“It was a sudden meeting, but thank you all for attending.”
“We don’t have anything else to do anyway.”
“On the contrary, I heard that the countess is busy with the herbal garden, but thank you for inviting me like this.”
“While it is an honor to serve the princess in the palace.”
Pristin deliberately stressed the words to appeal to the fact that she was not their enemy.
“Sometimes, I feel lonely too. I’m glad to have more people staying in the palace.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Well, the palace is too vast, and sometimes it can feel barren.”
“Please invite us often, Countess. Camer Palace is really nice.”
“Thank you all for saying that.”
“But…”
Then, a sharp voice intervened in the good atmosphere.
“Next time, it would be nice if you could avoid gathering like this in such a rush.”
It was Tanya. All eyes turned to her. Pristin stared at her with mysterious eyes.
“Even though we gathered at the palace as candidates for the empress, we also have schedules, don’t we?”
“…Ah, yes. That’s true.”
Pristin opened her mouth slowly.
“I’m sorry about that, too. But I don’t have a choice either.”
“What do you mean you didn’t have a choice?”
“There was something I had to give you.”
Pristin said, making eye contact with Tanya with a smile.
“I also have something to say to Princess Gennant.”
“…Are you referring to me?”
“Yes. That’s right. I thought I should see you soon because it’s an important story. But I’m sorry that the schedule was tight.”
“What’s the matter, Countess?”
One of the candidates asked with an anxious voice, sensing something from Pristin’s words. Pristin remained silent for a moment, with a meaningful expression. This caused a strange tension to fill the air.
“Madame Korsol.”
Pristin quietly called Aruvina. Aruvina entered the reception hall with the maids as previously arranged. Everyone blinked in surprise at the unexpected situation, and Tanya was no exception.
“What is this?”
Each of the ten maids, including Aruvina, held a large box in their hands. Tanya raised her eyebrows unknowingly at the similar situation to the tea meeting she held last time.
Did she prepare something similar to mine as a gift?
It would be quite unpleasant if it was the case. Tanya eagerly awaited the revelation of the identity of that gift so that she could say something about it.
“Everyone, please open it.”
“What is this, Countess Rosewell?”
“You’ll see when you open it.”
At her words, everyone simultaneously opened their boxes. Inside, they found soap.
What was strange was that the gift they received at the last tea gathering was also soap, so it was unusual for them to receive soap as a gift again. In social circles, it was generally considered impolite to give overlapping gifts, which Tanya thought went against etiquette.
“Oh my, what should I do with this? It seems like some people didn’t receive sufficient etiquette education.”
“What’s wrong, Princess Gennant?”
“Didn’t you know, but it is considered impolite to give overlapping gifts. Didn’t Madame Korsol tell you about it?”
“…”
“It seems like I have a lot to teach someone who did not fulfill their duties properly.”
“Princess.”
Then Pristin called Tanya in a low voice.
“I’m afraid it’s all because of the princess that I braved my rudeness and prepared the same gift.”
“What do you mean?”
“The soap you gave us last time.”
At the sudden point, Tanya flinched without even realizing it. Pristin asked, with a persistent eye on her.
“Do you use it as well?”
“…What is that all of a sudden?”
“Answer me. Are you using that soap?”
“…Of course.”
Tanya lied. She couldn’t use that kind of soap herself, could she?
“I’m using it very well. I’m sure other people are like that, too.”
“Then it’s a big deal.”
“What’s the big deal?”
“How much have you used that soap?”
“Why are you suddenly asking me that?”
Tanya asked back in a bewildered voice. Pristin gazed at Tanya. Tanya flinched unknowingly in the strange cold air emanating from that gaze, but that too was only for a brief moment.
She soon answered proudly.
“It hasn’t been long since I used it.”
“I see.”
“Then answer me. Why on earth are you asking that?”
“…”
Instead of answering immediately, Pristin looked at the other nine candidates this time.
“I have something to tell you.”
What the hell are you trying to say? Everyone was very nervous and paid attention to the next words that would come out of Pristin’s mouth.
“I hope you won’t be too surprised. It’s not at a dangerous level yet.”
“Countess, what…”
“About the soap Lady Gennant gifted us.”
Pristin said in a serious voice.
“It contained sterol.”
At that word, all nine looked at Pristin with stunned faces. Everyone looked puzzled.
“What is sterol?”
“It is a good herb for men’s energy.”
The women looked at each other with faces asking what the problem was.
“But for women, it’s no different from poison. It not only cools* the uterus, leading to infertility in the long run, but also causes fatal health issues.”
[*TN: In traditional Chinese medicine, cold is damaging to the uterus and leads to infertility.]
“I,infertility?”
“Not able to bear children?”
The unexpected confession created a commotion among the candidates. However, the one who made the confession continued to explain with a nonchalant expression.
“Calm down, everyone.”
“H,how can we calm down? Infertility, you said!”
“We need to call a doctor, now!”
“Calm down, everyone.”
Pristin responded calmly to the end.
“The period in which you all used the soap with sterol is less than two weeks. With that short amount of time, there shouldn’t be any major health issues.”
“But you said it cools the uterus!”
“In less than two weeks, there shouldn’t be any significant problems.”
Pristin relieved the others with a smile.
“Trust me, everyone. I am an herbalist of the palace, after all.”
“Can we really trust you and be at ease?”
“Yes. Of course. You’ve only used it a few times. That shouldn’t cause any harm.”
“I will trust you, Countess Rosewell.”
“However…”
Pristin turned her head and looked at Tanya. Tanya flinched at the sudden gaze.
“When it comes to case of Princess Gennant, I’m a little cautious. I think we need to be alert. We should find out when exactly you started using the soap.”
“…”
“Since when did you start using that soap, Princess Gennant?”
“…It hasn’t been long.”
Tanya bit her lips and lied.
“It wasn’t that long ago that I got it as a gift.”
“Then I’m glad to hear that.”
Pristin continued with a smile around her mouth.
“But in case you’re worried, I made soap with herbs that can warm your body. I hope you all don’t worry too much.”
“Oh, this soap?”
“Yes. It’s a soap that I made myself with my fellow herbalists.”
“Thank you very much, Countess. I’ll use it well.”
“How did you find out that the soap contains sterol?”
“I almost didn’t notice.”
Pristin replied with a silent smile.
“His Excellency Bachell happened to notice, so I found out. I was very lucky.”
“…”
“How surprised were you, Princess Gennant?”
Pristin asked, her voice full of regret.
“You didn’t know things would turn out like this. Right?”
The word had a very serious meaning. There was no way that Tanya wouldn’t notice it. She clenched her fist unknowingly.
Only then did she feel the gazes from around her. Suspicious eyes. ‘I can’t believe it’ eyes… It was dangerous.
‘I’ll be completely found out if I make a mistake.’
It felt like her entire body was trembling with tension. But even in this situation, Tanya quickly turned her head and opened her mouth.
“Yes, yes. I really… I had no idea. I can’t believe the soap has sterol in it.”
“That’s right.”
Then, a clicking voice came from another direction.
“Who in the world put something like sterol in the soap?”
One of the candidates was looking at Tanya with a disapproving expression on her face. The women around her also looked at Tanya with a not-so-nice gaze. It wasn’t an explicit gaze, but Tanya clearly felt the hostility in it.
‘Oh no.’
Tanya felt embarrassed and unconsciously bit her lip.
“That’s… I don’t know.”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Unless you’re an idiot, you wouldn’t put something like sterol in soap that both men and women can use.”
“That’s right. Unless you have the intention to harm others…”
“Well, let’s stop here.”
Pristin intervened at the right moment, preventing the situation from escalating further.
“After all, if the soap is made overseas, we can’t blame the person who made it.”
“…”
“Besides, I believe you did not present such a thing on purpose, Princess Gennant.”
Pristin asked with a smile.
“Right?”
“…Yes.”
Tanya replied in a slightly trembling voice.
“Of course. How could I…”
“Then that’s enough.”
Quickly interrupting Tanya, Pristin still looked beautiful with her smile.
“Forget about sterol, everyone. There is nothing unhealthy like being stressed out. I found out this fact early on, so there’s no need for us to stress ourselves out.”
“…”
“Shall we talk about something else?”
“…Yes, let’s do that.”
“Let’s talk about something else.”
The atmosphere quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. However, there was a strange sense lingering on the table, different from before.
Until the start of the tea gathering, there was definitely an atmosphere of equality for everyone. But since Pristin revealed the fact that there was sterol in the soap, Tanya seemed strangely alienated. No, no one spoke to her first, it would be more appropriate to say that she was ‘openly’ excluded, rather than just ‘strangely.’
“…”
In the end, Tanya couldn’t say a single word after that, and she remained in her place like an invisible person.
