Chapter Ten: The Soap’s Fate
After finishing the apple compôte, Sieg pursed his lips.
“I could still eat more.”
“If you suddenly eat too much, your stomach will be surprised. We should gradually increase the portion.”
“If you say so, Karen, it must be right.”
Sieg was beginning to trust Karen’s words. It was an excellent sign.
When it came to Lyos, it started with him throwing a tantrum, refusing to eat Karen’s cooking, exhausting himself, and nearly collapsing. That was back when she already suspected her cooking had some kind of special power. If only Lyos had eaten earlier, he might have recovered faster.
In the end, Lyos was on the brink of death, and Frieda collapsed. Seeing his mother burning with high fever and unable to move, Lyos finally gave up and entrusted everything to Karen. This was during the time when the delighted Karen wondered if Lyos had fallen for her.
In any case, gaining trust was the most important thing.
“Sara, I want to take a bath.”
“You’re still weak. Let me wipe your body.”
“But I think I can remove the magical artifact now… Look!”
Sieg demonstrated by removing his necklace, and Sara’s eyes widened.
“Does your body not feel strained?”
“Yeah. No fever. I feel light, Sara!”
Sara softened her gaze at Sieg’s smile.
“Then I’ll quickly prepare the bath for you.”
When Sara rang the bell, multiple maids immediately appeared. Though they were not visible before, it seemed the maids were waiting nearby. The maids, with reddened eyes, tried to avoid showing their faces to Sieg as they prepared.
The people of this household seem to be deeply loved by their servants. Looking at the prepared bathroom facilities, Karen tilted her head.
“You don’t use soap here? It’s better if you do.”
Karen had some thoughts about soap, but she spoke up for Sieg’s sake. The Bloodline Blessing was different from illness, so it wouldn’t spread viruses or bacteria. Still, she was afraid of viruses entering while his body was weak. Catching a cold in that condition would be disastrous. While his magic both eroded and protected his body, there were limits.
“Master Sieg has sensitive skin and would break out if he used soap.”
“I see. Would you like to try my homemade soap? Gubert Company’s soap stings my face, so I made my own.”
“What? I have heard that the process of making soap is a closely guarded secret of the Gubert Company.”
“Oh, it’s me who came up with the original recipe. Though no one believes me.”
To be precise, Karen created the soap using knowledge from her previous life. After meeting Lyos as a child and repeatedly seeing him worsen from colds, she conceived the idea of making soap for him. In this world, at least within Karen’s view, soap was non-existent.
In her previous life, she had made soap for a summer vacation research project.
Since oil and plant ash were required, she got animal fat from Frieda, burned fallen leaves in Lyos’s garden, and made makeshift soap. It smelled a bit like animals and never fully hardened. But it seemed to have antibacterial properties, and Frieda was delighted that Lyos caught fewer colds after using it. Incidentally, Lyos’s skin was robust and didn’t suffer from irritation.
Somehow, that soap was eventually displayed as a product in the Gubert Company. The only people present when the soap was made were Karen, Lyos, and Marian. Marian Gubert. Of course, Karen asked her directly about this.
‘It’s a product we developed. Don’t make baseless accusations.’
Marian laughed dismissively through her nose. If she had said something like "We referenced your work," Karen would have happily supported her. Instead, Marian accused Karen of theft, saying, "If you want forgiveness for copying our product, you’d better keep quiet.”
Since then, Karen had sealed away her previous life knowledge. Having a knowledge cheat from a past life wasn’t easy either.
“I believe you, Lady Karen.”
“Thank you, Sara.”
“If possible, may I examine your soap?”
“I’ll bring it right away.”
She had used it to wash her hands before cooking while Sara was fetching ingredients, leaving it in the kitchen. When Karen returned with the soap, Sara examined it curiously.
“…It’s hardened?”
“After trial and error, it somehow became solid.”
Karen’s first attempt hadn’t hardened at all, and the soap from Marian’s company remained soft.
“And it doesn’t smell unpleasant. In fact, it smells good… Is it like chamomile tea?”
“How perceptive. I used chamomile essential oil.”
Moreover, she now uses vegetable oil instead of animal fat. She also burned seaweed instead of fallen leaves for ash. The hardening might be due to changing ingredients. Or perhaps the magic she infused to make it last longer was the reason—
“Oh, sorry, Ms. Sara. May I borrow the appraisal mirror again?”
“Of course, please go ahead.”
Karen held the appraisal mirror over the soap, and the results appeared.
Chamomile Soap
Reduces skin inflammation
“Ms. Sara, the soap has turned into a potion as well.”
“You were unaware until just now, Lady Karen?”
“It seems things keep turning into potions on their own. It worked on my childhood friend, but I’m still investigating what principles are causing this.”
Feeling embarrassed, Karen chuckled awkwardly as she spoke.
“I’m truly sorry for accepting the request and experimenting on-site before thoroughly investigating.”
“You need not apologize, Lady Karen.”
“Ms. Sara?”
Karen’s eyes widened at Sara’s unexpectedly firm tone.
“If we had waited for you to complete your research… we might have run out of time.”
“…You’re right.”
Today, after meeting Sieg, Karen had somewhat sensed this. If she had waited to announce her research findings before accepting the request, it might have been too late. She knew the request had been posted for a long time and needed to be accepted soon. But as an alchemist, she had hesitated. She had thought about it since Lyos became a knight, but hesitation still lingered. Though driven by recklessness, she was glad she had accepted the request.
“Thank you for making it in time, Lady Karen.”
Despite it being only the first day, Sara was saying she made it in time. Her words assumed that Sieg would indeed be cured. Karen swallowed hard, feeling the pressure.
It was tremendously frightening. But she didn’t want to run away.
Now that she was here, she had no choice but to see it through to the end.
She clenched the small but tangible sense of determination in her hand and thought so.
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