I Added D*ugs to Romantic Fantasy

It has finally begun.

“Mr. Alan. The Royal Military Hospital has blocked access to outsiders. Before that, I also saw a few military police soldiers enter the hospital.”

Upon hearing this report from Brother Bono, I immediately thought of something. I had instructed them to conduct surveillance around the hospital in shifts, and it seemed that it hadn’t been in vain.

I could guess what was happening in the hospital right now.

‘The medicine must be running out by now.’

I had given away 60 grams for free, enough for 4,000 doses.

Since one person needed to take it four times a day, it was bound to run out quickly.

I did inform them to only give it to patients whose condition was so bad they couldn’t sleep properly. But most of the patients there were severely ill. After all, it was a war-wounded hospital. A broken arm alone wasn’t enough to warrant admission.

Come to think of it, it’s been only two days of use.

It wasn’t long enough to experience withdrawal symptoms.

For pain patients, their opioid receptors in the brain are reduced. Even taking morphine doesn’t easily grant them access to the infinite happiness that lies deep within. Therefore, it wasn’t out of pleasure that they would plead for morphine.

‘But emotions are a different matter.’

The patients at the military hospital had, for the first time since their injuries, been freed from pain.

There was no more helplessly weeping while exposed to waves of agony,

no more feeling despair while forced to listen to groans from other patients,

and above all, no more need to wake up dozens of times a night due to pain.

Could they really forget such a comfortable period?

If their newly regained peaceful sleep was forcibly taken away from them, they would inevitably feel a sense of deprivation. It was only a matter of time before that sense of loss turned into action.

‘So they called the military police.’

Since only a few military police officers were mentioned, it wasn’t on the level of a riot yet.

But it was clear that a sense of unease had spread among the patients.

Probably, the hospital had requested support as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances. After all, if patients with amputations, fractures, or gunshot wounds thrash about and take collective action, there would be nothing worse.

But one thing during this situation was puzzling:

There was still no move towards me. It would be normal by now for the hospital to have attempted contact with Medoff Pharmaceuticals.

Were they trying to hold out somehow?

The situation wasn’t so relaxed that time was on their side, so in the end, there was only one possibility.

‘They must have approached someone higher up.’

As soon as this suspicion arose, I immediately headed towards Siena.

She usually worked in the Audience Chamber to the point of irritation, but today, Siena was taking a rare stroll in the garden. The poppies, flowers and fruits alike, were lying like corpses, all fallen. And yet, Siena was walking through this desolate place.

Despite there being nothing to admire, for some reason, she was smiling broadly and gently nodding her head. With her lush silver hair let down, she looked somewhat mentally unstable, which was somewhat true in reality.

Fortunately, I knew the reason behind Siena’s cheerful expression.

“Apparently, Her Highness was approached first.”

“Approached? What do you mean?”

“Morphine. Isn’t it that the First Princess’s camp has requested a trade with Her Highness due to their need? Although the name Medoff Pharmaceuticals was mentioned, it’s highly probable they consider Your Highness the actual operator, not me.”

“Alan, aren’t you being too presumptuous?”

“I am absolutely sure.”

Siena blinked and stared at me while hearing this.

However, her response was affirmative. There was no need to beat around the bush since we were essentially in the same camp.

“900 Talers per gram. That’s the price Victoria suggested through her messenger.”

“Not a bad price, huh.”

“I haven’t replied yet. It’s your business after all.”

One gram corresponds to roughly 66 doses.

Even if Medoff Pharmaceuticals sold it at 900 Talers, it could still sit atop riches. The cost of raw materials would pale in comparison.

But Siena’s satisfaction wasn’t just about the money.

“There’s more. The person who manufactured the morphine—if you tell them who that is, they’ll recommend you to the Ministry of Military Affairs and even award you with a medal.”

It seemed that they hadn’t considered me as the manufacturer, even though I wasn’t hiding and had openly disclosed it.

This part didn’t bother me.

But why were they so insistent on finding out who had manufactured the morphine? Surely, they weren’t merely testing by asking if they just wanted to award a medal.

Not long after, I had a suspicion.

Judging by her expression, it seemed that Siena also harbored similar suspicions.

“They must want to secure the manufacturing process. After figuring out who the real manufacturer is, they will probably try to recruit them. That way, they wouldn’t need to rely on us.”

“Yes, I think the same, Alan.”

“You were laughing at their predictable schemes, right?”

“Yeah.”

Siena nodded with an expression that asked, “So what?”. It was indeed predictable. From Siena’s standpoint, knowing that I was the manufacturer, it was amusing.

But I didn’t find it amusing at all.

To come up with the idea of securing the manufacturing process amidst all the chaos caused by morphine—whether it was Victoria’s idea or that of her close aides, it showed quite a quick reaction.

“Anyway, Alan. That’s all I received as a proposal. What do you plan to do?”

“Yes, I…”

“Ah, may I offer a suggestion? It seems that maintaining silence for two or three days and pressuring them could be beneficial. If the patients start shouting, they’ll raise the price. After all, the key is in your hands, isn’t it?”

“…”

True, this idea came from the mind of a villainess.

This way, the price could indeed keep climbing.

However, there was a significant risk of an accident occurring before we achieved the desired amount.

Because every minute and second was agony for patients who had already experienced morphine. Opium was now ineffective for them.

It was possible someone might drink opium mixed with whiskey recklessly to alleviate their pain and fall into a coma.

‘Then, it works to my disadvantage.’

Holding patients hostage to raise prices wasn’t beneficial to the business.

Besides, it wasn’t even necessary.

After all, they were already in a dead end.

There was no need to stretch it out over four days. A quick surrender could be obtained. All we needed to do was apply light pressure.

“Your Highness, there’s no need to go that far.”

“Then?”

“Just tell Princess Victoria what I say. Summon a magician immediately.”

Siena promptly called one of her subordinate magicians without hesitation.

She then immediately attempted communication magic with her sister, Victoria.

As soon as the connection was established, she began reciting the content I had instructed her.

“Sister, it seems there’s some misunderstanding. Alan Medoff is the one who manufactured morphine. There’s no other pharmacist involved. His business as well.”

“But recent insults have made Alan lose confidence. Honestly, isn’t it understandable? He had to cling to several dozen hospitals, almost begging, and got coldly rejected. He was even chased away without a chance to have a formal meeting many times.”

“Even so, he managed to endure everything. However, the recent proposal your servant sent seems to have upset him. You subtly tried to obtain the manufacturing secret by mentioning medals, right? Wait… you didn’t do it with that intention?”

“That’s none of my business.”

At this point, a protesting voice could be heard, but Siena remained silent and stuck to her words. I could now tell how the siblings usually got along.

“Even worse… sigh. He wants to quit the business. Since he didn’t start this for money, he says he doesn’t want to sell the medicine while lowering his pride. I suggested he quit after recovering his original investment, but he didn’t listen. Maybe you should try persuading him yourself.”

After this, Siena ended the communication and paused to look at her own face in the communication device. Her expression didn’t seem like someone admiring her own beauty but rather enjoying the process of provoking her sister.

“How long do you think they can hold out?”

“After hinting that you want to quit the business, Princess Victoria will have no choice but to get involved herself.”

At this, Siena smiled brightly. I gave a polite smile in response. It was now a routine for us.

**

Royal Military Hospital.

Some chaos was taking place in the ward that housed critically injured trauma patients.

“Morphine!! Morphine!! MO-phin!!”

…One patient screamed repeatedly and thrashed about wildly.

“Why do I have to hurt? You aristocrats see a healer when you’re in pain, but I’m stuck here like a piece of meat with nearly seventy guys, waiting to be sent off as a corpse…? My stomach, it’s like… they’re stirring it with a heated iron rod…!”

A patient, instead of medical staff, grabbed the collar of the patient beside him and pleaded desperately.

What was peculiar was that the other patient gripped on the collar looked sad and kept apologizing. Apparently, they didn’t even know why they were apologizing.

“Do you know Morphine? You take it, and in exactly 22 minutes, your belly starts to feel warm. That warmth slowly spreads through every corner of your body, making the injured part cool and comfortable. That’s when I finally started enjoying life again, after the wretched existence I once had. I can never return to the poor life before Morphine. Morphine is truly the best?”

Another patient spoke with a distant look while extolling Morphine. Despite maintaining a polite tone, there were tears in their eyes.

There were various ways they demonstrated their need, but they all shared one common trait:

They desperately longed for Morphine.

And they showed no interest in anything but Morphine.

The faces of the nurses caring for these patients were filled with unease. Just missing one dose had caused this level of unrest. Although no one was causing a big disturbance yet, most people were feeling a sense of relief about that.

But that didn’t last long.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!”

A critically ill patient who had undergone surgery three days ago screamed.

The single scream was powerful, silencing the praise for Morphine, the quarrels, and complaints all at once.

What followed was an icy silence, thick with tension.

A woman who was about to walk into the room stepped back after checking the situation.

It was none other than Victoria, the first princess of the Empire—a beautiful blonde in military attire with her insignia removed.

“I didn’t know it would be this bad.”

Even her expression froze like the patients deprived of morphine.

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