Chapter 50

Recently, the second princess, Siena, found herself interested in two things.

First, the Academy.

While there are multiple academies in the Empire, when one refers to the Academy, it typically means the imperial academy located in the State. It is a higher education institution that trains elite talents to lead the Empire across various fields.

Something interesting was happening at that Academy.

“I did some digging just in case.”

Initially, her investigation began with the dubious antics of a drug addict named Leon, stemming from a reasonable suspicion that “it can’t just be him acting like a fool.”

It wasn’t difficult at all. After all, many in the faculty were eager to align themselves with Siena’s faction.

However, the reality of the Academy students exceeded her expectations.

It wasn’t that their enthusiasm for academic achievement was surprising; rather, it was the outrageous behavior of some students that exceeded her expectations.

“Um, Your Highness, the matter within the Academy is a bit hush-hush, but lately, there has been an increasing number of absences among the students residing in the second dormitory. Yesterday, I quietly conducted a survey and found a group gathering to smoke opium.”

The news that some students were skipping classes to smoke opium was distressing.

Hadn’t they constructed an opium field in their dormitory room with nine students? Some were even sipping tea brewed with health syrup while drowned in smoke.

The Academy officials were appalled and decided to impose disciplinary actions and introduce a roll call system. Given the activities happening in the dormitory, it wasn’t surprising.

“There’s no way they can stop this.”

Siena was certain.

The crackdown would inevitably fail, and instead of stopping it, it would only grow more popular as time passed.

Perhaps within a month, it would be impossible to keep it hushed any longer?

There might even come a time when not just the professors but the military police would have to intervene. While hard to explain, Siena was well aware of the influence opium could wield.

And it wasn’t just students who indulged themselves.

“There are also some students from the Department of Magic whose spending habits have suddenly become extravagant. They don’t come from particularly wealthy families, yet they are spending large sums and even bringing along students from other departments as part of their entourage. When I asked how they were doing it, they just laughed it off.”

It was said that students from the Department of Magic had abruptly become wealthy.

She didn’t know the details, but it was clear. They must be earning pocket money by selling syrup or opium. If there were consumers, it was natural that there would also be sellers.

“They have voluntarily created an ecosystem.”

Siena genuinely admired them.

Even among third-year students, who were merely nineteen years old like Siena herself, it was impressive that they were starting a new business.

What’s more, they were doing it without being instructed by anyone, managing everything by themselves. It was a commendable achievement. Although it would lead to many ruining their lives, it didn’t matter; Siena wasn’t the one who would ruin it.

Deep down, she wanted to intervene and have some fun at their expense.

However, Siena had decided to hold back.

There was something far more entertaining to observe than the childish antics of the Academy students.

After all, the Academy situation needed to mature a bit more before it would provide her with an opportunity to involve herself. Until then, it was essential to keep an eye on her business partner, Alan.

“Is Alan still holed up in the production room?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The attendant she had sent to gather information answered, bowing low.

“Could it be… that he’s solving all his meals and lodging there?”

“It’s more than that; I’ve heard he isn’t even sleeping. Only the staff assisting him are working in shifts, while Sir Alan seems to be laboring incessantly. Since he doesn’t come out, we have no idea what he’s doing.”

Alan, who is continuously producing drugs day and night.

This had begun right after he met Victoria.

Honestly, she had intended to scold him at first. The fact that he made decisions alongside Victoria without prior agreement with Siena and didn’t report back after the fact had been somewhat unpleasant.

But several days had passed, and her displeasure had long disappeared.

What replaced it was suspicion.

“What the hell is he making?”

“I’m wondering about that myself.”

“Talking to myself; no need to respond.”

It was clear that it wasn’t the morphine he had been producing before.

From the raw materials alone, it was different. He was collecting not just the quicklime and sodium carbonate used in morphine production but also a variety of other ingredients. Herbal extracts, sulfur, ethanol—these things. It felt as if he was about to use all the profits made from morphine production.

“He’s definitely making something. I’ll find out later.”

More important than the type of drug was its intended use.

What on earth was he in such a hurry to produce in bulk for?

She could have simply confronted Alan directly or called him over to ask. No matter how obsessed he was with drug production, he wouldn’t ignore a call from an imperial princess.

However, Siena decided to rely on her own wits.

Unraveling Alan’s intentions and gauging his reaction through him was one of her important pastimes. It was odd to find enjoyment in such matters, but that was the reality… The downside was that she found it difficult to become interested in matters beyond Alan and his business.

“It can’t be helped. I couldn’t help it; it just turned out this way.”

Siena let out a hollow laugh and began to plot.

Fortunately, the answer came quickly.

**

After mechanically repeating tasks at night, memories of her past life suddenly emerged.

Specifically, the memories from her first workplace.

It was a startup located in a special regulatory-free zone, which had obtained approval to engage in pilot projects claiming they would extract CBD from hemp and sell it as a raw pharmaceutical.

To be honest, it was essentially a two-year temporary company. However, there was potential if related legislation passed within that time frame, which is why she joined.

It wasn’t because she aspired to be a pioneer in cannabis legalization. Rather, after being embroiled in a scandal due to the fraudster Choe Hui-jun, her options for finding employment were limited.

“It wasn’t bad.”

The salary was practically non-existent. Still, she had fun working there.

She had hoped to quietly live out her life in the countryside if things went well. Ultimately, she had to quit after someone came looking for her at the office, causing the trouble because of the wealth they lost due to her father (who firmly believed I was the keeper of their vault).

She wasn’t recalling her unfortunate history for no reason; there was a point to it.

“How many hours have I been doing this?”

She had been directly producing the solvent needed for drug manufacturing for 55 straight hours.

In a past life, producing a product that could be purchased for 8,000 won per liter wasn’t exactly easy. What about the costs associated with purchasing raw materials?

That said, she couldn’t teach someone else either.

The drug she was trying to manufacture was not particularly difficult to make as long as one invested time and money. In places like Afghanistan or Myanmar, even uneducated laborers could produce it.

Yet, she had no intention of sharing her method.

The concept she held in her mind was possible only because she could monopolize the supply of real drugs.

If everyone started making it, she would lose her grip on control.

If that happened, not only would the Great Forest become steeped in drugs, but the Empire could gradually fall apart as well. It was chaos that could not be managed even with 17th-century administrative capabilities. It was clear that her own value would plummet amid such turmoil.

“It’s better that I bear the hardships myself.”

Muttering this, she continued her labor for a few more hours.

Finally, just before the final process, she managed to step out of the production room for a moment.

For some reason, a silver-haired shareholder was sitting outside the room. Dressed simply, there were no attendants accompanying her.

“When did you arrive?”

Siena stared at me intently.

This situation was reminiscent of when she had first made morphine.

However, there was a notable difference. Siena’s small face was covered with a mask. She must know what kind of smell permeates during drug manufacturing. The lower-level employees too busy separating fresh opium didn’t seem to recognize Siena.

“Mr. Alan, could we have a brief conversation?”

With that, I followed Siena outside.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never explained any concrete plans to her.”

All business decisions at Medoff Pharmaceuticals had been made solely by her.

However, for the sake of honoring the shareholders, she always provided detailed explanations. It was the price she paid for using palace attendants and leveraging Siena’s influence.

As soon as she stepped onto the open balcony, she gracefully lifted her mask. Though her expression wasn’t angry, she posed a peculiar question to me.

“Alan. Do you need money?”

“What do you mean?”

“Looking at the amount of materials you’ve recently purchased, it seems your earnings so far may not suffice. Instead of giving me dividends, you might actually need additional investment. I’m not being sarcastic, so please don’t misunderstand.”

She wasn’t being sarcastic, but it didn’t feel like a complaint about reckless spending. Siena’s interest in the drug business wasn’t because of immediate dividends.

Instead of making excuses, I decided to engage her.

“It seems you have some idea about what’s going on. Before apologizing, I’d like to hear what you have to say.”

“It definitely looks like you’re making a stronger drug. The primary ingredient this time should also be opium.”

“Correct.”

“And it doesn’t seem like you’re making this for distribution in the Empire. Even morphine is only supplied to the military due to its side effects, right? Who could handle something stronger? If it’s deadlier than morphine, it could actually kill people.”

“That is indeed true.”

“In the end, you’ll be selling it to people who don’t care if they live or die. It might not even be humans.”

She pieced it all together by herself.

Considering Siena’s persistence, it was nothing out of the ordinary. I had flinched when she previously remarked, “I think I know what quicklime is used for.” It felt like she might one day start making morphine herself.

“You didn’t pull Victoria into this for no reason, did you? This is turning into something bigger than expected.”

After some time, Siena finally voiced her assessment.

In her gaze was a subtle admiration directed at me. It was as though she were communicating, “No way it’s reached this point?” through her expression.

Being seen as an object of awe by Siena was an unusual situation, yet I felt no discontent.

After all, it was justifiable.

“Alright then, keep up the good work.”

With her curiosity satisfied, Siena left gracefully.

I watched her retreating figure before returning to the production room.

…

The work persisted throughout the night.

By morning, the results of that labor lay before me.

Powder being weighed out in 100-gram increments and wrapped in paper by the staff, including the Bono brothers.

It was heroin.

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