Chapter 21

As soon as morning arrived, I headed toward Temseugung Palace.

It was to report the news of a large-scale order to the shareholders. Of course, there was no intention to raise a toast; it was more about managing the risks.

“Welcome, Alan.”

Coincidentally, Siena was having breakfast.

For an imperial family member, her diet was excessively simple. It was just a bowl of oatmeal, even though it was morning. The dish, imported from Chinguk, was ceramic, and the table was made of marble, but there was nothing more to it.

Her meal was barely better than the liquid food served to patients. Suddenly, Siena didn’t appear any different.

It meant that instead of adorning herself, indulging in luxury by decorating the vast palace, or eating the most precious and exquisite food in the world, she found joy elsewhere. Honestly, if she were just a wicked woman indulging in luxury, it would have been simpler for me.

“Do you want to eat together?”

“Thank you.”

“Good.”

Soon, my portion of food was served. The fact that she even offered to share her meal seemed like a sign that she wasn’t in a bad mood. I idly ate a few bites before submitting my report.

“Right now at the Military Affairs Ministry, the introduction of morphine is under discussion.”

“Nice wording—it’s as good as decided. How could the Minister of Military Affairs refuse something Princess Victoria herself is promoting with her personal funds? We will soon begin negotiating terms with their logistics department.”

“They want to distribute morphine not only to military hospitals but to all regiment-level units as well. Instead of in powdered form, we’ll supply it as liquid vials for easier handling. It shouldn’t take too long.”

In essence, this meant we were handing over a large quantity of morphine and making a massive profit, with half of it ultimately going to you, Siena.

“You’ve made a fortune by just sitting still.”

“Yes.”

“At that price, it even surpasses….”

“It’s much more expensive. It’s only natural.”

After replying, I observed Siena’s expression.

Was it because she had just washed her face? Her soft complexion, her silver hair loosely tied up, and even some oatmeal lingering at the corner of her mouth added to her casual look.

If I pointed out the oatmeal on her lips, she wouldn’t blush and wipe it off—she’d probably just lick it away and look at me with a “what?” expression.

Though she looked cute, her personality wasn’t. Fortunately, she didn’t seem upset, but one could never let their guard down when dealing with her.

Siena wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t openly disrupt military contracts for a public display of wickedness. If the elder sister funds the welfare of soldiers, how could she go against it? Otherwise, it would only make Siena herself look ridiculous, making her an incompetent villainess instead of a cunning one.

“But indirectly troubling my sister is certainly possible.”

For example, there could be methods involving the medical staff of military hospitals.

It wasn’t complicated. Just stimulating medical officers and nurses who are handling medications that cost 1,000 talers per gram would be sufficient.

If Siena worked covertly, it would be easy to cause someone to act irresponsibly due to greed, especially after witnessing the powerful effects of morphine. If mishandled, the risk of morphine entering the civilian market would escalate rapidly.

“Then the entirety of the burden could fall on Princess Victoria.”

After all, my responsibility ends with the supply of morphine. If issues arose in the management process, Princess Victoria, who actively advocated for the drug, would inevitably find herself in a difficult situation. She might even end up running around to clean up the mess despite already contributing her personal wealth.

Though it seemed excessive to target her sister this way, with Siena, it was plausible. After all, she’d already acted against her elder sister once.

While I was contemplating these various possibilities,

“You’ve done well, Alan.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve done a great job. Better than I expected.”

Siena finished her simple breakfast and stared directly at me as she spoke. I hadn’t anticipated such a compliment—it seemed odd.

“Alan, I can tell what you’re thinking, but there’s no need to doubt me. I’m being sincere.”

“…”

“Even if we had used opium, it would have been worth less than 3 million talers altogether. But thanks to your magic touch, its value skyrocketed. Even then, half of it would have been mine anyway—why would I be upset?”

“If you see it that way, thank you.”

“Don’t worry, it’s okay.”

Of course, for Siena, sitting back and receiving millions in dividends every month was beneficial after the initial investment. Soon, it would become an excellent cash cow for her.

“Does she really intend to do nothing?”

At the moment when all my preparations to ease her wicked plans became irrelevant.

It would be a relief if she had genuinely changed her mind, but Siena wasn’t that kind of person.

Suspicion toward Siena still lingered. Of course, forcing her to reveal her true intentions would be uncouth, so our breakfast passed awkwardly.

“Business, as promised, will be handled by you, but I have a question.”

After the meal, Siena had her maid bring out something.

Specifically, lemon juice.

Drinking it after a meal could cause severe discomfort, but I wasn’t sure what she intended as I watched curiously. A suspicion suddenly crossed my mind.

“Your Highness, could it be—”

“Exactly what you’re thinking.”

“…”

“One day when I was returning from delivering psilocybin to Empress Lianhua, I asked you if adding lemon would improve its flavor, as it seemed bad to eat it plain. Don’t you remember?”

“Yes.”

Yet, unease grew as I answered. Could she possibly…?

“At the time, you said you didn’t know much about it and evaded the question, even bringing up elves as an excuse. I didn’t think much of it then, but upon reflection, it seemed a bit suspicious. I even wondered if your seemingly random comment might have hit the mark.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Siena, unfazed, asked them to bring out the psilocybin as well. It wasn’t fresh mushrooms but finely ground dried powder.

Then, she mixed the psilocybin powder into the lemon juice.

At a glance, it looked like an unusual drink with powdered lemon juice mixture, but in fact, it was a “lemon tek.” This method reduced the unpleasant taste if left for about 20 minutes, greatly accelerated the onset of effects, and even lessened the burden on the stomach.

Up to this point, it could have been a mere guess, but it seemed Siena had independently learned the underlying principles with some accuracy.

“Recently, I did some research with the chef.”

“About lemons?”

“Yes. You can use lemons to remove the fishy smell from fish or soften the texture of meat. It seems like the properties of lemons affect psilocybin somehow… Am I right, Alan?”

“Yes.”

Siena’s face changed meaningfully as I responded.

She whispered softly, “Limes or grapes could also work. I think I have a rough idea of how it all works.” And this… was also true. With just a few clues, it astonished me how far she had deciphered.

“Alan, would it be okay to give it this way to Empress Lianhua?”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s good to know, that will be helpful. It does alter the effects, but not in a way that harms one’s health, right? Empress Lianhua might like it too. …She once complained to me about the smell.”

“Go ahead then, there’s no problem.”

I kept answering humbly, thinking that it would bring Empress Lianhua a bit more happiness, who was already content.

A long silence followed… Now, I began to understand why she was acting this way.

“Alan, I’ll be honest. Big sister Victoria’s moves are irritating. Sure, we can take her money, but then she gains intangible political capital. It effectively means the military’s loyalty is entirely hers.”

“Perhaps that’s true, but why did you promise not to interfere?”

“Because if I do anything, you’ll stop me, right?”

“How could I?”

“Don’t be modest. I’ve suspected you since the psilocybin incident, but the military supply deal confirmed it for me. You seem to prefer the path of least resistance. If I interfere with that, you’d try to stop me.”

“…”

“Was I wrong?”

Given her tone, it sounded like she already believed herself to be right, and denying it would be pointless.

“You are not wrong. I try to avoid risks above a certain level. If anything I’ve done offended Your Highness’s feelings—”

“I’m not angry, so don’t worry, Alan. On the contrary, I’m glad I have someone competent working for me. Someone who can manage me and even play around with my sister? That’s impressive.”

“Your praise is flattering.”

With a promise not to interfere with business matters and acknowledgment of my abilities, I should have been elated.

But I couldn’t muster a smile. My position over Siena was becoming increasingly tenuous, and the situation was becoming difficult, even though she seemed to hold me in high regard. Whether that was entirely positive remained debatable.

And now, in addition to dealing with Siena, I had to consider the First Princess, Victoria.

Contemplating managing my business amidst two princesses who were as different as could be made me uneasy.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything you’re concerned about.”

“…Thank you. Can we proceed with the contract as planned?”

“Of course. However, I do have something specific to say.”

“…?”

Siena slowly stood up and approached me. Then, she placed her hand gently atop my head.

It was unremarkable. Her touch wouldn’t wear my scalp out, and as long as she kept her promises, I wouldn’t mind if she patted my head.

“Your skills should be used for my benefit, Alan.”

“Naturally.”

“Thank you. It’ll be more convenient for you too. After all, I’m more capable than my sister.”

“Even though Victoria gave the military contracts?” I nodded, not wanting to argue.

Seeming to interpret my lukewarm reaction, Siena smiled and added, “You’ll agree within a few days.”

There was no need for her to prove anything to me, so I decided to let it be, finding it preferable to her dabbling in crime.

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