An Audience with the Princess

The moment I stepped inside, a faint scent of roses drifted into my nostrils.

A quick glance confirmed there were no roses in the room. Had they spritzed it with fragrance, perhaps?

Three maids stood along the walls. In the center sat Second Princess Tianis in her chair.

Behind her stood her attendant, Kanon.

From Yohane's perspective, the princess was still a child. Yet the air about her was unmistakably that of the highborn. It wasn't just her beauty. It was something like an aura, the kind only those born into the privileged class possessed.

She was absolutely not someone to be underestimated on account of her age.

"Welcome. Please, have a seat."

Princess Tianis greeted them with a smile from her chair.

As instructed, Yohane and Ramiza sat on the sofa facing the princess.

Elza and Azu remained standing behind the sofa.

In a formal invitation like this rather than a public event or chance encounter, standing before royalty wasn't considered disrespectful.

"Those two may sit as well, you know?"

"No, this is fine. We'll remain as we are."

Keeping Azu and the others on their feet wasn't out of spite.

If something happened, being seated would delay their response by a precious instant.

Kanon shot a glare, but I wasn't changing my mind.

I didn't trust Princess Tianis yet. It wasn't that I had some allergy to nobles, but if anything were to happen right now, these two were the ones I could rely on.

Ramiza-san wouldn't be of any use in a fight.

I felt bad for the two of them, but they'd have to stay standing.

"I see. I don't mind at all."

In a sense, it was a message that I didn't trust her, but she let it slide gracefully.

The maids swiftly prepared tea.

For refreshments, they'd arranged cake loaded with cream.

"Please, help yourselves. I had the castle's chef make them. I do hope they're to your liking."

"Oh, this is delicious."

The moment the offer was extended, Ramiza-san took a bite and raved about it.

As an alchemist, her tongue could detect poison in an instant. She'd probably just wanted to eat it, but knowing the food hadn't been tampered with, I dug in as well.

Sweet fresh cream, buttery pastry, and strawberries that gleamed like red jewels.

I could only wonder how much a single slice cost.

Princess Tianis was eating cake with us.

The act of sharing the same food fostered a sense of closeness. If she was doing that naturally, she was quite the impressive girl.

"It's delicious."

"Oh, I'm glad. It's my favorite too. I'm happy you like it. Would you care for another?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Then I'll have one more."

Ramiza-san cheerfully accepted seconds. Maybe her position allowed it, but she was awfully carefree. Hadn't she been acting like this was such a hassle?

The atmosphere was more pleasant than expected, and perhaps because Princess Tianis was in good spirits, Kanon seemed somewhat calmer compared to when she'd visited the shop.

The two behind me wouldn't be getting any cake, so I'd make them something back at the shop. Though recreating this level of quality would be difficult, given the ingredients.

Once everyone had finished their cake and the plates were cleared…

"Well, that's done. Can I go now?"

"Still as fond of jokes as ever, Ramiza."

"No dice, huh."

Princess Tianis laughed off Ramiza-san's words, which were obviously sincere, with a soft chuckle.

It seemed she wouldn't be let off so easily.

Ah, Kanon's expression was hardening too. Come to think of it, Kanon and Ramiza-san probably didn't get along.

Was that why she'd told me to summon Ramiza-san? So she wouldn't have to meet Kanon herself?

Watching Kanon glare at Ramiza-san with open displeasure, that seemed like the only explanation.

Knowing that even that ice-cold noblewoman had things she couldn't handle was a little satisfying.

"Please, don't be so tense. I simply wanted to express my gratitude in person."

"Thank you very much."

"Yeah, thanks."

That was a flippant reply.

Did being a state alchemist carry that much clout?

My stomach was going to give out from sitting next to her.

"You there, can you not do something about that manner of speech?"

"Yeah, yeah. This is why I hate nobles. Always with the nitpicking."

"Why, you insolent—!"

Kanon looked ready to erupt, but Princess Tianis stopped her with a raised hand.

"Please don't provoke her too much. Kanon is simply being earnest."

"Fine, fine. I got it."

I really wished she'd stop with the provocations. As the one with the weaker position, the backlash would land on me.

"The drug problem has been a persistent headache. Since I took jurisdiction, I've been cracking down systematically, and things had calmed down. But you know how they say it just goes underground? Once they start operating in the shadows, there's nothing you can do. But these candies you two developed are remarkable."

Kanon set several blue spheres onto a dish.

Sky Blue. The candy they'd made to counteract poppy seed toxicity.

"I had it analyzed, and I was told that beyond just prevention, it can also fully suppress mild cases of addiction."

"Well, yeah. If it couldn't do that much, it wouldn't be preventive in the first place."

"… That's news to me."

This was true. Even a mild case should produce fairly severe addiction symptoms, yet apparently Sky Blue could neutralize them entirely.

If that was the case, the candy's value was even greater than I'd thought.

"Complete eradication would be ideal, but that's not realistic. However, with these, a swift initial response could minimize the damage. I won't ask an alchemist to hand over her recipe. Instead, would you supply us with as many as we need? It would also help treat those suffering from lingering aftereffects."

She looked at us with earnest eyes as she asked.

Well, at me… no, at Ramiza-san, to be precise.

Honestly, the real target of this summons was undoubtedly Ramiza-san, the manufacturer.

It seemed safe to assume I'd been called as an afterthought.

Being treated as an extra was, in this particular case, actually preferable.

Connections that were too large could be one's undoing. Good grief, I thought, as I drained my lukewarm tea and had a maid pour me a refill.

"Mass production isn't impossible. Just buy them at his shop, though. I don't want the hassle."

"If we can obtain them, that's perfectly fine."

I nearly spat out the tea I'd just sipped at the sudden pass. She'd make more money not going through my shop. But no, the reasoning was so very her.

"Um, I could at least handle deliveries to the castle."

"Then please do. As soon as possible, if you could."

"Understood."

Basically, it was a middleman job: taking from the left and handing off to the right. All I had to do was deliver and collect a handling fee. Nothing to be too tense about.

"Wonderful. There's one more thing, actually. This incident has left vacancies among Luido's lord and his associates. We'll assign a new lord, of course, but the vast farmland those people owned has been left without an owner."

Hm? What was this about? Plenty of people would want farmland, and it would presumably be distributed among Princess Tianis's supporters as a political favor.

Was this just a formality, informing us as contributors?

"What do you say? Would you like this farmland?"

What on earth was this princess talking about?