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Vol 02 Chapter 54: Worries I

After the meeting with King Rosais had ended, I left the room to find Julia waiting for me.

「It’s been a while. Have you come to a conclusion?」

「…Sorry. I’m still thinking about it. I’ll definitely have an answer by the deadline.」

I looked straight into Julia’s eyes as I answered. She smiled softly.

「I see. Please, decide as soon as you can. By the way… can we talk for a bit?」

Saying this, Julia pulled my hand.

「You know, you’re not in a position to have a secret meeting with me.」

「But if I don’t do this, I won’t be able to talk to you, right?」

I was led by Julia to her private room.

…She’s not planning to drug me and create a fait accompli, is she?

I looked around Julia’s room. There were various furnishings and tools for magic. The smell of strange medicine remained in the air.

There were a few books as well.

It wasn’t the kind of room you’d see for a girl in modern Japan. Is this the standard room for a princess on the Adernian Peninsula or is Julia a little weird? Probably the latter.

For comparison, Tetra’s room is cluttered with six prototype wands, materials for making more wands, magic circles, and a plethora of magic stones and papers for drawing them. She claims it’s organized, but she always takes a lot of time searching for things, so it’s probably a lie.

Suddenly, a plant with white flowers caught my eye.

「Is this a poppy?」

「Yes, it’s rare, how did you know? Have you used it for something?」

「I’ve never used it, but I’ve seen it growing in the forest.」

By the way, Griffon-sama taught me about them. Poppies have analgesic effects, making them excellent as medicinal herbs.

They are also commonly used as a medium for hallucinatory magic. This is what we mixed into the black powder.

As a drug, it’s extremely potent. So potent, in fact, that it could send a sleeping lion tripping.

「Is this a female hemp plant?」

「Well, yes. But as a medicine, poppies are more effective. The hallucinogenic effects are weaker, so it doesn’t have much value for magic. Its main use is recreational… I don’t have any desire to smoke it, though. I don’t understand its appeal.」

Basically, it’s cannabis. On the Adernian Peninsula. —or rather, in all the western part of the continent—it’s widely smoked.

It’s easy to cultivate and not considered highly addictive, which is probably why it’s popular. I think people should be free to smoke it if they want, but I’d prefer if those close to me didn’t.

「This flower is… beautiful, but I haven’t seen it before. Is this also used for drug manufacturing?」

「Exactly!! It’s from the East. I got it from the Kirisians. It has an amazing hallucinogenic effect. It’s called morning glory, apparently. I’ve tried its effects on rats before, and the results were scary.」

Morning glory with potent hallucinogenic effects1… That’s probably datura, also known, as jimsonweed. So, it exists in this world too.

There are poppies and cannabis too in this world, so it’s not really surprising, but Julia… it’s fine to experiment on animals, but please, never try them on your own body.

「Actually, I’ve been thinking I want to experiment with its effects on humans… I already know it works well as a medium for magic on dogs. So, the only thing left is to collect data on humans…」

Julia put a datura flower in my hand.

「Could you try using it in the next war? You only need to scatter it in powder form and order your magicians to cast a curse.」

「Well, okay…」

It’s probably more effective than the poppy. Hallucinatory magic played a key role in the last battle against the Dibel Family, so trying it out should be fine. But it won’t be a laughing matter if the wind suddenly changes direction after we begin spreading it. We have to be careful.

Suddenly, a deep purple flower caught my eye. It was almost the same color as Julia’s hair.

But it wasn’t lavender, judging from the shape of the flower. When I picked it up, it spread a sweet smell.

What is this…

「That? It’s a new species of poisonous plant. Recently found on the Adernian Peninsula. I’ve been growing it because I heard that the people who ate it developed an addiction. If I can get more samples, I plan to experiment to determine its effects. I want to see whether it can become a medicinal herb, remains a poison, or can be turned into a drug… Isn’t it exciting?」

Not really.

「Hmm, maybe I’m the odd one? When I research things like this, I get really excited and my spirits lift.」

That’s not because small amounts of the drug are entering your system, is it? Please let it just be that Julia is eccentric. I’m begging you, God.

「Hey, if a war breaks out, will you try it out? Then, tell me the difference in effects compared to the poppy.」

Julia suddenly closed the distance with an earnest look on her face.

「Well, okay. I can do that much.」

When I said that, Julia took my hand into hers.

「Thank you. I want to hear about the effects directly from you.」

「Of course.」

With that, Julia moved her lips close to my face… I couldn’t refuse her and just accepted it.

Julia quickly pulled away.

「Do your best.」

「Thank you.」

I bid farewell to Julia and left the palace.

◇

「Hey, Almus. You kissed Julia, didn’t you?」

「…Sorry.」

I apologized honestly.

But how could she know? Women’s intuition is amazing.

「I’m not mad. It’s not like I lost anything.」

Tetra spoke indifferently.

I have known Tetra for a long time… but she’s still an enigma at times. Sometimes, I just can’t understand her.

Isn’t this the kind of thing people usually get mad about? If she doesn’t get mad, I’ll just end up slipping into the same behavior again and again.

「If you’re going to marry Julia, you’ll end up having sex with her anyway, so a kiss is nothing in comparison. If you choose not to marry, then you’re only giving the poor, pitiful Julia some consolation. I’m big-hearted enough to allow that much.」

I wish you would show a bit more jealousy. Didn’t you use to interfere when Julia and I were getting along well in the past? What’s with this change of attitude?

「I’ve already secured my position as your number one. No matter what happens, my status as the first to be your wife is unshakable.」

So, you’re saying you’ve got some leeway after marrying me. Is that how it is?

「By the way… where does the needle point for you now? Do you want to get married to Julia? Or not?」

「It’s leaning 60% towards wanting to, I guess…」

My relationship with Rigal Dibel has significantly worsened because of the last incident. If things continue this way, just as King Rosais said, the future where Rigal becomes king and I am purged will become reality…

No, that’s just an excuse.

Every time I kiss and embrace Julia, I find myself desiring to marry her more and more. I’m probably just looking for excuses now.

「I think it’s fine for you to become a king, and probably Ron and the others would say the same.」

「I know. That’s why I can’t talk with them about it.」

They would never oppose it. In fact, they would welcome it. And they would gladly die for my happiness.

That’s why I can’t discuss it with them. Because I don’t want them to die.

And there’s something else that’s been on my mind a little…

「If you become king, you can save many people. Isn’t that a good reason?」

「That’s an overestimation. I doubt I would be a great king,」

I said this and sighed.

Tomorrow will be the start of July. The deadline Julia gave me is in four months… By then…

◇

「Rigal-sama. Gilbert must be punished. If we don’t, it sets a bad example for the other vassals!!」

Belmet shouted vehemently. Rigal responded to that.

「Wait, wait, it was just one defeat, wasn’t it? Can’t we overlook it this time?」

「He lost despite having twice the military force. This battle was one we could not afford to lose. Because of this defeat, most of the neutral lords have now sided with the Aris faction. Even within our faction, many have switched to the Aris side or are considering it. We must hold someone accountable for this!!」

At the moment, one-third of the patricians were with the Aris faction, and two-thirds were with the Dibel faction.

Previously, the Aris’s faction wasn’t very united, with many who were on the verge of switching to Dibel’s side at any moment, or neutral parties merely posing as members of the faction. However, Almus Aris’s victory against Dibel forces solidified their unity. The Adernian Peninsula was rife with wars, and the primary concern for the patrician Families was how to protect their own interests.

Although it’s true that Almus Aris broke the law, given the strength he displayed, this wasn’t considered a significant issue. Moreover, the reason for breaking the law was to protect oppressed people.

In contrast, Rigal Dibel, who oppressed his people, lost despite having twice the troops. Had he won, the fact that he oppressed people wouldn’t have mattered much… but losing had made it a major issue.

Now, some voices questioning Rigal Dibel’s right to succeed the throne began to appear.

This was a huge problem for Rigal, who aimed to be king.

「But Gilbert is my cousin. Can’t we forgive him this time?」

Hearing this, Belmet clenched his fist tighter.

Rigal was overly lenient towards his family. He easily assigned important positions to family members without notable achievements and overlooked their failures.

On the other hand, with non-family members, he was strict, never assigning them important positions and quick to punish them for minor mistakes.

Currently, Belmet was the sole non-family member in a key position, with all non-family vassals having been recommended by him. This situation demotivated the vassals from striving for achievements.

Belmet wanted to reduce the influence of Rigal’s family before he became king. This loss was significant, but it could be used to strengthen his camp.

Belmet was aggressively accusing Gilbert, planning to replace him with a capable non-family member after his downfall.

But if Rigal protected him, it wasn’t going to happen.

「First of all, wasn’t there a problem with the strategy proposed by Belmet-dono?」

One of the vassals denounced Belmet, he was a familiar of Rigal. Voices denouncing Belmet began to rise one after another.

Indeed, Belmet’s strategy was somewhat risky and had many demerits. But without that strategy, Rigal would have blatantly broken the law.

Had he lost after that, he would have become a laughingstock. Therefore, Belmet was not to blame.

But the family members didn’t care about such details.

「Well, calm down. Let’s call it a draw this time,」

Rigal said, attempting to calm his family members.

Somehow, Belmet found himself shouldering part of the blame. Rigal didn’t mean any harm. He was truly trying to calm the situation but chose his words poorly.

Yet, he didn’t realize his mistake, nor did he see that he was being manipulated by his family members. Belmet sighed deeply in his heart.

TN1: This may be confusing because morning glory and datura are two considerably different plants, not even of the same family, but the Japanese name for the datura translates as ‘Korean morning glory’. That’s why Julia calls it morning glory and Almus easily recognizes it.