episode_0044

Episode 44. A Spring Picnic on an Afternoon

****

My legs hurt, my head hurts, and I stayed up all night preparing for the presentation for a few days, so my eyes are bleary. When I think about it, there isn’t really a part of me that doesn’t hurt.

Istina sat down and patted her leg. It hurt from standing, or from the carriage crashing down on her earlier. Either way, it hurt.

Still, I’m glad the presentation ended well.

There were some people who were a bit sleepy, but I guess they worked hard the day before. Anyway, I don’t think it was Istina’s fault for making a mistake in her presentation.

Now the professor went out to take questions.

Although it may have been a small event, it was still the greatest stage of Istina’s life.

I was lucky.

Professor Asterix’s ability was certain. Although he was a bit difficult to use, he met a good professor and even gave a lecture at the palace.

Even when she entered graduate school, Istina’s expectations were at rock bottom. She just wanted to get a master’s degree from any professor.

Thinking back now, it was ridiculous.

Istina’s advisor gave Istina the opportunity to change the history of imperial medicine. He gave the paper on the epidemic dysentery to Istina. It may be because she had already published the germ theory.

I think today’s lecture will be successful to this extent. I think the opinions and information were conveyed well. I wonder if it caught the attention of the higher-ups?

Get a good reputation.

Become a recognized scholar, a skilled healer who can save lives, and gain connections with the imperial upper class.

Then, wouldn’t it be possible to put a stop to those who have been picking on me since long ago and even tried to kick me out of graduate school?

Well, right now I’m sitting on the chair behind the podium, patting my sore leg. But even so, a good day will come for Istina someday.

If you just follow this professor well.

****

The presentation ended like that.

Although Istina was a little shaky, she finished successfully. Rather, she may have won some sympathy votes thanks to her trembling voice.

Now it’s time for me to take questions. I’m not sure what kind of response I’ll get. I can just look up other professors’ academic positions.

In a way, the people gathered here are politicians.

The prince looked at me.

“Think of it like a war against disease?”

“Yes.”

“That makes sense.”

But I wonder if you haven’t planted that idea today? First of all, you were called here.

A slightly worried look. The prince turned his head toward Violet, who was currently the palace’s chief healer. Violet’s eyes opened wide.

I woke up startled while I was sleeping.

“What do you think?”

“I have been to the academy several times and exchanged opinions with our professors. I think most of what they say is correct.”

Your brain works quickly.

It wasn’t a lie. It’s true that Violet went on a business trip to the Academy. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t exchange opinions.

A smart and lazy person. To be exact, a person who shows an unrivaled talent in how to avoid being lazy… … . Maybe.

“I see.”

“Because we were colleagues in the palace infirmary.”

Violet gave me a thumbs up with a raccoon-like expression that said, “Relieve me.” It was a little ridiculous. She’s a nice person, though.

Violet That person, if we had just met at an ordinary workplace, wouldn’t he have been the best colleague? Of course, it’s not right for a doctor to act like that.

“Yes. I listened carefully to the professor’s opinion. After all, isn’t the main argument that poor environments create and spread epidemics?”

“Yes.”

The prince’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Being a healer is an easy job. Is the treatment finished just by telling the patients who come to you to eat well, dress well, and sleep well?”

That’s the hard part, you stupid prince.

Take back what I said about having a good personality.

When I see it like this, I think the prince is indeed a high-ranking noble. The prince is certainly a good person in normal times, but that doesn’t mean he has an attitude that everything in the world is beneath him.

“Most diseases can be cured or at least prevented by that. But usually, they come to me after they pass that stage.”

The prince seemed satisfied with this answer, for instead of refuting it, he simply nodded.

“Don’t think about it. Thanks for your hard work.”

After saying hello, I took Istina and left the conference room of the palace, leaving behind the people in the palace who were still murmuring about something.

Istina looked at me.

“Is this a good job?”

“Yeah.”

“I was very worried before coming. But I think I presented well without stuttering!”

To be honest, I stuttered.

He groped a lot. He even limped in front of the conference room, probably because his legs were still uncomfortable. He may not have felt it, though.

Still, it doesn’t really matter.

I wonder if he bought it out of sympathy or something trivial.

“Stuttering isn’t important. You are a person who can be evaluated based on content alone. This presentation is also like that.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

Istina laughed and then covered her mouth. It was quite a girlish reaction.

“Anyway, thank you for your hard work in presenting, and I’m getting some rest. I’ll be leaving before dinner.”

“Yes!”

Istina nodded.

Come to think of it, I had a promise with Mint.

The time now is about three o’clock in the afternoon.

The sun was still in its zenith, but we managed to escape from the lecture hall at a reasonable hour.

Mint was waiting for me in front of the garden. She wouldn’t have kept me waiting long, right?

“I thought it would take a long time, but it came out early?”

“Ah. Aren’t you all busy people?”

It’s busy, but the people I saw earlier are people who decide when to leave work. Once we’ve delivered all the content, we should disperse.

It was a relatively sunny late spring day.

There was a small sandwich on the picnic table, but Mint didn’t seem particularly interested in the sandwich.

“Oh, a new one is passing by.”

“You told me to stay quiet because my horse was making my head hurt when we were riding in the carriage earlier. Why do you want me to come to the garden and play?”

“There has to be someone who can carry a parasol.”

“Oh my, Princess.”

“What are you doing? You’re not carrying an umbrella.”

Still, it seemed like a joke. There was a parasol on the picnic table in the garden, and Mint’s parasol was helplessly placed next to the bench.

“The room is already covered in dust. It’s only been two months. I guess I haven’t cleaned it.”

“Isn’t the door just locked? You can’t just barge in while the princess is away.”

“Is that so?”

Princess Mint tilted her head.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the palace. It’s just as I remembered.”

“That’s right. I thought it would change a lot.”

The palace hadn’t changed at all. It was like going back to two months ago and going to work at the palace. Mint looked at me.

“Did you meet the First Prince today?”

“Yes.”

Do you usually call your blood relatives that?

Now that I think about it, it seems like a normal sibling relationship. There’s no need to call your family register mate by their name, they’re not even friends.

“I wish the princess had come too.”

“Well, maybe they’ll put you in that position when you graduate from the academy.”

Well, Mint is a kid. By modern standards, she’s probably a college student or high school student.

“What did the prince say?”

“It was a place to discuss health policy. The Baron Regent of Lapis, whom I saw last time, was also there.”

“Aren’t you a girl?”

“You’re a woman, right? Blue hair.”

“Ugh. I hate him.”

“I think you said that last time too.”

Why do you hate the Baron of Lapis?

Mint didn’t inherit her parents’ title, and Baron Lapis was a regent at a similar age? Or maybe there’s another reason?

Mint looked into the air with a slightly sad expression. Butterflies were flying among the flowers in the garden, and birds were flying among the trees.

“Teacher. How old are you, teacher?”

“I’m thirty.”

“Was it like that?”

Mint looked like she had a lot to say, but she wasn’t saying anything. Was she lost in thought after coming to the palace for the first time in a long time?

“But. Don’t you have Yangsan?”

Wasn’t that a joke?

I opened the parasol as Mint told me to. It was a lavender parasol that went well with Mint. I came wearing a black suit.

Anyone who sees it would find it very funny.

“Let’s walk a bit.”

I put a parasol over Mint’s head.

****

Mint walked slowly through the garden.

The princess was talking about trivial things. About classes at the academy, about the princesses taking classes with her, about some professors not being able to explain things, and some professors being good at explaining things.

I wasn’t listening closely.

“Princess. I am no longer a person working in the royal household. I think it is a bit problematic to order me around like a servant.”

Mint looked at me again.

“Please.”

“Oh, yes.”

There was nothing special to say about that.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for your time. You must have been busy today.”

“If you need the princess.”

Mint walked for a while and then stopped. Flower petals were fluttering around Mint.

“Hey. I thought something would change if I went to the academy? I was secretly scared.”

I nodded.

“Change is scary.”

“But nothing much has changed.”

“Positive changes are usually gradual. If you don’t know, it can feel that way.”

“I consider it a great development that I can discuss my feelings openly and non-defensively with the princess.”

Mint frowned at those words. Oh, this might have been a mistake. Mint likes being praised, but she hates being treated like an overly childish person.

“Hmm. Sometimes I think that the teacher is better at speaking than at medicine.”

“Yes?”

Mint walked towards the garden exit.

On the topic of the stupid princess… … .