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chapter 23
Ethern felt relieved and walked over to sit beside Zigkart.
Since all the attendants had been dismissed, Lance hurried over and prepared a seat for Ethern. But before she could even settle into the chair, a foul, bitter smell assaulted her senses.
“Ugh, what is that smell? You’re actually okay breathing this?”
Zigkart wrinkled his nose slightly and shrugged.
“What can I do? That’s just how that herb smells when it’s handled properly.”
“My goodness, the circles under your eyes are pitch black! What on earth happened overnight? Let me see.”
Before Zigkart could evade her, Ethern’s hands suddenly grabbed both of his cheeks.
Startled, Zigkart instinctively tried to pull away.
“Honestly! Hold still for a second, will you?”
“Ouch. My neck’s going to come off.”
“You’re awfully dramatic, aren’t you?”
Snorting, Ethern leaned in close and carefully examined his complexion.
How can a child’s face end up looking like this in just one day? Is he really okay?
Zigkart looked as though he hadn’t slept in three days. The clean, youthful eyes he’d had yesterday were now shadowed with dark exhaustion.
“I appreciate the effort, but aren’t you overworking yourself?”
She wanted to inspect him more closely—what if he’d made himself sick?—but Zigkart shook his head like a wet puppy shaking off water, forcing her to let go.
Concerned, she asked,
“I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”
As if to prove his point, Zigkart let out a long yawn.
“Why? Was your bed uncomfortable?”
“No.”
“You said you couldn’t sleep. Then why not?”
“I was nervous.”
That answer caught her completely off guard.
Blinking repeatedly, Ethern stared at him.
“So you actually get nervous too.”
“Are you joking? It’s not like I have multiple lives.”
She thought about his words for a moment before quietly going, “Ah.”
In other words, Zigkart had been nervous because he was afraid of Emperor Wintier.
That was understandable.
Only then did she truly notice the numerous tools, medicinal herbs, and medical books spread across the table. He had probably ordered attendants to bring the books.
“You can do all this by yourself?”
“I can. It’ll just take some time.”
“I’ll help too. This is about my mother.”
“Then peel these for me.”
Ethern accepted the bundle of herbs he handed over.
The stalks looked like thick blades of grass that had been cut into sections. When she brought them closer to her nose, they emitted a sharp, distinctive scent.
“What is this?”
“It’s an herb called Ghost Grass.”
“What kind of name is that?”
“I didn’t name it…”
“Then why is it called Ghost Grass?”
Opening the bundle, Ethern picked at the tip of one stalk with her fingernail.
The outer layer peeled away surprisingly easily.
“Huh? I asked why it’s called Ghost Grass.”
“It’s probably because it grows a lot around graveyards.”
Ethern’s hand froze mid-motion.
Her eyes darted around as thoughts raced through her head, and she gave a small shiver.
At that moment, Lance returned carrying tea and refreshments in place of the attendants.
He witnessed the scene.
“Your Highness!”
His booming voice echoed through the room.
The teacups on the silver tray rattled all at once.
The two children jumped and turned toward him in surprise.
“You startled me, Lance! What’s wrong?”
“W-What are you doing right now…? I’ll do it!”
Setting down the tray in a hurry, Lance swiftly took the herb bundle from Ethern’s hands.
It almost looked like he was snatching it away, though his movements remained remarkably careful.
“Oh, is that what this is about? It’s fine. I wanted to help too.”
“I’ll do it. How could Your Highness possibly handle work like this?”
“That sounds a little unfair to the Young Duke…”
Ethern glanced nervously at Zigkart.
Lance also seemed to realize his mistake and briefly faltered, but he had no intention of backing down.
“If my words were disrespectful, please forgive me, Young Duke. I know that you are devoting every ounce of your effort to Her Majesty the Empress. However, Her Highness is both my superior and my benefactor. I could not simply stand by.”
Benefactor? It’s not like I’ve done anything deserving of that title, Ethern thought.
Meanwhile, Zigkart remained focused on sorting through the herbs obtained from the Imperial Medical Institute, selecting only the clean specimens.
Without looking up, he replied casually,
“I don’t care who does it. Just peel them quickly. They have to be added in a specific order at specific times.”
“Understood!”
In the end, Lance took over and began stripping the bark from the herb stalks.
His hands, hardened through rigorous training, seemed poorly suited for delicate work, but after repeating the task several times he got the hang of it and quickly picked up speed.
Now left without anything to do, Ethern awkwardly looked around before picking up one of the medical books.
I’ve read this before.
Both in her previous life and in this one, she had thoroughly read the book from beginning to end for the sake of her mother, who never woke up.
Zigkart had attached small paper notes throughout the pages and filled them with annotations.
Most of the notes concerned medicinal herbs, suggesting he had double-checked their effects.
He did all of this last night and this morning? No wonder he looks like that!
Genuinely impressed, Ethern examined the notes one by one.
His handwriting was elegant and neat, far beyond what one would expect from a child.
“How did you even think to learn all this?”
Zigkart glanced at her.
“Just because. It might become necessary someday.”
“It’s not like the Grand Duchy lacks doctors or pharmacists.”
“True. Even so, I have to protect my own body.”
Those words made Ethern flinch.
It felt as though something had suddenly pierced her chest.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Hey, are you done yet?”
The latter question was directed at Lance.
Having peeled the final stalk, Lance promptly held out the smooth inner stem.
“It’s done.”
“Next, grind this.”
“Understood.”
While Lance diligently crushed the herbs with a pestle, Zigkart gathered the selected ingredients into one pile and discarded the rest.
Then he filled a small round cauldron with water.
“Now we’ll start brewing the medicine. Just boiling it will take two or three days.”
He instructed Lance to light the stove and hang the cauldron over the edge.
Soon the crackling sound of burning firewood filled the room.
Even then, Ethern remained seated quietly, still pondering Zigkart’s earlier words.
What exactly is happening in the Grand Duchy?
What did he mean when he said he had to protect his own body? Is the legitimate eldest son of the Grand Duke actually being threatened?
As far as Ethern remembered, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Landshuter had two sons and one daughter.
Zigkart was the eldest.
Even when he was practically abducted and taken to the Cidernel Empire in her previous life, he never lost his status as heir to the Grand Duchy.
He did have a younger brother close to him in age, but that boy wasn’t someone who could threaten Zigkart’s position.
My memories of that kid are vague… Did I ever even see his face? I think he came to the Empire after Zigkart became Emperor.
She couldn’t understand why her memories were so fragmented.
Still, she clearly remembered the first genuine smile Zigkart had shown after meeting his younger brother.
At the time, Ethern had been shocked.
She had never imagined there was any humanity left in him.
“I have something I want to ask.”
Zigkart, who was waiting for the water in the cauldron to boil, nodded.
“Let’s go over there. Somewhere quiet.”
Ethern poked him repeatedly in the side.
Zigkart looked puzzled.
“Why? What do you want to ask?”
“I said let’s go somewhere quiet.”
“Why are you acting so scary? Ow. Stop poking my side.”
