After all the events at the castle, I have been dedicating myself intensely in the past few days to the preparation of the serum for the queen. I was informed by a messenger from the palace that the investigation at the Marquess' house was initiated immediately after my departure from the castle. Considering the significance of this matter to the queen, it was to be expected that they would act swiftly. And, in the end, they found several suspicious pieces of evidence in Marquess Barton's residence, which seems to be enough to incriminate him.
Among the findings, there was a basement in his mansion where he kept documents about his research. Thanks to that, we managed to discover which snakes were used. According to the information I received, they all belonged to the same species and appeared to possess an extremely slow-acting venom. This would explain why the queen is still alive, even after a considerable period since the bite, in addition to her immune system being more resilient compared to that of the people from Earth. It is a species of snake that had never been seen before. I must admit that, for a moment, I had fears that the serum would not be effective against this peculiar type of venom. However, I quickly dismissed such thoughts, as pondering over it would not be useful to me. The best thing to do is to focus on doing what is within my reach to make the serum work.
Keeping these reflections in mind, I proceed with firm steps towards Henry's workshop. The royal family kindly provided us with two of their sturdiest horses to assist in the concoction of the serum. Although the inn where I am staying has a suitable stable to accommodate them, I decided it would be better to leave them at Henry's workshop, where we have the necessary equipment for the production of the serum. Upon arriving at the workshop, I make my way to the back of the house, where the two horses we will be using are sheltered.
"Finally, you've arrived, boy"
Henry greets me as I approach the horses.
"I apologize for the delay. I was rather nervous and couldn't sleep well last night. By the time I woke up, it was already quite late"
I reply after approaching Henry.
"Don't worry about that. I have already prepared everything you requested. Although I don't have detailed knowledge about how these things work, I must say the tools are quite intriguing"
Henry comments as he observes the objects laid out on a wooden table in front of him. On this table, the tools I requested from him for the making of the serum are present, essentially a syringe and a blood bag for storage. Though they are different from the tools I was familiar with in my previous world, it was still a good job considering the available resources at the moment.
On the table, there is also a considerable amount of venom from the snakes that were used to make the venom. I say "probably" because we are still not certain if they are exactly the same snakes. I hope we are correct. I take a deep breath and begin the process, with Henry watching me.
"Well, here we go. The preparation of this serum is somewhat complex. Medicine is not my specialty, but I can explain the functioning of this equipment I requested from you"
I reply as I start explaining the process to Henry.
"It's pretty straightforward. I'll inject the poison gradually into the horse; over a few days, its body will generate antibodies to neutralize the snake venom. Then, I'll draw its blood, which will contain the antibodies"
I explained. Listening to my response, Henry made an uncomfortable expression, as if he was starting to understand the situation.
"Are you sure you want to use horse blood to treat the queen?"
He asked. I chuckled at his question.
"I won't use the blood directly. I'll centrifuge it to separate the plasma from the blood, and it's the plasma we'll use to create the cure"
"I don't exactly understand what you mean, but I believe I grasp the essence"
Replied Henry. A few days passed, and it was finally time to extract the horse's blood. I also asked Henry to prepare a centrifuge for me. Obviously, we couldn't create one exactly like the one I knew in my past life due to technological differences. Nevertheless, we managed to complete the serum and started administering it to the queen. After a few weeks, she was fully recovered. I also explained the manufacturing process of the serum to the palace physicians, which allowed me to turn the centrifuge into another one of X's inventions.
During this period, the clock was also successfully completed. The tests were successful, and we decided to start mass-producing them. There will be two versions available—one made of gold for the nobles and another made of a more affordable material for the commoners. The important thing is that, in the end, everyone has access to a precise timepiece.
However, my stay in the capital of Solaris ended up being longer than expected. I'll probably get scolded at school for missing so many days. But to my surprise, the king presented me with a royal seal, explaining that if I showed it to my teacher, she would understand that I was rendering a service to the royalty. This gesture saved me from potential negative consequences. Now, more than ever, I need to continue being an exemplary student to secure my admission to the kingdom's academy. Having an academic record with so many failures would certainly harm my future.
"What are you thinking so seriously?"
Bernard asked, who was beside me. Suddenly, he seemed excited and said he had something very important to show me. Although I didn't exactly know what he intended, I decided to accompany him. Since I'll be returning to my city tomorrow morning, I thought there wouldn't be any problems. As I contemplated this, the cart stopped on one of the kingdom's commercial streets. As soon as we got off the cart, Bernard stopped in front of a store. However, the store was completely empty, and I still didn't quite understand what he wanted to show me.