A Genius Pharmacist Whom the Empress Is Obsessed With

His Worries (edited)

As the ongoing struggle continued, people passing by started glancing at Sane and the woman rejecting him.

A woman clinging to his clothes and a man rejecting her, it must have been an amusing sight for anyone passing by.

Concerned about Sven standing next to him, Edeun sent him to his own office first before following behind Sane.

On one hand, he was curious about why Sane was clinging to him so desperately.

Sane’s office, which he entered for the first time, seemed to resemble the owner. Various herbs used for research were messily scattered around the research table, and the desk was covered with piles of documents making it difficult to make out its shape.

The office floor was the same. The luxurious marble was covered with documents, herbs, and dried potions.

Amidst all that mess, the path she often walked on was clean, giving the impression of a path covered with fallen leaves.

“The problem is that the floor is covered with books and herbs, not fallen leaves….”

Thankfully, the sofa was in decent condition. As Edeun sat on the sofa, Sane clapped her hands and said.

“Then, please wait here for a moment! I’ll bring the tea!”

Sane muttered as she headed towards a small room next to the office. From the faint sound of water, it seemed like there was a separate bathroom attached to the personal office.

“For a personal office allocated to individuals, this one is quite decent…”

Surprisingly, Iden still hadn’t been to his office. To be precise, he had been detained by Swane on his way there.

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After a while, Swane came out with a small tray in her hands.

“Here, here’s tea from my hometown! It’s sweet and sour, so it’ll taste good.”

Iden examined the tray that Swane had put down. Inside the small teapot on the tray were dried black currants.

“…Black currants.”

Black currants were fruits that grew on currant trees in the northern region. They had a lot of juice and were extremely sour. Because of their strong sour taste, people in the north would soak the currants in alcohol and eat them.

“Hot! You know what it is! Most people don’t know. By any chance, are you from Raff?”

“No, I’m not from Raff. I’ve just seen black currants a few times in the past.”

“Oh, I see… I thought you knew about currants, so I thought you were from Raff.”

Disappointed, Swane stirred her teaspoon continuously.

The region Swane mentioned, Raff, was a place that was far north and outside the empire’s territory. It was called an abandoned land because it was difficult for people to live there. Since the small country had perished several hundred years ago and no proper nation had emerged since then, only a few strongholds remained.

Because of this, people from Raff were considered peculiar and isolated.

Swane seemed to have that kind of tendency as well. As soon as she realized Iden wasn’t from Raff, she noticeably became sullen.

Feeling the sudden awkward atmosphere, Iden quickly changed the subject.

“…But didn’t you say you had something to show me?”

“Oh, right! Please wait a moment. I’ll also bring the book I mentioned!”

Swane stood up from her seat and headed towards the desk piled with documents.

“Not this one, not this one either! Oh my goodness, where is it!”

Frantically searching through the desk, Swane seemed to think it wouldn’t do and swept everything off the desk.

‘…’

At this point, it might be better to tidy things up. Looking at the increasingly messy office, a sigh escaped from Iden.

“Ah! Here it is!”

Whether she understood Iden’s feelings or not, Swane sat on the floor and rummaged around, then held up a purple book and shouted.

“This! This is the book I mentioned. It’s the book I personally wrote when I studied herbal medicine!”

Swane rushed to the table and handed the book to Iden.

Although it was unknown how old she was, just judging from the book itself, it seemed quite old. The bookbinding thread made of parchment seemed like it could break off at any moment.

“Can I open it?”

“Yes, of course! I’m here to teach you about medicinal herbs, after all!”

In case the bookbinding thread were to snap, Iden carefully flipped through the pages.

The worn-out parchment paper was covered with crooked handwriting and somewhat amateurish drawings of herbs.

“Surprisingly well-organized, isn’t it?”

Lideun, calmly reading the book, marveled inwardly.

Despite the messy handwriting and drawings, the information about herbs was neatly organized.

“Oh, ginseng should be at the end of the book! Please look at other medicinal herbs too!”

Sane repeatedly fidgeted with her finger on her knee.

“Please look! Check it out!”

At Sane’s urging, Lideun quickly flipped through the pages. The book included Eastern herbs, including ginseng, at the end.

“How is it? Is it the ginseng you’re looking for?”

“Yes, it’s the ginseng I know.”

“Wow! I’m glad it’s correct! I was worried because this record is so old!”

Upon Lideun’s words, Sane clapped her hands and continued speaking.

“I don’t know where you’re planning to use ginseng, but please let me know later. I’ll write it down in the book!”

“…Write it down in the book?”

“Yes! Creating a perfect herbal encyclopedia! That’s my dream. That’s why I approached you at the pharmacy.”

“You approached me because of this book?”

“Yes, I just told you. Creating a perfect herbal encyclopedia is my dream. I didn’t have anyone around me who could teach me about Eastern herbs, so I was a little embarrassed. But if I remove Eastern herbs, it won’t be a perfect herbal encyclopedia! That won’t do.”

“…”

“When I heard the word ‘ginseng’ at the pharmacy… Oh, how happy I was…”

Sane finished her sentence and muttered to herself while twisting her body. Every time she moved her head, the oversized glasses hanging on her nose seemed about to fall off.

If what she said was true, she was clinging and excited about meeting someone new because of this herbal encyclopedia, her dream.

“This woman, when she gets fixated on something, she goes straight for it, it seems.”

From her behavior, it was clear that her original personality was very timid or had difficulty interacting with people. In such a situation, it was only natural for something to go wrong when talking to someone completely unfamiliar.

Feeling unexpectedly used, Lideun thought that he should ask his own curiosities.

“Sane, where did you learn about these Eastern herbs written here in the book?”

The book included not only ginseng but also commonly used herbs in the East, such as angelica, tetrapanax, and lily. And it was quite detailed.

“Oh? Those herbs?”

“Yes. As you know, it’s not easy to come across Eastern medicinal herbs.”

“I, I was a disciple when I was young. My master was incredibly outstanding. I heard that he even traveled to the East!”

Suhane listed off what kind of food her master liked, what clothes he enjoyed wearing, and even his habits. Judging by her actions, Suhane seemed to be infatuated with her master as well.

Edun, on the other hand, felt bitter as he listened to Suhane ramble on about her master.

“I thought I could find someone to discuss things with this time…”

Unfortunately, it seemed like he had no luck this time either. She had mentioned that there was no one to look at her herbal guide. It was clear that Suhane’s master, who was knowledgeable in Eastern medicine, had already passed away.

***

Leaving Suhane’s office, Edun headed straight to his own office.

When Edun entered his office, Sven was in the middle of organizing his belongings among the boxes scattered on the floor.

A few days ago, it seemed like the items Edun had asked for had arrived. Edun also rolled up his sleeves and began to organize his belongings.

Even as he placed books on the shelves one by one, Edun’s mind was filled with different thoughts.

“Should I ask Sven if he knows anyone knowledgeable in Eastern medicine?”

The reason Edun was fixated on Eastern herbs was because of Rembauel.

In order to decipher Rembauel’s medicine found in Mellow, Edun intended to use Eastern herbs.

“That way, Rembauel won’t be able to respond properly.”

Didn’t Viscount Penniard say that even if Edun were to create an antidote, Rembauel would soon come up with another medicine?

Even if Rembauel were to come up with a new medicine, it wouldn’t deviate much from the existing formula. Creating a completely new concoction for the antidote would take a long time and its effectiveness was uncertain.

Therefore, it was clear that Edun would have to make slight changes to the composition of the antidote he created.

“I can’t make it difficult for others to bypass the antidote I created if I don’t have Eastern herbs.”

He wouldn’t be able to hide which herbs he used. However, it would take quite some time for Rembauel to understand the unfamiliar Eastern herbs. It would also be difficult to obtain a large quantity of Eastern herbs in the public.

“The problem is that I can’t get someone else’s opinion on the antidote I created…”

Edun never once thought that the antidote he created was wrong. However, since it was his first time using a large amount of Eastern herbs, it was necessary to pay attention to it.

“Maybe I should experiment with it once more using my own body.”

Thinking of various methods, Edun impatiently ran his hands through his hair.