๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐: ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ค
โEllen, you have been requested by the House of Duke Howden.โ
My father says this at the breakfast table.
โFrom Felixโs family? For me? I wonder who is feeling unwell.โ
โItโs Diederick-sama. He seems to be bothered by the pain in his knee due to his chronic illness. Franca has been treating him until now, but this time he wants you. Hehe.โ
โHehe? I donโt have a good feeling about this.โ
ใปใปใป
ใโ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.๐๐๐โ โ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐e๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ.ใ
ใปใปใป
โHey there, Ellen. Iโm glad you came. Come this way.โ
โHello, Diederick-sama. Itโs been a long time.โ
The previous Duke-sama, Diederick-sama, is a lively old man, except for his knee.
โItโs been eight years. Youโve become a beautiful lady. It feels like just yesterday when you were observing plants in our garden with Felix. Time flies.โ
โHow is your knee?โ
โNot good. If it werenโt for your momโs medicine, I wouldnโt be able to walk by now.โ
โI heard that you requested me this time. Has the medicine stopped working?โ
โNo, I just wanted to talk to you.โ
I waited for him to explain what he meant.
โFelix doesnโt want to have a fiancรฉe.โ
โIs that so?โ
โIt seems he has someone he loves. He wonโt say the name.โ
โHmm.โ
โI wonder if itโs you.โ
The last time I saw Felix was at a party eight years ago. Thereโs no way that could be true. As I hesitated to respond, Diederick asked another question.
๐๐: ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซโ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ
โWhat do you think of Felix, Ellen?โ
โI think of him as a dear childhood friend.โ
โI see. You are the heir to the Marquis family. I suppose Felix, the heir, is not in your sights.โ
โI think itโs not about what I think, but rather that Iโm not the one for Felix-sama. We havenโt seen each other in eight years.โ
Diederick pulled up the hem of his loose trousers to reveal his knee and urged me to examine it. I continued the conversation while touching his knee.
โI am the successor to the apothecary, and the heir to the Marquis family, so I donโt think Felix-sama would think of me as more than a friend.โ
His knee was slightly warm. If the inflammation has recurred, I should change the medicine. His body might have gotten used to the medicine and its effect might have dulled.
I took out a bottle of ointment from my bag, which contains a small amount of scorpion venom. I applied the green liquid to his knee, rubbing it in a little at a time. I also applied it to the back of his knee. I then placed a cloth over it and wrapped it with a bandage.
The venom of a scorpion, which paralyzes its prey, combined with medicinal herbs, can alleviate joint inflammation and pain. This is also a secret.
โI will change the ointment. The oral medication will remain the same.โ
โDo you have any intention of passing on the apothecary to your sisters?โ
โNo.โ
I answered immediately.
Being the successor to the apothecary is much more important to me than inheriting the Marquis family. Itโs my raison dโรชtre. If I were to pass it on to my sisters, what would I aim for in life?
โI see. Do you know why Felix stopped seeing you?โ
โNo. We stopped seeing each other when I became busy studying to be an apothecary. Was it because our schedules didnโt match?โ
Diederick-sama sighed.
โHe said he couldnโt bear to watch your apothecary training.โ
Ah, come to think of it, back then, I was gradually diluting and ingesting poison, and chewing raw herbs to remember their taste. There were times when I vomited and had allergic reactions, but my motherโs judgment was always correct, and I never suffered for a long time.
โThat was necessary study. When it comes to things that go into or are applied to patients, itโs not enough to just have knowledge from words.โ
โWould you let your own child go through the same experience?โ
โYes. I didnโt leave any marks on my skin or damage my body from that study.โ
โI see.โ
I had to make it clear here.
โIsnโt there hardship in any job if you try to master it? Whether youโre a cook, a seamstress, or a fisherman.โ
โShe took out the arthritis medication from her bag. Diederick looked at the small mountain of medicine with a troubled face.
โYou wouldnโt need to make such sacrifices if you were the wife of a Duke.โ
โNo, I would have the painful task of socializing.โ
If I were good at subtly hinting at what I wanted to say, as nobles do, I would have been swimming around the sea of evening parties and making more acquaintances by now. There would have been no need to look for new encounters at this point. Iโm not good at, and I hate, dealing with nobles.
โUm, does Felix-sama know about todayโs matter?โ
โNo. Itโs my own decision. I donโt want Felix to have the same regrets as me.โ
โThe same regretsโฆโ
The story I heard from there was something I was hearing for the first time.
Diederick-sama had a crush on my grandmother when he was young. After my grandmother was chosen as the successor to the pharmacist, she started to distance herself from Diederick-sama.
Eventually, my grandmother married my grandfather, who was seen by the old man as a โmild-mannered but neither good nor bad as a noblemanโ. Diederick-sama had long regretted not expressing his feelings to my grandmother or opposing her marriage.
No, no, no!
Thatโs a love story from Diederick-samaโs perspective.
I know that my grandparents loved each other. My grandfather respected my grandmother as a pharmacist, respected her work, and supported her. My grandmother didnโt choose my grandfather because he was a โman who wouldnโt interfere with the pharmacistโ.
But, even if I argue with the old man in his seventies here, it would just be a futile argument.
โIโve checked your knee condition. The medication youโre taking is fine as it is.โ
โEllen. Canโt you see Felix as a marriage partner?โ
โI donโt think this is a conversation we should be having without the person in question.โ
As I was responding, the door burst open. It was Felix-sama.
โI heard that Ojii-sama called for Ellen. What are you talking about?โ
Felix-samaโs face was stern.
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