Chapter 23: The End of Childhood
WHY is this HAPPENING?! Iris resisted the urge to scream. After she went and spoke with Reseda directly, by all accounts, he and her father were supposed to understand that this engagement was not going to happen. And yet there he was right next to her, smiling away! Is this not awkward to you?! Because it’s awkward for me!!!
They were visiting the Specialized Arts Division at the Temple of Magic, a branch dedicated to researching ancient spells and the development of new ones. This division had recently been put in charge of producing Iris’s vaccine as well as exploring new preventative medicines. Incidentally, they had made her an honorary member of the team, though this wasn’t public knowledge.
The mage in charge of the Specialized Arts Division was a young woman named Pavot, the chief examiner. She wore thick black-rimmed glasses and was always staring at the floor, hiding her face beneath the hood of her black royal mage robes. Few had managed to get a good look at her.
As a savant of all things magical, Pavot had taken an interest in Iris, since she’d somehow won the favor of the fairies without having any mana. After she heard through the grapevine that Iris was the vaccine’s original developer, Pavot was the one who formally invited her to the team. Here, Iris was able to ask as many questions as she needed while she continued to study soilpox and fairies. For that, she was eternally grateful to Pavot…but at the same time, Iris didn’t understand why Reseda was invited, too.
“Whatever might you be doing here, Your Highness?”
“Reseda.”
“Why are you here, Prince Reseda?”
“Well, I’m the public face of the vaccine, remember? It’s only natural that I keep abreast of future developments.”
He had a point.
“From now on, I hope you’ll permit me to take part in your studies whenever I have time.”
Iris was a little relieved to see that he was acting as if the betrothal conversation had never happened. After all, she did want to stay friends with him, if possible. If someone asked her how she felt about him, she would say that she liked him: he was a reliable, respectable comrade. Plus, he had taken charge of the public awareness effort, which was of crucial importance if Iris wanted the populace to actually take the vaccine. In that sense, he was her teammate.
That being said, he was also a terrifying yandere! Iris didn’t want him to lock her up, nor did she want a crushed larynx! I’m sorry, but please don’t make me marry you!
“Welcome aboard,” Iris replied casually, with a polite curtsy.
After that, Reseda and Iris met up at the Temple of Magic fairly often.
In addition to supervising the vaccine, Iris began researching other preventative medicines too. Apparently, penicillium could potentially be used to make antibiotics. But while antibiotics were an effective treatment for bacterial infections, they didn’t work on viruses. Now Iris was starting to contemplate the possibility of creating a direct treatment for soilpox.
And so, Iris and Reseda spent their days together at the Specialized Arts Division, taking breaks together, going to the library together, and even recommending books to each other. Every now and then, they’d accompany one of the mages to town to discreetly observe the commoners. And it was in this way that they kindled a friendship beyond the walls of the palace.