You Have to Repay Your Savior

“Oh, my God.”

A surprised sound escaped from Pristin’s lips as she looked at the calendar. Upon hearing the sound, Welsh, who was nearby, inquired,

“What’s wrong, Countess?”

“Ah.”

Pristin chuckled awkwardly and lightly traced a date on the calendar.

“I forgot that His Majesty’s birthday is coming up soon.”

She forgot about it after only two years. Pristin felt embarrassed about her memory.

“Oh, yes. I heard that everyone is busy preparing for His Majesty’s birthday celebration.”

“There’s no empress yet, so who usually prepares the celebration?”

“As usual, the noble ladies of high rank divide the tasks and prepare.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Did you decide what to give as a present?”

“Present?”

“Yes. A birthday present to His Majesty.”

She just realized it was his birthday soon, so she couldn’t have prepared such a thing. Pristin shook her head quietly.

“Oh no. You have to decide quickly.”

“But what to give is the dilemma.”

The likelihood of receiving expensive and high-quality gifts is high. To stand out, she needs to give a gift that is worth more than just its material price…

‘It would be great if it were both expensive and full of sincerity.’

The problem was that it was never easy to find a gift that met both criteria at the same time.

Pristin was deeply troubled for a long time. What could be appropriate? That’s when Welsh helped with the decision.

“How about jewelry?”

“I’m not sure if he likes jewelry… and I’d prefer a gift that is more heartfelt.”

“A heartfelt gift… do you want something personally made?”

“If that’s the case, it’s better.”

“What about clothes?”

“I don’t have the skill to make them…”

“And it’s not sincere enough to write just one letter.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“If only I could give you an idea of something you’re good at.”

“Something I’m good at?”

Pristin thought for a moment before opening her mouth with a self-conscious smile.

“I might have to lower the standards a bit.”

“Did you suddenly change your mind?”

“As I think about it, the only thing I know how to do is make herbal medicine… Oh.”

At that moment, a good idea passed through Pristin’s mind. Welsh asked with a curious look,

“Did you get a good idea?”

“Yes. Just now.”

Pristin murmured with a brighter face,

“I have a very good idea.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

In the afternoon of that day, Pristin diligently worked on something in the empty compounding room after everyone had left. Within the small compounding room, the fragrance of herbs vibrated as she gathered quite a few herbs. It was in the quiet compounding room that Pristin demonstrated her high level of concentration.

“If you add a drop of olive oil here…”

“What are you doing?”

“Ugh!”

Startled by the sudden voice, Pristin’s hand, unknowingly holding a glass bottle, slipped. Though flustered, Pristin tried belatedly to catch it, but the glass bottle had long since escaped her grasp.

“I got it.”

Fortunately, however, someone caught the falling vial on Pristin’s behalf.

“I’m glad it didn’t break.”

“Oh…”

“Here.”

Pristin looked at Akkad, who gave her a glass bottle with a blank expression. Then she came to her senses and accepted it.

“Thank you, Lord Bachell.”

“No, it was just luck.”

“But what brings you here… I thought you were off work.”

“Oh, I remembered some data I left behind.”

Akkad smiled and asked Pristin the same question,

“And what are you making here, Countess?”

“Ah… Well, His Majesty’s birthday is coming up soon.”

“Yes, and?”

“As I was thinking about what to give as a birthday gift, I decided to make a fatigue-relief remedy myself.”

“A fatigue-relief remedy?”

“Yes. He often stays up all night and he’s always tired from working too much.”

Above all, she remembered the conversation she had with Claret when she had just entered the palace.

When she jokingly told her that she would study hard and make her a fatigue relief agent, Claret asked her to give it to her brother because she didn’t need it yet.

“That’s a great gift. You’ve come up with an innovative idea.”

“I’m pouring various rare ingredients into it. Can you take a look?”

Pristin held out a note with the ingredients carefully chosen, and Akkad looked at it with a strange smile and soon accepted the note.

“Hmm… You chose them well. The mixture is good.”

“Are you sure?”

“However, smelling it now, the bitter scent is a bit strong, so adding a bit more chamomile would be much better.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll do that. Thank you.”

After carefully washing the chamomile that Pristin had piled next to her, she began to grind it. Akkad observed her without leaving, his gaze making Pristin feel slightly uneasy. He broke the silence and spoke again.

“You put a lot of effort into making medicine.”

Pristin looked back at Akkad with a questioning look.

“You’ve always been like this when working at the herbal garden. You always put in great effort when making medicine for the central palace.”

“Oh, that’s… I believe the effectiveness of the medicine increases when made with care.”

“Is that the only reason?”

Pristin narrowed her eyes slightly at the meaningful question.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m curious if the countess might have different feelings for His Majesty, and that’s why you put in so much effort.”

“Whether I make medicine for His Majesty or someone else, I always do my best. Regardless of my personal feelings towards that person. This is my job.”

Pristin asked, looking still at Akkad,

“Why do you ask such a question, lord?”

“I have something I want to tell you.”

“Is it related to the question you just asked?”

“Yes.”

Akkad asked, looking Pristin in the eye,

“Countess, for the upcoming birthday celebration of His Majesty, would you dance with me?”

Pristin was taken aback by the sudden situation. She blinked as if she didn’t understand the situation, and cautiously sought clarification.

“…Are you asking me to dance right now?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Why?”

“I want to dance with the countess.”

Akkad spoke to Pristin with a slightly trembling voice.

“That’s the only reason.”

“…”

No, that wasn’t the whole reason, Pristin assumed. Perhaps it was the reason that Jerald was so wary of Lord Bachell.

As she reached that thought, Pristin felt momentarily unable to express her confusion. Indeed, Lord Bachell…

“Can you accept it?”

Akkad’s expression, asking her to dance, was so sincere that Pristin realized this was definitely not a joke.

Despite her confusion, she tried not to show any hesitation outwardly, maintaining an appearance of composure. She chose to remain silent for a while, and a stifling tension filled the small compounding room.

“…I’m sorry, lord.”

After a considerable pause, Pristin finally spoke. A faint hint of despair flickered in Akkad’s eyes. Although Pristin felt even more sorry after recognizing it, she steadfastly expressed her feelings.

“I don’t think I can dance with you, Lord Bachell.”

“…How come?”

“I already have someone in my heart.”

“The emperor?”

“I think the lord knows who he is well.”

Without giving a direct answer until the end, Pristin quietly continued,

“There are many young ladies in the capital who are more beautiful and have better personalities than I do.”

“That’s not why I noticed you.”

His voice was trembling more than before.

“I just… one dance will be enough. Will you still refuse?”

“…I apologize, Lord Bachell.”

Pristin opened her mouth heavily. Once again, despair broke out in Akkad’s eyes.

“I think it would be too cruel to the lord to hide my heart and dance with you.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

Pristin apologized repeatedly. Akkad, despite appearing desperate, gazed at Pristin with a calm demeanor as she continued to apologize.

It seemed as though he had anticipated this outcome when he requested the dance.

Once again, silence settled between the two, and Pristin was uncomfortable, but she was in trouble because she could not leave this place first.

“I understand.”

It wasn’t until a long time later that Akkad spoke again.

“If my request for a dance today was inappropriate, I apologize.”

Feeling even more sorry after his words, Pristin quickly responded,

“No, Lord Bachell. There’s no need for you to think of it that way. It can’t be considered inappropriate.”

She awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth as she spoke.

“I hope our relationship doesn’t get awkward with what’s happening now.”

“…Yes, I hope so too.”

Akkad smiled faintly and nodded.

After a while, he left the compounding room, and Pristin, feeling as if her legs had lost strength, slumped down. She still couldn’t believe what had just happened and muttered with an expression of disbelief,

“What on earth is this…”

The unexpected request for a dance and the unexpected revelation of Akkad’s feelings overwhelmed Pristin. She sat there for a long time, still in shock, until she finally caught a whiff of the burnt smell from above. She hurriedly got up from her seat.

“Oh, the medicine!”

The fire was quickly put out, but the fatigue relief agent had already been burnt. Pristin sighed and threw the charred, green liquid into the trash. While she had decisively cut off any chance of causing unnecessary complications, her heart was still far from at ease.

She sat in a daze for a while after disposing of the ruined remedy, then hurriedly stood up upon noticing the outside darkening. She turned off the lights in the compounding room and came out.

She planned to make the remaining recovery potion the next day.