Meanwhile, back in my lab, I stared at my failed experiment. I told myself I should learn from my failures.
Yeah, I just need to refocus… I know! I should write everything down in my notebook to keep my thoughts organized. I can document the best extracting conditions for each ingredient.
1. Detox herb: No preprocessing required, but boiling ruins the active ingredients. (Confirmed.)
2. Mandrake root: Needs to be boiled? (Unconfirmed.)
3. Mana stone: Has not acted as a catalyst. The ingredients haven’t been fully extracted yet, though. (Unconfirmed.)
First, I needed to determine the extraction temperature for the mandrake roots. I finely chopped another mandrake root and placed it into a fresh beaker, added distilled water, and started heating it.
Mandrake Essence???
Classification: Potion Base
Quality: Low (-3)
Status: The active ingredients have not been extracted.
Larger bubbles began to form as more time passed, but even as it approached the boiling point, nothing changed. Then, as it finally reached a rolling boil, the bits of mandrake root began to dance in the bubbling liquid.
All right! It’s safe to boil it! I’ll keep going.
Mandrake Essence
Classification: Potion Base
Quality: High
Status: The active ingredients have been fully extracted.
After simmering it for a while, I managed to extract the essence!
Ah, I see! The detox herb and mandrake roots have different optimal temperatures for extraction and quality preservation!
I went ahead and revised my notes.
1. Detox herb: No preprocessing required, but boiling ruins its active ingredients. (Confirmed.)
2. Mandrake root: Must be boiled to extract properly. (Confirmed.)
3. Mana stone: Has not acted as a catalyst. The ingredients haven’t been fully extracted yet, though. (Unconfirmed.)
So I should extract the detox herb and mandrake roots separately, then mix them together and use the mana stone as a catalyst to transform the ingredients. The temperature must not reach boiling after combining them, but other factors remained unclear.
All right, I’ve got my plan, I said to myself. Just then…
Bang! The lab door burst open loudly.
“Father?” I turned in surprise to see my father standing there. He should still be at work.
“Daisy, have you made an antidote potion yet? You received detox herbs for your birthday, right?” he asked urgently. He was panting and must have come in a hurry.
“Yes, I was just experimenting with making a powerful antidote potion, but…”
“Then finish it immediately! Thank goodness we’ll make it in time!” Father exclaimed, as if everything had already been decided.
But just because I was experimenting didn’t mean I could make it just yet. I was still in the trial-and-error phase and having someone suddenly barge in completely threw off my concentration.
Still, Father clearly had his reasons. He seemed in a hurry, so whatever was happening must be urgent. For now, I needed to get him to calm down.
“Father, I’ll bring the finished potion to you as soon as it’s ready. Can you please wait in the sitting room?” I urged him out of the lab and shut the door quietly behind him.
Now, where was I? Try to remember…
I took a deep breath and looked down at my notes. Ah, yes. My plan was to extract the detox herb and the mandrake root separately, mix them together, and then add the mana stone as a catalyst to trigger the reaction. I’d just finished making mandrake root essence, and the next step was to make the detox herb essence.
I took out a fresh beaker, added finely chopped detox herb and a small amount of distilled water, and began heating it up. I switched off the heater right before it came to a boil, which successfully extracted the active ingredients.
Detox Herb Essence
Classification: Potion Base
Quality: High
Status: The active ingredients have been fully extracted.
Good; so far everything was going according to plan. I had to remain calm. I added the mana stone to the detox herb essence, then poured in the mandrake root essence, which had cooled significantly. Then, I carefully began to stir.
Powerful Antidote Potion???
Classification: Medicine
Quality: Low (-3)
Status: The active ingredients have not yet reacted with each other.
The reaction didn’t seem to be progressing much at this temperature, so I carefully increased the heat. Just as I expected, there was no drop in quality so long as I kept it below boiling. I raised the heat to that point and then kept it steady.
Powerful Antidote Potion
Classification: Medicine
Quality: Low (-2)
Status: The active ingredients are starting to interact with each other.
All right, I think this should work if I just keep it up…
I slowly stirred the mixture with my rod, watching it closely. Then, the liquid inside the beaker began to sparkle!
Powerful Antidote Potion
Classification: Medicine
Quality: High
Status: Cures all types of poison. However, it has no effect on other status ailments.
“Yes, it’s done!”
Since Father was in such a hurry, I quickly used Water magic to fill a basin with ice water and submerged the beaker to cool it rapidly. Once it was chilled, I strained the liquid through a cloth and poured it into multiple bottles. Of those, I grabbed two and rushed to the sitting room where Father was waiting.
“Father, I did it!”
“Great job, Daisy!” Father picked me up and nuzzled his cheek against mine. “I’m taking Daisy with me to the castle!” he called out. Then, still carrying me, he made his way toward the carriage.
“Father, I need my usual satchel,” I said.
Kate overheard and quickly grabbed it for me.
“Thanks, Kate.” I put the new potions into my satchel and slung it over my shoulder.
Father and I boarded the carriage and raced to the castle. He explained the situation on the ride over: The first prince was suffering from a slow-acting but powerful poison, and his life was in danger.
Once we arrived at the castle, we had to make our way to the prince’s bedroom, which was quite far—it was located deep in the castle within the royal family’s private quarters.
“It’s too far for you to run all that way,” Father said, then lifted me with one arm and hurried down the halls.
“I am Viscount Preslaria, Deputy Commander of the Order of Mages!” Father said to the guards stationed outside the prince’s room. “Please inform His Majesty that we have acquired the medicine!” One of them knocked on the door, then went inside and relayed the message. Moments later, the king’s voice granted permission, and we were ushered inside.
“Oh, Daisy! Is it true that you’ve brought the medicine?” His Majesty looked desperate for anything that could save his son, who seemed on the verge of death.
“Yes, I’ve made a powerful antidote potion,” I said. “According to my Appraisal, it is effective against all poisons.” I curtseyed and took the potion from my satchel, then gave it to the king.
“Summon Heinrich,” said the king. “Of course I don’t doubt you, but we must verify to be sure.” The king took the potion from my hands as he gave his orders. The soldier nodded and rushed away.
Before long, Heinrich arrived and hurried into the room. “Which item requires my Appraisal, Your Majesty?”
“This one,” the king said and handed the potion to Heinrich.
Heinrich studied it closely for a moment before announcing the results. “I’ve confirmed that this potion can cure all manner of poisons!” Heinrich looked stunned. It was only natural, since the potion he was holding was thought to be impossible to obtain.
“Your Majesty, we must have His Highness drink this at once!” the elderly court Physician urged the king, who nodded firmly and handed the potion over to him.
The Physician uncorked the potion and approached the prince who lay weakly in bed. He gently cradled the boy’s cheeks to coax his mouth open and began slowly feeding him the potion.
“This will ease your suffering, Your Highness. Please drink.” The prince obediently swallowed, his throat bobbing up and down as he did. Soon, the sickly purple tint to his complexion began to fade and his color returned to normal, although still a bit pale. However, he suddenly grimaced in pain, clutching his abdomen as he continued to take shallow, painful breaths.
Huh? It didn’t work? But I’d been completely confident. The Appraisal had confirmed its effectiveness, so why wasn’t he recovering? I was totally confused.
“Father…” I said. Have I made a mistake?
Anxious, I reached out to grab Father’s coat. He responded by covering my hand with his own and squeezing it.
“What’s going on?! Why isn’t he healing?” the king, panicked, asked the Physician in a sharp, desperate voice.
“Please remain calm, Your Majesty. The poison itself has been cured,” the Physician soothed. “Pardon me for a moment, Your Highness.” He began to press his bony, wrinkled fingers against different parts of the prince’s stomach, carefully feeling for any sort of abnormality. When he reached a soft area at the center, the prince winced with pain.
“Did you find something?” the king asked urgently.
The Physician nodded. “His Highness is suffering from prolonged exposure to poison, which has severely damaged his stomach. A hi-potion should heal the internal injuries, which will lead to a full recovery,” he said with a bowed head.
The king and queen finally looked relieved and hopeful.
“Treat him at once,” the king said as he smoothed his son’s hair, damp with sweat, away from his forehead.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” The Physician signaled his assistant, who quickly pulled out a hi-potion. He slowly made the prince drink once again, which the prince did obediently. Before long, his breathing became deep and regular, and the pink began to return to his cheeks.
His eyelids opened slightly as he looked around the room.
“Father, Mother…” He reached out his arm and the queen clasped his hand, pulling the prince into her arms.
“Oh, William! Thank goodness! I was so afraid we’d lose you!” She collapsed into sobs, overwhelmed with relief that her precious son’s life had been spared.
The king stroked her back gently to comfort her. I let out a deep sigh of relief that I had been able to help.
“Court Physician Madra and Alchemist Daisy, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service, not as a king, but as a father.”
“We’re not worthy of such praise, Your Majesty,” we both said, bowing our heads.