Chapter 40

The next day, Lillith immediately informed Frederick that the trip to Toisen had been decided.

Upon hearing this, Frederick’s opinion of Gesualdo seemed to skyrocket.

"Hmm. It seems that His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is quite an open-minded person. Well, since we’ve cleared the first hurdle, the next step is to figure out how to talk to the potters."

"Yes, that’s true. We don’t need a large number of people, just one or two, but the problem is how to find the right person. If there’s any wrongdoing in the factory, we can’t just approach anyone... Ideally, we’d want a skilled potter. But I’m not very good at judging people."

"Lady Lillith, that’s not something to be proud of."

Frederick interjected, frowning at Lillith’s bold declaration of her flaw. He then thought for a moment and made a typical gesture, tapping his fist into his other palm. When Lillith gave him a suspicious look at his obvious act, Frederick smiled slyly.

"You can leave the selection to His Highness."

"Eh?"

"My disciple, who now holds a key position in this palace, was appointed by His Highness. Just the other day, he said, 'His Highness, who recognized my abilities, has a keen eye for people.'"

"…Of course, Mr. Fu’s disciple. If we trust that confident person, are you suggesting we tell everything to His Highness?"

"Not necessarily everything. Just enough to convince him. We can embellish the facts a bit. For example, we can say that you happened to know how to make Shana."

"Who?"

"Lady Lillith."

"Isn’t that too risky?"

"Then, I can say I know. After all, I am the 'Sage.'"

"You’re also a bit eccentric."

Frederick glared at Lillith’s muttered comment, but she ignored it and took a sip of tea from Shana’s cup.

"Well, jokes aside, the Kingdom of Freud has developed significantly over the past decade, all thanks to new knowledge. Of course, everyone knows that it’s because of Lady Lillith’s dream, but many people suspect that there’s a secret behind it."

"Yes, that’s true. Spies have been sent from various countries many times. But since we don’t hide the new knowledge we’ve gained, it’s not a big problem... However, there are still people who come to search, thinking there might be more hidden knowledge. They suspect we might know some special alchemy. Really, human desire knows no bounds."

Lillith sighed in exasperation, and Frederick laughed with a wise expression. With his long life experience, he was well aware of human desires.

"However, not only spies, but also sincere students from other countries have come here. Some have even come from very far away."

"Like Mr. Fu."

"Exactly. So, we can say that we heard about it from one of them. But since we only have the knowledge, we need a skilled potter to put it into practice."

"Ah, I see. It might sound a bit suspicious, but Father and the others can easily back up the story, so there’s no need to worry about that."

Lillith agreed with the reasonable explanation, but Frederick’s smile had faded.

"However, there is a bit of a problem."

"…A problem?"

"If Lady Lillith, who is from the Freud royal family, knows this knowledge, people might think she has other rare knowledge, like the special alchemy you mentioned. That could put you in danger."

"Oh…"

"As Lady Lillith said, human desire knows no bounds. But I suggested this because Lady Lillith is now the Crown Princess of the Aelar Empire."

"…So, because I have a lot of guards?"

"Exactly. The security here is stricter than in the Freud royal palace. Besides, even if Lady Lillith isn’t a treasure trove of knowledge, she’s still involved in the succession issue of this country. And as the Crown Prince’s consort, she has many enemies from past wars, regardless of the curse. The probability of being targeted is doubled. In other words, there’s one more reason to be targeted."

"I’ll have to accept that. I feel bad for the guards, but basically, I’m a shut-in, so I think I’m easy to protect. Anyway, we’ll discuss the details of when to inform His Highness later. The next problem is the materials."

Even though her life was at stake, Lillith dismissed it casually. Frederick, along with others, thought that Lillith underestimated her own value, but it was pointless to argue about it now, so he focused on the next topic.

"Shana is made by crushing stones into a fine powder to make clay, unlike pottery or stoneware, which are made from kneaded earth."

"That’s right. But not just any stone will do; it’s important. Based on my dream, I think the stone is from the mine near the town of Bumini, which was left behind after the mining. It’s a shame I couldn’t touch it in the dream, but it looked very similar when I examined it closely."

"So, we need to transport that rock to conduct the test."

"Yes. And it takes time to settle the powder in water, extract the clear part, and remove the excess moisture to make the clay... I’d like to stay in Toisen for a while to do this. Even if we manage to complete this difficult task and fire the piece, it will only be bisque-fired."

"Glaze?"

"Yes. Stoneware is known to have a natural glaze, so we need the help of other... pottery kilns for the glaze. But there are no pottery kilns near Toisen."

Since she became interested in Toisen, Lillith had researched as much as she could about pottery and learned that glaze is used in pottery, but not in stoneware. The natural coating formed by earth, fire, and ash is appreciated for its beauty. Because no two pieces have the same pattern, they have been highly valued. The soil of Toisen was ideal for creating beautiful patterns with natural glaze, which is why Toisen became a major production center for stoneware.

In the production process of Shana that Lillith saw in her dream, a liquid—glaze—was applied to the bisque-fired white vessel and then fired again. This produced the beautiful luster. There were various types of glazes, and not only white vessels but also emerald-green vessels and vessels with patterns were made. Lillith was confident that if they could make similar pieces, they would surpass the Shana currently circulating on the continent in popularity.

While Lillith and Frederick were discussing various matters, Taina arrived. It was still early, and it wasn’t dinner time yet. When she saw Taina, Lillith wondered what was going on.

"Um, Count Borneau is here to see you."

"Conrad?"

"Yes. I told him that Lady Lillith is currently studying, but he said he would like to join you. Since you brought a teacher all the way from Freud, he must be quite knowledgeable..."

Taina’s words made Lillith and Frederick exchange a wry smile. Was this a slight, or did he genuinely want to learn from Freud?

"What do you think, Mr. Fu?"

"I don’t mind."

"Alright. Taina, please show Conrad in."

Lillith had expected Frederick to agree, and he did. The curious Frederick was probably interested in Conrad, who was considered Gesualdo’s successor. Lillith quickly tidied up her notes and spread out a book about the customs and geography of Toisen and the town of Bumini. Then, she welcomed Conrad as he entered the room.