4 – 4. Mushrooms
A plan to treat the empress and strike a blow to the third princess, Anais, her offspring.
“To be honest, it’s not an easy task. If done wrong, it might only strengthen the background of the third princess, the empress’s offspring.”
The influence of the surviving empress, even if a foreigner, was undeniable. Moreover, in the Britannia Empire, many people relied on trade with the East for their livelihoods. Although the empress currently lived like a plant confined to the empress’s palace, if her heart were as ruthless as her reputation suggests, she could wield various powers.
During the explanation of how this could be possible, Siena intervened.
“Yeah. It seems quite possible.”
Nodding even with her head.
“Your Excellency?”
“Even if you don’t say it explicitly, I roughly understand what you’re thinking. You want to use my reputation to provoke suspicion in that girl Anais, right?”
“….”
“Well, how many people would willingly believe if I said I take care of the empress? There are even rumors nowadays that I have a torture chamber in the underground where I catch and kill foolish people.”
He’s openly admitting it now. Of course, it was true.
“Yes. I understand. The reaction will be intense with the right bait. If done well, the Third Princess might even directly attack. Even if that doesn’t happen, someone from the Third Princess faction will undoubtedly take the bait.”
“After that, if I make the Empress vulnerable, those who conspired will ironically face repercussions.”
Fortunately, she was a woman with whom discussions about unpleasant matters were possible.
By now, she might be dedicating herself to the Empress, whose blood hadn’t been shed yet, transforming into a virtuous lady of the era. She might also be imagining her own struggles, persecuted for her dedication, and the despair-filled face of her step-sister who had faced setbacks while opposing her.
However, it wasn’t as if Siena was just playing along.
“But… Alan? How do you plan to fix the Empress? I assume you won’t send her back to her hometown by ship.”
It was strange to blindly oppose when a bodyguard, who usually wielded a cudgel, suddenly displayed knowledge about op*ium. It might be odd to question how I, with years of untreated mental illness, would fix it.
“If you wish, I can explain.”
A statement made casually, as if skimming the surface. Siena stared at me intently before lowering her head.
“Fine. You must have a plan. …So, do you really want to take on this task?”
“If you entrust it to me, I will produce results that will satisfy the Princess.”
I withdrew any hint of a smile and answered as seriously as possible. Yet, Siena remained skeptical.
“Is this person really so cautious?”
Executing such political maneuvers carefully was normal, but the Siena I knew wasn’t that kind of character. Once she caused trouble and the surroundings fell into chaos, she tended to urgently evade responsibility, mumbling excuses.
Kindly, Siena directly explained why she didn’t trust me.
“I’m curious. Why volunteer for a difficult mission?”
“Well.”
“Don’t give me loyalty as an excuse. There’s no such person in the world.”
It seems she doubted my loyalty, not my plan.
It would be strange for a mere bodyguard to willingly undertake such a risky mission. Especially considering that fooling around with the nobility could lead to nothing but death if things went wrong.
I willingly provided the reason.
“In fact, there is a favor.”
“Speak.”
“If I achieve satisfactory results that you would be pleased with, please reward me.”
“Money?”
“…Yes. What could be more important than money? I hope to receive a reward if I succeed. Around 1 million talers would suffice. And I would appreciate a vacation of over a month, during which I can freely spend and enjoy that money.”
I deliberately brought up a faint smile as I spoke. It was more believable to be driven by self-interest rather than displaying loyalty that was impossible to achieve. It also suited Alan Maydoff’s external image.
1 million talers. It was a considerable sum. There was nothing wrong with receiving money.
However, my real intention was not the money but the vacation. I needed time to find a way to escape from this woman.
Fortunately, Sienna did not doubt my intentions.
“Alright. You do like money. Actually, I know that you’ve been embezzling some money from my business. Until now, I’ve turned a blind eye, considering it as a bonus.”
“……”
“Fine. If your plan works out, I’ll give you that amount.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I have conditions too. Can you guess what they are?”
“…If things go wrong, I will take full responsibility. There won’t be any harm caused to you.”
That settled the discussion. She was the one who called for the Chief Timekeeper of the Thames Palace on the spot.
“From now on, fulfill all of Alan’s requests.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After giving a brief instruction, Sienna left neatly.
Beside her, a knight with somewhat short arms and legs served as her bodyguard. He was the same knight, Bono, who had been caught eavesdropping on Sienna’s conversations before. Instead of seeking revenge, Sienna was silently manipulating him, keeping him close and intervening in real-time to prevent him from being killed.
It must have been quite challenging for him, but he didn’t evoke much pity.
If the plan failed, I would find myself in a situation worse than Bono’s.
Firstly, I needed to find a way to cure the Empress.
*
The illness afflicting the Empress was a severe form of nostalgia, ultimately manifesting as depression.
During the day, she wrote letters to family and friends in her homeland, and at night, she cried silently while burning incense. At other times, she sat motionless like a plant, gazing out the window.
I understood why she longed for her homeland.
Amidst the aftermath of an internal war among the nobility, in a distant foreign land that had not yet recovered, she, at the age of eighteen, came as an Empress. She must have been exhausted at such a young age. While she received noble treatment, there would have been prejudices against foreigners as well.
‘In the end, it was her homeland that she thought of after all the struggles.’
Life in the unfamiliar and stifling empire, nostalgia for the happy childhood as a princess, and the natural adjustment of memories that followed.
To fix such an Empress, I chose the path of medicine. I wasn’t a psychiatrist, and I had no ability to treat her through counseling.
However, I knew about medicine that could improve the symptoms of depression.
Moreover,
It was medicine that could be found in nature.
“I want you to employ an herbalist to fetch mushrooms. Money is no object.”
This was the instruction I gave to Gordon, Sienna’s chief herbalist.
“Mushrooms, you say?”
“Yes, mushrooms. There is a fungus, the size of a fingernail, with a chestnut-brown cap. Even if touched with hands, it doesn’t leave any sticky residue. If you cut it and the area turns blue within a short time, that’s the mushroom. To find it in what kind of terrain…”
“Where do you plan to use the mushrooms?”
“You don’t need to know.”
He instructed me to find mushrooms while explaining their appearance in detail.
It wasn’t just any mushroom, but a hallucinogenic mushroom containing psilocybin.
I thought of it because hallucinogenic mushrooms appeared in the original work. There was a female assassin character who would snack on mushrooms presumed to be hallucinogenic. …Thinking about it now, the creator was quite peculiar.
Anyway, psilocybin-containing hallucinogenic mushrooms had many uses.
They had hallucinogenic effects, but their addictive properties were much weaker than cigarettes, and their dependency was lower than that of marijuana. Of course, there was no destroying the body like with op*ium. It would cause liver damage if taken with alcohol, though.
Above all else… psilocybin had the effect of quickly improving symptoms of depression. There were even countries that had approved it as a therapeutic dru*g.
There was no perfect antidepressant in the world, but it didn’t matter.
“Even if there’s no cure, at least there will be memories of being happy for a while.”
It would be a great stimulation for the empress who had suffered from depression for a long time to enjoy a brief escape in a different world.
From Noble mtl dot com
I had seen this in person before.
“Did you grow hallucinogenic mushrooms at home? Was that why you asked for the substrate to be made?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“You crazy woman.”
Three years ago, at the request of my younger brother, I used all my knowledge to create a substrate for mushroom cultivation, and he grew hallucinogenic mushrooms on it.
Mushrooms instead of op*ium. It wasn’t a good method, but there was no other way to quickly improve or at least appear to improve depression.
“Allen. I brought what you asked for.”
Two days later.
The palace servants brought a large amount of mushrooms.
Most of them were strange species of mushrooms, far from the ones I ordered.
Originally, mushrooms were extremely difficult creatures. Even the professors of mycology couldn’t be called true experts.
I carefully selected only the mushrooms necessary for making the potion.
And, for verification, I didn’t forget to consume a small amount.
“It may be a crazy idea, but it’s better than unintentionally poisoning the queen. Besides, my body is strong enough.”
About 30 minutes later, with a floating sensation, everything in front of me started to blur. Thankfully, I only consumed a small amount. If I had taken the proper dosage, I would have been flying through the realm of sensory perception by now.
Oh?
Ah.
I’m glad I only took a small amount.
“I made the right selection.”
Instead of just giving her mushrooms, I added a touch of enchantment.
I transformed it into a form resembling a potent elixir, which the queen is likely familiar with.
I also obtained a luxurious herbal container made of ivory, imported from the East.
It took a few more days, but it was necessary.
Decorating it like a sophisticated potion, rather than just mushrooms, was in our best interest. To properly repay the queen, it was best to make it appear as if a significant amount of time and effort had been invested.
“It looks convincing.”
The result was somewhat satisfactory.
How wonderful it would be if I could bring it to the queen.
However, I had one more thing promised to Sienna. To lure and degrade Princess Anais to a level below Sienna’s standards, or even lower. Sienna’s notoriety made it relatively easy.
I immediately threw the bait.