"Well then, tomorrow we will study addition and characters besides the numbers. Memorize what I taught today. Be sure not to forget it, okay?"
I finished teaching the children and headed towards my lessons for the day.
History and embroidery, manners and dance, poetry and music. After my memories had returned the lessons became interesting, and my understanding of the country's origin and its religion progressed.
In my embroidery classes, somehow I've gotten to the point where my work is passable. In dance, poetry, and music, however, no matter how hard I try I'm not improving.
(If I can reach an average level where I'm not ashamed, that would be good.)
Why am I aiming for only this level? It's a question of talent.
After lessons, I thought about my acne-ridden face.
Although I've decreased by 5 kilos (TLN: 11 lbs), my pimply skin remains in an incredibly unsightly state. My hair also remains damaged with split ends aplenty.
(I may not be able to get engaged just by getting thinner. Britney, you have too many faults...)
In my previous life, I had heard that lemon water was good for clearing up acne.
lemon juice.jpg
Lemon water. If using as a rinse, use once or a twice a week. The acidity in the juice will flatten the outer layer of your hair, eliminating frizz. It also removes excess oil, helps restore your scalp's pH balance, and cleans your scalp of dead skin. No idea if any of this is true... Source
Since I can't expect to find skin lotion for acne and similar products in this world, I decided to drink lemon water every day.
Lemons are a little expensive, but it seems I can buy them from the neighboring territory. The cooks purchased some that were available in town and stored them in the kitchen.
From there, I tried to make something like a rinse with the same materials. It is a simple thing where I added lemon juice to hot water. If I like, adding herbs might be nice as well.
Until now, Britney's hair had to be forcibly brushed into place and held there with oil.
In this world people wash their hair very infrequently, and even when it was washed only water was used. In other words, Britney's hair gleamed from the considerable amount of oil.
(I want to make shampoo...)
I headed towards the dinner table while I thought about my past life's preferences.
※
In the dining room, there was a pleasant smell from Ryuze sitting next to me.
My cousin always smells good, but this time rather than perfume he has a natural soap scent. Apparently, he used the handmade soap I gave him.
It seems Ryuze noticed me smelling him. He smiled refreshingly, turned to me, and said
"I tried using the soap Britney had made. It is good."
I was pleased that I was praised, and let out a gufugufu laugh.
This cousin of mine is a little scary since I can't tell what he's thinking. However, being praised made me purely happy.
"After trying it, I sent some to a friend in the royal capital."
"Gufui-! Geho geho-!" (TLN: Choking and coughing sounds)
From the words that followed, I unintentionally spit out the soup in my mouth.
That friend Ryuze is talking about, is probably the crown prince. Judging by what I know of their relationship in the royal academy, they seem to be considerably close.
"W, why did you send my handmade soap to such a person-!?"
In contrast to me who become flustered and raised my voice, he responded calmly.
"It removed dirt and grime to a remarkable degree, leaving a pleasant smell behind... by all means I wanted to introduce it. If all goes well, it might become a source of revenue for this region."
"Eh-?"
"Britney, isn't it an amazing invention? I think that it could be used not only in the bathroom, but also in medical settings where hygiene is important. From before, Britney was also concerned about hygiene, were you not?"
"T, that's true... when we went horse riding together, I told you such a story. I believe washing your hands is critical to prevent illnesses."
It was just soap I made as a countermeasure against my stench, but it has become a considerably big deal.
(To be honest, it was amateur work... I did not think about it to that extent.)
To the trembling me, Ryuze continued to talk.
"By the way, is there any remaining inventory of the soap?"
"There are a few remaining, but since I had originally made it just for myself its a small amount. The stock of materials to make them is low too."
"What materials did you use to make it?"
"Seaweed lye from our territory, olive oil from the neighboring territory, and essential oils from roses from the neighboring territory."
lye.jpg
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide, gotten from plant or animal ashes. A strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions.)
olive oil.jpg
Olive Oil
rose essential oil.jpg
Essential Oil from a Rose
"... I lament that your engagement to Ricardo was broken."
"I, I am sorry."
I understood what Ryuze was saying.
Had the engagement between me and him held strong, they might have been flexible and let us purchase materials cheaply.
"But, olive oil could be replaced by grape seed oil which we can obtain from our own territory."
grape seed oil.jpg
Grape Seed Oil
Grape seed oil, as its name suggests, can be taken from grape seeds.
The Hakusu territory has a lot of barren land, but recently wine production has begun to flourish thanks to Ryuze's activity.
"Well then... to the best of your ability, please use materials from our territory. I would like to mass produce it."
Somehow, this became a serious endeavor.
"In that case, I will write a workable recipe. I will begin making grape seed oil soap from tomorrow on too."
"Aa, thank you. By all means I request you to."
Thus, in the Hakusu earldom, large scale production of soap began.
※
After that, I worked hard to produce soap in my free time. Rather than "production," it might be better to call it "research."
Leaving the successful recipes in Ryuze's care, my responsibility was to explore materials and create new recipes.
While I continued soap production, and routinely taught the children, my remaining free time was devoted towards dieting. Including my own studies in that, I am exhausted every day.
However, because Ryuze expected it of me, I could not complain. Were I to make him angry, it would become a huge problem once I went to the royal capital.
As I was thinking such things, my cousin approached.
"Britney, how goes the development of new soap?"
"Ee, it has been largely successful. Over here I have used essential oils of lavender and rosemary which can be grown anywhere. If these can be harvested from our territory we can significantly reduce the cost of raw materials. With material costs lowered, would we have enough capital to plant olives? If a lot of olives are produced, we could use some of them for olive oil correct?"
lavender essential oil.jpg
Essential Oil from Lavender
rosemary essentail oil.jpg
Essential Oil from Rosemary
"Un, I will get things moving there. Even so..."
Unexpectedly, Ryuze's hand extended towards me and touched my hair.
"Recently, your hair has become smoother and softer, huh?"
"... !"
Looking at me who has become stiff with shock, Ryuze smiled and said "for suddenly touching a lady's hair, I'm sorry." Doing whatever he wants, does this guy think a smile will forgive it?
(An ikemen's advantage, huh...)
Were I the former Britney, I would have fainted in delight.
I collected myself, and explained the rinse I made. Although, calling it a rinse is somewhat questionable.
"On my hair, I have been applying lemon juice. I use it when washing my hair at the hot spring."
"It seems, the hot spring you made in the garden has become popular among the servants too. Would it be alright if I used it from time to time as well?"
"Ee, of course. Because the servants use it at night, I use it at other times."
"Then, let me use it sometime as well. Lemons will grow in our barren land, so it might be possible to grow a lot in our territory."
"Th, that's right..."
Ryuze said that he would like to draw a waterway to the Hakusu earldom, but hasn't been able to yet because he lacked capital.
Somehow or other, his hopes to enrich this area, have become synonymous with me.