Chapter 46 – The Prince’s Seal
“Long, long ago! A really, really long time ago!”
The pages of my sketchbook fluttered as I turned them.
On the paper was a drawing of a dragon breathing fire.
“It was the time when dragons used to smoke!”
Tian squinted his eyes.
“…That’s a dragon? Looks more like an earthworm.”
I ignored him completely and flipped to the next page.
“Our ancestors could use magical power!”
“And what do those three lumps of scribbles have to do with magic…?”
Flip.
“At that time, no matter how serious a wound was, one spell could heal it right away!”
“…”
“But when the power of magic disappeared, people faced a great crisis!”
The page showed a dark sky colored in black, brown, and gray crayon.
On the ground, I had drawn people with sad faces lying around.
“People who had relied on magic for everything suddenly had a hard time!”
To emphasize their suffering, I drew blue lines streaming down their faces with crayon.
“Oh, rivers flowing over rocks! Nice!”
“…Those are people.”
“…”
Tian awkwardly shut his mouth, and I stubbornly continued flipping the pages.
“Without magic to rely on, humans had to solve problems on their own.”
The next page was full of machines drawn in gray crayon.
“But people quickly found a new way to live!
Instead of using spells, they developed ‘technology’ based on magic!”
“R-right, I see.”
“And they gave this technology a name—‘Magical Science!’”
When I said “Magical Science,” Tian sneaked a glance at me.
“And to support Magical Science—Pharmacy!”
The new picture showed flasks and beakers filled with colorful liquids.
“But pharmacy developed much more slowly than magical science!
Because it depended too much on research conditions!”
Tian nodded faintly.
He looked pretty impressed with my presentation.
‘Visual aids really help. I’m glad I prepared this.’
I tried not to grin too proudly and continued explaining.
“As a result, people started dying—poof, poof—even from the tiniest wounds!”
My handmade illustrated presentation was finally nearing the end.
“The biggest problem was infection!
Even a small wound could become impossible to treat once infected!
There was no medicine to prevent it, and that was a huge problem!”
“Yes, that’s true. I learned from my tutor in the palace how many citizens die because of infection.”
“Exactly! And the only cure, the Florentia flower, is so rare that even the royal family can’t get it easily.”
Saying that, I flipped to the last page.
There, I had drawn a picture of the Florentia flower.
“Hm, green thread?”
“Florentia flower.”
“R-right. Go on.”
I gave the prince a serious look, then closed my sketchbook with a flourish.
“Anyway! That’s why our Abner Academy invented…”
I rummaged through the little fabric bag I’d gotten as a birthday present.
“Ta-da!”
I’d drawn all those pictures yesterday just for this moment—
even though my fingers still hurt from drawing all day long.
Finally, I found what I was looking for and proudly held it out to the prince.
“The wound treatment ointment—Lubarina!”
Then I raised my other hand.
“And the infection-prevention potion—Lubawen!”
One was a small jar of green ointment, and the other was a bottle of liquid medicine.
Tian blinked in confusion, staring at the two bottles in front of him.
I held them out even closer so he could see them better.
“Your Highness, Your Highness! Remember I told you I almost died?
I had a huge wound on my back like this!“
Tian winced at my exaggerated hand motions.
But I didn’t stop talking.
“And guess what! I healed completely in just two months!”
I suddenly felt like one of those shady street vendors selling fake miracle cures.
While I was wondering how to make my pitch sound more professional,
Tian looked back and forth between me and the bottles.
“So you’re saying you healed without using any Florentia flowers—just with these?”
“As expected of the Crown Prince! You’re so smart and cool!”
“Wh–what?”
He coughed awkwardly and looked away, then asked quietly,
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Of course! It’s all true!”
“That means you… or rather, the Abner Academy has created something the entire Empire will be shocked by.”
“Exactly!”
“But how could you—or the Academy—possibly do that?”
I had already expected that question, so I nodded like an adult.
Then I explained the history of the Lubarin plant—
how it was despised in the South, how both nobles and peasants joined forces to eradicate it,
and how, in truth, it possessed immense healing and infection-preventing powers.
“That’s… unbelievable.”
Tian stared blankly at the bottles, still looking stunned.
“So you revived the Lubarin plant and made these medicines? Just the two of you?”
I nodded proudly.
“I’m super smart, you know! And my teacher’s even smarter.
He might become the youngest ever Tower Master one day!”
Tian just blinked at me in disbelief.
I placed the bottles on the table in front of him and finally said what I’d been waiting to say.
“So! I want to register Lubarina and Lubawen with the Royal Pharmaceutical Institute.”
“…”
“My teacher said that if I have a royal recommendation letter, it’ll go through faster.”
Everything I’d prepared had been for this moment.
‘Thank goodness Tian came to visit!’
I had already planned to visit the capital soon with Owen.
And if I met Tian there, I was going to ask him for this favor.
“So please, Your Highness! I want you to write me that recommendation!”
Tian’s eyes widened.
“…Me?”
“Yes! It has to be you!”
He looked flustered and fidgeted before speaking carefully.
“I understand what you’re asking. But I’ve never…”
He trailed off, hesitating.
“I’ve never used the Imperial Seal before.”
Now it was my turn to look surprised.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to agree right away.
But that answer was… unexpected.
Tian blinked, then nodded slowly as if realizing something.
“You probably don’t know what it means for a royal to use the Imperial Seal.”
Then, after thinking for a moment, he continued.
“Every member of the royal family has their own personal seal. I have one too.
I received mine when I became Crown Prince—when I was two years old.”
Of course, I already knew that.
But I didn’t interrupt him.
“The seal is used only when a royal makes an important decision—
like signing an official document, sending letters to foreign kingdoms, or summoning nobles to the palace.”
“…”
“In simple terms, it’s like a face.
It carries your name, your identity, and your royal authority—and adds weight to your words.
But I’ve… never had a chance to use mine.”
For a brief moment, his expression turned bitter.
I nodded inwardly.
‘Because of Empress Karin’s interference, huh.’
Tian had just said it himself—
For a royal, the seal was like a face.
And yet he had never been allowed to use it, not even once.
“You know, Annelia,” he said with a small, embarrassed smile,
“I’m not exactly a great crown prince.”
I stayed silent, thinking.
‘Hmm. Maybe this could actually work in my favor.’
I had several reasons for asking Tian for the recommendation letter.
‘First, he’s literally the only person I can ask.’
He just happened to be someone I’d befriended—and a Crown Prince to boot.
And since he was still young, he was easy to talk to.
If Tian had been the wild troublemaker people described in my past life,
I never would’ve tried asking him for this.
But in reality? He was just a kind, timid boy.
And second—
According to what I knew, Tian commanded a small elite unit of knights.
A unit that just so happened to operate on dangerous battlefields…
Which meant—
They were exactly the kind of people who would need my new medicine the most.
