“They could have been a secret friend. Actually, I dreamed of such things when I was young.”

Ileana kept chattering while cutting iris flowers.

“Having a secret friend that no one else knows about. If that were the case, I’d understand why Claire didn’t tell me. But it’s really amazing.”

“What is?”

“That Claire had a commoner secret friend, and that person was someone special who received the love of the Crown Prince.”

I listened silently to her cute imagination. It seems the story of Claire and I being secret friends is becoming accepted as fact… Surely she doesn’t really believe what she’s saying is true?

“It’s not that Jane the pharmacist and I were really friends, just that her name sounds familiar. I might have heard it somewhere before. Or it could be stuck in my mind because of that story about Lady Monica.”

Ileana stopped putting irises in the basket and looked at me. She said with a smirk:

“Of course I know. It’s just imagining how fun it would have been. No one would know unless Claire’s memories return. Jane the pharmacist couldn’t tell us either.”

I nodded at her words.

On the other hand, I did wonder if there truly had been no connection between Claire and me.

Even my memories as Jane aren’t complete. It would be strange to have taken over her body without any connection. There’s no way to know, no matter how much I ponder it.

Carrying an armful of fresh gold irises, I got into the carriage with Ileana. As I felt when going to the banquet, it was truly an excellent carriage.

On the side of the carriage, the family crest with crossed swords and a lion raising its front paw was carved in ivory.

The carriage frame was lavishly decorated with gold, and the interior had plush cushions made of yak leather, making long rides comfortable.

It was clear how powerful the McCain earldom was.

“You’re going to get a healer’s license?”

“I want to give it a try. Since I’ve received a title, it would be good to attempt something.”

“Does it have to be a healer? If you want to work, you could manage the estate, or learn art or music.”

Ileana didn’t seem to like my idea of becoming a healer.

“Studying medicine and helping sick people seems admirable. Actually, estate management would be too difficult for me right now, and I don’t think I have talent for music or art.”

I don’t know about Claire, but I had lived a life completely unrelated to the arts, so I didn’t even know if I had any talent. It was natural, as the only work I’d done my whole life was running a pharmacy.

I thought about just adapting to Claire’s life, but since I received a title and an opportunity arose, I wanted to start anew.

Even though it was difficult, I took great pride in my work.

“Well… Claire seems to have forgotten this, so I’ll tell you…”

“What is it?”

“Real nobles don’t have jobs.”

“What? But…”

The requirement to apply for the healer’s exam is ‘to be a noble.’ While this used to be interpreted as ‘having a title,’ recently it’s been interpreted as ‘being a member of a noble family.’

Even those without titles could become nobles by passing the exam, so noble children who couldn’t inherit titles often became healers.

In any case, all healers are nobles, and even Claire’s brother, Shuri McCain, has a job as an Imperial Guard.

“A job means working to earn money, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Nobles consider it shameful to work for money. Usually, only fallen nobles or those who can’t inherit titles work…”

Ileana seemed to hope I wouldn’t become a healer for the sake of noble dignity.

To think having a job would tarnish noble dignity. I was planning to live diligently as Claire, the noble lady, but knowing I could have the profession of a healer made it hard to give up.

Moreover, I thought having the profession of a healer might make it easier to deliver medicine to Ian.

It would be more natural for someone with a healer’s license to deliver medicine than for a young, ignorant noble lady to suddenly hand over something claiming it’s medicine.

Ian may have extra medicine, but even a bottomless pot will run dry someday.

“Is it not possible?”

I pleaded to Ileana with a pitiful expression. I knew that for nobles, dignity was more important than life, but this was more important to me.

She looked at me for a long time with a troubled face, then sighed deeply and nodded.

“Sigh, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll try to persuade him. He’s not really concerned about noble appearances, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get permission.”

“Ileana, thank you!”

I hugged Ileana tightly. Despite the troublesome request, she easily agreed. It must be because of her great affection.

“Don’t be too happy. Just because he allows you to become a healer doesn’t mean you can become one right away. I’ve heard that the healer’s exam requires a lot of memorization and keen observation, and it’s rare for someone to pass on the first try.”

She was right. Although I had worked as a pharmacist for many years, I knew nothing about how the healer’s exam was conducted.

I’d probably need to study and memorize a lot about diagnostic methods for different conditions and prescribing medicines. But I was confident.

“I’ll just have to prepare hard from now on!”

Ileana nodded with satisfaction at my words.

“While I’m not entirely pleased with Claire’s decision to become a healer, it’s good to see such an enthusiastic attitude. Work hard. I’ll help with anything you need to prepare for the healer’s license.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best!”

“Maybe Claire’s familiarity with that pharmacist was because she had always admired the profession of pharmacist or healer.”

“Oh! That could be it.”

“Although Jane the pharmacist wasn’t a healer, she was very famous.”

I was famous? This is the first I’m hearing of it. Of course, I had a reputation for being skilled, but most of the people I dealt with were commoners, so I never thought my name would be known to a noble like Ileana.

“Did you know about Jane the pharmacist too, Ileana? Before Lady Monica mentioned her?”

She nodded at my question.

“Many people liked that pharmacist. I never met her directly, but I heard so many stories from my nanny and maids that she feels familiar somehow. It’s sad that such a person died in an accident.”

She naturally introduced an anecdote she had heard.

“The maids working in the mansion mainly used her pharmacy. They all praised her as a truly kind pharmacist, saying her skills were even better than most healers in the Imperial City.”

Feeling shy at her words, I scratched my cheek unnecessarily.

“The nanny who raised me told me a story once. A maid working under her had suffered greatly from a boil on her bottom. With no money and too embarrassed to show anyone, she just endured the pain until she heard about a place that would treat you even without money, so she went to the pharmacy run by Jane the pharmacist.”

Many maids came to me because of boils on their bottoms. Especially in summer, wearing maid uniforms that don’t breathe well and sweating while working day and night made them vulnerable to skin diseases.

Moreover, since most healers and pharmacists were men, it was uncomfortable for them to show a boil on their bottom.

“Even if they wanted to go to healers, the entrances were so fancy that they worried about how much the treatment would cost and couldn’t even bring themselves to enter. But seeing the old door of that pharmacy put them at ease. They felt confident that at least they wouldn’t be overcharged, even without hearing the price. They also felt grateful.”

“They felt grateful even before receiving treatment?”

“The pharmacy was so famous and had so many patients that it must have made a lot of money, but they were grateful that the old door was left as it was so that poor patients wouldn’t feel burdened when visiting. If that door had been large and fancy, even if they had heard rumors about treating people without money, they wouldn’t have been able to enter easily.”

“Ah… I see. Hahaha. So the pharmacy door had such meaning.”

I laughed awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

It was just that I found it bothersome to waste time fixing the door. Although the poor locking and creaking sound were annoying, a door only needs to open and close properly anyway.

The carriage soon arrived in front of the pharmacy.

“Then I’ll be back soon, so wait here!”

“Don’t worry about me, take your time with your business.”

After waving goodbye to the departing carriage, I looked around the pharmacy.

“The fire must have been big. It must have been difficult to find my body…”

The place where the pharmacy had been was largely burned. There was barely a trace of the building, let alone the pharmacy. Only gruesome debris remained to mark where the pharmacy had once stood.