Contender #5 - Queen Henrietta, the Anomaly

Compared to her son, the queen might not seem like a promising contender. Yet Her Majesty had a big influence on Lady Elianna, although she kept herself out of the Pharmacy Lab’s affairs.

Queen Henrietta had suffered from the Ashen Nightmare personally. As a result, she was naturally interested in any progress the researchers made, but she also had to dispel any negative notions high society had about her in the aftermath of her battle with the plague. That put her in a position where she couldn’t proactively approach the people studying it.

However, with Lady Elianna’s failed experiments causing all kinds of fuss at the palace, people’s impressions were beginning to change for the better. The queen was eventually able to accompany Lady Elianna and visit the lab herself. Though lately, she seemed more interested in having the researchers turn the ink into a dye than she was in having them find a cure for the disease. Given the researchers’ change in focus recently, it was hard to deny they’d been derailed from their original mission.

Nonetheless, it was thanks to Lady Elianna that people regarded their department in a new light. She had even helped them discover a brand new herb, as well. Not a single person at the lab was dissatisfied with the direction things were going in. Some of them (surprisingly) even continued trying to invite Lady Elianna out on dates. Although, they made an enemy out of Prince Chris in the process.

To the researchers, Queen Henrietta and Lady Elianna looked like an adorable mother and daughter. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that someone as accommodating as Lady Elianna would oblige the queen if she suggested they spend the new year’s break together.

As for any other possible contenders, hm...

I double checked the sheaf of papers I had with me, listing the odds for each candidate. “Hm, Alexei is a possibility, too. Maybe. If he were to use Lady Elianna, it’d be as bait to lure Prince Chris into doing more work. Though he doesn’t have enough influence for that to plausibly happen...”

There was one atypical contender high on the list that made me grin when I spotted his name. “Actually, some of the guys in the imperial guard are betting on Glen. ‘We have to spend the year’s end without female companionship, so why should the prince get to enjoy any?!’ was their reasoning. It’s less like they’d bet on Glen because they thought he could win and more likely they wanted to curse His Highness for having a partner when they didn’t.” As an afterthought, I added, “Oh, and keep that part between us.”

After some more thought, I continued, “Let’s see... There’s also some that are betting she’ll spend the break with her family—specifically Alfred or Marquess Bernstein. Prince Theodore is another potential contender as well, but even if she does spend her break in the royal archives, we aren’t counting that as time spent with Prince Theodore. His chances are pretty slim as a result.”

I shrugged and then surveyed the faces of the officials crowding around me. Can’t forget to flash a smile at them, too!

“Anyway, those are the contenders for this year’s race. Of course, you’re welcome to bet on someone who isn’t currently listed in the lineup, if you like. If no one else bets on them and they win the race, you get all the money for yourself. You might be swimming in cash come the new year. Ahh, so many possible ways you could spend that kind of fortune!”

I could see the dreamy looks in their eyes as they imagined piles of money falling right into their lap. In the next second, they were all clamoring for me like housewives at a bargain sale, desperate to make their bids on who they thought would win.

I grinned. “Okay, everyone, bets start at ten dora a person!”

At that time, I had no way of knowing the insane turn this race would take at the end.