12

Although he was the crown prince of the Country of Fire, Felix’s magic was lightning.

In general, lightning magic was considered more noble than fire magic.

Because Felix’s magic was also the highest-grade lightning magic, there was not even the slightest opening for anyone to object to Felix taking the throne.

Felix had his bloodline, his beauty, his ability, and his magic.

In every respect, he was a flawless and perfect crown prince without a single gap.

However, this lightning magic Felix possessed was extremely difficult to control.

Especially in a case like Felix’s, where an amount of magic great enough to harm his health was being produced inside his body, if he made even the slightest mistake in controlling the lightning he activated, it would have enough power to blow off his own fingers.

They would suppress the abnormal amount of magic generation with potions, and make Felix himself thoroughly learn how to control lightning magic.

During that time, they would search for a method to purify the old magic.

As symptomatic treatment for his skin, he would continue hot spring treatment and poultices of ointment without fail. As for the ointment, the medical team would continue to handle it while receiving reports on the symptoms from Noel.

The general treatment policy for Felix had been settled.

It was guaranteed that the self-help training to control his lightning magic would be quite severe, but now that external treatment of the magic-producing organ through surgery had been rejected, there was no other path left for Felix.

From the perspective of information control, a master of lightning magic from the royal family’s magic corps, once called the Lightning of Abeeb, but whose eyesight had now grown quite poor and who could no longer stand in the field, would be secretly summoned to this detached palace.

This decision was made both to create the public appearance that a man with bad eyes had simply come to the detached palace for hot spring treatment, and out of consideration for Felix’s heart, by assigning as his teacher a man who could not clearly see the appearance Felix himself was ashamed of.

And Noel, who knew the details of Felix’s actual symptoms, would be in charge of the potions.

Today, Noel had visited Felix at the detached palace to inform him of the treatment policy decided with the royal palace medical team.

“I see.”

After saying only that, Felix merely snorted a little, showing no interest in the treatment method Noel had reported. But when he heard that the lightning magic user who would arrive starting tomorrow had extremely poor eyesight and was almost blind, he showed a relieved expression.

Felix wanted to keep exposing his own appearance, which even he could not accept, to other people’s eyes to an absolute minimum.

Noel continued.

“I will be in charge of the potions. It would be better for me to directly cultivate and refine the medicinal herbs used for the potions at this detached palace, so that no information leaks anywhere. If many medicinal herbs that suppress magic are being purchased for this detached palace, people may appear who try to investigate the reason. In that regard, I would like to use the detached palace’s greenhouse. Who is managing it?”

This detached palace had a rather splendid royal palace-style greenhouse, but there was no sign that the inside was being used.

The greenhouse had many traces of once having been a splendid medicinal herb garden, and Noel had been very curious about it ever since he first visited this detached palace.

The large greenhouse, built in an old and sturdy construction method called royal palace style, had a luxurious structure with a ceiling far higher than ordinary greenhouses.

Inside the greenhouse, it would probably even be possible to plant large medicinal trees.

“No gardener is currently employed. As for caring for the greenhouse, you may freely hire whoever you want at your own discretion. For maintaining the garden, Mason only occasionally calls in an externally hired gardener to trim the lawn. The greenhouse has been left abandoned for a very long time.”

Felix did not seem very interested, but Noel raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

“Understood. Then, may I send my subordinate to the greenhouse? Among the subordinates who accompanied me, there is the finest gardener. With your permission, I will bring her to the greenhouse starting tomorrow. I will have her work only inside the greenhouse and make sure she never shows herself before Your Highness.”

“Fine. Do as you like.”

“Then one more thing. I would like to bring several of my personal plants to the greenhouse as well. Also, I would like to modify the inside of the greenhouse a little.”

In truth, while he had left Beth alone, she had wandered through the forest, found plants, and steadily let her plant collection encroach on the inn room, which had put Noel in a bit of a bind.

On top of that, to Noel’s eyes, every plant was in wonderful condition, but in the environment of a corner of the inn, the plants could not quite maintain the best condition Beth had in mind, and seeing Beth looking dejected, Noel had wanted to do something for her somehow.

“I do not care. Do as you like with the greenhouse. I will not say it twice.”

Turning his bandage-covered face toward the window in displeasure, Felix told Noel only that.

Noel silently bowed his head, then hurried toward the inn.