The stroke of good fortune was that I also knew the antidote for the black spots.
“You don’t have white orchid?”
But I hadn’t expected it would be this difficult to obtain the antidote. I’d already been making the rounds to as many tea shops as apothecaries.
“Yes, white ones are rarely requested by customers. Our shop has purple orchid.”
Four years from now, orchid tea would be impossible to find in the Empire even if you wanted it.
The discovery that white orchid flowers were an antidote was purely accidental. One of the commoners afflicted with the black spots had a habit of enjoying white orchid tea, and he was the first to recover from the illness.
At that time, the black spots were still perceived as a contagious disease. Everyone without exception began wanting orchid tea.
Since it wasn’t a tea with abundant supply to begin with, the Imperial family practically threatened Iota, which was virtually the place of origin for orchids, and imported various types of orchid tea in large quantities.
That’s why it seemed difficult to obtain white orchid, the key antidote component, right now.
“It feels strange that purple is being neglected.”
As I left the shop empty-handed again, Sir Lifros said, his already magnificent eyes sparkling.
“Indeed. If my eyes had been a different color, the ladies would have smiled at me only about half as much as they do now.”
His joke made me feel a little better.
At the last tea house we stopped by, I ended up purchasing light purple orchid tea that looked to be of good quality. It should at least have the effect of slowing the progression of the illness.
Returning to the mansion, I asked the butler for hot water and teacups.
“What is this?”
“It’s flower tea from a plant called orchid.”
I placed an appropriate amount of dried petals into two teacups and tilted the teapot. Warm steam rose in wisps as the light purple petals bloomed.
“If you drink this regularly, you’ll feel much better.”
I said that for now, though I was anxious since I didn’t know exactly how much it would help. Mikhail snorted. Yeah, right—that kind of face.
“It’s a precious flower tea. You can’t just pick and dry it—apparently you can only make tea from flowers that have naturally dried and fallen.”
“So you’re saying I’m eating something that fell on the ground right now?”
“Yes. Please drink plenty.”
Mikhail spoke gruffly but did drink it. Then he stared blankly down at the petals for a while.
“No. I was just remembering when you were little.”
Mikhail took another sip.
“You particularly hated tea as a child, didn’t you? You asked why anyone would drink water with no taste. So I tried to help you appreciate the taste of tea by having teatime together. But you, you little brat,”
Mikhail took another sip.
“You went and mixed all my tea leaves with the horse feed. Those horses might still be in their prime to this day thanks to you.”
I vaguely remembered the image of young Mikhail throwing a fit.
Like that, one sip, one sip. The teacup was emptied.
Clutching the luxuriously packaged tea leaves, I urged him to drink one cup every day without fail. Even as I left the room, I felt restless. It had been so long since Mikhail and I had talked about our childhood.
“Did it go well?”
Sir Lifros was waiting in the garden in front of the main building, which had grown dim.
I had asked him to wait for a bit.
Whether his colleagues had left or not, Sir Lifros remained alone. I felt even more apologetic.
“There was something I wanted to say. And something to ask of you.”
I couldn’t tell him in detail about what had happened two weeks ago. Because I felt like Sir Lifros would be angry.
I simply wanted the Lifros siblings to be sufficiently wary of Rilke. I hoped they wouldn’t waste their emotions because of Rilke.
“You mean Lord Rilke Meyer?”
I could only warn him that Rilke had pulled a nasty trick regarding the invitation, and that he might do so again, so to be careful and careful again.
“I see, so that was why.”
Sir Lifros mentioned that Rilke couldn’t leave his room.
“I’m truly sorry. I’m also sorry I can’t explain in detail.”
“Don’t mention it. Don’t apologize on behalf of someone else who should be apologizing. Wasn’t it Joachim who suffered an injustice because you were worried about Lucia?”
Sir Lifros made me feel even more ashamed by worrying about me instead. I just shook my head. I was truly grateful.
“But, what is it you wish to ask?”
The fragrant and acrid smell of pruss leaves hung in the air.
Unique foreigners in various attire came and went informally. On tables and windowsills placed haphazardly without uniformity, exotic flowers were arranged as decorations, and orchid flower vases could be seen here and there. On one side, there was even a space set up for darts and snooker, and numerous foreigners were socializing in between. It was an atmosphere entirely different from the Empire’s balls or salons—overall cheerful and free-spirited.
Most of the voices were in Iotan.
“In a bit the band will turn up the volume! The fiddle melodies are killer!”
So much so that voices in Imperial were jarring.
Young Lady Lifros, who had returned, briefly boasted about her homeland’s traditional instruments in lively Imperial. She too held a fiddle in her hands. It was the instrument that would become the predecessor to the violin. She said she sometimes performed here as well.
“The person who runs the trading company hasn’t come yet! They did confirm they’d come today though… My brother said to wait just a little longer!”
Soon an Iotan woman approached, so Young Lady Lifros said “Just a moment” and handed me the fiddle she was holding.
“I’ll be right back. At least look at this in the meantime! You can play it too!”
I had asked Sir Lifros if he could introduce me to Iotan contacts within the Empire.
After hearing my circumstances, he said he’d look into it with Lucia, and today I had come here following the siblings.
Three days had passed since I’d failed to find white orchid.
In the meantime, Mikhail hadn’t shown any particular improvement.
Every evening I stopped by the reception room in the main building to check if orchid flowers were floating in the teacup, but it seemed to be treading water. The gray spots seemed to have faded slightly, but on closer inspection, it seemed to be a difference in lighting. Perhaps he was getting used to it—Mikhail’s face was rather indifferent.
Nothing would change from being lost in thought, so I decided to examine the fiddle Young Lady Lifros had left behind. Before I knew it, the fiddle band’s performance had begun. To think such a sound that completely filled the space could come from such a small instrument.
The appearance, slightly different from a violin, was interesting, so I soon settled into a corner. The instrument was lighter than a violin. I was carefully turning it this way and that, lightly pressing or plucking the firm strings, when someone sat down beside me.
“……?”
It was an Iotan with very curly black hair.
The brightly smiling man seemed to have a rather strong dialect.
“<…Um… I’m not good at it… I’m sorry.>”
Flustered by the particularly rolling pronunciation, I just admitted that communication was difficult. I could read and write Iotan characters since there were times I needed them occasionally while helping Mikhail, but having almost no opportunity to converse made it hard to understand.
From his grin, it seemed he understood what I said, but the man didn’t leave. With a bright face, he kept saying something.
“Umm……”
Young Lady Lifros returned again, and when she said something in a haughty tone, the man left.
“You really just sat still?”
Miss Lucia laughed as she took the fiddle. I felt awkward as I picked up her fiddle again to hold for her.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t quite mingle.”
The surroundings were more boisterous than any social venue. Even stuck in a corner like this, perhaps being alone like this didn’t fit with the lively Iotan etiquette.
“What are you talking about! If there was a problem, it was that you were too handsome!”
Making an absurd joke, Lucia winked. The shape of her curved eye corners was exactly like her brother’s.
“Get up, there’s no time! Hey, I told you not to smile like that! Do you know what that Iotan man from earlier said?”
“I suppose he said I was too handsome.”
“Oh my, that’s similar?”
I stood up, half-heartedly going along with Young Lady Lifros’s banter. Suddenly pushed by a rush of people, Lucia, who ended up in front, grabbed my wrist and pulled. I was concerned about her instrument bumping around, but Young Lady Lifros said it was fine.
Following her, I climbed stairs in the opposite direction. The second floor we arrived at was a somewhat smaller hall.
“But why is there no time?”
The surroundings were so noisy I had to ask as if shouting loudly.
“The Iotan salon only operates until 10 o’clock! Before the drunken hotheads cause trouble in the stuffy Empire, we wrap things up among ourselves!”
Young Lady Lifros grumbled that it was a completely boring rule.
“For Iotans to blend into the Empire, prevention is more important than damage control! It can’t be helped!”
We passed through the hall and entered a corridor.
“My brother said he’d talk with that trading company person first.”
“Here it is!” Young Lady Lifros flung open a door in the middle. I could see Sir Lifros together with a prosperous-looking man with a large beard.
