𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒: 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞’𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
“The medicine you prescribed didn’t work at all.”
As soon as he saw me, Prince Ehrlich leaned back in his chair and declared.
“That was a mild gastrointestinal medicine. Didn’t it stimulate your appetite?”
“Yes. His Highness unusually had seconds at breakfast.”
The prince made a “hmm” face, but his attendant, Rondal-san, answered with a smile.
“Don’t say unnecessary things.”
Oh, the prince blushed a little. He had such a cute side. His appetite must have been stimulated by the gastrointestinal medicine, as he is in his growing period.
“Excuse me.”
I approach the prince, take his pulse, and check his temperature. I also examine his tongue and lower eyelids. No particular abnormalities. The sweet smell of coffee is still there.
“Do you drink coffee, Your Highness?”
“I don’t drink it. I hate it.”
“But, aren’t you eating coffee-flavored candies? I’ve smelled the sweet scent of coffee yesterday and today. It’s not written in the meal record.”
The prince hastily raised his voice to the old man accompanying him, as if to interrupt my words.
“Everyone, leave the room.”
Rondal-san reluctantly leaves, and Stephan follows. The room is left with just the prince and me.
“You smell it?”
“Yes. Due to my job, I have a keen sense of smell. Your Highness, you can’t fool me with just a mouthwash. You’ve been eating coffee-flavored candies, haven’t you?”
The prince hesitated a little, but seemed to decide to confess.
“I ate them. But it’s a secret. If it’s known that I eat candies, someone important will be troubled. That person got them secretly and gave them to me.”
Well, well. What to do.
“Your Highness, do you know that there are foods that some people can’t tolerate? If you eat them, your mouth and respiratory tract may swell, and in the worst case, you may die.”
“Die? Is that true?”
“Yes. However, foods that cause such severe symptoms usually cause a reaction immediately after eating, so it’s easy to identify the cause. But, there are also foods that cause a slightly weaker reaction after several hours. It’s hard to identify the cause and it’s often overlooked.”
“Are you saying that coffee candies are like that?”
“Coffee rarely doesn’t agree with some people. Please try stopping eating coffee candies and see how it goes. If you don’t have any problems, then the cause was the coffee candies.”
Then the prince looks troubled and thinks. I wonder who the other person is. I don’t think there are many people who can secretly give food to the prince.
“I’m sorry, but could you tell the other person from your mouth? I have a difficult situation to say from me.”
His tone has become much more polite. I wonder if he has opened his heart a little.
“Understood.”
・・・
『”𝔸𝕨𝕖𝕓𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤.𝕔𝕠𝕞” – 𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖, 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕝e𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 “𝕕𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕦𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤” 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕠 “𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤”.』
・・・
The next afternoon. I am in a gazebo in the royal palace’s rose garden. Across from me are Prince Ehrlich and a lady who is as lovely as a doll.
“Freiche, this is Ellen, the pharmacist. Ellen, this lady is my fiancée, Miss Freiche.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ellen Bowen.”
“I’m Freiche. I heard that you have an explanation about His Highness’s condition. What is it?”
I see. The giver of the candies is this young lady. It’s certainly hard to say.
“I investigated the cause of His Highness’s headaches and stomachaches, but there was no specific thing that linked the contents of his meals and the onset of his discomfort. So, I thought that the cause of the discomfort might be the coffee candies that are not written on the record.”
“Oh my, what should I do?”
The young lady places her slender fingertips on her mouth, her bright brown eyes showing surprise.
“I heard that His Highness cannot drink coffee and is often teased by the Crown Prince. I thought that if he gradually got used to it from sweet candy, he might be able to drink coffee someday. That’s how I got used to the taste of coffee.”
“Is that so?”
“But, that candy is a favorite of the common people, shared by the maids. If it becomes known that the candy is the cause of my discomfort, wouldn’t Freiche be severely scolded?”
It’s good that no one had any ill intentions. If someone with ill intentions had been involved, it would have been a big deal and lives could have been lost.
“Let’s do this, Freiche-sama wanted His Highness, who loves delicious candy, to eat it too, so she shared it and they ate it together. And His Highness was too shy to tell the meal recorder about the candy. Isn’t that fine?
No one would scold such a loving couple. It can’t be helped, it will end.”
The two nod in agreement.
“But Your Highness, there may be other foods that cause this discomfort. So please always report what you drink and eat to the record keeper. This time it was settled, but if it’s a condition that affects your life, someone’s life might be lost.”
“How scary. Your Highness? Please do so.”
“Freiche, there’s no need to worry. I’ll make sure to report from now on.”
“Thank you. It’s a promise.”
(How cute. I’m a little jealous.)
Of course, I didn’t voice or show these thoughts.
In this way, I was able to successfully complete my role with the good graces of His Highness and Freiche-sama.
Later, I received a report from the royal palace that “Prince Ehrlich’s discomfort has disappeared.” Was the coffee candy the cause after all?
It’s a relief that there was no need for medicine.
And just as I was thinking that, I received another summons from Prince Ehrlich. When I rushed over, I was suddenly asked,
“Ellen, can you make a weight loss medicine?”
“Who will drink it?”
“Freiche insists that she wants to lose a little more weight.”
Freiche-sama is thin. Very thin. Trying to get any thinner during growth is dangerous.
“Let me speak without considering business.”
“Ah, yes, go ahead.”
“Freiche-sama is thirteen years old, as I understand. Her body is still in the process of developing. And even now, she is quite thin.”
“I told her the same thing.”
“Your Highness, you must absolutely persuade her. If she becomes too thin during growth, the body will decide that it cannot afford to bear a child in order to protect its life, and it will switch to not conceiving.”
“What!”
“In the worst case, her menstruation may stop, and she may become unable to bear children. Even if menstruation resumes, it may become difficult to conceive. It is your duty, Your Highness, to stop Freiche-sama from losing weight. If necessary, I can tell her plenty of unfortunate real-life examples I have seen.”
“I understand. I appreciate the advice.”
After a while, a mountain of raw medicinal herbs arrived from the royal palace, and ten live blue and black scorpions each arrived from Freiche-sama’s house. It seems that our house is known to be happy with scorpions.
Both my mother and I almost jumped for joy.
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