It was awfully bitter, so much so that it even hurt. Elody had never had such a bitter taste in her life. Her tongue was almost sore.

“Wife, are you all right?”

Caville was awake and picking grass next to Elody as he did every time he came out into the field. Caville looked worried. He was about to cry right away, as Elody had just screamed. Elody turned her head and complained of pain, reassuring Caville. Even as time passed, the bitter taste remained.

“Have I lost my sense of taste?” Anna smiled and said. She was only a little worried. “That's what I felt at first, but I guess I got used to it since I've been eating it for so long. It used to hurt.”

“ It would be nice to use it as a medicinal herb,” Elody said.

“It doesn't work very well. My grandfather and grandmother also said that it's better to just visit a doctor than using it,” Anna said.

This much bitterness will not disappear even if it is dried and boiled into the medicinal tea.

“But why is it called spirit grass?” Elody asked.

“That's not really the exact name, that's what my grandfather called it. It's a gift from the Spirit because it's a pain killer that even poor people like us can get from nature.”

“It’s too bitter to be called that. The name “Devil's grass” sounds better.”

Anna smiled looking at Elody making a long face, thinking she was cute.

“Madam, are you sure you're going to make a magic drug?”

“Yes.”

Anna looked at Elody with a face full of curiosity, as magicians were very rare. In this world, magic was a vestige of nature worship handed down from ancient times. In the distant past, a legendary magician born in nature taught magic through spirits. It was said that many of his disciples recorded the magic in ancient languages. However, most books in ancient languages were monopolized by temples and designated as prohibited books. Deciphering ancient languages was quite difficult. Most magicians only knew parts of the ancient languages.

However, Elody was naturally fluent in ancient languages, as it was written that she was a genius of magic drugs in the novel. And Elody intended to use that skill set, even though she was the villain.

“ I need to collect this plant a little bit more. Can you tell me how to distinguish it, Anna?”

“Yes, but I’m not always accurate at it, though.”

Anna calmly taught her how to distinguish the spirit grass from the weeds, but the two were hard to distinguish.

The next day, Elody took Caville, Anna and Marie to pull out the spirit grass. Spirit grass, mixed with some normal weeds, filled their baskets. A week later, the greenhouse and laboratory were finally complete.After the completion of the greenhouse and laboratory, Elody remained there for several days.

“Madam, do you like the lab?”

“Yes, perfect. Thank you, Norman.”

“Don't mention it. Would you like to have a meal here?”

“Yes, I'd appreciate it if you could bring it through the maid.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Norman gave his signature gracious smile.

Norman decorated the lab perfectly as Elody had dictated. Perhaps he spent a considerable amount of money. Elody would not forget it.

“Come on, Caville, I'm going to make some potions now that the laboratory is made.”

“Potions? What potions?”

“Potions that will help you later.”

If I succeed in making this drug, I'll have to make it like a machine before Caville goes into battle. Effective painkillers would be very effective on the battlefield. It would be good to make some other cures too and send them together.Elody was diligent in her work now that the greenhouse and laboratory had been completed.

Marie and Anna looked around the lab, smiling as they did. “It's so nice to have a greenhouse, madam! I can't wait to plant flowers, and all other types of things!”

“Me, too. Please look after this, Anna.”

“Don't worry at all. Madam!

Anna had a bright face, one that was ever brighter than usual.

Elody decided to leave the greenhouse to Anna. She was knowledgeable about plants and seemed to have extraordinary affection for the repaired greenhouse.

“Caville, I'll make potions, and you'll study writing.”

“Yes.”

With Elody's solemn tone, Caville nodded gently.

Marie and Anna giggled at the sight and quietly left the lab.

“Even if the book isn't interesting, you have to read it hard, Caville. Books are usually boring. You have to put up with it to become a great adult.”

“Yes, Wife.”

Elody let Caville read while next to her. Now, Caville would have to read many difficult books, not fairy tales. The book in Caville's hands was a kind of military strategy book. Elody gave it to him because she thought it would be helpful if he read while he was young.

***

Sirka, the owner of the group of merchants of Rondia, sent a letter saying he would visit the castle on the last day before leaving the duchy.

“I want to treat him properly. Since he's the owner of a huge group of merchants, building a friendship will be very helpful to improve our duchy.”

At Elody's words, Norman's face became serious. Sirka was the first guest to visit the castle since Caville became a lord. So, Norman called a meeting with Julia, the head of maids and chef Bill. Elody was embarrassed by the strict and solemn atmosphere of the meeting.

***

A few days before Sirka visited, Elody finally succeeded in developing a magic drug. She worked on it all night long. Because of this, Norman built a small cot next to the lab and even brought the brazier to her. Even though it was uncomfortable, Caville didn't whine a single time and remained calm. Elody was proud and grateful for that. It took only a few days, and she made it without sleeping properly. Like Caville, Elody was also in her growth phase. To make the medicine, she had to give up precious sleep she needed for growth, and to become tall.

However, making the magic drug was such a success that it was worth giving up growth. It was not necessarily easy to make magic drugs just because you had a method to make them. Making magic drugs depended on which order ingredients were added in, and how much mana was used. The effectiveness of drugs improved if the ingredients were added through mana. The finished painkiller was a drug made after two failures. This first drug she made was a liquid potion. Because she was nervous to experiment on others, Elody tested on herself first.

She didn’t do much, but she hurt her own body to confirm the drug’s effect. Oh. . .! The effect of the spirit grass, which was very weak, was maximized using mana. The effect was quite good. However, the bitter taste was also maximized. She wasn't sure if this really worked well or if the drug was so bitter that she just couldn’t feel the pain.

I feel like the pain of the body is shifting to the pain of the tongue. . .? Elody tried various methods to compensate for the bitter taste. She sprinkled salt, marinated, and dipped it in water, as she did to remove the bitter taste of the balloon flower. She even mixed it with newly made sugar using mana. The effect remained the same and the bitter taste decreased a little, but there was still something lacking.

“I guess a pill would be easier than a potion.” A pill would be easier to eat and to distribute. A pill was much easier to deliver to people than a potion. Most of the drugs on the market were potions. Therefore, pills could give the impression that Elody’s magic drugs were more precious. Elody overcame her second failure and immersed herself in the experiment again.

That’s how she made a pill.

“Now it's perfect.”

As a result of continuous injection of fine mana during the compression process of the pill, the bitter taste was further diffused. It had developed to the point where it could be chewed and swallowed.

Elody went to the maids to experiment on others.

“Anyone with a stomach ache?”

The maids all shook their heads. Tessie, who had recently suffered from period pain, also shrugged. The next place Elody visited was the knights.

“Sir Vedos, are you hurt?”

“. . .should I get hurt?” Brienne looked at Elody and Caville, holding his hand next to him with a sour face.

“Why don't you hurt yourself a little?”

“What?” Brienne's face wrinkled even more by Elody's words.

“If not, are there any knights or soldiers complaining of pain?”

“Well, there are many at the training ground.”

Elody headed inside the training ground with Brienne's guidance. The resting knights and soldiers' faces turned into tense looks. To them, Elody was a very fastidious woman. Even though she was young, her nagging made them nervous. Elody went around nagging the knights who were much bigger than her, telling them to clean, to sharpen their swords, and so on. She didn't know anything, but she didn't stop nitpicking. Whenever Elody came to the Knights, she went around like a chirping chick.

With Elody here, it was natural that everyone was nervous.

“Is anybody hurt?”

But today, she seemed to come for a different purpose.

A knight who was resting raised his hand. Elody approached her with an awkward face.

Named Solar, she was a young knight with outstanding swordsmanship skills. Even though she was still a teenager, she was also one of the best knights in the knightage, recognized by Brienne Vedos. Solar didn't feel any discomfort with Elody, whom everyone was uncomfortable with. Elody, on the other hand, was a little awkward with her.

“My little madam, you're beautiful today as always,” Solar said. She showed such a playful attitude whenever she saw Elody.