It annoyed me that the woman who tampered with the vials knew exactly which ones were the medicine that I was focused on. It made me think that there could be a rat somewhere near me. If there was, it would have to be someone who had access to the lab and would have been around while I made the medicine. I could think of a handful of people who fit that criteria. A proper investigation needs to happen so that we can find out if there are more rats hiding in the shadows.  “I’ve brought you some food, Hima. You should eat first. You’ve been working really hard for the past 4 hours now.” Prince Shiro walked into the lab carrying a tray of food. I wasn’t in the mood to eat yet since I’ve been really focused on the recreation of the medicine however, I knew I need

When the sun had set, I was already on my 4th vial. At this rate, I’ll be finished by midnight so tomorrow at the latest, I can administer the antibiotics to the patients and they can start feeling better. My determination was revived and I did my best to complete all of the medicine. The ones I’ve been making are quite potent yet effective, 1 vial is enough for at least 6 people. 7 if there were children.  “Excuse me, Lady Himawari. The Empress has called for your presence.” One of the guards called up to me as I was finishing my 6th vial.  

It needs to be disinfected every hour or so to keep it safe for the Royal family. The last thing I want is for any member of the royal family to get infected with the plague. That could really be bad for all of us. I walked into the tent and I saw that the Empress was waiting for me. Since I came from the lab where there’s a possibility that I could be carrying the bacteria for the plague, I disinfected myself before I came close to the Empress. The disnifection process was relatively quick since I taught the doctors how to properly disinfect each other while working near the infection site. Plus Empress Yukina has made a lot of modern tools available here so it wasn't a problem for me.

“I see… Then I shall have a talk with the perpetrator as well to hear what she has to say.” Empress Yukina answered. I nodded and told her that it was fine with me. I really had nothing to hide since I didn’t do anything wrong. The Empress also asked me about the progress of the cure. I sighed and admitted that what happened this morning seriously took my plan a step away from me. It caused a minor hiccup that could’ve turned into something big if I didn't catch that woman. The stress from what happened caused me to have a minor mental breakdown. I can't believed I cried so much this morning. Now that I think about it, I kinda feel embrassed letting Prince Shiro see me like that.  

“I shall take my leave now, Lady Hima. I look forward to your success.” Empress Yukina said to me as she had a smile on her face. I lowered my head at her as soon as she walked away from me. She also promised me that she would do anything to investigate the background of the woman who was captured. She wanted to do her utmost to catch these types of people and to finally catch the mastermind to all of this mess. As soon as the Empress was gone, I went back to the lab. Prince Shiro was still there and I could see that he would occasionally look inside to check if someone had possibly entered through a different opening.