I Awoke as an Imprisoned Villainess-Chapter 32 - Its okay, you will become immune to it
It’s okay, you will become immune to it
Just three minutes before arriving at the Arbuthnot mansion, Claude sama’s sermon about putting one’s health first finally ended.
I guess the apothecaries are all like this...he said as he pouted. I really want my grandfather, who we are about to meet, to say something like, “Apothecaries are all like this. It’s okay, you will become immune to it”.
But...from what Violet sama told me, it seems a little difficult.
Allegedly, my grandfather, Abraham Arbuthnot, has retired from his position as the chief apothecary of the royal palace soon after the death of his childhood sweetheart, my grandmother, and has remained in his mansion ever since, devoting himself to his research with as little company as possible, except with the few servants he has.
He is well-versed in all kinds of medicines, but his current speciality is psychotropic drugs.
According to Violet sama, my grandfather is a ‘fatally obstinate and insolent weirdo”.
Violet sama’s home tutor used to be my grandfather’s student, so she apparently knows a little about his personality.
“Arbuthnot has refused all my requests for visits for years, despite the fact that I have applied for them. He also refuses to accept any invitations from the royal family unless they have a good reason. I even invited him to the ball today, but he wrote me a letter of refusal”
I titled my head thinking, ‘Refusing a call from the royal family, that sure sounds obstinate...’.
“Um, wouldn’t that mean we would...be turned away at the door?”
“I chose you so that we wouldn’t be”
What? I tilted my head as Violet sama laughed wryly.
“I sent a letter in your name, asking to talk to him as an apothecary, and I also included a ring. ...We’re here”
A ring? Still tilting my head, I looked out the window and found myself in front of a large mansion with a dark atmosphere.
It seems that this is the residence of Marquis Arbuthnot. The gatekeeper opened the main gate as if he knew what he had to do when he saw the Alcott’s family crest.
Not having any sense of familiarity for family as usual, I do not feel much like family to my grandfather either.
As I listened to the sound of the horse-drawn carriages going down the main road leading to the entrance, my heart was filled with a sense of tension at the prospect of meeting the great apothecary.
~~~~~
The first time I met my grandfather, he was a dour-looking man with gray hair brushed back and a pair of glasses.
His eyes were the same bluish purple as mine and my mother’s. I greeted him with a sense of nostalgia.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet me. My name is Sophia Alcott”
“…I’m Abraham Arbuthnot”
Grandfather answered my greeting coldly. Then he turns to Violet sama and Claude sama and says, “I’ll spare you the time. I don’t need any greetings from you people, non-apothecaries”
If you say that, Violet sama might go berserk.
I was extremely nervous, but to my surprise, Violet sama only furrowed her well-shaped eyebrows and did not say anything. Claude sama also bowed silently.
“—Ten minutes. That’s all the time I can spare for you”
Grandfather said in a quiet voice as soon as he sat down.
“What is it that you want to talk to me as an apothecary?”
“Yes. I have something I would like you to see”
I took the bag of cookies and handed it to him.
“These are the cookies that a certain person always eats. There is a possibility that there is something in them that is not good, and I thought grandpa...no, your excellency would know”
As I was speaking in a slurred manner, choosing my words carefully, I heard Violet sama’s cool voice from the side.
“I’m going to be straight with you. I believe you are involved in the production of poisons”
My eyes opened wide at the overly direct words.
How many times have I gotten a chill today? It wouldn’t be weird even if I start freezing soon.
However, grandfather showed no agitation as he stared at the cookie, sniffed it, and took a bite.
Violet sama and Claude sama gulped.
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See, apothecaries judge by taste! I wanted to say that to them, but I held back and watched my grandfather.
After tasting the cookie, my grandfather raised his eyebrows faintly in surprise.
After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth.
“First of all, I didn’t make this. I have no reason to make it”
“…What do you mean?”
“In the first place, this isn’t poison”
Grandfather looked straight at me as he said this.
“This pastry is mixed with the root of the Plauni and the powder of the leaves of the Replan plant”
The name of the plant made me gasp.
“It has a faint sweetness and a very slight citrus-like aroma. The two have a similar effect, but when mixed, the effect is more potent. Do you know what it does?”
“…It conceals the magic power”
When I said, grandfather looked a little surprised and said, “Correct”.
Plauni and Replan.
These are the names of the plants that are supposed to have been destroyed already.
They were uprooted and burned from the continent with the suppression of magicians hundred of years ago.
Long ago, until about a few hundred years ago now, this country was in its darkest period, when the oppression of the people with magical powers were at its strongest.
People were prosecuted just for having magical powers, and they could not even get a proper job. Therefore, it is said that magicians protected themselves by hiding their own magical powers using Plauni and Replan.
However, when the king of that time learned of this, he ordered that the Plauni and Replan plants be burned to the ground and exterminated, and the plants disappeared from the world.
The names are no longer recorded, except in ancient documents of that time.
Over the past several hundred years, the number of people with magical powers has decreased, and exchanges with countries that respect magicians have increased, and princesses with magical powers have sometimes married into this country.
About forty years ago, when the dislike of people with magical powers had somewhat abated, the activities of the grand duke, who won the war without bloodshed, quickly dispelled the dislike of magicians in this country.
“Concealing magic power, you mean...the purpose of which is to cast a dubious spell on His Highness? ...Ah! So that’s why the prescription of japanese ash and white sage works”
I see, I was convinced.
Japanese ash is a sacred tree where god’s grace dwells, and white sage has purifying properties. It must have neutralized the magic that was eating away at His Highness’s body.
Grandfather opens his mouth again as he watches me.
“I have seen and tasted this plant, which has long since perished, in person once, forty years ago. It was in the north, given to Cromwell Glosshimmel, the first prince at the time, along with the title of grand duke when he renounced his claim to the throne. In that place where the flowers of the four seasons always bloom by his magical power”
Hearing those words, I remembered the bouquet of flowers that Lily sama had given me in that tower.
The bouquet of flowers that bloom in the spring and summer, which are difficult to obtain in the winter.
“—You’re lying”
Violet sama, pale, stared at grandfather.
“Uncle would never harm Johannes. There’s no way he’s the one who killed my mother”
Claude sama and I gasped at those words.
“Abraham Arbuthnot, I will not allow you to lie to me”
“I do not lie. —I do not have any reason to lie”
“Arbuthnot!”
Violet sama calls his name sharply. For a moment, I thought I saw a look of pain in my grandfather’s eyes.
“…It’s almost about ten minutes. I’m done talking”
With that, grandfather got up from his seat, looked at me for a moment, and walked out without looking back.
Translator’s Notes:
I almost typed the grandfather’s name as Lincoln, lol. Anyways, Happy Lunar New Year! Gong xi fa cai~ May you have a prosperous year ahead~ This year, I didn’t get any ang paos so that was sad, but at least, I got to eat a feast. Festivity is always welcomed.
