Fresa rubbed her tired eyes and opened the medicine cabinet. Her wreath hung limply on her shoulders like dust. Over the past few days, she had learned that Reese, for some reason, never left the front door of this apothecary. Yesterday, she went out with Fresa on her shoulder, but she fainted for a few minutes afterward. It seemed she was restricted from leaving her shop—perhaps that’s why she clung to Fresa like a leech.
‘It’s cute, but a little sad.’
She barely woke up, forced to stay inside the medicine room. As she pulled back the curtains and opened the window, a cool morning breeze flowed in. Fresa worried that the wind might blow away her wreath, but Reese held on tightly, as if glued to her palm. She had prepared the medicines she’d made while sleeping, placed them in the cabinet, added water to the herbs, and was ready.
Only then did her worries, which she had temporarily forgotten due to fatigue, resurface.
Wouldn’t others find it strange?
Fresa looked down at her left shoulder. Reese was now sitting with his spindly legs crossed.
‘Such perfect balance.’
She wanted to praise his unwavering posture. Reese’ black eyes looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
Her response was that she didn’t understand what he was saying. It was like that with her mother, who had just been born. Plus, it was cute and small.
“It looks suspicious to anyone. It was too big for a dandelion seed, and it had big eyes…”
“Oh, that?”
Reese snorted at her.
“There’s no need to worry—my appearance and voice are only visible and audible to you, the Contractee. Do you feel safe now?”
“You should have told me that long ago.”
“Isn’t it obvious? I can’t be seen by insignificant humans.”
They say it’s the spirit of the World Tree, but it seems more like the spirit of arrogance. Every time Reese said something, his nose lifted as if soaring into the sky. Worrying over nothing felt like a waste of time. Fresa shook her head and opened the front door.
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well last night, Resa?”
Just then, Lycaon and Zed arrived for work.
“Good morning.”
Fresa greeted lightly and first checked Lycaon’s complexion.
‘His hair is moist as if he just washed it—fine. Under the eyes… a little dark, but better than yesterday.’
Overall, he didn’t look too bad, but she still felt uneasy.
Lycaon grinned, probably sensing her scrutinizing gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s going to break through.”
“Are you feeling uncomfortable? What did the doctor say? Any side effects?”
Fresa asked a flurry of questions, as if she had been waiting. Lycaon gently raised his hands to soothe her.
“Ask one at a time. First, the doctor said I still need treatment.”
Zed’s eyes narrowed as he organized the medicines, but Fresa wasn’t paying attention.
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly—had the poison not been completely eradicated? Lycaon lowered his gaze and replied pitifully.
“So, I think Fresa needs to continue taking her medicine until everything heals.”
Fresa looked at Lycaon with a worried expression.
“Don’t worry about the medicine. We make it every day. By the way, how’s your cough?”
“It’s okay during the day, but worse at dawn. Sometimes during the day, too.”
“Are you coughing up blood, like before?”
“A little.”
Lycaon covered her mouth and coughed softly. Fresa handed him some warm, boiled medicinal tea.
He took the cup and sipped it, while Lycaon looked at her with tired eyes.
“Thank you, Resa.”
His voice was so faint that Fresa could only pat his back to encourage him.
‘You can’t relax just yet.’
Lycaon was recovering very slowly. It might be necessary to adjust the formula. Fresa decided to go down to Lycaon’s basement to examine his recipe while he drank his medicinal tea.
“Then I’ll bring more medicine before the guests arrive. Don’t leave any behind.”
“Let’s go.”
“Call me if you need help.”
When they reached the basement studio, Reese, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
“It’s really strange, Resa.”
“What?”
“That human.”
“Mr. Lycaon?”
“Yes.”
Reese’ tone was unusually cautious. Fresa opened her recipe book and made eye contact with Malgoris.
“What’s strange about it?”
“My magic is overflowing. I’ve never seen magic fluctuate so much.”
Magic, huh? She had heard that all humans in this world were born with magic, but to become a wizard, the amount needed must be extraordinary. Yet Lycaon possessed such abundant magical power, even to his spirit.
“But Mr. Lycaon isn’t a wizard.”
At least, as far as Fresa knew, he was just a sickly nobleman’s son from a prominent family. But Reese had a different opinion.
“How can you be sure of that?”
“That’s…”
Because she had been watching him all this time. Fresa was about to reply but hesitated.
When she thought about it, she realized she didn’t know much about Lycaon.
‘Come to think of it, Mr. Zed called me “Your Highness” last time.’
A title typically used for royalty, members of the royal family, or dukes. First of all, they weren’t part of the royal family of the Piltz Kingdom. Since Fresa was from a noble family in the capital, she at least knew who the royal family was. But she had always received help from Lycaon and never suffered any loss. He might have secrets he couldn’t reveal.
Fresa spoke calmly.
“I don’t know.”
“Be careful, Resa. He might not be an ordinary human.”
Reese warned gravely. Despite appearing like a tiny ball of cotton, his words carried weight. Fresa smiled and looked at the recipe.
She wanted to dispel the dark shadow of poison from Lycaon’s handsome face as soon as possible.
‘That way, I won’t have to make these complicated medicines anymore.’
Her eyes spun as she examined dozens of ingredients and their required amounts.
‘I guess I overexerted myself these past few days.’
Finally, she closed the book, eager to escape this stifling basement. As she left, dragging her heavy legs, a disturbing thought crossed her mind.
‘I haven’t taken the antidote lately…’
Damn dizziness—she kept feeling tired and disoriented. It was why she had died young before earning her official pharmacist license. The importance of medicine: timely, proper dosage, and correct method. Forgetting the basics was the worst mistake.
“Resa? Resa! Are you okay?”
She heard Lycaon’s voice and felt a warm embrace supporting her.
“Resa! Are you okay?”
Reese, now turning red, was frantically flying around, shouting repeatedly.
‘It looks just like Christmas lights…’
With that thought, Fresa suddenly lost consciousness.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
