Chapter 94

The night was quiet.

The interior of the manor was calm, as if the daytime bustle had been a lie. The lit candle flames cast swaying shadows on the walls.

Princess Elysia sat alone in a chair, quietly staring at her hands.

—They are still trembling slightly.

“…”

That scene was burned into the back of her mind and would not leave.

The blade severing the putrefied flesh, the body being held down, and, there were no screams.

She grips her fingers tightly.

“…That is,”

She mutters softly.

“A treatment without, pain…”

It was an unbelievable sight. The act of amputation itself, she knew of. It is not rare on the battlefield. But she had heard that it was something always accompanied by screams and chaos.

That was different. There certainly was agony, but there was no frenzy from pain.

“…It is established, isn’t it.”

The words drop absently.

As a technique. Just how much meaning does that hold?

When she closes her eyes, the battlefield floats up. Wounded soldiers, arrow wounds, lacerations, crushed limbs. Those who lose their lives due to pain before treatment.

And, the royal palace.

Nobles suffering from chronic pain. Those who cannot sleep at night and distort their faces.

…It can be used.

Her thoughts are coldly honed. Tooth extractions, surgical procedures, battlefield medicine—in every situation, this technique holds value.

“…I want it.”

Her voice spilled out unintentionally. At the weight of those words, she herself catches her breath slightly.

For the nation. That is certain, but that was not all.

She slowly opens her eyes.

The daytime scene comes to mind in a different form. His figure issuing instructions matter-of-factly, his judgments without waste, his unwavering gaze. Deep in her chest carries a slight heat.

“You are…”

Saying that much, she cuts her words off and quietly shakes her head. Not now; this is not a place to move by emotion. This is a negotiation.

“…How shall I draw it out?”

She lightly taps the desk with her fingertips.

Even if I seek it from the front, I don’t think it will be given. Rather, he will not hand it over easily.

He understands its value.

…If so.

Compensation, or a relationship, or perhaps… thinking that far, her hand suddenly stops.

Silence. And, she let out a small breath.

“…It’s difficult, isn’t it.”

A bitter smile oozes slightly. Her position as a princess, the nation’s interests, and her personal feelings.

They do not separate cleanly. Her gaze drops to the desktop.

There, was the pendant. She quietly grasps it, the stone of the same color as her own eyes.

“…But,”

Her expression softens just the slightest bit.

“There was meaning in coming to meet you.”

Those were words not meant for anyone to hear.

Within the swaying lamplight, Princess Elysia did not move for a while.

Suddenly, she touched her hair.

A faint scent remains on her fingertips.

“…”

Princess Elysia stopped her hand just like that.

—The scent of medicinal herbs.

Not too strong. But it certainly remains.

She recalls the clear hot water of that bathhouse.

The arranged stone floor, a place where instead of covering things up with excessive incense, the purified air itself filled the space.

…It was beautiful.

The faint smell of the hot water containing sulfur. That which originally should remain heavily, was strangely not unpleasant.

Before entering the hot water, the maid furrowed her brow slightly.

“…Your Highness.”

“What is the matter?”

“Well…”

Finding it hard to say, she chooses her words.

“Regarding the soap we brought…”

Princess Elysia had something that came to mind. An item purveyed to the royal family, carefully tailored using aromatic oils.

“Yes. What about it?”

The maid said timidly.

“…It has ended up overlapping with the smell of the hot spring. To speak honestly… I cannot say it is very, good…”

She muddles her words, but the meaning was sufficient.

Princess Elysia slowly let out a breath.

…Certainly, it’s terrible.

The scents are fighting. Even if it is of high quality, if it does not match, it collapses. Suddenly, she remembers.

“…Prince Leonhart said he prepared herbal water, didn’t he.”

The maid raises her face.

“Yes. He said it was for using after the bath. However, it is likely something commoners use as well.”

It is not something exceptionally expensive. The maid says hesitantly.

“Also, I hear Prince Leonhart himself uses it as well…”

Hearing that far, Princess Elysia stopped her movements.

“…Eh?”

Her voice leaks out softly.

…The same, scent.

In a medieval court, scent is not a mere luxury. Who you wear the same scent as… that is considered something that shows an unseen relationship.

Blood relations, master and servant, or perhaps—a very limited, special connection.

Even if they overlap unintentionally, one almost never chooses it oneself.

Princess Elysia’s fingertips stop slightly.

“…”

Silence. The maid observes her state.

“Your Highness?”

Princess Elysia slowly raised her face.

“…I wonder how many types there are.”

The maid answers immediately.

“I have heard several types are prepared. So that you may choose by scent or efficacy.”

“I see.”

Replying shortly, she drops her gaze. Within the not-so-long silence, several thoughts circulate. Practicality, rationality, and the same, scent. Her fingertips grip slightly tighter.

“…Let us try one.”

The maid widened her eyes slightly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It is part of my research.”

There was no longer any hesitation.

The maid bowed her head without saying anything.

Eventually, several herbal waters are brought in.

Lavender, rosemary, sage.

Each has a different scent. Princess Elysia takes them in her hand one by one to check, and finally, her hand stops on one.

“…This one.”

She says quietly. The maid nods.

Princess Elysia, keeping her gaze on that herbal water, did not move for a while.

The maid quietly watched that state.

The Princess’s profile as she checked the scents one by one was more serious than usual. And the moment she made her choice, her expression relaxed just the slightest bit.

Almost as if a flower was blooming.

“…This one.”

The voice announcing it as if nothing had happened is composed as usual.

The maid, saying nothing, tucked that faint change away in her chest, and merely bowed her head quietly.