Chapter 26: The Kaiser-Mustached Villain's Scheme

“Ojou-sama, is this sufficient?”

“Hmm? Um… yes, that’s fine. Now, immerse that in the liquid over there.”

While the world outside was bustling with the Founding Festival, I was busy making potions with a yagen (herb grinder) and a mortar that I found in the pawnshop. I learned how to make basic potions from the grandmother who raised me. Things like how to infuse magic power and efficient methods for extracting the medicinal components of herbs without waste. I don’t know if this is a pharmacist’s secret tradition or anything, but there seem to be various methods. You could call them different schools of potion-making. So, I don’t know if my method is common or not. As long as it results in a low-level potion, the method doesn’t really matter. It’s not like I’m putting anything dangerous in it.

The reason I was making potions was that I desperately wished I had the paralysis potion that appeared in the game when Elliott was attacked by [Beast Demon Summoning] the other day. The [Beast Demon Summoning] possessed by the game’s villainess, Sakuraile, is a powerful [Gift]. The paralysis potion was the item Estelle prepared in the game to counter it. The paralysis potion, as the name suggests, is a potion that paralyzes the target when sprinkled upon them. Summoned beasts have a physical form; they can be cut by swords and pierced by spears. They are also affected by chemicals like potions. Moreover, this potion is specially made and is extremely effective against summoned beasts. In the game, Estelle asked a certain character to make it, gathering the necessary ingredients. Since I remembered the ingredients, I asked Arisa the maid to gather them for me, and that’s why I’m currently diligently working on potion-making. Some of the ingredients were quite rare, but since we are a Ducal House with various connections, she procured them quickly. Well, this paralysis potion is completely ineffective against the Dark Dragon, the final form of [Beast Demon Summoning]… As it’s a paralysis potion, it works on humans too, though not as potently as on demon beasts. It doesn’t work instantly and is less effective than on summoned beasts. It would be utterly idiotic if I paralyzed myself, so I carefully poured the finished yellow liquid into several small bottles and sealed the corks tightly.

“Okay, finished.”

Released from tension, I wiped the sweat from my brow. Now I can fight back if we are attacked again. Since Elliott seems to be the target, I will certainly give him some, but I’ll keep some for myself too. If the summoner goes into an out-of-control state, they won’t discriminate, so I might be attacked as well.

“Oh, I should make the other one too.”

I filled other small bottles with a blue potion from a different pot in the same manner. This one is the paralysis recovery potion. The basic ingredients are the same, but by adding something slightly different, a potion with the exact opposite effect can be created. Medicine is fascinating. With this, I’ll be safe even if I accidentally use the paralysis potion on myself. You have to prepare a recovery method when making poison. I packed the finished potions into the cherry-blossom pink pochette that was on the table. Seeing the impossible amount of liquid fitting inside makes me realize again how amazing this pochette is. This is a pochette imbued with [Storage Magic] and was a gift from His Majesty the Emperor, delivered through Father. Apparently, it was a thank you for letting them use the kitchen car in an emergency and for giving him the watch. Father has one too, which is a bag type. His seems to have a larger capacity, but I definitely prefer the pochette over a bag. I like the cherry blossom embroidery on it. However, His Majesty the Emperor is quite generous. I feel like I’m receiving too much… Well, I’ll accept what I can get. It’s convenient.

“Sakura, we’ll be going to the castle soon. Are you ready?”

“Ah, yes! I’m fine!”

While I was admiring the pochette‘s capabilities, Mother came to call me. I put the freshly made potions into the pochette and headed toward Mother. We would go to the castle by carriage. Going by the kitchen car would be faster, but it stands out too much, and without the Ducal House’s crest on the body, it would be troublesome if we were stopped at the castle gate. Oops, I need to take the wristwatches for Grandmother and the Empress. I’ll bring some other accessories too.

◇　◇　◇

“That’s amazing… It’s smaller than His Majesty’s wristwatch, but it’s working perfectly.”

In the gazebo in the castle garden, the Empress murmured admiringly while looking at the wristwatch I handed her. This one is for women. It’s smaller and has a more elegant design than the one I gave His Majesty. The color is beautiful too.

“Thank you, Sakuraile. I will treasure it.”

It seems Grandmother liked hers too. I came here to deliver the paralysis potion to Elliott, but the important Elliott apparently couldn’t make it because he was having a costume fitting for the goodwill party on the final day of the Founding Festival tomorrow. Since I handed it to the Empress, it should reach Elliott. I don’t know how effective it will be, but it’s better than nothing. When I showed the Empress and Grandmother the accessories like rings, necklaces, and brooches I obtained from the pawnshop, they liked them so much that they offered to buy all of them. They aren’t that great, though. Father was the one who paid for the items in the pawnshop, but Mother told me I could do whatever I wanted with them, so I gratefully agreed to sell them. With this money, I can buy some items from this world, sell them back to the pawnshop, and get ten times the amount in return.

“I was just looking for accessories to wear to the goodwill party. These are simply perfect.”

The Empress looked at the newly bought necklace with a satisfied smile.

“To avoid wearing the same thing, shall we decide what each of us will wear?”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Grandmother, the Empress, and Mother were excitedly comparing accessories. Me? I was quietly drinking tea and eating the cheap sweets I brought. I am a child who can read the atmosphere. However, this pochette is so convenient… Mine has a capacity of about one six-tatami-mat room, but apparently, some can hold the contents of an entire house, depending on the item. Of course, you can’t just store anything. Living things won’t fit, and items larger than the opening won’t go in. It doesn’t stretch infinitely like a certain futuristic cat-robot’s pocket. Well, for now, cheap sweets occupy most of the space. I thought about putting hot dogs and hamburgers in, but I decided against it because time doesn’t stop inside this pochette. I’d rather summon the kitchen car directly than eat cold food, and I don’t want the pochette getting dirty with ketchup. Besides cheap sweets, I have a few useful bits of junk I got from the pawnshop in the pochette. A flashlight, binoculars. I also put in some items that could be used for self-defense. Always be prepared. Since my level increased, my magic power limit also seems to have gone up. I can now summon five kitchen cars. If my current maximum magic power is 5, then the kitchen car consumes 1 unit of magic power, and a normal store consumes 2. I can’t summon the same store multiple times, but since the kitchen car was a chain store, I could summon multiple ones. If my maximum magic power increases further, I might be able to summon a whole kitchen car army. Also, the same type of store can only be summoned once a day. I tried summoning the cheap sweets store, buying all the products, sending it away, and then resummoning the reset store, but it didn’t work. I could summon five kitchen cars, though. Since the license plates were different, they must be different vehicles. I can summon five now, but there must be a limit to the number of kitchen cars too. That hot dog shop was quite famous, so I think they had a good number of vehicles. …Hmm. I drank too much tea, so I feel the need to go… It is rude to leave one’s seat in such a setting, but since everyone here is family, it should be fine.

“Mother. I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”

“Oh, do you know the way? Arisa and Tanya, could you please accompany her?”

I almost said, ‘I’m not a child anymore,’ but I am a child. In any case, both Father and Mother try not to leave me alone. Well, given my history of being kidnapped… I returned to the castle from the garden gazebo and headed to the nearest restroom with Arisa and Tanya Celesta. The closest one seems to be up on the second floor. Incidentally, the toilets in the castle, like those at my Ducal House, are flush toilets that use magic stones for water. They don’t have automatic flushing functionality, though. After successfully taking care of my business on the second floor and walking down the castle corridor to return to the garden gazebo, I spotted a familiar figure on the floor below, which was visible through the open-air void.

“Is that… Marquess Ragtime?”

In what looked like the ground-floor lobby, Marquess Ragtime and two other nobles were sitting on a sofa, deep in conversation. They didn’t seem to notice me, and the three continued to whisper about something right below where I was looking down. In the center of the low table in front of them, a small Magical Orb was embedded. That is a Magic Tool for soundproofing, which has the effect of blocking sounds within a radius of about two meters from leaking outward. In other words, unless you are inside that area, you cannot overhear their conversation. Since secret conversations often need to take place inside the castle, there are quite a few spots like this. The gazebo where I was just now also had the same function, I believe. Nobles use these quite often in their daily lives. My Ducal House also has a few of them. Hmm? I’ve seen the other two nobles before too. I think they attended the other day’s party. I’ve only seen them, not talked to them myself, so I don’t know who they are. As I puzzled over this, Arisa, who was behind me, spoke up.

“Is something wrong?”

“Eh? Oh, no. Um… I was just wondering where I had seen those people talking with Marquess Ragtime before.”

“With Marquess Ragtime? …Ah, those are Count Pizzicato and Viscount Tempo. They govern territories in the Legato region, in the eastern part of the Empire.”

Legato region? Ah, territories near the frontier, close to the Empire, just like Grandfather’s territory. What are they discussing with those local lords? Mmm, I’m curious. After all, Father said that Marquess is trying to undermine His Majesty the Emperor, right? And now he’s whispering with lords near the enemy country. It looks like they’re plotting something wicked. But I can’t hear them from here, and they won’t talk if I get close… …Ah! That’s right. I might be able to use ‘that’! I took ‘that’ out of my pochette, instructed Arisa and Tanya Celesta, and descended to the lobby where Marquess Ragtime was. I approached the table where they were talking, pretending to be lost and looking around.

“Hmm?”

Marquess Ragtime noticed me. I smiled as if I had just noticed him, too, and walked quickly toward the Marquess. The seating arrangement in the lobby had a low table in the center, with backed sofas on all four sides. The other two nobles were seated to the left and right of Marquess Ragtime, and the sofa closest to me was empty. I stood in front of the empty sofa’s backrest. Since I am short, only my head and shoulders were visible to them. This should hide my hand.

“Um, you are Marquess Ragtime, aren’t you? Thank goodness, I know someone here.”

“…Well, well, the le Philharmonie Ducal Daughter. Has something brought you here?”

The Marquess spoke in a suspicious voice, sensing a disturbance from my abrupt address.

“Um, I actually got lost on the way back to the tea party… Do you know where the East Courtyard is?”

“Ah, the East Courtyard can be reached by going straight down that hallway. …But you are quite a careless young lady to get lost. His Grace the Duke must have quite a lot of trouble with you.”

“…Thank you. That helps.”

While internally irritated by the Kaiser-mustached old man’s unnecessary comment, I smiled and curtsied slightly, and at that moment, I slid ‘that,’ which I had been concealing in the shadow of my pochette, into the gap beneath the sofa.

“Ojou-sama!”

Tanya Celesta came down the stairs from the second floor right on cue, approaching us. Well, I instructed her to do so.

“I apologize for the intrusion. Please excuse me.”

I bowed lightly again and left the spot with Tanya Celesta. Now then. I’m excited to see what happens.

◇　◇　◇

“Your Excellency the Marquess, who was that just now?”

“That is the daughter of the Duke of le Philharmonie. You know, the one called the ‘Phantom Lady’…”

“Ah, the one rumored never to show her face. So she really exists.”

Until the Crown Prince’s birthday party the other day, the le Philharmonie Ducal Daughter had never attended an official event. The rumor was that she was sickly and recuperating, but there were various other rumors that she had already died, or that her face was too ugly to be seen in public, or that she was cursed by a demon.

“Well, who knows? Perhaps the young lady is already deceased, and they adopted a child with a similar hair color to the Duchess from somewhere.”

“Surely not…”

“If so, it would be a betrayal of us nobles. A noble respects bloodline above all else. Base blood is unnecessary for nobility. We, the ‘Old Nobility,’ who were chosen by birth, are the true nobles. The current Emperor does not understand that.”

Marquess Ragtime spat out with animosity. Criticizing His Majesty the Emperor is out of the question, but fortunately, no one was nearby, and the soundproofing Magic Tool was in effect, so their conversation could not be overheard. Because of this, they were speaking in normal voices, not whispers.

“By the way, is that matter proceeding smoothly?”

“Yes, indeed. We have contacted the Shadow Guild. I believe they will successfully lure the Empire’s men. Without fail, at the goodwill party…”

“With this, His Majesty the Emperor will be utterly disgraced. Your Excellency the Marquess’s power will surely increase further.”

“Mm. However, we must be extra cautious. Listen, on the day of the party…”

The three leaned in closer and began to secretly confirm their plan. Just as Sakuraile suspected, it was a wicked plot. Eventually, the three, having confirmed their respective roles, left the lobby together. A maid, who had been watching from the shadow of the second floor, walked toward the seats where the three had been, retrieved ‘a certain item’ that had been placed under the sofa, and returned to the courtyard.