“…Fresa?”
The one who opened the door was none other than Carla.
Carla widened her eyes and stared at Fresa.
I’m not sure what she’s thinking behind those glasses, but anyway, Fresa was about to spout the prepared excuse.
But Carla was quicker.
“As expected, you… you know something, don’t you?”
“…Huh?”
“Did His Majesty the Emperor order it? You were sent to investigate the Chief Apothecary, right?”
“Ah, no. I was just here to clean…”
Fresa muttered with a puzzled look at Carla’s behavior which was so unlike her usual self.
Carla, for some reason, wore an expression full of resolve.
“It’s impossible that you’re here for cleaning! Surely you’re the one who’s been dealing with that trashy Chief Apothecary… Oops, I’m sorry. I spoke carelessly without realizing it. Anyway, I trusted you from the moment you first came, Fresa!”
Carla thought Fresa had come to uncover the corruption in the Apothecary Department under secret orders from the Emperor.
‘Could it be that today you were deliberately given a key? I had a bad feeling, though…’
In fact, she suspected that Carla might be in cahoots with Elliot, but she never imagined the opposite.
What a ridiculous and absurd situation this is.
Anyway, it wasn’t something so terrible, but Fresa didn’t know what to say and racked her brain.
It seemed Carla believed she was a secret agent carrying out the Emperor’s orders to root out the Apothecary Department’s malfeasance. Of course, this was something Fresa had done independently, without Laurl or anyone else’s involvement.
‘But if Carla also wants to expose the Chief Apothecary, this could be an opportunity.’
It’s hard to find whistleblowers anywhere.
Especially in a department like the Apothecary where one person holds power.
‘Carla was definitely different from the other apothecaries from the start.’
So far, Fresa had watched the Apothecary staff, and only Carla had refused to follow Elliot’s orders meekly.
From then on, she kept an eye on Carla. If Carla really despised Elliot, this would be a opportunity not to miss.
After a moment’s thought, Fresa smiled and firmly gripped Carla’s hand.
“Yes, Carla. I am here to carry out a special order from His Majesty the Emperor. So please keep this a secret, okay?”
“Y-yes! Of course! I was right after all! His Majesty has already been keeping an eye on Elliot Ruffert.”
Carla replied with a moved tone as she clasped Fresa’s hand.
Lying was still not easy for her, but if she could get Carla’s help through this, it would be much easier.
Fresa checked the time again, then pulled Carla’s hand toward her.
“First, staying here is dangerous, so let’s move to another place, Carla.”
The two sat in a small rest area a little away from the Apothecary, in the garden where there was little foot traffic.
Carla sat opposite Fresa and spoke with a resolute face.
“Actually, the recruitment of Apothecary staff was the Chief Apothecary’s prerogative. But when you suddenly appeared with the Emperor and the Archduke behind you, we had to be cautious.”
“If it was a prerogative… does that mean the Chief Apothecary has been hiring all the assistant apothecaries up to now?”
“Yes, that’s right. The recruitment ads were posted officially, but the ones who passed the interviews were all at the Chief Apothecary’s discretion.”
“And the official apothecaries?”
“Same story. Usually a person serves as an assistant apothecary for a period, passes the national exam, becomes an official apothecary, and the final selection is done by the Chief Apothecary.”
Even if you work hard and pass the exam, to become a royal apothecary you must catch Elliot Ruffert’s eye.
‘Somehow life seems the same everywhere.’
Fresa mumbled with a small, satisfied sigh at the familiar reality.
“That’s pure autocracy.”
Carla nodded.
“That’s how it has to be. You understand, Fresa, the Apothecary Department is a tiny and weak unit. They don’t have healing abilities like a priest, and the only medicines that go out are things like ointments and painkillers. No one will care what happens here.”
Then why did Lauren send Fresa to the Apothecary Department?
Lauren wouldn’t hire Fresa to work there without a reason.
He was the Emperor of this country.
But from Lycaon’s words, there were many things that could not be solved by the Emperor’s power alone.
As Carla said, the Ruffert family had long produced Chief Apothecaries and was a famous noble family in the Empire.
A formidable existence likely to interfere with.
‘Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor himself suspects something?’
Perhaps Lauren judged it was too delicate to involve himself directly.
But at this point, it was just Fresa’s guess.
‘I should meet Lauren soon. Then I’ll know his real intentions for sure.’
At first, she thought Lauren assigned Fresa to the Apothecary Department simply to show gratitude.
But now, looking back, that seemed only a superficial reason.
“I came here because I was looking for evidence. You too probably found it—records falsely documenting the efficacy of herbs.”
Carla indeed knew about the falsified record.
“That’s right. Everyone knows this, right?”
Carla nodded and sighed.
“Yet both official and assistant apothecaries fear falling out of the Chief Apothecary’s favor. If that happens, they won’t be able to work here.”
Carla added with a bitter smile.
“Everyone is proud to work in the Imperial Apothecary. I too wrestled with whether I should reveal this.”
“In the end, you chose the righteous path, Carla.”
Fresa reached out and gently covered Carla’s hand with hers.
Her hand trembled slightly.
Although she was confiding the truth to Fresa, she seemed quite worried.
Indeed, betraying a colleague is not an easy decision.
Anyway, Carla had worked at the Apothecary Department much longer than Fresa and had better relationships with other apothecaries.
Carla bit her lips, then lifted her gaze to meet Fresa’s.
“I feared that even if His Majesty the Emperor learned of this, there might be no punishment and it would be let go. That’s why I never spoke to anyone until now.”
“Trust me, Carla. His Majesty the Emperor will not let this slide.”
When Fresa spoke with confident resolve, Carla finally smiled faintly.
“…Hearing you say that puts me at ease.”
Fresa smiled back, tapping Carla’s hand lightly.
To others, this might seem grave, but for Fresa, the situation was quite intriguing.
‘Whistleblowing about corruption could become a turning point to reveal the Apothecary Department’s importance.’
Of course, there would be turmoil for a while, but Fresa felt a strong desire to salvage the rotting Apothecary Department.
‘If I’m going to settle here, I must do it properly.’
The purging of corruption became Fresa’s new goal.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Fresa planned to meet with Lycaon after work at the Maatap Apothecary in the capital.
There was much she needed to say to him.
After washing up and placing a reed on her shoulder, Fresa arrived at the Apothecary first, where Lycaon greeted her with a gentle smile as he looked at her.
“Did you have a good day today?”
“Yes. How about you, Lycaon? I heard you’ve been busy lately.”
Fresa’s smile widened as she met his eyes.
Like her, Lycaon had also been busy, perhaps because he had been away from the Empire for a long time.
Lycaon brushed his cheek and said with a light grin,
“Well, you know how nobles are. They don’t bother with trivial matters.”
“Having to deal with the Archduke’s seat is really a hassle.”
“They say the one who wears the crown must bear its weight.”
Lycaon laughed lightly, joking, but Fresa knew well how much burden he carried.
One reason was Fresa herself.
The nobles of the Empire did not welcome Fresa’s presence.
They didn’t even know that Fresa had treated Lycaon and Lauren; they thought she was the woman Lycaon brought from a distant kingdom.
Emperor Lauren already had a fiancée, the Countess Iris, so there was no chance to eye Fresa. Many nobles pursued Lycaon.
But when Fresa suddenly appeared, some of the high nobles found themselves out of luck.
As a result, they were buzzed with political maneuvering under the pretext of business.
Lauren, too, could not do much with the high nobles, so he had no choice but to accommodate them.
Lycaon didn’t tell Fresa about these things directly; she learned little bits through Merina Jedd.
Fresa looked at Lycaon with pity.
“Still, you must be tired. Dealing with people is the most exhausting, after all.”
“It’s fine. If you appease them briefly, they act as if nothing happened. By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell me today?”
Lycaon naturally changed the subject.
No, it was almost too obvious.
“Yes. I wanted to talk about that black lump that came from the Emperor’s body.”
Fresa decided to let it go and turned toward the glass case.
“Huh?”
At that moment, Fresa doubted her own eyes.
The black lump, which had been writhing in the glass case just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
“…Fresa?”
The one who opened the door was none other than Carla.
Carla widened her eyes and stared at Fresa.
But Carla was quicker.
“As expected, you… you know something, don’t you?”
“…Huh?” I’m not sure what she’s thinking behind those glasses, but anyway, Fresa was about to spout the prepared excuse.
“Did His Majesty the Emperor order it? You were sent to investigate the Chief Apothecary, right?”
“Ah, no. I was just here to clean…”
Fresa muttered with a puzzled look at Carla’s behavior which was so unlike her usual self.
Carla, for some reason, wore an expression full of resolve.
“It’s impossible that you’re here for cleaning! Surely you’re the one who’s been dealing with that trashy Chief Apothecary… Oops, I’m sorry. I spoke carelessly without realizing it. Anyway, I trusted you from the moment you first came, Fresa!”
Carla thought Fresa had come to uncover the corruption in the Apothecary Department under secret orders from the Emperor.
‘Could it be that today you were deliberately given a key? I had a bad feeling, though…’
In fact, she suspected that Carla might be in cahoots with Elliot, but she never imagined the opposite.
What a ridiculous and absurd situation this is.
Anyway, it wasn’t something so terrible, but Fresa didn’t know what to say and racked her brain.
It seemed Carla believed she was a secret agent carrying out the Emperor’s orders to root out the Apothecary Department’s malfeasance. Of course, this was something Fresa had done independently, without Laurl or anyone else’s involvement.
‘But if Carla also wants to expose the Chief Apothecary, this could be an opportunity.’
It’s hard to find whistleblowers anywhere.
Especially in a department like the Apothecary where one person holds power.
‘Carla was definitely different from the other apothecaries from the start.’
So far, Fresa had watched the Apothecary staff, and only Carla had refused to follow Elliot’s orders meekly.
From then on, she kept an eye on Carla. If Carla really despised Elliot, this would be a opportunity not to miss.
After a moment’s thought, Fresa smiled and firmly gripped Carla’s hand.
“Yes, Carla. I am here to carry out a special order from His Majesty the Emperor. So please keep this a secret, okay?”
“Y-yes! Of course! I was right after all! His Majesty has already been keeping an eye on Elliot Ruffert.”
Carla replied with a moved tone as she clasped Fresa’s hand.
Lying was still not easy for her, but if she could get Carla’s help through this, it would be much easier.
Fresa checked the time again, then pulled Carla’s hand toward her.
“First, staying here is dangerous, so let’s move to another place, Carla.”
The two sat in a small rest area a little away from the Apothecary, in the garden where there was little foot traffic.
Carla sat opposite Fresa and spoke with a resolute face.
“Actually, the recruitment of Apothecary staff was the Chief Apothecary’s prerogative. But when you suddenly appeared with the Emperor and the Archduke behind you, we had to be cautious.”
“If it was a prerogative… does that mean the Chief Apothecary has been hiring all the assistant apothecaries up to now?”
“Yes, that’s right. The recruitment ads were posted officially, but the ones who passed the interviews were all at the Chief Apothecary’s discretion.”
“And the official apothecaries?”
“Same story. Usually a person serves as an assistant apothecary for a period, passes the national exam, becomes an official apothecary, and the final selection is done by the Chief Apothecary.”
Even if you work hard and pass the exam, to become a royal apothecary you must catch Elliot Ruffert’s eye.
‘Somehow life seems the same everywhere.’
Fresa mumbled with a small, satisfied sigh at the familiar reality.
“That’s pure autocracy.”
Carla nodded.
“That’s how it has to be. You understand, Fresa, the Apothecary Department is a tiny and weak unit. They don’t have healing abilities like a priest, and the only medicines that go out are things like ointments and painkillers. No one will care what happens here.”
Then why did Lauren send Fresa to the Apothecary Department?
Lauren wouldn’t hire Fresa to work there without a reason.
He was the Emperor of this country.
But from Lycaon’s words, there were many things that could not be solved by the Emperor’s power alone.
As Carla said, the Ruffert family had long produced Chief Apothecaries and was a famous noble family in the Empire.
A formidable existence likely to interfere with.
‘Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor himself suspects something?’
Perhaps Lauren judged it was too delicate to involve himself directly.
But at this point, it was just Fresa’s guess.
‘I should meet Lauren soon. Then I’ll know his real intentions for sure.’
At first, she thought Lauren assigned Fresa to the Apothecary Department simply to show gratitude.
But now, looking back, that seemed only a superficial reason.
“I came here because I was looking for evidence. You too probably found it—records falsely documenting the efficacy of herbs.”
Carla indeed knew about the falsified record.
“That’s right. Everyone knows this, right?”
Carla nodded and sighed.
“Yet both official and assistant apothecaries fear falling out of the Chief Apothecary’s favor. If that happens, they won’t be able to work here.”
Carla added with a bitter smile.
“Everyone is proud to work in the Imperial Apothecary. I too wrestled with whether I should reveal this.”
“In the end, you chose the righteous path, Carla.”
Fresa reached out and gently covered Carla’s hand with hers.
Her hand trembled slightly.
Although she was confiding the truth to Fresa, she seemed quite worried.
Indeed, betraying a colleague is not an easy decision.
Anyway, Carla had worked at the Apothecary Department much longer than Fresa and had better relationships with other apothecaries.
Carla bit her lips, then lifted her gaze to meet Fresa’s.
“I feared that even if His Majesty the Emperor learned of this, there might be no punishment and it would be let go. That’s why I never spoke to anyone until now.”
“Trust me, Carla. His Majesty the Emperor will not let this slide.”
When Fresa spoke with confident resolve, Carla finally smiled faintly.
“…Hearing you say that puts me at ease.”
Fresa smiled back, tapping Carla’s hand lightly.
To others, this might seem grave, but for Fresa, the situation was quite intriguing.
‘Whistleblowing about corruption could become a turning point to reveal the Apothecary Department’s importance.’
Of course, there would be turmoil for a while, but Fresa felt a strong desire to salvage the rotting Apothecary Department.
‘If I’m going to settle here, I must do it properly.’
The purging of corruption became Fresa’s new goal.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Fresa planned to meet with Lycaon after work at the Maatap Apothecary in the capital.
There was much she needed to say to him.
After washing up and placing a reed on her shoulder, Fresa arrived at the Apothecary first, where Lycaon greeted her with a gentle smile as he looked at her.
“Did you have a good day today?”
“Yes. How about you, Lycaon? I heard you’ve been busy lately.”
Fresa’s smile widened as she met his eyes.
Like her, Lycaon had also been busy, perhaps because he had been away from the Empire for a long time.
Lycaon brushed his cheek and said with a light grin,
“Well, you know how nobles are. They don’t bother with trivial matters.”
“Having to deal with the Archduke’s seat is really a hassle.”
“They say the one who wears the crown must bear its weight.”
Lycaon laughed lightly, joking, but Fresa knew well how much burden he carried.
One reason was Fresa herself.
The nobles of the Empire did not welcome Fresa’s presence.
They didn’t even know that Fresa had treated Lycaon and Lauren; they thought she was the woman Lycaon brought from a distant kingdom.
Emperor Lauren already had a fiancée, the Countess Iris, so there was no chance to eye Fresa. Many nobles pursued Lycaon.
But when Fresa suddenly appeared, some of the high nobles found themselves out of luck.
As a result, they were buzzed with political maneuvering under the pretext of business.
Lauren, too, could not do much with the high nobles, so he had no choice but to accommodate them.
Lycaon didn’t tell Fresa about these things directly; she learned little bits through Merina Jedd.
Fresa looked at Lycaon with pity.
“Still, you must be tired. Dealing with people is the most exhausting, after all.”
“It’s fine. If you appease them briefly, they act as if nothing happened. By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell me today?”
Lycaon naturally changed the subject.
No, it was almost too obvious.
“Yes. I wanted to talk about that black lump that came from the Emperor’s body.”
Fresa decided to let it go and turned toward the glass case.
“Huh?”
At that moment, Fresa doubted her own eyes.
The black lump, which had been writhing in the glass case just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
