Chapter 18 - I’ve Got You!

Chapter 18 – I’ve Got You!

“…You made the potion yourself?”

Sierra smiled softly.

“It’s nothing much, it’s a remedy for headaches.”

“Headache remedy? I’ve never seen a headache remedy in that color before!”

Sierra, no longer required to hide her abilities, raised her chin proudly and answered, “It’s because I developed it with my own methods.”

In contrast to her nonchalance, Hentel narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

“I can sense that the mana in this is very pure, and that it was used so creatively.”

Sierra frowned. Why did Hentel look so serious?

“It’s really nothing much.”

“Then… could you pass the potion to this old man for a moment?”

She was planning to patent the headache remedy so she could gain recognition by selling it at a high price to nobles and donating the proceeds to a poor village. And yet she was actually considering handing him the potion she personally formulated? Even before she had revealed it to the world?

Lost in thought, she watched Hentel.

‘Hentel doesn’t look like a thief, and he won’t be able to imitate my mana anyway… Maybe I should give him a sample.’

Sierra made up her mind.

“I’ll give you a sample, and then we can discuss it this evening.”

Hentel responded enthusiastically, clasping his hands together.

“I look forward to it!”

“But… I have my conditions.”

“You mean terms?”

“Yes. I plan on patenting my formula so that it won’t be leaked throughout the entire empire.”

Sierra was very thorough. She was thinking of making it so that her formula wouldn’t be leaked systematically so as to make sure that it won’t be stolen.

“Sure, I see. It’s a sensitive matter.”

“…If you don’t mind, please test out my potion when I give it to you later.”

Hentel’s eyes took on a sharp gleam.

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

He also didn’t check Sierra’s medicine himself. However, Sierra was certain that the look in his eyes would change as soon as he checked the sample.

She was, after all, a genius.

Thus, a secret promise was created between Hentel and Sierra.

***

After meeting Hentel, Sierra gave a patient the headache remedy, and her satisfaction doubled when his eyes widened after taking a sip of the orange-colored potion.

“This is no joke, I felt better as soon as the liquid went down my throat!”

“Yes, it’s meant to be fast-acting,” Sierra answered, laughing as if it was no big deal.

“And it’s not bitter!”

“I’ve added some delicious ingredients so that it tastes sweet.”

Of course, the specific ingredients and in what ratio she put them in were a trade secret.

“Is it alright?”

The patient, still pleasantly surprised, was almost violent in his enthusiasm.

“Yes!”

The godmother’s scheme to make Sierra happy was a success. She was in a great mood now. She bowed toward the patient.

“Well, you’ve never walked around here, have you? It would be better if you walked deeper inside.

It looked like a real forest in Supe village, but it was made up to be more like an elaborate flower garden. Rare plants, not pine trees or platanus, which were common in the empire, attracted attention.

“If you keep searching for rare herbs, you’ll find them, Miss Sierra.”

Sierra smiled brightly at the patient’s words.

“I’ll have to explore it properly, then!”

How could I refuse to explore a herb-filled forest? It’s also, in a way, my obligation as a pharmacist!

Sierra nodded at the patient, smiling radiantly before heading to the forest path. Not only rosewood bloomed along the way, but even seaweed―which is known to only grow on beaches―as well as an autumnal flower named cosmos.

With admiration and curiosity, Sierra ventured deeper and deeper into the forest.

‘It’s like a well-formed botanical garden.’

Sierra was a commoner, but she had various experiences from an early age thanks to her big sister. She’d also visited the botanical garden, where rare plants were gathered, several times. She was disappointed that she couldn’t experience it again when she stayed in Supe village, but luckily, she was able to visit the botanical garden again.

But when luck comes, bad luck catches up!

After craning her head for a long time to observe a tree, she eventually tripped over a stone.

Thump!

She landed with quite a loud noise. Sierra quickly wiped the tears of pain from her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Ah, Mi-!”

She had no idea she’d fall over like this.

She looked around in a hurry. Fortunately, no one witnessed this bizarre fall, but it seemed that the skin of her knees was scratched. To make matters worse…

“…Did I sprain my ankle?”

Sierra frowned, limping over to a nearby bench. While she rested, she saw her ankles redden and swell painfully, and she wondered whether she could endure walking in her condition.

‘Is there anyone passing by?’

Sierra looked around.

Earlier, she thought it was fortunate that there was no one here, but now it was her downfall.

An absurdly serious sense of distress washed over her.

***

Meanwhile, Cassius returned to the mansion in the capital after briefly attending a meeting discussing bills to pass as laws.

He arrived inside the mansion, fingers pressing his tired eyes. As he tried to enter Sierra’s room as a habit, one of the servants carefully informed him about her whereabouts.

He didn’t know if Sierra would meet him, but of course, he came to her first.

He walked at a moderate pace so he wouldn’t be out of breath. If he walked too fast, it may seem like he was too eager to meet her, and if he walked too slow, Cassius was afraid she would eventually disappear.

Finally, Sierra was within his sight.

He found her sitting on a bench with her shoulders drooping like a captured deer.

And like Cassius, Sierra could also see him. Sierra’s eyes widened a bit.

‘I should avoid him.’

She lived in the same mansion as Cassius, but didn’t really want to run into him. Trying to pull herself up in a hurry, she realized her ankles had no strength.

As if he found her in a game of hide and seek, Cassius was getting closer and closer.

‘…That look.’

When he looked at the Sierra, she could see his blunt and cold expression melting like ice. His relaxed expression made him look younger.

“Sierra.”

Sierra raised her hand awkwardly and said hello.

“…Hi, Cassius.”

As he stared at her, he made a strange expression.

“Why are you sitting alone?”

“Ah, I tripped,” Sierra blurted out.

“What?”

He frowned and suddenly knelt before her. He rolled up her light green muslin dress.

She felt a tingling sensation whenever he touched her.

Her skin tingled in the places he touched her.

Cassius’ fingertips ran over her ankle as if he were playing the piano. It was only then that Sierra, a little embarrassed, moved her leg slightly.

Sensitive to her attitude, his eyebrows furrowed.

“You’re shaking, Sierra. I…”

He quietly lowered her ankle.

“Do you not like it when I touch you?”

“…Umm, that’s not the reason?” Sierra then answered weakly when she saw the goosebumps on her exposed leg. “It’s because it’s cold.”

Cassius resumed his ministrations, whispering, “Still, bear with it for just a bit longer.”

Well, he was as curt as always. Sierra had gotten used to it, so she only nodded her head without thinking much of it.

“…I’ll wrap a bandage around it first.”

He wrapped a bandage around her ankle, and rather skillfully at that. Sierra was certain of it, especially as a pharmacist who often worked with doctors and was sometimes considered as one.

“Where did you learn to do that?” asked Sierra, who was trying to make small talk while her ankle was being tended to.

‘When did he even experience treating injuries? And he looks like he wants to say something, but…’

He responded back even though it was a memory he didn’t want to recall.

“…On the battlefield.”

When she had first arrived at the estate of Duke Idios, she was able to check all kinds of publications. In one of them, Cassius Idios stated that he had once endured a devastating experience in the northern battlefield before he returned after slaying monsters.

Sierra winced. “Ah… sorry.”

“…I’m grateful that I learned it since I was able to help you,” he murmured with a faint smile.

It was then that Sierra became curious. As Cassius carefully examined her ankle, she paused, pondering over his words.

From this angle, she could only see his trembling eyelashes. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t want to say anything cold as he did treat her injury.

Like earlier, when the surprisingly innocent Cassius seemed strangely hurt by her apparent nervousness. Sierra wasn’t so abrasive so as to turn a blind eye to his feelings.

“Well, I don’t exactly hate being touched by you,” she said, attempting to clear the misunderstanding.

Cassius looked up at her and the hope in his eyes made her soften.

‘I don’t want to hurt him, but I don’t want him to keep his hopes up either…’

Sierra said her next words seriously and firmly.

“But that doesn’t mean I like you.”

Cassius, still looking at Sierra, felt his throat tighten. But he didn’t say anything.

‘…You look like you’re in pain because you love me. That wouldn’t be…’

She had heard a lot before about her lack of awareness. However, this incident felt different, even to her.

Cassius was silent. He just grasped the hand she had laid on the bench.

“I’ll carry you.”

“…What?”

“You can’t walk all the way back on your own feet, Sierra.”

It was ridiculous for a commoner to be held in the arms of a duke. No matter how reserved Cassius was, he considered Hanael to be their daughter, and yet it wasn’t even true.

“No, no. You can call a servant.”

“Sierra.”

He quietly grabbed Sierra by the arm.

“…Please let me do this.”

His voice held such desperation in it that she stared at him, frozen. Crows cawed in the distance, signalling the late hour.

‘…My goodness, this isn’t worth making a fuss over.’

“It’ll take me about 20 minutes to call a servant. You’ll be alone in the meantime.”

…If it weren’t for those last words…

She didn’t know if what he was saying was true or not, but with the darkening sky came an unexpected chill and sense of fright.

Kkiiik, kkaaak—

Thanks to the crows’ ghastly cries, Sierra’s mind was made up.

“For now… but you must put me down as soon as we reach the mansion.”

He nodded. Sierra carefully tapped the bench.

“Alright.”

Soon after, Cassius held his hands out in front of her. Sierra looked at Cassius’ broad shoulders and got a strange feeling.

‘Were his shoulders always so broad…?’

She remembered how the seams of his clothes used to burst during the academy days. She hadn’t realized the growth rate was that fast…

‘I’ve heard that a man’s physical appearance can grow even after 20 years old, and now he looks like a real adult.’

Cassius, with his eyes still on Sierra, opened his mouth. “I’ll hold you.”

And he did just so, gently wrapping one arm around her shoulders while the other slid underneath her legs.

After picking her up, Cassius, who had been silent for a while, whispered low.

“You’re light,” he whispered.

‘…I thought I would be heavy.’

“I thought I’d gained weight, though?” she responded timidly.

He laughed, softly and a little low. “No way. You’ll have to eat a lot more.”

Confused as Sierra was, his firm chest bumping against her cheek startled her, even though his clothes were in the way.

It had been a long time since Sierra had come into contact with a man aside from her work as a pharmacist since she left Supe Village.

His pectoral muscles could be felt through the rough fabric of his uniform, as well as his heartbeat. Maybe her hyper-awareness was because of her discomfort and nervousness.

“Relax,” Cassius said, except how could she…when she could feel his words rumbling from his chest and through her body?

“…I can’t,” Sierra whispered back softly so as to hide the blush that was spreading to her ears.

When he stretched his arm, she shifted and accidentally buried her face in his chest, and then she felt the firm muscles there flex.

What…?

‘Hey, are eating and training all you do? Why are you so fit?’