episode_0004

The plan is to treat the empress and strike a blow to her successor, Princess Anais.

“Honestly, it’s not an easy task. If done wrong, it could only strengthen the background of the empress’s successor, Princess Anais.”

Even foreigners couldn’t ignore the power of the empress who had survived.

Moreover, in the Britannian Empire, there were many people who relied on trade with the East for their livelihoods. Although the empress is currently confined to the imperial palace, living like a plant, if she sets her mind to it, she could exert various powers.

While explaining how this could be possible, Sienna intervened.

“Yeah, it should be quite possible.”

Nodding her head.

“Your Highness?”

“I roughly understand what you’re thinking without you having to say it. You want to use my reputation to raise suspicions about Anais, right?”

“….”

“Well, if I say I’ll take care of the empress, how many people would believe me willingly? There are rumors going around that I have a torture chamber underground where I capture and kill disobedient people.”

She’s saying it herself. Of course, it was true.

“Yes, Your Highness. If we throw the right bait, the reaction will be intense. If we do well, we might even be able to lead Princess Anais to attack you directly. And even if that doesn’t happen, someone from the faction of the third princess will definitely take the bait.”

“After that, when I heal the empress, those who plotted against her will face backlash instead.”

It was fortunate that she was a woman with whom words could communicate in bad situations.

By now, she might be imagining herself dedicating herself to the empress, who has shed no blood by now, and becoming a virtuous lady of the time, as well as the despairing face of her step-sister who persecuted herself and then fell into a backlash.

However, Sienna wasn’t just playing along.

“But… Alan? How do you plan to fix the empress? It’s not like you’re going to send her back to her hometown by boat, right?”

The knight who was swinging a club suddenly started talking about opium and imitated the demeanor of a staff officer, which is strange to blindly support. I wonder how I can cure long-standing mental illness. “If you wish, I can explain.” He said casually. Siena stared at me intently and then lowered her head. “Never mind. You must have your reasons… So, do you want to take on this task after all?” “If you entrust it to me, I will produce satisfactory results for Your Highness.” I replied as seriously as possible. However, Siena seemed skeptical. ‘Was this person really so cautious?’ It is normal to proceed with such a delicate political maneuver carefully, but the Siena I knew was not that kind of character. Once he messed up, he was more likely to urgently evade responsibility and make excuses while the surroundings were in chaos. Kindly, Siena explained to me why she didn’t trust me. “I’m curious. Why are you volunteering for a difficult mission?” “Well…” “Don’t give me loyalty as an excuse. Where in the world can you find such a person?” It wasn’t about my strategy, but rather her distrust in me. It’s natural to be curious about why someone would willingly put themselves in great danger as a mere knight. If things go wrong while playing around with the nobles, the only consequence is death. I willingly provided the reason. “Actually, there is one desire.” “Tell me.” “If I achieve results that satisfy Your Highness, please reward me.” “Money?” “…Yes. What could be more important than money? I hope to receive a reward if I succeed. Around 1 million talers should suffice. And I would also like to be granted a vacation of over a month to freely enjoy that money.” I said with a faint smile. A person driven by personal gain and desires is more believable than someone who boasts of loyalty that doesn’t exist. It also suited Alan Maydoff’s external image. 1 million talers. It was a considerable sum. Receiving money wouldn’t be a bad thing.

However, my true intention was not money but a vacation. I needed time to find a way to escape from this woman. Fortunately, Siena did not doubt my intentions.

“Yeah, you do like money. Actually, I know you’ve been embezzling some money from my business. Until now, I’ve just turned a blind eye and considered it a bonus.”

“…”

“Fine. If your plan works out, I’ll give you that much.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I have conditions too. Can you guess what they are?”

“…If things go wrong, I will take full responsibility. There won’t be any trouble caused to Your Highness.”

That settled the discussion. She immediately summoned the chief court astrologer at the Temple of Thames.

“From now on, fulfill all of Alan’s requests.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After giving brief instructions, Siena left neatly. The knight who protected her by her side was Bonno, a slightly short-tempered knight who had caught Siena badmouthing him before. Instead of seeking revenge on him separately, Siena was silently killing him by taking him around like that in real-time. It must have been quite difficult, but he didn’t deserve sympathy.

If the plan failed, I would be in a worse situation than Bonno, after all.

First, I had to find a way to cure the Empress.

*

The illness the Empress suffered from was a severe case of melancholia. Ultimately, it was depression. During the day, she wrote letters to her family and friends living in her homeland, and at night, she silently sobbed while riding on her seven-stringed instrument. She also spent other times sitting still like a plant, staring out the window.

I understood why she longed for her homeland.

In a foreign land far away, untouched by the aftermath of the civil war where nobles killed each other, the Empress married at the young age of eighteen. She must have been tired at such a young age. Although she received noble treatment, there must have been some prejudice against foreigners.

“In the end, what she remembered after all the struggles was her homeland.”

Life in an unfamiliar and suffocating empire, longing for the happy childhood as a princess, and reminiscing about the memories that naturally followed. To fix such an empress, I chose medicine as the method. I wasn’t a psychiatrist and didn’t have the ability to treat her through counseling. However, I knew about medicine that could improve the symptoms of depression without turning her into an invalid. Moreover, it was medicine that could be found in nature. “Please hire an herbalist to bring mushrooms. The cost doesn’t matter.” It was an order I gave, summoning Gordon, the chief herbalist of Siena. “Mushrooms, you say?” “Yes, mushrooms. There’s a mushroom the size of a fingernail with a reddish-brown cap that doesn’t leave sticky mucus when touched, and if you injure it, the area turns blue within a short period of time. If you want to find it in a certain terrain…” “What do you need the mushrooms for?” “You don’t need to know that.” I instructed him to describe the appearance of the mushrooms in detail and bring them. It wasn’t just any mushrooms; it was hallucinogenic mushrooms containing psilocybin. I thought of it because hallucinogenic mushrooms had appeared in the original work. There was a female assassin character who nibbled on mushrooms suspected to be hallucinogenic. Looking back now, the creator was quite peculiar. Anyway, hallucinogenic mushrooms of the psilocybin family were useful. They had hallucinogenic effects, but their addictive properties were much weaker than tobacco, and their dependency was lower than marijuana. Of course, drinking it together with alcohol would be harmful to the liver. Above all… psilocybin had a rapid effect in improving the symptoms of depression. Some countries had already approved it as a therapeutic agent. There was no perfect antidepressant in the world, but it didn’t matter. “Even if it doesn’t cure her, she’ll have pleasant memories for a while.” It would be a tremendous stimulation for the empress who had suffered from depression for a long time to enjoy a brief escape to a different world. I had seen this in person before.

“Did you ask me to make mushroom substrate because you wanted to grow hallucinogenic mushrooms at home?”

“No, just wondering.”

“Crazy bitch.”

Three years ago, at my younger sibling’s request, I used all my expertise to create mushroom cultivation substrate. They ended up growing hallucinogenic mushrooms on it. It wasn’t a morally upright method, but it seemed like the only way to quickly alleviate depression or at least give the illusion of doing so.

“Allen, I’ve brought what you ordered,” said the palace servant.

Two days later, the palace attendants brought in a large quantity of mushrooms. Most of them were completely different from the ones I had requested. Cultivating mushrooms was already an extremely difficult task, to the point where even professors in mycology couldn’t be considered true experts. I carefully selected only the mushrooms necessary for making medicine. And, not forgetting to consume a small amount for verification purposes.

“It’s a crazy endeavor, but it’s better than unintentionally poisoning the empress. Besides, my constitution is strong anyway.”

About 30 minutes later, along with a floating sensation, everything in front of me started to distort. Thankfully, I had only consumed a small amount.

“I made the right selection.”

For some reason, I decided to enhance it with a touch of creativity instead of simply giving the empress plain mushrooms. I processed it into a form resembling a familiar type of drug, one that the empress would likely be accustomed to. I also obtained a luxurious medicinal container made of ivory from the East.

It took a few more days, but it was necessary. Presenting it as a meticulously crafted medicine rather than just mushrooms aligned with our interests. If we wanted to properly repay the empress’s debt, it was best to present it as if it required a significant amount of time and effort.

“It looks convincing.”

The result was reasonably satisfactory. How wonderful it would be if I could deliver it to the empress like this.

However, I had one more promise to fulfill to Sienna. It was to lure and degrade Princess Anais’ image to Sienna’s level, if not lower. It wasn’t difficult considering Sienna’s notorious reputation. I immediately threw the bait.