a basket, peering inside.

The basket was filled with nothing other than Japanese apricots.

They had just been harvested and stored in a magical warehouse to prevent them from rotting, so despite being autumn, they were in perfect condition. Moreover, they had ripened from green apricots to yellow ones, perfect for making apricot preserves.

“We have about ten more baskets of Uslum that we’ve stored so far. But what do you plan to do with these?”

Tombi Grandpa, who had been sought out to ask if they had collected the apricots, was a gentle-looking elderly man in his seventies. He had been managing all the flowers and trees at the White Night Palace since his youth, so he knew everything about plants. However, he was clueless about the medicinal properties of apricots.

“While the flowers of this tree are beautiful, the Japanese apricots have always been considered useless.”

You can tell by the way he says it.

Luckily, there were plenty of Japanese apricot trees at the White Night Palace.

There was a path lined with Japanese apricot trees on either side, and Sophia explained that it was called ‘Spring’s First Greeting Path’ because it was where the Japanese apricot trees bloomed first, signaling the arrival of spring.

However, once the flowers fell and the fruits ripened, this path quickly became the gardeners’ responsibility.

Uslum.

It was a common term in this world for “inedible fruits.”

Apart from Japanese apricots, there were other inedible fruits as well, but I had specifically asked for the ones from the Japanese apricot trees.

“Japanese apricots have never been edible no matter how you eat them, so they’ve always been treated as inedible.”

So, naturally, there wouldn’t be Japanese apricot tea either!

“Until now, these, and the new Japanese apricots, what about them?”

“Anything from the palace that’s deemed useless shouldn’t be carelessly disposed of… So we’ve been storing them in the warehouse. When new Japanese apricots ripen, we dispose of the old ones.”

What a waste!

So each basket was filled with freshly picked Japanese apricots.

I grabbed a handful of fresh Japanese apricots in both hands and blew a puff of air.

“These are for making syrup or medicine.”

“Medicine?”

Tombi Grandpa blinked innocently.

Mrs. Nania and Sophia also seemed surprised, despite having heard my explanation earlier.

It seemed they had never considered that Japanese apricots could be used as medicine.

“I’ve brought a large glass jar sanitized in boiling water, and plenty of sugar! Everything is ready.”

It took a bit of time to gather everything I mentioned, so it was late afternoon, but it wasn’t quite bedtime yet.

I had planned to steep Japanese apricot preserves and syrup while I was at it.

“We need to boil sugar and Japanese apricots separately. Like this. Let the dragon teach you how.”

“Shall I pour the sugar on the floor first?”

“Yes. And the Japanese apricots.”

Mrs. Nania and Sophia glanced at each other and then nodded.

They didn’t fully understand, but they were willing to follow along.

After all, dragon excuses were universal.

“Gentle, rinse and drain the Japanese apricots.”

“Alright. I’ll do my best.”

As we began to pick out the Japanese apricots from the basket, there were some still green and firm, and some fully ripe and unusable.

We discarded any that had been eaten by bugs or were squishy, selecting only the ones that looked nice.

Then Chef Dexon took a large knife and swiftly cut the Japanese apricots, removing the seeds.

“If we were going to eat them in a year, we could leave them in their round shape. But…”

We needed to make them as quickly as possible to get the gem.

We removed the seeds to eliminate any trace of mild toxicity.

“Apricots, peaches, and plums have amygdalin in their seeds.”

When amygdalin meets enzymes, it creates toxicity.

“Of course, unless one consumes several hundred plums at once, there’s no risk of death.”

Nevertheless, it’s better to remove the seeds if possible!

“Now, let’s add sugar!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Following my command, Mrs. Nania added sugar swiftly!

Sophia mixed diligently.

As Tombi Grandpa placed sugar-coated plums in a glass jar, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of saliva just looking at it.

“Oh, I want pickled plums now.”

Putting them on freshly cooked rice, still steaming and shiny, and taking a bite brings out the true tanginess.

“Your Highness, should I fill it to the brim?”

“No! If we do that, it might explode.”

During plum fermentation, gas is produced. If we don’t leave enough space, a disaster could occur.

The key was to fill the glass jar only about 2/3 full, not being too greedy.

“Your Highness, should we let it ferment?”

“Yes! We have to let it ferment for 100 days, according to the dragon.”

“Ah, Your Highness, you’re so adorable…!”

I clasped my hands together and brought them near my cheek.

It’s a gesture known as a nose nuzzle.

The head chef, Deckson, almost teary-eyed, exclaimed, “Where did such a lovely person come from? Ahh…”

“From my mom’s belly.”

“So noble…!”

This kind of commotion happened every five minutes, but the pickling process went smoothly.

Finally, Sophia filled the last glass jar and closed it, asking a question.

“Oh, Your Highness! There’s a spell to speed up fermentation. Shall I cast it?”

“How fast does it work?”

“Normally, it takes about 100 days for fermentation… but this spell can do it in a few hours.”

“Wow!”

If we cast the spell, I could serve plum tea to His Highness the Prince tomorrow morning.

Plum syrup needs 100 days to ferment for its medicinal properties, but having a magical cheat for fermentation was unexpected.

“Great!”

“I’ll request the presence of a mage to cast the spell. I’m already curious about the taste, aren’t you?”

I hummed a tune and playfully teased the remaining fragrant plums, or rather, Usulums.

“I’ll serve steaming plum tea to the advisors who sit for long hours and refreshing plum drinks to the knights who train hard every day.”

Behold the power of tangy plums!

It’s hard to resist!

—

The next day had exceptionally good weather.

The sky was a deep blue, with clouds floating high!

A dragonfly landed on the window frame, and I tried to admire it, but as I got up from bed and took a few steps, it flew away quickly.

“Oh no!”

Just then, Sophia, hearing my voice, opened the door and entered.

“Oh, I thought you’d sleep more since you seemed tired. You’re up early.”

“Sophie, did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Did Your Highness sleep well too? No bad dreams, I hope?”

How tender Sophia was.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I sat in front of the mirror.

“Let me fix your hair.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want to tie it in two braids again?”

“I did that yesterday, so no.”

“Then I’ll just tidy up the uneven parts without cutting too much.”

Sophia’s skilled hands moved swiftly with the scissors, and soon, the round bangs were neatly arranged.

Then Sophia skillfully tied up my hair. Today, it was a red checkered ribbon.

“It’s pretty!”

“Isn’t it? You’re so lovely. We should avoid going near the pond.”

“Why?”

“The fish might be startled and faint at the sight of Your Highness!”

Goodness, Sophia, it wouldn’t be that extreme.

I’ll keep it light and in line with the romance fantasy genre:

I couldn’t help but wonder if Sophia hadn’t seen many other cute kids.

Of course, my face is pretty, but still, that’s not the point, is it?

“Ta-da! Here’s the outfit for today!”

“Wow!”

Sophia, who was briefly looking through the wardrobe, pulled out a white dress adorned with red flowers.

The flowers were made of silk, so they didn’t feel heavy or uncomfortable.

After putting it on, it was time for brunch with this Jen.

“But there’s something I’m more curious about.”

On the way to the dining hall, I took a slight detour towards the kitchen, where I had kept the Uslums yesterday.

“Oh, you’re curious about the Uslums we left overnight?”

“Wow, Sophie! How did you know?”

I covered my mouth with both hands and widened my eyes, pretending to be surprised.

Then I rushed into the kitchen, and laughter erupted from all sides.

“Oh, you’re so adorable. I’m Madam Maya, the chef working here. You can just call me Maya.”

“I’m a chef too. I’m Victor, Your Highness! I heard you made medicine with Uslums yesterday…”

“You’re amazing, truly. Nobles are indeed different!”

“We couldn’t make anything tasty with Uslums, no matter how hard we tried. But to think it becomes medicine when soaked in sugar… I’m amazed.”

Whether Deckson, the head chef, told them or not, people in the kitchen gathered and discussed various things about the plum syrup.

Amidst the sudden surge of interest, I was a bit taken aback but happily answered everyone.

“I kept the Uslums in glass jars in a cool place here.”

There were three storerooms in the kitchen.

Two were filled with ingredients, and one was kept empty because we never knew when we might need to store something.

My glass jars were in the last storeroom.

“Wow…!”

A little later, after the lights were turned on in the storeroom and I checked the jars, I was truly amazed and widened my eyes.

The fermentation magic is real!

And not a speck of mold!

Magic is the best!

“Now, what should we do with these?”

“We should strain and pour the liquid into bottles and seal them! Like jam.”

“I see. We’re not eating shriveled Uslums; we’re drinking this juice!”

“Got it.”

I nodded enthusiastically.

“Well then, enjoy your delicious breakfast. We’ll strain and bring it over.”

At Madam Maya’s words, I smiled and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you!”

“Oh, my.”

Later, I’d have to share some with the kitchen staff too.

But first, after giving some to His Highness the Prince.

“Is he… not here?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’m sorry.”

“Why…?”

But a moment later.

I felt like lightning had struck under a clear sky.

Of course, I thought we’d have breakfast together! But!

His Highness the Prince wasn’t here.

“Dad, where…?”

With a lost expression on my face, I grabbed Solip’s sleeve as he came to inform me of this, feeling like I’d lost the world.