Princess, You Must Start the Revolution!

Chapter 6: The Forget-Me-Not Princess (5)

That was incredible.  

There was nothing else to say except that it was a huge success.  

I had invested exactly half of my private funds, and in just fifteen days, the price of tulip bulbs had quintupled.  

Since people were buying up everything they could get their hands on, supply could no longer keep up with demand.  

“Haha, thanks to you, Princess, we’re being showered with money!”  

“It’s like money is multiplying!”  

It was only natural for the members of the consortium to cheer like that.  

By deliberately choking the supply, then releasing the bulbs just as everyone was scrambling to buy at rising prices, it was impossible for them not to sell.  

Even common households were trying their luck growing tulips, but there was still at least a month or two left before the bulbs could be harvested.  

Thus, while the bubble was expanding, it was not difficult to take advantage of a brief but tremendous profit through stockpiling and reselling at a ‘safe’ moment.  

And with that foundation, I was able to expand the relief center into something more substantial.  

“Princess, what are these high fences and these wards? They weren’t in the original plan, were they?”  

“There was some leftover budget. When I thought about it, if people are gathered in one place, disease might spread, right? And I can’t treat everyone who comes here myself.”  

“How many people do you think will even come here? His Majesty won’t look kindly on this.”  

Even though it was my private fund, it was still money granted by the royal family.  

To ensure it wasn’t misused, it was standard procedure for an inspector or treasurer to be dispatched.  

And the royal treasurer sent this time was quite strict with me.  

Well, considering everything, I must have looked like a princess who got lucky, awakened her magic, and was suddenly catapulted to success.  

Normally, the very title of ‘princess’ should make the term ‘catapulted to success’ irrelevant, but my situation was far from normal.  

“Well, we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?”  

“Ahem, hm! And what’s with all these forget-me-nots around here? Instead of spending money on things like this…”  

“I didn’t plant them with money. They just started blooming around me when I came here. They remind me of my mother.”  

The moment I mentioned my mother, the treasurer shut his mouth.  

By now, it was well known that even in my current position, I still hadn’t been allowed to see my mother.  

If you think about it, it was strange.  

By now, my value had risen quite a bit.  

Even if I had started out as an unwanted princess, now I was more than qualified to be recognized as a true princess.  

That meant my mother could also finally be acknowledged as a true concubine.  

Well, I would meet her when the time was right.  

For now, I needed to make sure that time came sooner rather than later.  

“Ahem, ahem! Anyway, this relief center is far too large. How many people do you think will actually—”  

“Cough! Cough! Uh, um…”  

Just as the treasurer was clearing his throat to continue, a group of people carefully approached me.  

Although their colors varied, they all wore worn-out leather pants with suspenders, short-sleeved shirts stained with grime, or button-up shirts missing a few buttons.  

Their clothes were patched together just enough to maintain some semblance of proper attire, and they all wore flat caps.  

“Are you here for treatment?”  

“Yes, yes. Cough! I heard that depending on the severity of the symptoms, a wizard would personally treat us…”  

“Then go inside. But body searches are mandatory.”  

“Ah, yes, of course. Cough! Hack! Ha, if a wizard is treating us, that’s a small price to pay.”  

That was the conversation I overheard.  

And soon, after passing the guards’ body searches, people started pouring in.  

They were typical factory workers, living in the slums without proper homes.  

Instead, they strung up ropes, draped cloth over them to form walls, and used whatever they could find as roofs.  

They were the main reason I had decided to expand the relief center.  

Naturally, I had to visit the site several times to inspect the facilities and land for the clinic.  

Even just riding in my carriage through the area gave me a clear picture of the life in the slums.  

Even if my own survival came first, I couldn’t simply turn a blind eye to men, women, and children being exploited for labor and living like that.  

So, I intensified the promotion of the relief center, hired more doctors and nurses, and expanded the facilities.  

“Most of them have tuberculosis, Princess. This is a disease that requires long-term recuperation away from the source of infection…”  

The senior doctor, an elderly man, spoke to me after examining the gathered patients.  

He was being as accurate as possible in his diagnosis—after all, he was being well-paid, his patient was a princess, and I would be handling the decisive treatment in the end.  

“It’s unrealistic to expect factory workers to get that kind of rest, isn’t it?”  

“There’s no other way. Unless you plan to distribute enough money for the entire slum to stop working, we can’t change their environment. Shall we prioritize those in the worst condition?”  

“Yes, please do. I’ll make preparations as well.”  

The senior doctor bowed and stepped back.  

I, too, needed to get ready for treatment.  

The magic I could use included basic life magic: plant growth acceleration, disease healing, and physical injury healing.  

Among them, today would likely be the first time I’d use disease healing.  

“Wait, are these numbers accurate? Are that many people really coming?”  

The treasurer looked genuinely flustered.  

There were already over thirty people who had arrived, and more were still gathering outside.  

“It’s only the first day, isn’t it? Tomorrow or the day after might be different.”  

“…Is that so?”  

“I hope so. Even for me, treating that many people would be overwhelming. It’s not like my magic is unlimited.”  

I had stepped forward, saying I wanted to help people, and now I was finally doing it.  

But treating such a large number of patients at once was daunting.  

Still, backing out wasn’t an option.  

I could only hope that by doing my best today, there would be fewer to treat tomorrow.  

“Cough! Hack! Hm! Cough!”  

“Bring them in and have them sit down. Face your back towards me.”  

“Yes, Princess.”

I could tell the first patient had arrived even without anyone announcing it—his coughing alone made it obvious.  

Then, a guard led him into the room.  

Honestly, my office wasn’t particularly small or poorly ventilated, yet the stench that filled the space made me almost frown.  

The only reason I managed to endure it was that I had already experienced similar, if not worse, smells from my previous visits to the slums.  

Given the conditions of the slums and the people living there, it wouldn’t be surprising if an epidemic broke out at any time.  

“Haa…”  

“Princess?”  

“Shh. I need to concentrate.”  

I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly to calm my mind.  

Then, I placed both hands on the patient’s back.  

While magic could work even with some distance, for internal diseases or injuries, direct contact was far more effective.  

The surrounding mana began to flow.  

It was absorbed into my skin, gathered at my shoulders, traveled down my arms, through my elbows and wrists, and finally reached my palms.  

Then, as the mana passed through my body, it transformed before seeping into the patient.

“Cough! Ha, haa, ah…”  

The patient, who looked to be around forty, soon stopped coughing and let out a breath of astonishment.  

But I couldn’t remove my hands just yet.  

A little longer, just a few more seconds—there, it was done.  

“Is it working properly? Can you breathe more easily?”  

“Ah, um, th-this… I-I'm completely healed, Princess. For someone like me to receive such precious magic… Th-thank you, truly, thank you! Thank you so much!”  

His coughing had been so severe that it must have felt like his lungs were about to burst out of his chest.  

Now that he was healed in an instant, it was no surprise that he dropped to the ground before me, expressing his gratitude.  

A regular wizard might have received the same reaction, but after hearing from the guards that I was a princess, his reverence must have only increased.  

“If you’re better, you should go back now. There are many more patients waiting.”  

“Y-yes, of course, Princess! Thank you! Thank you so much!”  

“Hey, didn’t you hear Her Highness tell you to leave? Hurry along.”  

He was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he might have stayed there forever if the guard hadn’t escorted him out.  

Taking advantage of the brief gap before the next patient entered, I checked my own condition.  

“Um, Princess, are you all right?”  

The treasurer, who had been strict earlier, now spoke to me in a much more cautious tone.  

I suppose I was still a princess to him, after all.  

Seeing his concern, I responded with a smile I had practiced countless times and had become quite accustomed to using.  

“I’m fine. Please send in the next patient.”  

“Yes, Your Highness. Next!”  

The guards were a little stern, but that was inevitable given my status as a princess.  

Even though most of my guards weren’t of noble birth, their rank as royal guards was still far above that of common laborers.  

“Cough! Hack! Ahem… S-sorry, cough! I’m sorry.”  

“I suppose the symptoms are the same this time. Here, turn your back and sit down…”  

From then on, it was a continuous cycle of the same procedure.  

The patient would sit on the round, backless chair in front of me with their back turned, and I would place my hands on them and channel my magic to heal them.  

It was through this process that I realized just how miraculous life magic and divine power-based healing truly were.  

Even with the best medical technology from my past life, treatment was never this easy, quick, or simple.  

The problem was that, despite appearances, this wasn’t actually as ‘simple’ as it seemed.  

“Um, Your Highness… You’re sweating…”  

“Oh, thank you.”  

“N-not at all, Princess.”  

By the time I finished treating the seventeenth patient, I had to pause and wipe the sweat off my face with the handkerchief offered by a guard.  

Even though I had only wiped my forehead and the back of my neck, the handkerchief was already quite damp.  

“Are you sure you’re all right?”  

The treasurer, now more careful than ever, spoke in an exceedingly polite tone.  

Despite his earlier strictness, it seemed he wasn’t completely heartless.  

Smiling as before, I responded.  

“I’ve never used this much magic at once before. If I take a short break to let it settle, I’ll feel much better.”  

“I see…”  

There was a sigh of relief at the end of the treasurer’s words.  

And honestly, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to be concerned.  

It wasn’t that I was struggling; rather, for a wizard who had only been learning magic for a few months, the amount of magic I had used in a single day was already well beyond the norm.  

Me?  

Perhaps as compensation for having my very identity forcibly altered, I had been blessed with an overwhelming talent for magic.  

Even Master Dúnedain and the master wizards of the Mage Tower had all marveled at my abilities.  

“Princess, how many more patients do you plan to see today? We should set a number in advance. While you’ve been treating patients, hundreds more have arrived.”  

“Oh… How long has it been?”  

“A little over three hours. It will soon be time for your lunch, Princess.”  

I see.  

Seventeen patients in three hours meant that each treatment took just over ten minutes on average.  

And I could feel the strain on my magic reserves.  

This was proof that magical healing wasn’t as ‘simple’ as it appeared.  

From the perspective of a patient on the brink of death, the process seemed effortless and almost miraculous.  

But from my standpoint, if I kept this up for several more days, I would collapse from exhaustion.  

“Then I’ll take an early lunch. I’m really hungry.”  

“Master Dúnedain had advised that when magical consumption is high, food intake should also be significantly increased. Accordingly, we have prepared a larger portion than usual while ensuring it is served promptly. Your meal will be brought in immediately, Princess.”  

“You always work so hard because of me.”  

“Not at all. Serving Your Highness is the greatest honor of all royal guards.”  

That response was far more pleasant to hear than a mere statement about duty.  

Because of that, I was able to smile without having to force it.