* * *
Surprisingly, this time Klen approached the healer without stumbling or feigning injury.
She inspected the leaves and berries inside with care, brushing her fingers across the top with a satisfied look.
“If you needed something, you should’ve asked me. Why did you make my wife do it?”
“Ah, she doesn’t really know about me—”
“Before I prepare the medicine, I had to know what kind of person your wife was. Her temperament, her personality. We did meet twice before, but that wasn’t enough. I needed to be sure before I started.”
“…Huh?”
Only when I gasped in surprise did she finally turn to face me.
Her eyes, clear and unclouded, reminded me of the sky.
Her neatly tied-up hair framed a beautiful face—but there was no life in her expression, and dark circles shaded her eyes.
Her hand stirring the cauldron never paused, moving in a steady rhythm.
Staring blankly at that strange sight, I gave my head a little shake and forced myself to speak.
“You… knew I was Adrian all along?”
“As I said before, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize the face of someone I’ve met twice. Once at the wedding, and once at the training grounds. You were unconscious then, so perhaps you don’t remember.”
“……”
Strange.
When I walked in earlier, it didn’t seem like she really looked at my face.
I assumed she just thought I was some passing errand boy.
I never imagined all of this would unfold knowing full well it was me.
“You expected me to come?”
“News that you’ve been forbidden from going out has already spread throughout the estate. It had been quite some time since you requested the medicine, so I figured in a situation like this, you might come personally. Even if you hadn’t, I was just about to start working on a different formula.”
“……”
“……”
I lost my words and simply stared at her.
Completely unaffected by the heavy atmosphere, the healer’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as she pulled out leaves and fruits from the basket.
She tossed the leaves into the pot with little care, and ground the fruit until juice seeped out, then stirred it in slowly.
Those ripe fruits surely had a sweet fragrance.
But the moment they hit the pot, a foul stench began to waft through the air.
I held my breath.
But the healer, standing right in front of the source of that awful smell, didn’t even flinch as she continued stirring the mixture.
‘Could it be… because of that?’
Maybe her porcelain-doll-like expression, and the dark circles under her eyes, were because she’d been exposed to that stench for too long.
Strangely enough, the more she stirred, the worse the smell seemed to get.
‘She’s really going to make me drink that?’
Goosebumps ran all over my body.
What have I gotten myself into?
A trace of regret muddled my thoughts.
If I hadn’t come here today, maybe I could’ve taken a different medicine instead of that.
Clack.
“……!”
Her hand finally stopped stirring the pot.
Those long, elegant fingers reached for a small, clear bottle nearby and began pouring the brewed medicine into it.
The liquid dripped thickly and slowly.
I hadn’t even tasted anything yet, but my mouth was already filling with saliva.
It was the first time I realized that even the thought of something vile could make you salivate.
A sudden urge to run away surged inside me.
‘So what if I run? They already think I’m weak and immature—what’s one more thing?’
My brain, understanding that impulse, quickly offered a plausible excuse to flee.
I even started to shift my foot, but—
“……!”
Klen gently grabbed my arm.
“……”
“……”
Then, he smiled warmly.
The healer grasped the neck of the bottle, now slightly frosted from a cooling spell, and gave it a slow shake.
“It’s ready. This is the stamina-boosting medicine Klen requested. Thanks to your wife’s efforts to gather fresh and high-quality ingredients, its effectiveness should be exceptional. Please, drink it.”
“……”
So the medicine was finished before I could escape.
She stepped closer and handed me the bottle.
The frost on its surface melted, revealing the murky liquid inside.
Though I imagined there was some blue in the mix, it looked more like dirty water than anything medicinal.
It felt rude to think so after all her effort, but honestly—it just looked gross.
“Adrian, drink it.”
“……”
My lower lip instinctively curled inward.
With Klen standing firmly beside me, there was no way I could lie and pretend I drank it.
And saying I’ll drink it later wouldn’t work either.
Should I just confess I’m not really sick?
A storm of thoughts raced through my head.
“Haa…”
In the end, I took the bottle.
A deep sigh slipped out involuntarily.
My hand, which never trembled even when facing orcs, now shook as it grasped the bottle’s cap.
I pulled off the cap and brought the bottle to my lips.
“Urgh.”
That stench, awful even from a distance, hit me full force.
Medicine is supposed to taste bitter for a reason, but this was beyond excessive.
I hadn’t even taken a sip, yet I could already taste the bitterness.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Two sharp gazes pinned me in place.
They weren’t trying to pressure me, but the air felt suffocating all the same.
There wasn’t much liquid in the small bottle.
In situations like this, it’s best to just down it in one gulp.
I squeezed my eyes shut and began to tilt the bottle—but the moment it brushed my lips, my shoulders jerked from the instinctive revulsion.
“?!”
Suddenly, something pinched my nose.
My eyes flew open.
The culprit was right in front of me—Klen.
He was pinching my nose, cutting off the worst of the stench.
“Doesn’t this help a little?”
“……”
It might actually be the best method. I closed my eyes again.
This time, determined, I tilted the bottle quickly and drank.
The texture was exactly how it looked—sticky and lumpy.
Even without the smell, it was the kind of sensation that made me want to gag.
Gulp.
I forced the medicine down.
I hadn’t expected the feeling of it sliding down my throat to be so deeply disturbing.
At least it was cold. If it had been lukewarm, no amount of nose-pinching would have helped.
Even after I emptied the bottle and opened my eyes again, Klen still hadn’t let go of my nose.
If he did now, I might fully experience the aftertaste I’d been spared so far.
But he couldn’t keep holding it forever.
‘Should I ask him to let go?’
As I looked up at him and opened my mouth, Klen fidgeted with his other hand and pulled something out—a bottle, slightly bigger than the one before, filled with red raspberries.
Carrying berries around in your coat is odd enough, but what was even more surprising was what he did next.
He expertly popped the lid open and placed it on the table.
Then, he pulled out a berry and popped it into my mouth.
The raspberry rolled over my tongue, its surface coated in tiny grains.
Before I could fully register it, he slipped another into my mouth—then finally let go of my nose.
“Gah?!”
As expected, the lingering bitterness finally struck, swarming my mouth like it had been waiting.
No—that was an understatement.
It was worse than expected.
It twisted my stomach with its awful flavor.
Without thinking, my tongue chased the raspberries in desperation.
* * *
