Echoes of Philomel

Brewing Favor

After the obstructions of her side disappeared, Philomel's daily life went smoothly. The tight schedule, the eyes of others following her everywhere, and the fear of not knowing when she would die sometimes took her breath away, but she was able to endure it. Fortunately for her, the absence of her nanny and old maids made her feel more at ease, and the Countess Deles and her new maids did their duty. But...

"This alone is not enough.", muttered Philomel.

Before breakfast, she was alone in her room, turning over her bookshelves. It was good that the nanny and her crew were gone and she was slowly gaining recognition from others but it was too early for her to feel relieved.

At least until she was old enough to escape alone, she should do all she could to survive. She was 9 years old now and couldn't do anything with her child's body, so the next few years would be difficult, but she had to be able to make a living when she left the imperial palace.

'I'm splitting up my pocket money and collecting the escape funds step by step... What else can I do?'

How to get away? She had thought of that in her own way, but there was a big difficulty in keeping that plan alive. That's just scoring points from the emperor.

There was an item that was perfect for escaping, but the problem was that it was the treasure of the imperial family. A treasure that could only be used by the emperor or a successor recognized by him.

"But how to get points..."

Although the Emperor has recently seen Philomel again, did not become dramatically close to her. She was occasionally invited to eat with him, but the relationship did not progress beyond that.

'Um... what should I do?'

However, there was no item that was worth giving up the imperial treasure.

She habitually re-read <Princess Elencia> and in doing so she lit up her eyes.

"Yes, this is it!"

Philomel immediately pulled the rope and summoned Countess Deles, asking her to bring something. After a while, the countess brought a vial of green powder.

"It's a powder made by grinding the mountain vinegar you mentioned."

"Thank you!"

"But... But may I ask why you need the powdered mountain vinegar? It's usually used as a medicinal ingredient."

"I will brew tea with this and give it to His Majesty."

"...His Majesty?"

"Yeah! His Majesty enjoys drinking often. I read in a book that water boiled with mountain vinegar is good for relieving a hangover!"

Philomel deliberately spoke innocently like a naive child. From her experience, the countess was a good adult who wanted to protect her child's innocence.

"Um... that's right. His Majesty will surely be pleased with the princess' filial love."

As expected, the Countess blurred her expression for a moment, but she soon smiled and cheered Philomel.

"Then shall we prepare the teapot and cups as well?"

"I want filter paper too!"

"Huh, I'll bring it to you right away."

As soon as Countess Delles had left her room, Philomel opened the lid of her apothecary and put her nose close to it.

"Aww, this smell!"