Chapter 11 - A Relationship I Don’t Want To

Chapter 11 – A Relationship I Don’t Want To Engage In

“There’s a lot of rumors that an aristocratic wagon goes in and out of your shop.”

“Sigh…”

There are a total of five times he has visited this shop personally. Well, there couldn’t not have been a rumor. They don’t know which family it was because it didn’t have a pattern, but when a handsome man gets off a fancy wagon and enters a store, attention is focused on him.

His black hair and red eyes. Even the roughness of his large body. It was worth noticing that the man who goes in and out of the store is the notorious Grand Duke, but no one seemed to think that the Grand Duke would come to a small potion shop far from his estate.

“They said that he’s so handsome. I was going to go see him too, but I couldn’t because I was busy with work. And you left it to me to take care.”

Verna continued, dragging a heavy sack out of the warehouse.

“I hear he looks like he’s from a great aristocratic family.”

“… He’s just a client.”

“A man like that doesn’t send an employee but instead comes personally?”

“……”

“Something is fishy, Ashia.”

“What’s fishy about that…”

Ashia wrinkled her eyebrows, her hand hovering over the luggage that Verna had put down.

As she bit her lips and murmured softly, the magic from her palm surrounded the large load. Slowly reducing the volume, the bag deformed until it was as small as Ashia’s palm.

“Oh, it’s always amazing. I’m gonna have to learn that magic, too. Everything in our store is bulky and heavy.”

“Learn something, sister. It’s not a big deal.”

“… Are you mocking me?”

Ashia smiled mischievously, and Verna laughed along with Ashia.

After a short chat over a cup of tea, she took everything she had requested and left the parlor.

-It’s often torn, so I made it out of a particularly strong fabric. It’s for 4 people, so it’s big in volume and weight, but you can use shrinking magic.

‘It’s for four. No wonder it’s so bulky.’

‘You have to be aware that you need big hands.’

The snow fell again. A light breath brightened Ashia’s vision and then dispersed. While walking on the way back to the store, she reflected on what Verna had said.

‘There’s a lot of rumors that a high-ranking aristocratic wagon goes in and out of your shop.’

Kaligo was apparently a high-ranking aristocrat. Attention was drawn to the repeated visits of such a man.

The carriage he came from and the man getting off the wagon. Both gave off a tremendous aura.

‘There’s nothing good in dragging it further.’

Everything she needed for her journey was ready, and all she had to do was pack up and leave.

Of course, the journey would not be smooth. Every time she went in looking for ingredients, she had to fight the severe cold.

Years ago, Ashia sealed a fire enchantment, but it was not that easy to warm herself on a cold winter day, and she is not capable of lighting a fire using firewood.

Returning to the store, Ashia threw the bag from the parlor into her suitcase.

“Let’s see. I’m not missing anything else, right…”

「Get your candles and matches, Ashia.」

“Oh, right.”

It was a cold winter all year round in the forest. So if you don’t get ready, you might freeze to death before you even get out of the forest.

「You won’t be able to make food, so pack beef too…」

「Drinks and dried fruits, too!」

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get them too.”

She then packed it all in the big bag. No matter how big it was, no matter how heavy it weighed, it didn’t really matter, thanks to her volume and weight-reducing magic.

***

Instead of packing her stuff, Ashia, who was already exhausted, leaned her back against the wall as she stared blankly into the bag. Luke’s murmur was heard in Ashia’s ear.

[“He’s handsome. He’s in good shape. He has a great voice.」

“… Huh?”

Ashia lowered her head towards the necklace around her neck.

[“And he looks strong too… More than anything, he had a lot of gold! But what’s the problem anyway?」

He was obviously referring to Kaligo. Ashia didn’t know what’s wrong with her today either.

“So what? What do you want me to do?”

[There must have been rumors in the neighborhood already…]

“… So what?”

[Do you really think that the Grand Duke came to this small shop so many times for a mere request? What could be the reason?]

“So, what’s the reason? You don’t know, do you?”

“What?”

Ashia’s discomfort was revealed by her eyes. She knew what Verna and Luke were thinking, but the problem was that he’s her ex.

It’s not like he was just any ex-husband. He was the one who left her alone for five years. Only a single word filled with warmth and a friendly touch was directed towards her.

And the last moment of the two was death.

Although it was rare these days, it was a shocking memory for her to the extent that his last appearance in the past often appeared as a dream.

‘Sigh…’

The memory of that day came back to her. Then, as usual, a numbing pain pierced her chest and she then carefully raised her hand.

It was a pain that rarely came to her.

His intentions were unknown. Kaligo has never even seen Ashia’s face. Not only does Kaligo not know her face, but they have never had serious conversations. In Ashia’s memory, there has never been a single moment where they were attracted to each other.

But he’s so fond of her? It simply did not make sense.

‘I don’t intend to be swayed again by these feelings that I’m not sure of.’ The days when she loved him one-sidedly were enough when she lived as Lana.

“Luke, don’t you wonder why I even wear a hoodie in the first place?”

[…… Are you going to answer me if I asked you that?]

“No.”

[Tss…]

Ashia leaned her head against the wall and let out a quiet breath.

[Does he happen to know Ashia’s face?」

Luke asked carefully, and Ashia, looking into the air, answered softly.

“… Yes.”

[Ashia knows him well too.]

“Okay.”

[So you don’t want to get involved with him again?]

“…… ”

[Ms. Ashia?]

Ashia didn’t find a suitable answer for that. That he was her ex-husband and that he is the main male character in the original novel. There were so many other obvious reasons.

But what was this frustrating feeling?

Feelings that she thought were wrapped up began to get mixed up again.

Her head began to throb with an unusual headache.

***

Cling.

Dang

“……”

Ashia did not open the store.

“Ashia? Ashia~”

It’s already been three days since she stopped by Verna’s parlor and took the items she had requested, and from that day onward, Ashia’s store remained closed.

When she had to leave the store for business trips or deliveries, she used to write them all down at the door of the store, or at least make a statement to Verna at the parlor.

She’d never closed the store like this without saying anything.

Verna had already pulled on the locked door several times. She looked through the window with a worried look. It didn’t feel like there was a person in the store since the lights were off.

“… If you were looking for ingredients, you would have said something.”

Verna’s face grew darker. When he looked around and was forced to go back to his shop…

“Gasp!”

When did he come? A big man stood behind Verna. Verna looked up at the man, screaming unknowingly.

The first thing that stood out was his red eyes. His red-eyed gaze was fixed unshakably on Ashia’s store, and then he would leave just like that.

His glamorous appearance and manly aura. No, her shoulders cringed at his overwhelming energy that exceeded his manly aura.

While she was frozen and not thinking about getting out of her trance, the man’s voice which came from the top of her head resounded loudly.

“Is it still closed today?”

“Oh, yeah, it is.”

Today? Maybe he’s been walking in vain for days, too many days.

Verna bowed her head unknowingly and fixed her posture. Her legs trembled at the overwhelming momentum she felt at that moment.

“Do you know why?”

“Well, I don’t know either.”

“…….”

He still stared, his gaze piercing through Ashia’s shop.

“Does this happen often?”

“Oh… No, it doesn’t. Not once did she close the store without a word…”

Even before Verna’s words were finished, the man strode past her to the store door. Following his movements, Verna’s head turned.

Looking at the back of the man walking to the store, she thought that he was the man in the rumor.

She could tell.

Apart from being a great-looking man, he’s also so scary…

While looking at him with barely opened eyes, Kaligo suddenly raised his fist at the store door.

‘Huh’

Anyone could see his willingness to break the door. Surprised by him, Verna screamed.

“Key!”

“…… ”

Hearing Verna’s voice, Kaligo turned to her with his fist raised.

“Hey, there’s a key! If you break the door, A-Ashia will be very, very angry, angry! A-Ashia cares about the store like her mom’s life!”

While spouting gibberish and stuttering, Verna still talked until the end. She managed to soothe her shaky legs and moved to the flowerpot lined up in front of the store.

She removed the third pot with shaky hands and the key hidden underneath it was taken out.

“H-here.”

“Why didn’t you go in when you had the key?”

“I’ve never done this before, so I didn’t think about it.”

She then handed the key to Kaligo and opened the store.

Of course, it was dark inside the store where the lights are off. Sunlight shone in, but a long structure prevented the light from reaching the inside.

He walked into the store without hesitation. Following him, Verna also went in.

In the cold weather, as Ashia shivered, she rolled up her blanket and hugged it. Nevertheless, her body did not stop shaking.

It’s cold… So, so cold.

I feel like my bones are freezing to the core. It feels like my whole body is covered in ice.

-… I’m

Kaligo kept calling her while her consciousness was vague, but she had no energy left to answer. The voice calling her seemed unfamiliar and somehow familiar.

– Everything…

I heard the voice again in my deafened ears. Again, I couldn’t answer this time. But when I sat up on the floor, I felt like I was sinking heavily to the floor. The chilling cold made me grind my teeth.

“Ugh…”

She whined, and suddenly another force held her body. Someone else’s warmth permeated through the blanket between them.

At that moment, when her body and mind were eroded in pain, the fact that someone was around her made her feel relieved. With such warmth, she rubbed her face even more and dug deeper into the warmth.

“Cold… Cold.”

Then, a warm hand touched Ashia’s cheek. From the warmth, hot heat spread throughout the body. The cold, which had been residing in her bones, disappeared as if it were kicked out, and the warmth took over.

She felt a gentleness and tranquility that she hadn’t felt for a long time. With the idea that the warmth was somehow familiar, Ashia’s soul sank heavily beyond distant consciousness.

The warm energy seemed to melt her body and cause her to fall into a deep sleep without even realizing it.