I Added D*ugs to Romantic Fantasy

So, I’ve been found out after all.

“This is already quite a long run, isn’t it?”

Anais let out a wry laugh upon receiving a report about people loitering around the syrup factory.

She had taken over the syrup factory on the outskirts of the State right after dropping out of school. It was one of the many factories that cropped up in an era where even the middle class could occasionally taste sugar.

The original owner, a noble who thought he would make a killing by setting up the factory, ended up disheartened after facing nothing but losses, so Anais was able to acquire ownership at a relatively cheap price.

She had not purchased it to produce ordinary syrup.

From the moment of acquisition, Anais immediately halted all processes and began preparing a new product, even assigning a wizard to issue instructions remotely.

Progress had been smooth.

To begin with, it wasn’t a difficult task at all. It was as simple as mixing something into the syrup, something even a child could do.

Just that instead of mixing in strawberry juice or chocolate, she used something else.

That additive was precisely the medicinal ingredients.

It wasn’t just one kind.

First, she added opium—raw opium paste, to be precise. It was a traditional choice, once known as “the army’s friend” before morphine came along.

While adding morphine would have been ideal, that was Medoff’s exclusive domain. Diverting it would amount to self-sabotage, so she had no choice but to be content with opium alone.

Of course, opium wasn’t enough.

Therefore, she added another ingredient—poisonous herbs.

For Anais, this ingredient carried unpleasant memories since it was the very reason she fell into Siena’s trap.

But for the greater goal, she decisively decided to add these poisonous herbs. After all, though they were toxic, their analgesic, anesthetic, and sedative effects were undeniable.

“Still not enough.”

Thus, she added one more thing.

In the homeland of Empress Lianhua—her birth mother—there was a certain herb that high-ranking officials’ concubines and courtesans often used as a “weight-loss drug.”

This was a herb known for making the heart race, brightening the eyes, and causing sweating.

Although it grew wild in the Britannia Empire as well, it was not yet widely used. Anais had learned of its existence from one of the servants who cared for her mother (a servant who had migrated from their homeland to serve Empress Lianhua).

Ultimately, the blend consisted of three kinds of medicinal herbs mixed with soda made from seaweed and a dash of alcohol.

Anais herself had no way of knowing what efficacy would arise from this combination.

“How would I know? I never studied pharmacology.”

However, she guessed that mixing together materials with such strong effects individually would somehow amplify the effects.

The only concern was the taste and smell.

That problem was easily resolved by the syrup. Sweet and sticky, it was something most people generally liked.

“Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

Syrup. It was such a simple solution it made her want to laugh.

It was baffling why no one had thought of it until now.

“Remarkable! How did you come up with such an idea?”

One of Anais’s few remaining confidants flattered her while rubbing his palms together. She wasn’t particularly pleased by his groveling.

“It’s a simple matter.”

“Even simple ideas can be great. As far as I’ve heard, medicinal herb extracts are awfully bitter. Yet people still force themselves to drink it for supposed health benefits. You’ve solved that issue, Your Highness!”

“Watching Siena gave me the idea. She used to offer a certain medicine to her mother-in-law…” Anais recalled. “Starting around the time she began mixing it with orange juice, I realized the importance of flavor.”

“Still, it’s truly remarkable!”

“Enough with that.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Now, the only ones remaining close to Anais were these nobles.

Even those with enough influence to switch sides had already attached themselves to her sisters long ago. Some had even feigned illness and gone into seclusion.

‘How pathetic I’ve become.’

There was no trace of frustration in Anais’s mocking expression.

To the contrary, as she gazed at the small bottle of syrup in her hand, she smiled. All she needed to do now was turn this moment into a turning point.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t named it yet.”

Upon reflection, naming was quite important.

Perhaps even more so than masking the bitterness of opium and poisonous herbs with syrup.

They needed a name that would make people feel familiar, a name that would allow them to consume this novel medicine without hesitation using a teaspoon.

After all, it had to commercially succeed first to provoke Siena into making mistakes. The strength to fight her would also come from this success.

What name would be good?

As Anais pondered, the face of the elderly maid who served her came to mind. Dorothy Chandler. A chubby-faced, kind-natured grandmother.

Thinking further about Dorothy, a rather decent name came to her.

“Mrs. Chandler’s Syrup… no, Health Syrup.”

“Mrs. Chandler’s Health Syrup.”

That was it.

***

Following Siena, her younger sibling has also turned to narcotics. I never expected this.

Of course, even if I had known in advance, there would be no way to completely block this except by burning down the factory. What can you do when someone uses their own money to buy a factory and start making sweet medicine? Especially in a world where the concept of drugs doesn’t even exist.

“It’s not like it would be strange if it appeared in the world tomorrow.”

There wasn’t enough time to contemplate responses.

Even worse, just as I was dealing with this, an incident occurred at my company.

“Mr. Alan, there was an attempted theft.”

This was a report from Bono, who was now in charge of security at Medoff Pharmaceuticals. It seemed they had caught a thief this time due to his lax oversight.

“Attempted theft?”

“Yes. Do you want to take a look?”

Accepting Bono’s troubled suggestion, we summoned the thief.

The culprit was one of my employees, recently hired to produce morphine tablets. His job was to measure out precise amounts of morphine, mix it with starch, and shape it into tablets using a manual pill press.

Apparently, in the middle of making the pills, he had lost his mind and slipped some into his pocket. He was caught during the post-work inspection of personal belongings.

“Running a business leads to things like this, huh.”

Of course, I couldn’t just let it slide.

We had to be most cautious about internal theft in operations like these.

Even my younger sibling from my past life had once complained about this issue. The droppers he employed kept skimming drugs meant for customers, offering flimsy excuses until they were caught and dealt with. It had caused significant losses.

Soon after, the thief was brought before me, and other employees lined up like a screen behind him.

“Why did you do it?”

“I… didn’t mean to steal. It was an accident.”

“Did the tablets fly into your pocket on their own? The truth has already been uncovered, so just tell the truth.”

“…”

“Why did you steal it?”

“To be honest… my younger sibling suffers from headaches! They kept complaining, and it bothered me, so I thought if they took one of these, they might feel better…”

The younger sibling excuse.

Very unlikely to be true. He had stolen forty tablets, far too many for a mere headache.

A single tablet could easily turn someone into an addict, regardless of whether the story was true or false.

“Was it really for your younger sibling?”

“They have severe headaches, they said…”

“For patients who aren’t in severe pain, the side effects of morphine outweigh the analgesic effects. Was the headache that severe that it warranted risking this theft?”

“…”

“This is your last chance. Tell the truth.”

Cornered, the thief looked to Bono for help, even sending pitiful glances at the onlookers.

Of course, no one dared to meet his eyes. Who would defy me to help a thief? His spirit was finally broken.

“Because I thought I could make money… greed got the better of me and I… reached out. Not everyone who suffers is in the army, right?”

“So?”

“I intended to quietly sell it to those in pain. Please show leniency since I’ve confessed openly… I beg you…!”

Leniency was impossible. Allowing the perception that stealing morphine could be forgiven would be dangerous. Setting such a precedent would only encourage other employees to do the same.

“It’s too late. I wouldn’t have shown leniency even if you’d confessed from the start. The fact of the theft doesn’t disappear, after all.”

“But, in monetary terms, it’s just over 600 Talers.”

“The amount isn’t the issue. The problem is stealing what is mine.”

Having made my decision, I slowly rose to my feet.

Handing him over to the military police would mean he’d probably just receive a lashing. A lashing would surely leave him battered, but it wouldn’t set an example for my employees. Given my reputation, it would essentially be letting him off easily.

A harsher punishment was necessary.

Deciding instantly, I swung my fist toward his mouth.

“Sir, maybe we shouldn’t…”

Pffk! A dull sound accompanied by the sensation of something breaking and crushing followed.

“Ughhh!”

The thief, struck by me, flopped around on the ground as if dying.

A single punch. If this was where it ended, it could be considered fortunate for the offender, but the real punishment was yet to come.

“Her Highness Siena owns a fleet.”

“What!?”

“I’ll send you to be a low-ranking sailor there. And you won’t be allowed to quit on your own.”

“How could you do this for such a trivial matter…!”

The thief fought back, blood streaming down his face in obvious indignation.

It was understandable for him to feel aggrieved; starting out hoping to earn a little extra cash only to end up as a sailor, a notoriously perilous job. Often, homeless people and vagrants were recruited into this line of work.

“Please!!!”

No matter how desperately he pleaded, there was no way I could show mercy. A major confrontation loomed, and now was not the time for leniency.

Eventually, this turned out to be the correct judgment.

The very next day, makeshift stalls selling “Health Syrup” began to appear all over the State.

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