3. A New Contract (1)

“Add ten dried toad legs and five civet cat whiskers.”

Roen put the necessary ingredients into the boiling iron pot and stirred it skillfully.

“Now we just need to add the Peacock’s Tears to complete it. If you tell me where the Peacock’s Tears are, I’ll bring them.”

Roen shook her head at Cecil’s offer to help.

“No, keep an eye on this. I’ll go get it quickly. It might be hard to find.”

Roen handed the glass rod she was holding to Cecil, not forgetting to give instructions.

“Be careful. Make sure the steam doesn’t escape.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like this is my first time. I can make potions with my eyes closed by now.”

Cecil showed unusual confidence, unlike her usual self.

That made Roen even more uneasy.

From experience, Cecil had caused major accidents more than once in situations like this.

“Just be careful. I’ll be back soon.”

“Take care. But after we finish making the potion, you have to tell me what happened when you met the Duke in the Recluse’s Forest.”

“What do you mean? Nothing happened. He just gave me the Peacock’s Tears, that’s all.”

“What? The Duke gave you the Peacock’s Tears? Didn’t you collect them yourself?”

Roen bit her lip, realizing her mistake.

She remembered how she had been vague with Cecil who had been questioning her persistently since that day.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? It just happened that way. I was late because I delayed at the entrance.”

“So you’re saying the Duke collected the Peacock’s Tears for you and gave them to you?”

“Well, it was just a coincidence…”

“You said the Duke didn’t come to meet Lady Lucy. Yet he appeared in the Recluse’s Forest and even collected the Peacock’s Tears to give to you. Do you really think that’s a coincidence?”

Cecil spoke meaningfully, as if telling her not to try to deceive her.

“He said he needed the Peacock’s Tears too. So he just collected mine while he was at it.”

“I didn’t know the Duke was so generous. By the way, I’ve been wondering since last time. Is the Duke injured or something?”

Roen suddenly remembered that she hadn’t told Cecil about the dragon’s heart.

“He was on the battlefield for five years. It seemed like he had deep wounds that haven’t healed yet. When I first met him two months ago, he was treating himself in the waterfall beneath the cliff.”

“That makes sense then. It’s concerning. To think he’s so ill that he needs to take the Peacock’s Tears. I hope he recovers soon.”

“Yes, I hope he gets better soon.”

Roen answered halfheartedly.

Fortunately, Cecil seemed to believe her.

“Oh, speaking of which, why don’t you make some medicine for the Duke this time?”

“What, medicine?”

“Yes. There’s no better opportunity to gain his favor. You seem worried about him too.”

It was a reasonable suggestion.

“Yes, that seems like a good idea… Oh no, Cecil! Get down!”

At Roen’s urgent command, Cecil instinctively dropped to the floor.

At the same time, hot steam began to leak between the distillers, and then the lid of the boiling iron pot flew off with a bang.

“Oh my goodness!”

“D*mn it!”

In an instant, the boiling ingredients splattered onto the floor, making a mess.

Fortunately, thanks to the protective magic set up around the area before boiling the ingredients, neither Cecil nor Roen was hurt.

“Cough, cough!”

Waving away the acrid smoke with her hand, Cecil approached Roen.

“Cough, cough! I’m sorry, my lady. I should have watched it properly.”

“It’s okay. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I survived thanks to the barrier. But the floor is a mess. And we lost precious ingredients.”

“We can clean it up. First, we need to open the windows so the smoke can escape.”

“I’ll do it. You should go upstairs and wash your face. Your face and clothes are a mess. It would be terrible if a customer came now.”

“Alright. Clean up quickly and come upstairs. We’ll have to make the potion another time.”

Roen took off her dirty apron as she went up the stairs.

Even without looking in a mirror, she knew her face must be covered in black soot.

“I should wash my face first.”

Roen headed to the washbasin attached to the side of the shop.

Jean stared at the green-painted door of the general store with a stiff expression.

There was tension on his face as if the ornate green door were a knight from an enemy country.

“So this is the general store?”

This was the third time he had reached out to push the door open to enter, only to withdraw his hand again.

The reason he couldn’t boldly open the door and go inside was that the general store building was too lovely and fairy-tale-like.

Looking at the exterior of the building, which seemed soaked in sweet sugar, made him feel like he was going to break out in hives all over his body.

“How on earth did they make such a sickeningly sweet building.”

Feeling reluctant, Jean knocked on the door instead of pushing it open to enter.

Knock, knock!

The clear sound of knocking on the wooden door rang out several times, but there was no response from inside.

“Is no one there?”

Jean peered inside through the glass window.

There was no sign of people, but judging by the items placed on the display shelves, someone was definitely there.

Finally, Jean pushed the wooden door open with his hand and entered the shop.

It was a moment that made his previous hesitation seem foolish.

Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.

The bell hanging on the green door made a cheerful sound, announcing a visitor.

But still, there was no sign of anyone in the shop.

“Where did they go, leaving the shop empty? What if a thief comes in? How careless.”

Jean stood there with a displeased face, slowly scanning the inside of the shop.

Fortunately, unlike the honey-dripping exterior of the building, the interior was neat.

Rare items from the continent of Taran were neatly arranged on the display shelves.

“They really do have everything. It wasn’t a lie.”

As he looked around, an old book caught Jean’s eye.

It seemed to be an expensive item, with leather reinforcing the parts where hands would touch it.

Jean’s gaze moved along the title embossed in gold.

‘The Book of Radin. Supplementary Edition.’

Jean’s brow furrowed as if he had seen something unpleasant, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the book.

The Reushden ducal library had a first edition of The Book of Radin made 200 years ago, but strangely, there were no appendix or supplementary editions.

Rumor had it that it had gone out of print by order of Zonderburgh I, yet here it was, being openly traded at the general store.

“Who…?”

Jean quickly turned around at the voice from behind.

He saw Roen standing there, wiping the moisture on her face with a towel as if she had just washed it.

“Oh, Duke?”

Startled, Roen froze in the middle of wiping her face.

“No matter how many times I knocked on the door, no one came out…”

He was explaining that he had entered the shop without the owner’s permission and was waiting.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We had a small accident while making a potion in the basement. That’s probably why I didn’t hear the knocking.”

“An accident?”

Jean examined Roen with sharp eyes.

He noticed the black soot in her golden hair and the stains on her dress.

And on her slender, snow-white neck as well.

“Oh, we ruined the potion we were making. It’s not a big accident, so you don’t need to worry.”

Roen spoke lightly as if it were nothing, aware of Jean’s lingering gaze. However, Jean’s expression remained serious.

After staring at her for a long time, Jean finally spoke.

“I’m glad it’s nothing serious. But there’s still a spot here that hasn’t been cleaned.”

“Oh, is there? Where?”

Roen’s cheeks turned slightly red at his observation. She felt oddly embarrassed to be seen in such a mess by him.

“Around your neck.”

Jean pointed to Roen’s neck with his chin instead of his hand.

“Here?”

Without a mirror, Roen wiped around the right side of her neck with the towel.

“No, the other side.”

“Ah, yes.”

Roen quickly wiped her left neck with the towel.

“Not there, more to the side.”

“Here?”

Roen wiped the side again with the towel. As she kept missing the spot, Jean, who had been watching, approached her as if frustrated.

Then he took the towel from her and began wiping the black smudge on her neck.

His movements were extremely careful, as if handling fragile porcelain.

“Uh…”

Surprised by Jean’s sudden action, Roen held her breath.

They were too close to each other.

As he bent his head to wipe her neck, his black hair touched her cheek.

Roen’s emerald eyes wavered aimlessly somewhere between his hair and his well-defined features.

She should have pushed him away. But if she moved carelessly, she felt she might reveal that she was conscious of him. Suddenly feeling thirsty, Roen unconsciously stuck out her tongue to lick her dry lips.

And at that moment, their eyes met.

In an instant, the small shop became tense and heated. The time they spent looking at each other felt like an eternity, as if they couldn’t breathe.

Fortunately, it was Jean who turned his head away first.

“It’s done.”

His hand left her neck. As he stepped back and raised his head, his earlobes were noticeably red.

But the awkward silence and tension between them remained.

“Ahem! You said it was an accident, but it looks like you were playing with fire. Seeing the soot all over your body.”

The tension that had been lingering between them quickly dissipated thanks to Jean’s light comment.

“The laboratory is in the basement, so the smoke doesn’t escape well.”

“So you even have a laboratory?”

“I make and sell potions and simple magical products.”

Thankfully, contrary to her concerns, the conversation flowed naturally.

“I’m curious. Can I take a look?”