“Lady Himawari, please come in. I’m sure you can already tell why I called for you.” The Emperor said. I couldn’t even comprehend his words as I felt my heart beat so loudly in my chest. I felt mixed emotions and I don’t know how to express them all. I felt excited yet terrified, I have no idea why the prince is here, he didn’t even spare the time to meet me when I left the Empire so why is he here now? It’s impossible that he’s here for me so maybe he’s here under the order of the Emperor.
“You must be confused, Lady Himawari. Allow me to explain, when you first arrived here and offered me that deal, I had secretly sent a letter to the Nanto Empire regarding your presence and your contribution to my Empire. The Emperor quickly responded by sending his son carrying various herbs from your empire. I’m hoping that you’ll find these
“My, it seems that Lady Himawari has found something interesting.” The Emperor said. The moment I heard his voice, I quickly realized that I’ve been acting weird ever since I grabbed this herb. I composed myself and lowered my head at the Emperor.“I apologize for my odd behaviour, your majesty. However, I’d like to tell you that I have found a very important herb that will allow me to help those people suffering from the disease. With this, I will be able to speed up the process and soon the patients will all become better.” I could hide the excitement in my voice. I knew that this was the breakthrough that I’ve been looking for. I’m glad that they managed to get this herb from the mountains. I guess they had help from all of those other people who always came to the mountain to pick herbs.“I c
“A fine selection indeed. I do see that the lady is already holding some herbs in her hands. I suppose you’re eager to use these now however, may I take a look at those herbs?” Empress Yukina asked me. Of course I immediately obliged and I gave her the basket filled with the herbs. She examined them and she even sniffed a few sprigs. She knows what this is but I doubt she knows how I’ll be able to use this since she did mention she had very little medical knowledge that she retained from her previous life.“I see, well then Lady Himawari, it seems that you’re indeed in a rush so I won’t hold you in here for much too long. You are excused.” Empress Yukina said to me as she looked back at the Emperor, who was smiling and nodding his head. I thanked the both of them and I excused myself as I went back to the affected area. I requested a small laboratory to
“My lady…” As soon as I stepped into the vicinity of the palace, I suddenly heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned to look and I was surprised to see a familiar face.“Prince Shiro…” I uttered while I was in complete shock. I thought I’d be able to avoid him by staying at the lab and focusing on the medicine. I needed a reason not to see him and it just so happens that I was able to find a key ingredient for the antibiotics. However, I never expected him to wait for me. I’m assuming it’s already way past midnight by now but he’s still out here.“I wish to talk to you, my lady.” He said calmly. How could you look at me so calmly when you scowled and drove me away when I needed you the most? I hate looking at him but I missed seeing him. It was fine when we were separated, a
“I’m sorry.” The moment he uttered those words, I felt a pang in my chest. Those were the only words I wanted to hear from him ever since. Why did it take him this long to say them? Was it really that hard to admit that you were wrong? And why now? Why here when he could’ve done it back in the Palace. He had plenty of opportunity. Why did it only take me leaving for him to apologize. I don’t understand. Before I knew it, tears were already falling down my cheeks.“Please don’t cry, my lady.” He said as he stepped forward to wrap me in his embrace. I was still angry, I was angry because he took so long to apologize but I was also angry because I knew in my heart that I still wanted this man in front of me. I started hitting him with my fist. I vented all of my anger and frustration by hitting him in the chest while he hugged me.
The next morning, I quickly got up and headed for the lab. I had everything I needed for the proper antibiotics. If I were to complete this today, the infected citizens would feel better. As soon as I walked into the lab, an unknown person was already there. She wasn’t someone I recognized and I usually keep track of everyone who entered the lab. I didn’t want people who knew nothing about the medicine I’ve been developing to enter the tent since it could cause damage if they ever put in the wrong ingredient. “Excuse me but who are you?” I asked her. She had her back facing me and as soon as I spoke, she immediately stiffened up. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. No one else was around the lab and no one apart from this stranger was in it. Something was d
“Someone! Stop that woman!” I shouted. The guard nearby heard me and they immediately chased after the woman. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up with them so I turned on my heel and went back to the lab. I needed to check what she did there. I was worried that she was there to sabotage the medicine that I’ve been meticulously developing. I can’t push my schedule back any more than this. The citizens won’t be able to last much longer. As soon as I entered the lab, I checked the table where the woman was standing over. The vials looked like they were tampered with. My heart pounded in my chest. These were the tests that I’ve been working with. If all of these have been slightly tampered with, it’ll take me another 2 days to remake them all and that would be too late. Tears started to stream down my face.
“Hima?” I heard someone’s voice behind me but I couldn’t focus on that. I was too devastated to even care about who called my name. My tears wouldn’t stop and I felt really bad about what just happened. I suddenly felt a pair of hands holding me up. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and I looked up. I saw Prince Shiro’s concerned face. He must’ve heard the commotion earlier and he immediately came here. I turned to him and hugged him as tight as I could as I let all of my frustrations out. “It will be okay, Hima. They’ve caught the unknown woman.” He informed me. I was comforted by his words a bit. Knowing that they caught the perpetrator made me feel a little bit at ease. I wanted to know who wanted to sabotage my hard work. I wanted to know who made her do what she did. It was okay if the people who wanted to hurt me would just target me, but innocent lives were at stake, I couldn’t just stand by a
After crying on Prince Shiro’s shoulder, I felt a lot better. We both went over to where the guards kept the woman who came into my lab and tampered with the medicine. When the guards saw me, they all moved aside and cleared the way so I could walk directly towards the cell where the woman was being kept. When I was outside the cell, I noticed she still had her cloak on even though she’s been arrested and her hands were bound together with handcuffs. “Who are you?” I asked her. I saw her hood move a bit, she must’ve looked up at me but I couldn’t see her face due to how long her hood was. I wanted to know who did all of this and why. Were they after the citizens? The Royal Family? Or could they be here to sabotage me? I had a lot of questions and I know only one person can answer me.