Chapter 33

Usually, even the cheerful chirping of the little birds echoed in her head, annoying her.

Then, Tena appeared and let out a big, big sigh.

"Lilith-sama, I hope you didn't drink that entire bottle of cider by yourself, did you?"

"…I drank it alone. But, save the lecture for later. Right now… I can't."

Lilith answered in a groan, accepting Rese's care.

Then, she made her way back to the bed and lay down.

Tena, looking at Lilith with a bewildered expression, offered the prepared medicinal tea.

"Here, please drink this. It should make you feel better."

"…It smells terrible."

"Don't worry, it tastes terrible too."

"…I feel encouraged. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"―Ugh."

"As a lady, I think that sound just now was inappropriate, but I suppose it can't be helped this time."

"Water… please…"

Tena handed Lilith the water with a sigh.

Lilith drank it all and burrowed into the futon.

"I won't get up today. I won't do anything. Don't wake me up."

"Later, you'll need to take this medicinal tea again."

"No."

"But if you don't, you won't feel better by noon."

"Fine. I won't do anything today because I'm weak."

"Then, as I mentioned earlier, is it alright to decline the lunch with His Royal Highness?"

"No! …Ouch…"

Lilith, reminded of last night's promise by Tena, jumped up.

She groaned from the pain in her head.

Still, she took a few deep breaths to calm the pain.

"Last night… I made a promise. So… I'll drink it properly."

"Understood. Please rest for a while. I'll gently wake you when it's time."

"Alright. Thank you, Tena."

"It's nothing much."

Saying that, Tena gently stepped back.

She would probably be nearby, ready to assist if anything happened.

Lilith closed her eyes and noticed that she felt better than before.

After some time, Tena gently woke Lilith.

Thanks to the deep, dreamless sleep or the medicinal tea, her headache had significantly eased.

This time, Lilith drank the foul-smelling tea offered by Tena with a forced smile and lay down again.

"Thank you, Tena. I feel much better."

"I'm glad to hear that. You still have some time before you need to get ready, so please rest a bit more."

"Yes, I will."

After answering and closing her eyes, Lilith realized something.

Tena seemed to know that the tea tasted terrible.

Thinking about when she might have drunk it, Lilith remembered Tena's marriage history.

(So… Tena has been through a lot too…)

Thinking that if she had been more mature, she could have supported Tena, Lilith reflected that even now, she couldn't do much.

She was still causing trouble.

(I shouldn't have drunk so much over something like that. This is a political marriage. My goal is to have children and build the country. That's all I need to do…)

While dozing off, she kept telling herself this, and eventually, Lilith fell asleep again.

However, it seemed she had entered a dream.

Although she was concerned that this would drain her energy and make it hard to focus on lunch with Jesarld, her curiosity couldn't be suppressed.

(This place… I visited it last night—no, early this morning.)

Floating, Lilith headed towards the building.

There, the base material for pottery was being made.

From her knowledge, the base material was made by kneading clay into the shape of a vessel.

However, here, they crushed—white rocks—into a fine powder, placed the powder in a large container of water, extracted the clear liquid, removed the water, and turned it into clay.

(I see, so that's how they make the white vessels… But without that, there's no luster or pattern. What do they do?...)

Lilith carefully observed and studied the subsequent processes.

Of course, she couldn't remember everything in one go.

(But I'm sure I can come back here again… Just like with the long-lasting food.)

Feeling a baseless confidence, Lilith opened her eyes.

She immediately made notes on the paper by her pillow.

Tena, who was about to speak, saw this and quietly left the room.

It was time to start getting ready.

"Lilith-sama… Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm a bit tired, but I feel better, so I'm fine."

Smiling, Lilith answered Tena, who had returned with the washbasin, and got out of bed.

Seeing this dream today must have been to encourage Lilith's decision.

Judging this, Lilith summoned the courage to make her "request" to Jesarld.