I consoled Ileana, who was still blaming herself.

“I should have told you in advance. It was too sudden, wasn’t it?”

“It’s alright. At least I know now. Oh! By any chance, was he among the people I’ve met so far? If I passed by him in the banquet hall without greeting, it would be terribly rude…”

While I was worried that I might have made a mistake with him, Ileana consoled me, saying it was fine.

“Don’t worry about that. He’s currently studying abroad in the Fledinus Kingdom.”

“So that’s why you said he might come with the Fledinus Kingdom delegation.”

I nodded. Even for wealthy nobles, traveling from one country to another was not easy.

Rather, nobles who appeared wealthy were often easy targets for crimes like robbery, and without proper precautions, they could easily lose their lives if they encountered monster hordes.

Because of this, it was common to entrust oneself to large merchant groups when they moved, or to accompany delegations like this time. After all, the more people there were, the easier it was to respond to external threats, thus relatively ensuring safety.

“Yes. I should send a letter to ask if he’s coming along then. I hope he graduates from the academy soon and returns, but if my memory serves me right, he still has about 2 years of study left.”

“How long has he been studying abroad?”

“He first left for Fledinus 5 years ago.”

At her words, I tilted my head in confusion.

Does it usually take that long to graduate from the academy? I thought he might have been neglecting his studies, but Ileana explained that he had transferred to a different department right after graduating. It seemed Lord Elroid was particularly interested in academics.

I also study a lot related to herbology, but to continue attending the academy because he likes studying, that person seemed quite eccentric too.

“I should send a letter before it’s too late. Claire, you said you’re resting today, right? Let’s write letters together! Of course, if you’re not busy.”

“Yes. Actually, I’m not busy most of the time. No one comes to the medical office. That’s why I even went around looking for patients myself.”

I only managed to visit a few patients I had been caring for. Probably because of this body’s noble status, even when I offered to treat them, most commoner patients refused with uncomfortable looks on their faces.

When I was Jane, we were on good terms, and they would thank me for treating them, but suddenly becoming a stranger was upsetting.

They thought that even if I approached them, it was just a noble lady who had found a new interest and wanted to use commoners’ bodies as experiments. And they were already going to a new pharmacy, so there wasn’t much for me to do. It really felt like starting from scratch.

‘Come to think of it, when grandfather first settled in the capital of the Calobanian Empire, no one came to him either…’

Most of the people who sought me as an apothecary were those who had built trust and intimacy since grandfather ran the pharmacy.

When they were sick, the one they could trust and visit was Jane the commoner apothecary, not Claire the noble lady, let alone a countess who was an imperial physician.

“You went out looking for patients yourself?”

“Yes. It was too frustrating and boring to just guard an empty medical office…”

“The position given by His Highness the Crown Prince is honorable, but perhaps it’s not well-known yet. They say reputation and fame are important no matter what you do.”

“That’s right. I’m realizing it anew. No one is seeking me out.”

“Do you know the fastest way to raise your reputation and fame?”

“What is it?”

With a desire to care for patients as soon as possible, I leaned closer to Ileana and asked.

“It’s attending banquets.”

“Banquets?”

“We need to spread the word. In fact, most people probably don’t even know that Claire is an imperial physician, or that the building you’re using as a medical office exists within the imperial palace. So how could anyone come?”

“That’s true… But what does that have to do with banquets?”

“Nobles don’t hold social gatherings every day because they have nothing to do. It’s to build reputation and trust, and share information. You haven’t attended any of these events even once because you’ve been busy with the medical office. Including the banquet held at the mansion last time.”

“That’s true.”

“Although Claire is a physician, the most important thing for a noble lady is to build a reputation in social circles.”

Hearing this, I realized Ileana was right. The title of imperial physician was too high a threshold for commoners.

The patients I would be treating in the future would be more nobles than commoners, so I had to actively inform them about the existence of the medical office within the imperial palace.

As she said, there was nothing better than social gatherings to make my name known to the nobles. I said to Ileana with sparkling eyes.

“It’s not too late, is it? I’ll actively attend banquets from now on. But don’t I need to receive invitations first to attend banquets?”

When I expressed concern, Ileana spoke as if it were no big deal.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t have invitations, you can send them out yourself. We’ll hold a banquet at our house this time. There are quite a few people curious about Claire anyway. The fact that you haven’t shown your face in social circles for a while can actually be an advantage. You’ve been maintaining an air of mystery, even if unintentionally.”

“An air of mystery… you say?”

“Because almost nothing is known about Claire. It’s no use for me to go around announcing your existence in social circles. You need to make a grand entrance like a protagonist before people’s interest completely fades!”

I was being enchanted by her words like being captivated by a medicine peddler’s pitch.

“Still, we can’t just send invitation letters out of the blue to people we don’t know. I don’t even know anyone…”

“Don’t worry about that. Do you know how many people are paying attention to Claire’s moves this year? Have confidence, Claire! You saved Prince Daniel from a rampaging horse, became the first woman to be granted the title of countess, and on top of that, became an imperial physician. Right now, there’s no one in social circles who could attract as much attention as Claire.”

Hearing her words, Claire’s accomplishments seemed incredible. As Ileana said, with achievements like these, it seemed there would be plenty of people wanting to associate with me, even if we weren’t close.

“Moreover, even today, lots of invitation letters came for Claire.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t mention it because you seemed to have so much to worry about. I even wrote replies on your behalf.”