Chapter 5
After the high-pressure meeting with the Emperor, the first place I visited was the workshop where I had first opened my eyes.
No matter how much I thought about it, I still needed to stay glued to the Imperial Palace. If I wanted to find the answer as to what this woman had done to cause our bodies to be swapped, this was the place.
From what I could tell, Joshuaāthe protagonist of the novelāhadn’t even set foot in the palace yet.
If that were the case, wouldn’t I be safe at least until he appeared?
Of course, that’s assuming I can successfully navigate that damn ‘create a suppressant’ quest.
If this had actually been ‘Haley,’ it would have been a golden opportunity for a promotion. Not just for me, but I felt truly sorry for the original owner of this body.
“Let’s focus on my survival first.”
I began scouring the workshop like a bloodhound.
I needed to find out if this woman had taken some strange medicine or if there had been some other issue with the experiments she had been researching recently.
“Is this handwriting or a secret code?”
It didn’t seem like she had bad penmanship, but the abbreviations written in the work log were practically a cipher.
She probably wrote them this way so only she could understand them, but still…
“I really can’t even look at this.”
Another problem was that the workshop was a complete disaster.
I couldn’t tell if she simply didn’t know how to organise, or if she had been in such a trance-like state of focus that she didn’t have time to clean up.
The only saving grace was the medicine bottles that densely lined one wall of the workshop.
“Thank god for her workaholic.”
I scanned the cluttered shelves, searching for the one thing I needed right now.
“Suppressant… suppressant. Come on, suppressant.”
By the time I had searched through one entire shelf and was moving to the second, a sliver of anxiety began to rear its head.
“No way. Surely not.”
Out of all these countless medicines, the only one missing is the pheromone suppressant I need? Does that even make sense?
It’s not like I’m in some third-rate comedy movie.
“…”
However, my thoughts were brutally shattered just ten minutes later.
It wasn’t there. Truly, only the exact medicine I needed was missing.
“No, why is only that one gone!”
Just when I thought things might be going smoothly.
In the end, I failed to find the medicine I wanted, and I didn’t gain any useful information from the workshop.
Except for the illegible documents I had to decipher… oh.
Just then, a piece of paper caught my eye. I slid out a slip of paper that looked as if it had been hastily tucked between two books.
“Folded exactly twice.”
If it were something she needed to check frequently, she wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of folding it, nor would there be a reason to hide it so carefully.
I cautiously unfolded the slightly wrinkled paper.
“Banquet. Mist. Leave no trace.”
Hmm, what is this?
I rubbed my lips with my remaining hand and flipped the paper over. Didn’t this look incredibly suspicious?
And coincidentally, there was a word among them that I recognised.
Something secret, mixed incongruously into this note, unknown to others.
“Mist…”
That was the name of a poison. The poison that relentlessly tormented the protagonists in The Shackles of Obsession.
It was named ‘Mist’ because once the poison took effect, all traces of it would vanish like a mist.
I vividly remembered how much Gong had suffered while trying to uncover the identity of that drug.
“…This feels fishy.”
Why was the name of that poison found in a corner of the workshop?
‘Could this woman…’
Was she not just an ordinary pharmacist?
My face froze. My radar, honed from my days of dreaming of becoming a detective king, began to move rapidly.
If I had possessed someone who was a pawn or a spy for the anti-Imperial faction…
No. Given this body’s profession, there’s a high probability she wasn’t just a courier, but actually manufactured the poison.
“Ta-da! The difficulty level has risen sharply!”
It felt as if a system notification sound would ring out at any moment.
I might end up worrying about my life before the male lead even appears. Come to think of it, since it was mentioned that this woman has a superior, perhaps that person is the problem…
Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that this body is in danger.
Fiddling with the paper, I slowly looked around the workshop once more.
Until a moment ago, it had just been a workaholic’s laboratory, but suddenly it began to look as solemn as a criminal’s hideout.
“Don’t tell me there’s poison mixed in somewhere here…”
If I accidentally gave the Emperor the wrong thing and he collapsed foaming at the mouth, my life would vanish like foam too.
“Ha.”
I approached the desk where a candle was lit.
And then, I thoroughly burned the note so that not a single trace remained.
Forget about finding a way back; first, I need to master how to make a suppressant.
“Oh my goodness! What is all this?”
I snapped awake at the sound of a shrill voice hitting my eardrums.
“I mean, you said you lost your memory, so why are your actions exactly the same as before?”
Sesia waved her hand in front of her nose at the musty smell emanating from the lab.
The source of the stench was the residue left from me making medicines all night.
“I was trying to bring back the feel for it… if I don’t learn quickly, my neck…”
My neck will fly off.
I answered Sesia while still sprawled across the wide experimental table of the workshop.
Sesia walked past meāmy dark circles reaching down to my chināand headed toward the window.
Swooshā
With her bold movement, the thick curtains were drawn back, and sunlight poured in.
“I-It’s too bright…”
My current state was practically no different from a zombie or a vampire. However, Sesia lightly ignored my whining and finished throwing the window open.
“No wonder you keep collapsing like that, staying in such a foul smell!”
As the fresh air flowing through the window brushed my nose, I finally realised that the air in here had been significantly contaminated.
Perhaps I hadn’t fallen asleep because I was tired, but because I was intoxicated by the smell of the chemicals.
Sesia rolled up her sleeves and asked me,
“How is it? Do you remember anything now?”
“I think the body remembers.”
What I said wasn’t a lie.
While frantically grabbing ingredient bottles to check the formulation, I suddenly realised that, miraculously, my hands remembered the sensation.
The positions of the ingredient bottles, the heating method, the timing of adding contents, and even the stirring speed.
It was as if the habits of a master were ingrained in the body.
‘Thanks to that, I can at least avoid being completely lost.’
However, that didn’t mean I was without worries.
“Oh my. Is this what you made all night?”
The problem was exactly thoseāthe brand new medicines I had just made, which Sesia was pointing at.
“I made them, but the problem is whether they’ll actually work,” I replied, scratching my head.
“Hmm, what kind of medicine is it?”
“Laxatives.”
“…”
Sesia, who was about to pick up a duster, stared at me blankly.
Does she want some?
“…Do you need some?”
“The first medicine you wanted to make was a laxative?”
“Huh?”
No, I didn’t make it with any particular intention. I just chose the one that looked the easiest and fastest to make.
“Is your constipation that severe?”
“I just tried making a few easy things first! Look, there are antipyretics and ointments here too!”
I jumped in protest. I might have many other problems, but I didn’t have issues with my bowels.
“Hmm. Then shall we distribute them to my fellow maids to see if they’re effective?”
“Maids?”
“Yes. Among so many people, there are bound to be a few with constipation. The ointments and antipyretics would be helpful too.”
“Oh. That’s a great idea.”
“Even if you’ve become an idiot, Lady Haley is the Imperial Pharmacist, so the quality should be something money can’t buy… well, it might be a bit of a gamble.”
Sesia’s proposal was tempting. As she said, it seemed like a good idea to test if the medicines I made functioned correctly.
“Hehe…”
Of course, I fully trust these golden hands of mine.
Actually, maybe I’m a genius. How am I so naturally good at everything?
My confidence was starting to cross a line.
“But anyway, Lord Robenchia is returning today, so can’t you just ask him about the formulation then?”
Huh? Who? Ro… ah, that superior?
“…He’s returning today?”
“Ah! You don’t remember that either!”
I know it’s bad to keep doubting, but every time Sesia says things like ‘You don’t remember that either!’ or ‘Idiot!’, she’s strangely annoying.
Anyway, my boss is coming back.
What? Then that means I didn’t even have to stay up all night struggling to make medicine?
“…By the way, Sesia.”
“Yes?”
Sesia looked at me, blinking her large eyes with a clear face. Her expression was the picture of innocence.
“Why are you only telling me this now?”
At my question, Sesia’s eyes widened in surprise, but she soon replied with a beaming smile.
“I wonder why.”
She really is annoying.
To think that such a welcome person could exist in a world I suddenly dropped into!
I was tearfully glad to see this body’s superior, whose name was either Venetia or Bonetiaāsomething difficult.
“Why have you only come now!”
My savoir!
I greeted the superior, Robenchia, who was entering the preparation room, with intense fervour. Truly, I even stretched out my arms.
Since he was the Emperor’s exclusive pharmacist, I had imagined someone close to being an old man, but contrary to my prejudice, my superior was a man in his mid-thirties.
Unlike me, who was wearing ivory casual clothes, he wore a flashy outfitāa brilliant white robe densely decorated with gold thread.
Regardless, the meeting with my boss felt like a ray of light or a lifeline to me.
However, despite this enthusiastic welcome, the superior’s face remained stiff upon seeing me.
‘What. Were the two of them not originally on close terms?’
Did they say this body’s personality was a bit gloomy? It’s so hard to imitate someone else…
I’ll just pretend to be crazy.
“If I had remembered it was the day Lord Robenchia returned, I would have put up a welcome banner. Was your journey tiring?”
I spoke shamelessly, my eyes sparkling. The more I did, the more the superior’s face distorted.
“…I heard you lost your memory, but it seems you’ve become a simpleton.”
It seems the relationship between the two was quite bad.
Or perhaps his original personality was just that prickly and ill-tempered.
