Chapter 17
Learning herbal medicine turned out to be easier than expected.
It was a bit confusing at first — all the herbs looked so similar — but it was still fun.
“How about making something like an herb encyclopedia?”
“An encyclopedia?”
“Yes. An herb book. If you make it into a book, it’ll be easier to teach others.”
“…I’ll give it a try.”
In truth, no one had ever seriously studied herbalism enough to write a book about it.
There simply wasn’t any need. Since there was no demand, there had never been a reason to supply one.
But because it was Idette who suggested it, Hezbeni and Hadi didn’t even think about refusing — they just immediately agreed.
Besides, maybe someone might need it in the future.
If only someone long ago had written down the contents of those secret herbal codes instead of passing them down orally…
They wouldn’t have had to struggle so much to decipher them now.
So, if they made a book now, maybe it could be useful someday.
Hezbeni wasn’t as openly obsessed with Idette as Hadi was, but honestly, deep down, her admiration wasn’t much different.
“Oh? You’ll start right away?”
“Yes. Actually, I was already thinking it was necessary.”
“Really?”
In truth, she hadn’t thought about it at all — but since Idet mentioned it, she lied without hesitation and decided to actually make one.
“By the way,” Idet asked suddenly, “are there any herbs that help women recover after giving birth?”
“Of course. But here, people rarely take medicine, so how long it’s been since they got sick is the key. If it’s recent, they can recover quickly with herbs, but if not…”
“…I see.”
Idette’s expression fell slightly.
“Is there someone you’re worried about?”
“…There is, but she’s the type who doesn’t like medicine. I can’t just hand her something to take.”
That was normal around here. Because of the temple’s manipulations, the reputation of herbalists had fallen to the ground.
“So, I was thinking…”
Idette leaned forward, eyes gleaming with an idea.
Hezbeni could only stare in shock.
She had been worried for a while.
She thought maybe Lady Duchess’s health was worsening — and Brinnen was having a hard time because of it.
So, Idette came up with an idea.
What if she could make something that sick people could take without even realizing it was medicine?
If she could mix it into something familiar — something even commoners could access easily — wouldn’t that be perfect?
And that’s how she came up with the idea of medicinal tea.
When she explained it, Hezbeni’s eyes widened.
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes. There’s someone I want to help, and I was thinking of a way to give her medicine secretly.”
“…It’s a clever idea, but what if she finds out later?”
Hezbeni looked uneasy.
This wasn’t like Idette, who knowingly took medicine. This was completely different.
“We’ll worry about that later.”
“Excuse me—what?”
Idette’s carefree answer almost made Hezbeni faint.
If anything went wrong, everyone involved could lose their heads!
Still… deep down, she couldn’t deny that the idea was interesting.
Not the secret-feeding part — but the concept of turning medicine into tea.
For a herbalist, that was an exciting challenge.
“I’ll take full responsibility,” Idette said.
“…Technically, the responsibility falls on us, since we’re the ones making it.”
In the end, Hezbeni agreed to help.
A month passed since the herbalists began living in the side annex of the estate.
During that time, Idette and her father, the Count, often went herb-picking together and studied side by side.
Her mother sometimes teased them, asking where they kept disappearing to together, pretending to be jealous.
But in truth, she was just happy — happy that Idette was finally lively again.
Her body had improved a lot.
She wasn’t perfectly healthy yet, but she could now walk around without much trouble.
When she used to take Hadi’s medicine, she could only move around for about 5–10 minutes.
But after taking Hezbeni’s improved formula, she could walk for nearly 30 minutes.
That alone was a huge improvement.
As her activity increased, her digestion improved too — and she could finally eat more.
The whole mansion was brighter for it.
“Goodness, our Idette is finally looking so healthy,” her mother said with a warm smile.
“I wonder if I’ll finally get to go out and have fun with you. I was always so jealous watching others do it.”
“That would be wonderful,” Idette replied softly.
She had been sick for so long that she never had any real friends her age.
Though she recently became acquainted with Brinnen, the young heir of the Duke’s family…
Still, she wasn’t sure if things were truly okay between them.
Brinnen wasn’t a bad person — far from it.
When he grew up, he would become cold and distant, but for now, he was just a kind boy who cared about her.
Whenever she felt unwell, he’d bring her things or ask after her health.
He always said it was because the Duchess told him to, but she could tell he genuinely worried.
He probably went straight to his mother to tell her Idette was sick — that’s why the Duchess sent things over.
“Pfft…”
The thought made her laugh a little.
Anyway, she’d been careful to keep a proper distance from Brinnen.
Not too close — not too cold either.
He had confessed before — said that he truly wanted to be her friend — but she’d been shocked by that honesty.
She thought they both understood their relationship was meant to stay polite and distant.
Since then, she’d been avoiding him, pretending to be sick whenever he wanted to visit.
“Next time we’re invited to a social gathering,” her mother said, “let’s go together. Some events allow family pairs.”
“Yes, Mother.”
In her past life, Idette had given up on making friends her age — but her mother seemed excited, so she agreed.
But as she rested in her mother’s arms, laughing together, one uneasy thought crept into her mind.
Should I tell her?
Should she tell her mother how she was recovering — about the medicine, the herbs, the experiments?
Would her mother be shocked if she found out later?
“Why that face?”
“Oh—nothing. I’m just… happy.”
Her mother smiled softly.
“By the way, the temple contacted us. They said they’re sending people here.”
“What? The temple?”
“…Because you suddenly got better.”
Her mother’s gentle eyes clouded with worry.
She was afraid the temple might come looking for trouble.
Those who had been declared terminally ill by the temple almost never survived.
Once the temple gave you a time limit, dying within that period was practically a rule.
The only exception was the Duchess — who, somehow, kept surviving.
Thinking about it, Idette had to admit: the Duchess was amazing.
Or maybe it was the Duke who was truly impressive for keeping her alive.
At least she had herbal medicine to rely on.
But how was the Duchess still enduring?
“The temple even suggested before that you should become a priestess,” her mother added.
Ah, right — a priestess.
Because Idette had unusually strong holy power, the temple had been trying to recruit her for years.
Now that she had miraculously recovered, they probably thought she was a “sign from God.”
Rumors spread fast.
The servants noticed her improvement, the Count and Countess looked happier, and soon everyone was asking about it.
You couldn’t exactly lie to everyone who asked.
“I’m not going,” Idette said firmly.
“Of course not! I don’t care what those priests say — I’m not sending you there!” her mother said fiercely.
A priestess? Absolutely not.
Her mother believed in God, sure — but not blindly enough to hand over her sick daughter to the temple.
Still… Idette couldn’t help wondering.
Why are they so interested in me all of a sudden?
There were plenty of people who wanted to become priests or priestesses.
Why her?
Maybe there was something about the temple — some secret — that she still didn’t know.
