Drop!! Act 10

Act 10     Before the departure

One day in the early afternoon, after finishing with the dance lessons, which weren’t really her forte, Cordelia was personally, merrily handling tea ware.

“Ojou-sama, what are you doing this time?”

“I obtained a new herb. That’s why I’m making some herb tea. Will you also drink some, Ronnie?”

“Yes please, the tea that Ojou-sama makes is more delicious than the ones made by your attendant…… Oh, gah, this, I didn’t like it. It’s bitter!”

While smiling wryly at Ronnie who was trying to return the made tea with a grimace, saying, “Even though I was going to say that if it’s bitter, it would be fine if you added some honey, but this happened because you drank it first, right?” Cordelia offered him a pot. She felt like she had an elder brother who was a handful.

“……Nn, honey is great, isn’t it? What kind of effects does this tea have?”

“This is originally a tea that is drank in the southwestern countries, so it’s good as a measure against hay fever.”

Cordelia told Ronnie so while drinking the tea as it is without putting in any honey.

It’s an herb she found in research notes of an inspection of folk remedies that were on a bookshelf in her father’s room.

That being said, she had never heard of people suffering from hay fever in the Royal City before. Even if there were, they would be too much in the minority that even the person themselves probably would have no idea that it is “hay fever”. That’s why if she were to market it, it would be primarily for other uses…… for example, she could think of a useage as an anti-cold sensitivity measure, but honey wasn’t cheap in this country. It would probably become a thing that is difficult to drink for people who aren’t good with bitter things. Thinking that way, although it was good that she was able to obtain it, she indistinctly thought that perhaps it would be better to make use of other things.

(Personally, though, I just can’t get enough of this bitterness)

While thinking that perhaps at first, it might be a taste that is considerably hated, Cordelia clapped her hands lightly twice.

“Well then, let’s leave the tea time till here. The percolated oils of the calendula should be done in a good condition by now. Let’s mix it with beeswax.”

“If I remember correctly, you were going to make a cream to counter skin chapping, right? The servants who are working with water are eagerly waiting for its completion, you know?”

Ronnie, who seemed to have liked the herb tea filled with honey, said so while serving himself a second cup as he pleased. Cordelia smiled wryly. There was that she was slightly exasperated by Ronnie’s action too, but it was because the action also held awkwardness.

It was something she started in order to verify her own work, but as expected, she was happy that it was being anticipated.

Ignoring Ronnie who had started drinking his second cup for now, Cordelia went to retrieve the percolated oils from a shelf. However, she was stopped by the sound of knocking in the room. The one who appeared was Hans.

“Cordelia-sama, the Master is calling for you.”

“Oh my, Otou-sama is? I’ll go right away!”

The steps of Cordelia, who even while thinking, “Even though he should have been attending at the castle today, how rare” knew that Elvis calling her wasn’t in any way a bad thing, were light.

Even when wondering if something had happened, those thoughts were nothing but expectations of whether something good had happened.

And this time as well, those expectations weren’t betrayed.

“An inspection of the Fief, you say?”

“Yeah. According to my plans, I thought that next month it would have been alright even if I took you along with me, but I already finished my work. I’m thinking of staying there for a bit of a long while. The plan is to depart in 5 days. Get yourself ready.”

There were no alternatives in her father’s words.

However, there was not even the slightest reason for Cordelia to refuse. Saying, “Understood” Cordelia bowed, and while restraining her heart that was dancing for joy, she hurried down the path to her own room. Her steps became seemingly fast.

Returning to her room, Cordelia first took out a map.

It was a map of the Pameradia Fief.

The largest city in the Pameradia Fief, Eldiger, was located at the place where the highway that stretches from east to west and the highway that stretches from north to south met. Therefore, the commerce and trade are prosperous, and it is a city that was prosperous to the point that it was called the Third City even within the country. Marine products from the south, handicrafts from the north, woolen goods from the west, and metal products from the east. Aside from that, it was also overflowing with various kinds of edible plants.

(However…… it doesn’t tell me much about the villages that have trees with good quality, does it?)

She had heard from her elder brother that the standards of living within the Pameradia Fief were relatively high. However, at the same time, she also heard a bit about the regional disparity. That as expected, in comparison with the prosperous Eldiger, the regions with little population didn’t not have any points of concern.

Since it’s her father, he will most likely tell her about those areas as well for sure—— thinking that, in the next moment, Cordelia raised her face as if she was struck.

“No, I can’t stay like this! I was in the middle of making the calendula cream……!”

Quickly putting the map away, and within the range of not losing her elegance, Cordelia hurried back to her own laboratory. When she returned, Ronnie had heated some water, poured it into a tub, put in some herbs, submerged his legs, and was enjoying a partial bath. A really free he did say “I’m participating in the experiment!”, but Cordelia thought that he was definitely just enjoying the relaxation, wasn’t he? Ronnie most likely almost never felt nervous, so he didn’t feel the necessity to relax, though……

After giving a slight cough to clear her throat, Cordelia informed Ronnie.

“Ronnie. This is an urgent job. I was allowed to accompany Father on his inspection of the Fief. Therefore, I would like to make a gift for everyone in the mansion over there.”

The Fief’s mansion that she would be visiting for the first time, since it’s a rare occasion, she would like to bring a visiting present with her. And also, she would like to see the effects of that. She was also curious as what kind of reactions she would receive, at the place that she still knew nothing about.

(Actually, I really want to test the effects of the perfume massages as well, but…… Even Emina is still in the middle of the course of the current perfume massage. I won’t make it in time, I guess)

Even while thinking it was a little bit regrettable, thinking that there was still an extension of time of several years, Cordelia cheered up.

Besides, it also wasn’t bad to first attack through practical goods.

“Ah, then this skin chapping reducing cream would be good wouldn’t it? It’s a bit colder over there than it is here.”

“Yes, I also thought of doing just this. ……Also, during the travel, I think I’ll be riding the same coach as Father.”

“I would think so.”

“……This research, in the first place, is one that I started with the purpose of healing Father’s tiredness. That’s why—— Ronnie, urgently, please go do some work that causes stiff shoulders and come back.”

Hearing those words of Cordelia, Ronnie’s eyes turned to dots, and like a broken machine, he tilted his head 90 degrees.

“Huh?”

“I aim to make a compress medicine that would dispel Father’s shoulder stiffness. However, I don’t have any testers. Benjamin or Hans seem to have stiff shoulders as well, but I don’t want Father to notice.”

“……Ojou-sama……”

“Even sore muscles are fine—— as you wish, Ojou-sama, wasn’t it?”

That day, Ronnie wrote this in the diary that he surprisingly frequently wrote in.

——For the first time, I thought that Ojou-sama was a demon—— that is.

In the end, Ronnie’s shoulder stiffness was something that “wouldn’t even take three days if I worked normally among the magicians”, so Cordelia immediately sent Ronnie back to the analysis magicians’ workplace. She decided to pretend that she hadn’t seen the pitiful looking Ronnie’s face. In the first place, since he will enjoy being back once he’s back, she thought that there was no need to even worry about it.

After that, Cordelia took out her own notebook, and carefully read her notes.

“For shoulder stiffness caused by asthenopia, if you pour some lavender essential oils into hot water, and after dipping a towel, wring it and place it on the eyes, it will be effective, huh. It seems it will be effective for Otou-sama, and I guess the simplest compress is really this one after all. It’s not like it’s…… muscle fatigue, in the end.”

Then, she flipped through the pages with a rustle.

“Lavender’s aroma bath relaxes the mind and body, doesn’t it? I’d be able to make a good herb tea too if I had some hibiscuses or rosehips, but…… I haven’t obtained them yet…… However, if it’s improving blood circulation, then rosemary is plenty useful. If the blood circulation becomes good, then the improvement of stiff shoulders should also be expected.”

However, as expected, if she didn’t increase the varieties a little bit more, then she won’t be able to do various things.

While also thinking so, with “Speaking of compresses, rather than a towel, a type that you can stick and peel off would be better, wouldn’t it……” Cordelia set her next objective.

“……If, when a sticker-like compress is completed, I’ll be able to give it as a present to Onii-sama. He often gets bruises, after all…… If it is Onii-sama, he might come to need the muscle fatigue compress.”

Although she was thinking about this, the tasks right in front of her eyes were making the visiting presents and the present for her father.

Leaving the matter of her elder brother’s gift aside for now, Cordelia wrote down the necessary items. The period for preparations wasn’t that long. If she doesn’t do it skillfully…… and, when she was thinking about that, the one who appeared was her friend, Verno.

Verno, who was being showed in by Emina who was smiling like she was troubled, as usual seemed to not know the word ‘appointment’. ……No, he probably knew the word itself, but he might be thinking that it wasn’t something he, himself, had to use. Especially against Cordelia.

“Yo, Delly. You look busy, I see.”

“……As you can see. What kind of business do you have today? Verno-sama.”

Even while saying that, Cordelia asked Emina to prepare tea and snacks.

“By the way, last time and this time as well, you haven’t changed the colour of your hair, I see.”

Even though he had changed it that time when he was in the town together with Gyl, why was it so, she wondered? As Cordelia asked while thinking so, saying, “Ahh, that huh. That’s for the exclusive use for the times when I’m not alone, you see. Well, it’s something like an insurance” he gave a not very clear reply.

“……?”

What was the insurance for, she wondered. While she was thinking about that, Verno presented one flower on top of the table, so she couldn’t ask any more than that.

It was a deep red rose.

“This is?”

“It’s from Gyl. When I told him you told me you liked roses, he told me to bring it with me.”

“It’s a very…… splendid rose, isn’t it?”

It was medium sized and with a good fragrance, and more than anything it was fresh. With white petals mixed in only at the central part, it was once again beautiful, and it was of a breed that Cordelia as well still hasn’t seen before.

“What could this rose be called?”

“Ah…… This, it’s a new species that was bred at Gyl’s house, and although until just recently it didn’t have a name, it was named ‘Cordelia’.”

“……!?”

Cordelia started to choke for a moment, but then swallowed it right away.

The name that was given to the flower that until recently didn’t have a name, was just like her own—— it couldn’t be, was her own name the origin? Or so she thought, but then she immediately shook her head thinking that that wasn’t right. Cordelia, who had been introduced as Delly, hadn’t given him her real name. In the first place, he wasn’t the one doing the improvement of the roses, was he? Therefore, he must have found a rose with a similar name and thought he would send it to her—— so she explained it, while trying to calm her mind.

“Well then, so that I don’t lose to this rose, it wouldn’t do if I don’t grow up, would it?”

“Gyl did say that if you liked it, they are willing to share the stocks, so if you don’t mind, right him a letter or something. To tell you the truth, Gyl also wanted to come, but at any rate he was busy, and just couldn’t get away from it.”

Saying that, Verno stretched his hand to the snacks that had been carried over. His way of eating was really elegant.

“Umm, Verno-sama.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to write to thank him properly, so is it alright if I give you the letter later on? I most likely won’t be able to express it well by the time Verno-sama leaves.”

If it became necessary, I will have our House’s servants deliver it, in the end. When she said that, Verno showed a difficult expression.

“……If you delivered the letter to my place, it would be easy to hand it over to Gyl, but…… say, can’t you write it quickly?”

“Why is that?”

“It’s because Gyl is definitely sitting on edge.”

Because he said it with a super serious face, Cordelia spurted out a bit.

“Verno-sama, that’s an over estimation. It couldn’t be true that Gyl-sama would be feeling restless for my letter, now, could it?”

Verno, who unusually said a joke with a serious face, chuckled at Cordelia who had become strange. Verno said, “You also will understand once you see it……” but Cordelia didn’t hear it.

“Well, I won’t say that I need the letter today no matter what, though. I’ll just hear the reply about the flower.”

“About the flower? It’s really pretty.”

“That’s not what I meant. ……About the stocks, whether you want them to share it or not.”

Being told so, Cordelia was lost for a bit. This rose was really pretty. Its fragrance was also good. She would like to use it in her experiments. ……But it being a new species means, as it was something bred by Gyl’s home, the possibility that it would be used for commercial purposes was high. Was it alright to use something like that?—— She wasn’t sure about that.

And it wasn’t a matter that she should consult Verno about, either.

“……I would like you to let me write the letter, with that included as well. Please tell him that it is a very pretty rose, to the point that I would love to just be gazing at it all the time.”

“Alright. Delly is stubborn, so even if I tell you to decide, it doesn’t look like you will answer me, after all.”

Verno, who seemed to also just have finished drinking tea, said so while gesturing exaggeratedly.

“Verno-sama, this is something that I have been thinking from a while ago, but I do think that saying something like that to a lady will become the trigger that will make you miss your fateful encounter, you know?”

Of course, that had nothing to do with her, though.

Despite his father emphasizing on the fateful encounter, no matter how you look at it, this guy seemed to be blocking up the path to his own fate. There was no mistake that it was a dead end. It was a remark out of Cordelia’s concern for him that perhaps it would be better to correct him while he’s still young, but the person in question, Verno, saying, “You don’t get it, do you?” he sneered at Cordelia.

“If I think it’s a fateful encounter, then I don’t plan on taking this attitude, so it’s alright, I tell you.”

“……”

She had thought that he was a rather calculating child, but as she was not in a position to say something about others, Cordelia smiled and glossed it over. Perhaps it would be better to call him a clever child, but by no means a child who wasn’t like a child—— and, a child who seemed like he will become something big in the future, that is.

“Verno-sama, when you have found someone you like, please remember that I will be silently watching over you, okay?”

At the same time, she firmly vowed to be careful so that she wouldn’t be caught up in something like Marquis Frantoheim’s great romance uproar that her own father had trouble with in the past.

(……That’s right, if I found something unusual in the Fief, shall I buy it as a souvenir for the both of them to bring back when I return?)

Cordelia suddenly thought as she looked at the frowning Verno.

However, something that the boys at this age…… no, she had no idea what things would make boys pleased. And at the same time she thought that, she realized that didn’t know anything about the men’s tastes and not only at this age.

(L-let’s depend on Otou-sama at times like these)

And so at a later date, Cordelia couldn’t have imagined that her father would misunderstand that “My daughter already have an interest in love” and would be panicking.

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Who else thinks that the Queen had already decided on her future daughter-in-law?

Also, I changed territory to Fief. After using it a few times in close intervals last chapter, I started to get the feeling I was translating about gang territories (for some reason), so I saw more fit to change it to Fief.