“Nngh……”

Ian forcibly raised his body, and feeling roughness in his throat, he let out a dry cough with a “Ahem!” I naturally poured water into the glass cup on the bedside table and handed it to him.

“Will taking that medicine return these red eyes to normal? Without turning red again?”

For a mere 6-year-old child, it was quite an old-mannish way of speaking. Even though there was no one younger than him here, the condescending tone came naturally.

But I didn’t find it strange, since the position of Crown Prince wouldn’t allow him to act like an ordinary kid.

Grandfather also answered politely, as if addressing a superior. Well, in terms of status, he was clearly the highest-ranking person.

“That’s not the case. What I’m concocting is a medicine to suppress the prophetic abilities. However, since the body pain and eye color change are side effects of the prophecy, taking the medicine will reduce their frequency.”

“Then am I to live in an anxious state, not knowing when these red eyes will pop out?”

The Crown Prince seemed more concerned about the red eyes than the pain caused by the prophecies.

Grandfather wore an expression of incomprehension at his question. In fact, I didn’t understand his reaction either. Of course, the Emperor was said to detest the prophets of the Stefan Kingdom, but Ian was his son after all, so would that be a problem?

He might feel it’s a flaw, but couldn’t the change in eye color be excused as some other illness? Anyway, there shouldn’t be anyone who knows about the Stefan Kingdom’s prophets now.

In fact, none of those called to treat Ian’s illness had even thought about the ‘divine illness’.

“Your grandmother, that is, the Empress Dowager, was also a red-eyed prophet. So even if Your Highness’s eye color changes, no one would find it strange.”

“That’s the problem……”

Ian said in a bitter voice. Ian seemed more worried about his father finding out this fact than about outside perceptions. For a moment, the plot of a makjang novel unfolded in my mind.

I nodded as if I understood, but grandfather still looked like he didn’t know what the problem was.

Despite having lived for many years, grandfather viewed the world too innocently. He couldn’t even imagine that parents could harm their children.

He couldn’t accept the fact that there are parents in the world who don’t love their children, and even hate and abuse them. Even I, at just 10 years old, know this…

Ian, rubbing his temples as if his head was throbbing, said,

“That’s the most important thing. If I want to preserve my life, my eyes must not be red!”

“The change in eye color doesn’t affect your life.”

Grandfather still didn’t seem to understand. But it would seem strange for me to step in and try to persuade grandfather, so I kept my mouth shut.

Ian spoke in an old-mannish tone, as if he had seen through the world.

“People don’t die just because of illness.”

Sensing that his voice was not normal, grandfather carefully asked.

“…Is it that important to Your Highness? As an apothecary, it’s not something I’d recommend, but it’s not impossible to change the color. However, many of the ingredients used are close to poisonous plants, so the pharmacist must compound it directly.”

Only then did the Crown Prince nod with a comfortable expression.

“Then come here once a week with the medicine from now on. If someone asks about the reason for your visit, answer that you are a perfumer coming to bring me perfume.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, the Chief Attendant looked at me and warned,

“It would be best not to wag that tongue carelessly.”

* * *

Now that grandfather had passed away, I was the only one who knew how to compound that medicine. Even after 17 years, I was still entering and exiting the palace once a week under the pretext of perfume.

Today was also a day to go to the palace.

As I was getting ready to go to the palace, I noticed a letter dropped in front of the door and picked it up. The name written on the very luxurious and expensive-looking envelope was ‘Kalovanian Empire Perfumers’ Guild’.

“This again. These people have so much money……”

Originally, dealing with perfumes was also the job of pharmacists, so it wasn’t strange that I had been entering and exiting the palace under the pretext of perfume all this time.

But as 17 years passed, the situation changed.

As the profit from selling perfumes became larger than from medicines, the specialized profession of perfumer emerged, and with the establishment of the perfumers’ guild, the work began to be separated.

Since they had more money and political power than the pharmaceutical guild, they took away a considerable amount of the rights to manufacture and sell perfumes.

They claimed that non-guild members making perfumes threatened the livelihoods of perfumers.

To keep the secret while entering and leaving the palace, I was making perfume for Ian and bringing it along with the medicine, which the perfumers’ guild found very displeasing.

They seemed to think that the honor of making the Crown Prince’s perfume should be theirs.

From what I heard, they were sending various perfumes to Ian every time, requesting him to entrust them with the perfume-making, claiming their scents were better than what I made. But that won’t work at all.

When Ian didn’t change his perfumer, they started demanding that I either join the perfumers’ guild or stop making perfumes.

They seemed to think that if I worked as a guild-affiliated perfumer, at least they could maintain their honor.

As they said, if I joined the perfumers’ guild, it would be easily resolved, but as a pharmacist, I was reluctant to join the perfumers’ guild. I’m a person who makes medicine to treat sick people, not a perfume maker.

Above all, I didn’t want to pay the expensive annual fee.

Of course, the guild provided benefits that could help with sales, such as creating connections with nobles or including perfume or shop introductions in perfume catalogs, in return for the annual fee, but I didn’t need those.

Joining a guild just to make one bottle of perfume for an alibi was like the tail wagging the dog.

“And it’s not for the guild to restrict the act of making perfume as a gift based on personal relationships.”

They seem to be so offended that the person making perfume for Ian, the Crown Prince of the Kalovanian Empire, is a pharmacist and not a perfumer, that they keep contacting me with persuasion and threats.

“I don’t need to open it to know the content. It’s probably saying to either stop gifting perfume to Ian or join the guild.”

I thought about using this letter as kindling like the other letters while putting it in my bag.

“If they keep threatening me, maybe I should tell Mr. Simons, the Chief Attendant.”

The Chief Attendant of the Crown Prince was still healthy even after 17 years, and he still regarded others’ lives lightly for the sake of the Crown Prince. If I tell him that the perfumers’ guild is interfering with work, he’ll surely resolve it cleanly.

“I’m afraid to say anything because he might clean up the people too.”

As if he had been waiting for me with his eyes popping out, Ian started nagging as soon as I entered the room, saying I was late even though I don’t come often.

I said shamelessly while fanning myself,

“I’m a busy person too. And with the rain, the roads are a mess. Do you know how hard it is to come here? The rental carriages are reluctant to enter the palace grounds.”

The reason I was late today was partly because I left later than usual, but also because the coachman said he couldn’t drive the carriage into the palace, so I had to walk quite a distance from the castle gate to the palace where Ian resides.

The Kalovanian Empire’s winters aren’t very cold and are quite dry, but yesterday there was an unusual winter rain.

Fortunately, the paths inside the palace are paved flat with marble stones. If not, my shoes and the hem of my skirt would have been a mess from walking through muddy roads.

“That’s why I said I’d send a carriage.”

I recoiled at his words and replied,

“I said no. Where do you see a case of providing a carriage to a pharmacist… I mean, a perfumer?”

“It’s not that special. Since ancient times, artisans who won the love of the imperial family received more recognition than most nobles. For example, the dressmaker who pleased Empress Martian used to commute to the palace every day in an eight-horse carriage sent by the imperial family.”

“Wasn’t Empress Martian almost beheaded on the guillotine by citizens for recklessly spending the imperial treasury?”

“She was almost beheaded, but in the end, those who tried to cut off the Empress’s head ended up on the guillotine. The important point from that incident is that the humane device called the guillotine was born.”

“I don’t see what’s humane about a device that efficiently beheads people. And the important lesson from that history isn’t the guillotine, but not to waste finances on unnecessary luxuries. So how can you say you’re going to follow that and be extravagant?”