Volume 2 Chapter 3

「My name is Yunan. While Hector is away, I will be taking over the duty of guarding the Pharmacist.」

The young man greeted me in a firm voice while placing a hand over his chest. He gave off the air of a serious, inflexible person, and his sharp dark-green eyes looked somewhat sceptic. Or rather, considering the color of caution above his head, they genuinely were. His calm navy-blue hair was neatly slicked back, every strand carefully arranged, as though reflecting his earnest nature.

「I really don’t want to go… Though if it’s Yunan, I don’t have to worry about anything strange happening.」

Now that the replacement guard named Yunan had arrived, Hector had to head to training. However, he showed no sign of leaving the Pharmacist Tower anytime soon. Above his head stretched a long indigo line, the color of anxiety and worry. I wasn’t even planning to leave the tower since I’d be working on mixing medicines afterward, and would have a guard present besides. There was no need for concern. I understood why he was worried, considering I had been kidnapped once before, but there was no way anyone could abduct me within the royal castle grounds.

「Just go already. You’re acting strange.」

「You know, I’m worried about you, Cyril-san. I don’t want to leave your side, and I don’t want to go to training. I don’t want to entrust you to anyone else, and I don’t want to be apart from you even for a single moment.」

The words came accompanied by a dazzling smile, delivered in such an exaggeratedly theatrical manner that they sounded utterly fake. Which was exactly why they were his true feelings. If he’s really saying things like that everywhere, it’s beyond embarrassing and I wish he wouldn’t. …Though nobody probably thought he was serious. They likely assumed it was just an excuse to skip training.

「There you go again with that… You say things like that to every woman you see, don’t you? Just go already.」

「Have a good day. Do your best.」

「…Yeah. I’m off.」

After seeing Hector off as he headed toward training with heavy steps, his indigo line still stretching overhead, I needed to begin my work compounding medicine. However, there was one thing bothering me. I couldn’t start working while ignoring it.

「Yunan-san, are you feeling unwell?」

「…No, nothing of the sort.」

There absolutely was something of the sort, which was why I asked. That conclusion came from the faint color of illness stretching above his head and the poor complexion of his face. I was confident I wasn’t mistaken.

Judging by the length of the line, his symptoms were probably mild, perhaps slight nausea or a headache. That was likely why he’d still come to work, but it bothered me regardless.

「Were you able to eat breakfast?」

「…No.」

「Were you feeling ill from the morning?」

「No, it wasn’t that… I simply didn’t have time to eat breakfast.」

Perhaps realizing there was no point hiding it, Yunan began answering honestly. From what he told me, he’d skipped breakfast, participated in morning training, and then come here. He’d felt fine earlier, but had started feeling a little off not long ago. He claimed it was only mild dizziness and not worth worrying about, but I couldn’t just ignore it. Looking closely, his fingertips were trembling, and he seemed to be sweating more than necessary. His expression remained composed, but he couldn’t fully conceal his physical discomfort.

(Things like this usually improve after eating something sweet…)

Meals here were delivered from outside, so there weren’t many ingredients available. Thinking through what might help his symptoms, I realized that aside from sugar, the only useful things I had were portable rations and nutritional supplements I’d made myself.

Feeling somewhat apologetic, I prepared them and placed them on a small tray before offering it to him. There was still some tea from this morning, so I decided to mix sugar into it for him to drink. It would be easier than consuming sugar directly.

「When someone skips meals and then engages in intense exercise, symptoms like yours can appear. For now, could you please have these? I think they’ll improve things somewhat…」

「…I appreciate your concern, but I’m currently on guard duty.」

「I can’t concentrate on my work while worrying about you, so please.」

There was no way I could focus on medicine mixing while ignoring someone who clearly felt unwell. Yunan looked at what I was offering, then at me, his caution line growing briefly. After that, he glanced toward his own pocket. Then he let out a small sigh and reluctantly accepted the tray.

After confirming that the illness line above his head shortened once he consumed the nutritional supplement, I finally began my own work. Today I intended to make some medicine for personal use in addition to my assigned tasks, so I wanted to proceed efficiently.

(Today’s requests are… five types of antidotes.)

Nothing particularly difficult. The problem was that antidotes usually tasted terrible, so my tongue was likely going to suffer a bit. Since I always sampled at least one sip of every medicine I made to verify its quality, I knew exactly how awful each one tasted.

Well, compared to the medicine I planned to make afterward, these were nothing. I immediately got to work.

――――When I became absorbed in making medicine, I lost all sense of time. Only after finishing the requested medicines and reaching the final stage of my personal project did my attention finally drift away from my work. Looking at the clock, I realized nearly three hours had passed since I’d started. I’d heard today’s training would last about three hours, so Hector would probably be returning soon. Ideally, I’d like to finish this medicine before he gets back. To do that, I needed to taste it.

Scooping some medicine from the pot with a spoon, I stared briefly at the greenish-black liquid. Resolving myself, I brought it to my lips. The instant it touched my tongue, an overwhelming bitterness and harsh astringency exploded through my mouth, making me shudder. It was unbelievably awful. Adding honey later would turn it into a medicine with only a faint sweetness, but it was only at this stage, with its horrendous flavor, that the quality could truly be judged. The worse it tasted now, the more potent it would be in small doses. If it tasted mild, the effect would be weak. Since it was bad enough to make even me tremble, I could conclude that this was an exceptionally high-quality batch.

I’d only made this medicine a handful of times before, but this was by far the worst-tasting version yet. Compared to every medicine I’d ever consumed, it ranked among the absolute worst.

「Um, Cyril-dono. Didn’t you just drink that medicine?」

Startled by the hesitant voice from behind me, I turned around. The only person it could be was Yunan, who was acting as my guard. Even his tone and the way he addressed me sounded quite different from before I had begun compounding.

The caution and illness colors above his head were gone, replaced by a short pale-pink line of affection and a light-green line of interest. Interested in me in a favorable way. Perhaps he’d become curious about what kind of person I was and what abilities I possessed.

Maybe he found it interesting seeing me work so seriously. Maybe it was something else. Either way, it was preferable to being looked at with distrust. We’d likely continue interacting in the future, so I hoped we could establish a good working relationship.

「Yes. I always test medicines I make myself like this.」

「…That’s, well… Isn’t that the undiluted form of that medicine? I’ve heard it’s supposed to taste horrible…」

Yunan seemed extremely reluctant to say the medicine’s name outright. Perhaps it was an embarrassing name for someone as serious as him. The medicine I was currently making was Feferi antidote. What I’d just tasted was the concentrated form. Normally, honey was mixed into it before carrying it around, and it was diluted in water or hot water before drinking. I’d heard that in emergencies people sometimes drank it without dilution, but unless circumstances were truly desperate, nobody would willingly consume the concentrate with its dreadful taste. Even so, its reputation for tasting awful appeared to be well known.

(Either someone was curious enough that they tried the concentrate, or they were truly desperate.)

In the town where I’d lived before, neither Feferi aphrodisiacs nor antidotes were commonly used, so everything I knew about them came from secondhand information and books at home.

I had obtained Feferi plants from Hector and produced both medicines myself, but even if I wanted to test their effects personally, it was impossible since they had no effect whatsoever on women. If anything, drinking the concentrated antidote merely caused symptoms such as nearly crying from how terrible it tasted. Nothing else happened.

「You’ve heard correctly. It tastes horrible. Even someone like me, who’s accustomed to sampling medicines, feels like writhing around when I drink it.」

「You don’t look that way at all… Is it really as awful as the rumors say?」

A small light-green line extended upward. This wasn’t simple interest anymore. It was a curiosity. Because I’d consumed it so calmly, he was probably wondering whether it was truly as terrible as everyone claimed. If he genuinely wanted to try it, I wouldn’t mind giving him a tiny amount to taste. Though an unaccustomed person might actually faint after consuming even a spoonful.

「…Would you like to try it? I wouldn’t recommend it… And if you do, it would be better to merely lick a tiny amount, 」

At that moment, the sound of a door being violently thrown open echoed through the building. I froze. Yunan immediately placed a hand on his sword. Judging by the direction, it had come from the entrance. Someone had entered. Suppressing his presence, Yunan quietly left the room to investigate. Almost immediately, I heard his startled voice. 「What happened!?」

Deciding from his reaction that it wasn’t danger, I hurried after him. There stood a bewildered Yunan and Hector, who was weakly leaning against the wall.

「Do you have a fever, Hector?」

「No… I don’t think that’s it.」

His cheeks were flushed red, his breathing slightly uneven. There was something strangely provocative about him, almost seductive. Thinking that I actually might be starting too much, I noticed the crimson line extending above his head and immediately understood the cause. Crimson represented sexual desire. Which meant…

「…Feferi.」

「Yeah… probably.」

「What? Haven’t I told you countless times not to casually consume things women give you around here…」

I understood now. This was why Yunan had been reluctant to accept what I’d offered earlier. Apparently women really did hand out food and drinks laced with Feferi all over the place. The women of the capital seemed alarmingly aggressive. It was a frightening city in many ways.

「No, that’s not it. I only drank the water from the training grounds… There are actually a lot of people at the training grounds like this.」

「What?」

「Looks like it was mixed into the water supply. Everyone’s showing symptoms…」

What a disaster. People claimed that since everyone in the city kept Feferi antidotes on hand, being drugged wasn’t a major issue. But this could hardly be called minor.

How had someone managed to contaminate something that affected so many people? What did they plan to do afterward? I had no idea. Drugging a large number of knights would surely result in punishment. Could there really be someone whose reason completely vanished simply because Hector existed? The thought was terrifying.

「I’ll get medicine here… Yunan, you should probably help over there.」

「That’s true. Then, Cyril-dono, I’ll leave Hector to you.」

「Yes. Leave him to me.」

Yunan immediately ran off. I moved closer to help support Hector. According to the books, Feferi antidotes took one to two hours to fully work, but symptoms progressed rapidly once they began. Judging by Hector’s condition, he’d likely ingested a considerable amount and was probably having difficulty even walking. My height meant I wouldn’t be much support, but it was better than nothing.

I was also worried about the troubling colors above his head. The long semi-transparent lines represented sadness, regret, and remorse. Perhaps once the drug’s effects faded, he would reflect on his actions and regret them. …Though the lines seemed unusually long. That could wait. Detoxification came first.

「Are you alright? I’ll help you to a chair.」

「…Hey, Cyril-san. Did you and Yunan get closer?」

「Now isn’t really the time for…」

I looked up, intending to tell him exactly that. By the time I saw the heat in his eyes and the pale turquoise jealousy above his head and realized this was a bad situation, it was already too late. He grabbed my arm and pulled me close. His arm wrapped around my waist as though refusing to let me escape. Before I could even say 「wait」, His lips sealed mine. …This was bad. Very bad.

There was nothing wrong with us kissing as lovers. And I understood that the drug was impairing his self-control, so I wasn’t really against it. The problem existed on an entirely different level.

「!?!?!」

Our lips touched for only an instant. I was immediately released. Meanwhile, Hector clutched his mouth and emitted a soundless scream. The redness vanished from his face so completely that he actually looked pale now. It must have been unimaginably awful. After all, the taste of the concentrated antidote, the one so terrible it made even me tremble after a single spoonful, was still in my mouth.

「Since it was a concentrated Feferi antidote, I think that alone should have some effect… Are you alright?」

Though he silently nodded, Hector’s eyes were already watery. The predictive lines above his head were moving in utter chaos. He didn’t look alright at all. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, but I still felt a little guilty. For now, I guided him to a chair and headed to the compounding room to fetch some honey to cleanse his palate.

Since he’d only tasted a little concentrate, a small amount would be enough. I prepared a glass of honey water and brought it back along with a small jar of honey.

(Wow… He’s really depressed.)

By the time I returned, Hector had calmed down somewhat. However, the sight of him sitting there with one hand covering his downcast face made it painfully obvious how dejected he was. The emotions visible in his predictive lines were equally bleak. Even the three negative emotions that had once appeared semi-transparent were now vividly colored. Watching him like this made me feel sad as well.

(I can’t just watch this.)

Thinking about how to cheer him up, I handed him the honey water and spoke to him. Only then did he finally raise his head. He was forcing a smile, but it was so weak that it worried me. It showed just how little emotional room he had left. After accepting the honey water and drinking it all, Hector offered me an apologetic smile. …I wished he wouldn’t make that face.

「Sorry, Cyril-san. I never intended to do something like that…」

「Please don’t worry about it. It doesn’t bother me. In fact, it’s fortunate that the medicine I was tasting happened to be Feferi antidote.」

The instant sadness and regret surged above his head, I realized I’d chosen the wrong words. I’d wanted to tell him that I wasn’t upset, so he shouldn’t worry either. But apparently I’d failed. Watching him freeze with a smile still on his face, I felt guilty and tried to sort out the situation. This had happened because he’d been drugged. We were lovers. I had no objection to kissing itself. I didn’t blame Hector in the slightest. But Hector blamed himself. He deeply regretted what he’d done. And he was profoundly saddened by it.

(Hector-san always respects my wishes, so this must be weighing heavily on him.)

Even if the drug had weakened his self-control, forcing his desire upon me against my consent was likely something he found unforgivable. And on top of that, the taste had been awful enough to bring tears to his eyes. It would probably remain with him as a literally bitter memory for the rest of his life. Things like that only become more deeply engraved in one’s heart as time passes. It would be better to overwrite it quickly. If Hector was depressed because he’d selfishly kissed me, then perhaps I should act selfishly too. That way we’d be even. Maybe then he wouldn’t need to worry about it anymore. …Perhaps I was rather confused myself for thinking such things.

I scooped a spoonful of honey from the jar and put it into my mouth. Ordinarily the sweetness would have been overwhelming, but perhaps because it was neutralizing the lingering antidote flavor, only a gentle sweetness spread across my tongue. Apparently I’d been nervous as well. The taste relaxed me and eased the tension in my shoulders. …I hoped this would work.

「Hector-san, please look up.」

Hector had lowered his head again, so depressed that he lacked even the energy to maintain appearances. When he finally looked up at my call, asking 「What is it?」, Without asking permission, I gently pressed my lips against his. Perhaps because he was so dejected, he remained seated instead of standing. Thanks to that, I could do this. There was a significant height difference between us. Under normal circumstances, I never would have been able to reach him first.

Since I had been startled earlier and everything happened so quickly, I hadn’t noticed before. But his lips were far softer than I’d imagined. The sensation was pleasant. Since he didn’t resist, I remained there for several seconds before slowly pulling away. Yet even after I moved back, Hector remained frozen, eyes slightly widened. I’d assumed he wasn’t resisting. Apparently he’d simply been too shocked to move. Even his predictive lines had stopped moving. It felt as though time itself had stopped for him alone. …Was he alright?

「Hector-san?」

He hadn’t even blinked. I was beginning to wonder whether his mind had gone blank entirely. After all, I’d eaten honey, so it shouldn’t taste bad anymore. Just as I started worrying there might still be antidote lingering in my mouth, Hector suddenly snapped back to reality. The moment his gaze focused on me, he immediately covered his face with both hands. The visible tips of his ears were bright red, so his face was probably the same. …His predictive lines were fluctuating wildly, but every visible emotion was positive. So he was happy.

「Was it sweet enough?」

「…Yes… it was sweet…」

Relief washed over me when I saw that all the dark colors above Hector’s head had vanished. Even if he remembered the bitter memory later, he would remember this sweetness alongside it. That would be enough. As long as Hector felt better, I was satisfied. The color of love was continuing to grow longer and longer. I doubted he’d remain depressed now.

(…Ah. It pierced through.)

The pink line that had been stretching higher and higher had finally reached the ceiling. I could no longer see where it went beyond that. Was it still growing? Or had it finally stopped? Well, either way. It didn’t matter. I already knew how deeply he loved me, from both the length of the predictive line and his reactions. Realizing it anew filled my chest with warmth. A smile naturally spread across my face. I truly was loved from the bottom of his heart.

「Please marry me.」

Still covering his face, Hector let the words slip out in a small groan. Perhaps another thought had escaped aloud. However, there was an order to such things. And this wasn’t a proper proposal. There was no need to take it seriously. I decided to brush it aside lightly.

「You’re rushing things. We haven’t even made the earrings yet.」

「…Want to go choose the stones on our next day off?」

「Yes. Let’s do that.」

I was looking forward to the earrings that would serve as proof of our relationship, so I agreed immediately. At that, Hector finally lowered his hands and smiled brightly. 「I can’t wait.」 The smile was so full of happiness that even I, who had grown accustomed to it, almost lost my breath. …Honestly, showing a face like that in public seemed like it would cause serious problems.

I needed to think of a way for Hector to walk through the city safely. I already had an idea. I’d try it later. But first, I intended to give him a portable supply of Feferi antidote.