IOECP-06

Chapter 6

“You weren’t useful to begin with, and now you’re even more useless.”

Haha. Well, I guess their relationship was pretty much beyond repair. The kind where things had been shattered into a million pieces and there was no putting them back together.

Did he really have no sympathy whatsoever for his subordinate losing her memory?

What was this? The savoir I’d been waiting for so desperately had turned out to be less of a lifeline and more like an additional landmine.

“Go wash my clothes.”

Thud.

My superior tossed his travel bag at me. The enormous bag hit the floor with a weighty thump.

Hah. Was I really an assistant apothecary, or had I just been hired as a glorified errand girl?

“Yes…”

Even so, I had no choice but to cling to him for the sake of the pheromone suppressant I desperately needed.

I reluctantly picked up his bag.

“Ah. Come to think of it… His Majesty the Emperor took your medicine, didn’t he?”

Nice. Perfect timing for a change of subject.

I answered brightly, my voice loud and cheerful.

“Yes!”

“What a pointless thing to do… Tsk. You probably switched the medicine on purpose while I was away, trying to get yourself noticed by the Emperor.”

“……”

Well, this was awkward.

It wasn’t as if I’d been in any position to switch anything in the first place. And who could possibly have predicted that the Emperor would suddenly go berserk like that?

Besides, wasn’t this man the Emperor’s personal apothecary? Wasn’t he the one who had gone off to gather herbs at a time like this?

Why was he blaming me for something that happened while he’d conveniently removed himself from the scene?

And what was the big deal about a little medicine being switched, anyway? It wasn’t like anyone’s body had been swapped.

Oh.

Now that I thought about it, this guy was a textbook old-school jerk.

And on top of that, he seemed strangely terrified that I might take his position…

Maybe winning this guy over and getting my problem solved wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped.

“If you pull another useless stunt like this, I won’t let you off so easily.”

…Unfair.

Extremely unfair.

But what could I do? When you’re the one who needs something, you have to swallow your pride and bend first.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“This is getting ridiculous! Ugh!”

I threw down the laundry bat and stretched my arms and legs as far as they would go.

Even though it was spring, the water at the washing area was unbearably cold.

“What kind of god-awful situation is this?”

That man called my superior had the personality of absolute garbage.

He was even making his assistant apothecary do his personal chores!

Was there no labour board in the Imperial Palace?

“Phew…”

I shook out my arms before picking up the laundry bat again.

No matter how angry I got, I was the sort of person who had to finish whatever I started. And with only a little laundry left, my hands moved automatically.

Thump. Thump. THUD.

I imagined my nasty-tempered superior’s face and brought the bat down as hard as I could.

Water splashed everywhere as the clothes were pounded beneath it.

“At this rate, I’m never going to make it back to reality. I’ll probably end up being worked like a slave. No—come to think of it, I might get my head chopped off first.”

I’m a positive person.

Positive. Positive…

Scratch, scratch.

“Oh my! Lady Haley!”

A familiar voice called out to me.

Of course, it was Sesia.

She approached the washing area with a basket of laundry tucked against her side.

I waved the laundry bat at her in greeting.

When Sesia came closer, she tilted her head and asked,

“Why are you doing laundry here?”

“I was wondering the same thing. Why didn’t you warn me that our superior had such a terrible personality?”

“……Oh dear. So Lady Rovencia made you do this. Even though there are maids, she specifically made you do it.”

Sesia shook her head from side to side.

Apparently, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“You should’ve warned me about the landmine ahead of time.”

“Hmm. But after losing her memory, I thought Lady Haley might actually be fond of you. You don’t have that sinister air you used to have.”

Sesia sat down beside me and began taking the laundry from her basket.

“Just how bad is that person’s personality?”

“Hmm, let me think. If you took a black dragon infamous for its foul temper and molded it into a human being, wouldn’t it turn out exactly like Lady Rovencia? Though she’s especially harsh when it comes to how she treats you, Lady Haley.”

“Why does she hate me so much?”

The more I listened, the more it sounded like she had a particular grudge against Haley.

I mean, why would anyone hate a subordinate who was this pretty and this brilliant?

“Actually, she has quite an inferiority complex. Lady Haley, you see, are an absolute genius. Lady Rovencia has always been terrified that you might take her position.”

“Huh… Seriously?”

“But now that Lady Haley’s memory is a blank slate, she shouldn’t have any reason to be so wary anymore.”

Exactly.

There probably wasn’t a single person in the world whose brain was this transparent.

Not that I was saying I was stupid.

I simply meant that I knew absolutely nothing about this world or its medicines.

“At this rate, you two might become close in no time.”

Sesia smiled brightly.

Which, translated, apparently meant:

Now that you’re an idiot, there’s no reason for her to be jealous anymore.

“What an uplifting word of encouragement.”

“Heehee. Lady Haley, you have to pound laundry hard if you want to get all the dirt out.”

Sesia began enthusiastically hammering away at the clothes.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

I’d noticed it from the very first time she grabbed my wrist and dragged me somewhere, but Sesia was surprisingly strong.

I made a mental note never, ever to get on her bad side and end up on the receiving end of that laundry bat.

I made every effort to improve my relationship with my superior, Rovencia.

“Haley! I told you to clean this place!”

“Yes! I’m on it!”

If she told me to clean, I cleaned.

“Haley! How long ago did I tell you to put away all the dried herbs? Why are they still sitting there?”

“Yes! I’ll have it finished by tonight!”

I even cut back on sleep to get the work done.

“What are you going to do if you mix up the medicine bottles again?!”

Crash!

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Even when she threw bottles around and lost her temper, I smiled and answered politely.

That’s right.

As long as she didn’t cross the line, I could endure it.

Endure.

“This needs to be stirred for ten hours, so don’t slack off. Keep stirring.”

“……”

She crossed the line.

Right away.

You freaking bas—

Haa.

I swallowed my curse as I stared at the giant cauldron I was going to have to stir for the next ten hours.

I’d endured everything so far, but this time, my patience was hanging by a thread.

“Why aren’t you answering? Do you have a problem with it?”

“I was just thinking about how I could stir it so well that people would talk about what an excellent job I did.”

I had to endure.

My patience had already been through enough.

Phew.

This was ridiculous.

The level of harassment was practically elementary-school bullying.

With my strength rapidly draining away, I picked up the long stirring paddle.

Rovencia sat at a desk in the corner of the apothecary, watching me while arranging flowers.

Flower arranging.

In an apothecary.

It didn’t exactly fit the setting, but apparently that was his hobby.

Couldn’t he at least disappear somewhere out of my sight?

Swish—swish—swish—whoosh.

As I stirred the medicine, I counted the days I had left.

I’d been given a week to make the pheromone suppressant.

But four of those days had already been wasted doing my superior’s errands.

Excluding the day I was supposed to appear before the Emperor, I had barely two days left.

There was a phrase people used at times like this.

My ass was officially on fire.

“Open the window. The heat is irritating.”

Wasn’t he the one who just told me not to stop stirring?

“Yes, sir!”

Contrary to what I was thinking, I tossed aside the paddle and hurried over to open the window.

A cool breeze immediately swept inside.

“……The weather has grown warmer.”

Huh.

Judging by the fact that our superior was actually making small talk about the weather, maybe he wasn’t in such a bad mood today.

Would this be a good time to casually bring up the suppressant?

I quickly returned to my place, grabbed the paddle, and spoke to Rovencia.

“It really has. When the weather is this nice, it’s perfect for taking a walk or going on a picnic.”

“……”

After I’d gone out of my way to agree with him, my superior glared at me.

Why did this have to be so hurtful?

“Um… Lord Rovencia.”

“What?”

But the fact that he answered me normally meant his mood really was somewhat better.

Just yesterday, he’d snapped at me for merely calling his name, telling me to stop making noise.

“Actually, His Majesty the Emperor gave me an order.”

“An order?”

“Yes. He ordered me to make a pheromone suppressant.”“What? For someone like you?”

Snip.

The scissors Rovencia had been using to trim the flower leaves suddenly sliced clean through the stem.

The unopened flower bud tumbled onto the desk.

Oh, great.

He was winding himself up for another tantrum.

Was it really that shocking?

Rovencia’s gaze stabbed into me.

At this rate, he might actually stab me with those scissors…

But I’d already expected a reaction like this.

I put on the most harmless expression I could manage, brushed my hair back, and continued.

“Of course, there’s no way an assistant like me could possibly make a proper medicine. Naturally, all I’m capable of doing is delivering the medicine made by the esteemed Lord Rovencia.”

“……”

My effortless praise and shameless flattery seemed to work.

The furrow between Rovencia’s brows loosened slightly.

“Do you need it immediately?”

“If you could give it to me by the day after tomorrow, I’ll deliver it to His Majesty at lightning speed!”

“Then I’ll make it tomorrow.”

Nice!

“If you tell me what ingredients you need, I’ll prepare everything in advance!”

If I had a tail right now, it would probably be wagging furiously behind me.

I couldn’t believe things were actually going this smoothly.

Who cared who made the medicine?

As long as I delivered it, that was all that mattered.