Chapter 76
Currently, the production of Rubarina and Rubawen was being thoroughly managed by Owen and me.
From the cultivation and harvesting of herbs to the preparation of medicines and their distribution.
We even went so far as to modify the plants so that their seeds could not be collected, just in case any herbs leaked outside.
“As you know, the demand for Rubarina and Rubawen is extremely high. Nobles line up at the Pharmacology Academy just to buy them. However, the amount supplied by the Duke’s household is significantly insufficient…”
The head of the academy lowered his eyebrows in concern, then quietly asked in an even softer voice:
“If the Duke’s household finds it difficult to produce enough, would there be any way our academy could assist?”
I deliberately put on a surprised expression.
“No way, Grandfather Pharmacologist! That’s too kind of you!”
“Haha, well, I just thought—”
“But it’s fine! Even if the academy doesn’t help!”
The head of the academy clamped his mouth shut.
Then he gave an awkward smile.
“But really, is that so? If we stepped in, production could increase significantly. Surely you haven’t even consulted with the Duke…”
“There’s no need to consult with the Duke! The medicines are made just by me and my master!”
“Just the two of you?”
“Yes!”
When I insisted stubbornly, the smile disappeared from the academy head’s face.
A look of annoyance then settled on him.
I chuckled inwardly.
‘Did he really think that if he offered to help, I’d scurry off and give him the production methods and Rubarina seeds?’
As expected, the academy head spoke with a slightly stern expression:
“However, it seems a little… problematic that such valuable medicine is only produced by the Abner Duke’s household…”
Now he seemed to be trying a different approach, intending to scold me.
He must have thought this tactic would work better than coaxing me gently.
“Wouldn’t it be better to share with our academy? You seem too young to understand fully, Lady…”
“That’s right! I don’t know! All I know is that I made the medicine myself!”
“…Excuse me?”
“If I made it, doesn’t that mean it’s mine?”
The academy head’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
He spoke seriously:
“Then, what about the commoners if the supply runs short?”
“Uh?”
“The supply is limited. You know that even now, people line up at the Pharmacology Academy to buy Rubarina and Rubawen, right?”
“Yes.”
“Yet even so, there are countless cases of people returning empty-handed because they couldn’t buy any! Naturally, commoners often cannot even see the medicine.”
I rolled my eyes.
‘Funny…? The academy doesn’t sell to commoners but allows nobles to stockpile freely.’
Owen and I were currently supplying a significant amount of medicine to the academy.
There was practically enough for anyone in urgent need to buy.
Yet commoners couldn’t obtain any because nobles hoarded it, and the academy did nothing to stop them.
“Lady, I heard you also came from an orphanage, and yet this is so cruel. Commoners’ lives are lives too!”
The academy head shook his head as if I were being naive.
“Rubarina and Rubawen are great discoveries. Production should be increased immediately so that both nobles and commoners can buy without burden. Don’t you feel pity for them?”
“Um, Harabuji.”
When I cautiously interrupted, he looked at me.
“The commoners? I mean, the residents of the Abner domain, they get Rubarina and Rubawen for free…?”
“Excuse me?”
“The residents of the domain are provided the medicine free of charge.”
The academy head’s eyes widened.
I smirked inwardly.
Because of that, citizens from all over the Empire have recently been flocking to Abner territory.
The academy head seemed completely unaware.
“And even if they’re not Abner domain residents, if they need medicine, the Duke’s household provides it directly.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“There’s no need to worry about commoners!”
The academy head’s lips parted and his eyes widened.
“Y-You mean until now, only nobles paid for the medicine?!”
“Yes. Why?”
“Why, you ask! That’s inequality…”
“You see, we can’t not give it to the commoners. Don’t you pity them? Commoners’ lives are lives too.”
The academy head fell silent.
“If we didn’t give it for free, the commoners couldn’t get any medicine. The nobles would just buy it all up.”
“…”
“Since you, Lia, are from an orphanage too, you understand how upsetting that must feel…”
He let his eyebrows droop in a theatrical display.
“I’ve already devised a way to ensure commoners can access the medicine more easily. So don’t worry!”
As long as they come to Abner territory, commoners can get medicine freely.
The academy head fidgeted.
Since he had been the first to mention the commoners, he had nothing to argue against.
‘Why try to deceive me, grandfather?’
I was secretly pleased when I heard that the academy head wanted to meet me.
Although I had heard of corruption, the Pharmacology Academy was still a large research institution.
And naturally, the academy head was a recognized scholar.
‘I thought we’d talk about medicinal research or the future of pharmacology when we met.’
But to think he was trying to extract the Rubarina and Rubawen production methods from a kid…
I shook my head inwardly and pretended not to notice, adding:
“By the way, Harabuji, how much does the academy normally sell Rubarina and Rubawen for?”
The academy head’s face turned pale.
“Th-That is…”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he ran off somewhere without even saying goodbye.
I watched him go, crossing my arms with satisfaction.
“I clearly said one vial is a thousand Terra.”
A thousand Terra is just the price of half a sandwich.
So if they had sold at the price I suggested, Rubarina and Rubawen wouldn’t have been expensive at all.
But the academy didn’t do that.
‘Eek, they’re charging 100,000 Terra per vial?!’
‘Exactly. They claimed the supply we delivered was insufficient, so they hiked the price. What should I do?’
A few days before coming to the Empire, I learned that the academy was taking astronomical profits from my medicine.
Owen immediately wanted to send an official letter, but I had a different thought.
‘Better to just leave it.’
‘Leave it just like that?’
‘Yes. Nobles are going to hoard anyway. Let them pay the high price. They’ll have to return it all eventually.’
I tilted my head slightly toward the disappearing crowd of academy members.
‘If it becomes known that the 100,000 Terra medicine from the academy was free for commoners…’
The nobles who hoarded the medicine would surely storm the academy.
And they would complain.
‘Hmm, the academy is also a disposable pawn, huh?’
There were many capable scholars, and we wanted to maintain good relations for the future genius program.
But seeing the academy head’s greed, I felt uneasy entrusting my medicine to them.
‘I need to reconsider what Owen and I discussed.’
About the official distribution of medicine in Abner territory.
If the merchant guild has a set price for distribution, the academy couldn’t arbitrarily set the price for my medicine.
‘They’ll also have to be more careful not to cut off supply to avoid Abner’s scrutiny.’
Then they won’t dare attempt tricks to extract the production methods like today.
‘The problem is, the law has to change for that to happen.’
Currently, under imperial law, all medicine can only be distributed through the Pharmacology Academy.
This system has persisted since the era of scholarship, so overturning it would not be easy.
It would probably require enacting a new law or modifying the system itself.
But I didn’t mind.
‘I know a very, very capable and powerful former Chief Justice.’
And that person likes me very much.
The Empress Dowager.
“Hehe.”
I chuckled quietly with excitement.
‘If only the academy head had been truly respectable.’
If he had been just a little more proper, I might have found a way to coexist with the academy.
Not to diminish its authority.
“Hmm.”
Humming, I looked around.
The grand hall of the palace was bustling with people.
A few steps away, Sharon Abner was dealing with other nobles.
I was about to move toward her when suddenly:
“Oh my, how adorable!”
A group of young girls appeared before me.
They were noble daughters, dressed in lavish gowns and adorned beautifully.
“Aren’t you the new Lady of the Abner family?”
The red-haired girl at the front stepped toward me.
“You’re just as cute as the rumors say, and I hear you’re the developer of the recently popular healing medicine…”
A white, smooth hand reached out toward me.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Bella.”
Bella’s crimson eyes, matching her hair, sparkled as she smiled.
