“This is a tea that is often drunk in my country. But I have never once heard of a case of someone passing out after drinking Kaola.” After identifying the aroma of the Kaola still left in the cup, Edeltraud took off the black glove they always wore, dipping their fingertip into it and licking it. Their shoulders shuddered.
“This. What is this made out of? Leaves?”
“No, seeds. They produce it by removing the pulp of the fruit and roasting the seeds out of that. You then take the granulated result of those roasted seeds, dissolve it in water, and drink. It’s an item that must be prepared by a trained artisan to be drinkable...”
“Seeds? What kind? Show me.”
Trying to answer each question that Edeltraud shot at her the best she could, Rosemarie had Heidi bring the Kaola seeds over to them.
Looking at the brown, elliptical seeds no bigger than the tip of a pinky contained in the porcelain container, Edeltraud carefully pinched one between their fingers.
“These are Kaola? Positive?” Edeltraud said, their voice cracking. Rosemarie didn’t know what expression they were making, but she did know that they were clearly shaken up. A terrible feeling of apprehension grew in her chest.
“Yes, this is Kaola. I’ve been told they only grow it in Volland soil.”
“No way. Can’t be. These here are... These are Seeds of Mana-Sealing!” Edeltraud almost shouted, sending Rosemarie’s heart racing.
Leaving Rosemarie to freeze up on her own, Edeltraud turned to Claudio as he writhed in a cold sweat and placed their hand atop his abdomen.
“Extra Seed of Mana-Sealing that he took into his body is probably repelling with the one already in his body, causing adverse reaction. It still hasn’t been absorbed yet. It can be taken out. Princess, hold on to Claudio’s hand tight.”
As Rosemarie’s hand shivered, finally comprehending the severity of the situation, she used it to hold on to Claudio’s tightly.
Edeltraud’s hand on Claudio’s abdomen started to glow a faint shade of green. The green light slowly ascended to his chest, passed his throat, and eventually reached his mouth. Claudio began to thrash around as if to resist it, but Rosemarie desperately embraced his hand.
“...!!”
A green light shot out of Claudio’s mouth. The stuff that he threw up turned into a fine brown powder and scattered all over before dispersing in the blink of an eye.
“Prince Claudio!” Rosemarie stroked his shoulders as he hacked violently. His tightly-shut eyes opened weakly, and his blue eyes looked vacantly over at Rosemarie.
“Don’t cry.” His voice was raspy, but it was audible. Claudio’s hand stroked Rosemarie’s head in a slightly unrefined manner as she broke down in tears of relief and guilt. However, his hand soon stopped, and he proceeded to snore gently.
“He’s fine now. Close call, though. Will admit.” Edeltraud breathed a sigh of relief before stretching themselves up to their feet with a nod of their head. On the other hand, Rosemarie was so relieved that she collapsed on her rear right where she was.
“What have I done...”
“You just didn’t know. I didn’t know that the Seeds of Mana-Sealing were commonly drunk under that name, either. Means that the world is brimming with mysteries.” After putting their glove back on, Edeltraud stroked Rosemarie’s head, running their surprisingly slender fingers through her hair. She had been convinced that no good would come if Edeltraud was involved in anything. But right now, she shuddered to think about what might have happened if the sorcerer had not been there.
“It’s okay. Claudio wouldn’t blame you nowadays. It was his own fault for drinking.”
“—Thank you... very much, Mage Edeltraud.” They were right. Claudio wouldn’t have gotten unreasonably angry at her with the way he was nowadays. Even so, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“Princess, please keep your chin up. Let us allow His Highness to rest in bed for the time being.”
“Heidi... Yes, you’re right. My bedroom will do, so would you mind getting things ready?”
Heidi nodded with a meek expression and exited the lounge. Upon seeing that she had, Rosemarie turned back toward Edeltraud, who was staring at the Kaola seeds with great interest.
“Master Edel, is there anything else that I can do?” Right now, she felt like she could do anything. In comparison to Claudio having his life in jeopardy due to the Seeds of Mana-Sealing, being able to see people’s animosity was a drop in the bucket. Edeltraud paused for a split second, but then quickly turned around to face Rosemarie.
“—There is. Keep in your arms the whole night. Should get a lot better if you do.”
“Huh? You want me? To do that?” She was to hold Claudio in her arms the entire night through.
Claudio had always been the one pulling her close or clasping his hands over hers, but she had never initiated contact herself.
Just as she was about to chicken out and shake her head, Edeltraud came right over to her. While their eyes may have been behind their hood, she felt their strong gaze upon her.
“Yes. You.”
She hoped that indifferent yet threatening ring to their sentence was all in her imagination.
While Rosemarie was gripped with hesitation, a commotion stirred from the corridor.
“Milady! I have brought you the doctor!” Without so much as knocking, Alto barged through the door and came rushing in with the middle-aged doctor slung over his shoulder like a piece of luggage. A maid carrying the doctor’s things followed soon after, running into the room with panic on her face.
It had almost completely slipped her mind, but that was right. Alto was supposed to be out getting the doctor.
“Squire Clausen, you see...”
“No need for doctor. Claudio was just tired and resting now. Volland princess jumped to conclusions.” Edeltraud jumped in the middle of her hasty efforts to give Alto an excuse.
Alto saw that the sorcerer was there and, still breathing heavily, sank to one knee in exhaustion. Rosemarie saw him fall and slumped her shoulders, feeling extremely apologetic.