CH 54

“…Don’t you think that’s too much? You know, the ointment.”

“Yes? Ah…! T-that’s right. I’m sorry.”

She only needed to spread it all over his cheek, but the amount was too much for something like that.

Of course, even for Grand Duke Sestein, finding an ointment sold only to special people wouldn’t be easy.

It was natural for the grand duke to be surprised that she was trying to waste that precious thing. Elusiana got that idea because she had overlooked that there were magic potions that were far more effective than the ones supplied by the temple.

Elusiana got only as much as she needed and put the rest back into the bottle. Only then did Aster, relieved, smile with a somewhat relaxed face. Elusiana smiled at him too.

“Just hang in there. The pain will go away soon.”

She knew because she had used it before. Once upon a time— She gave it as a gift to a stubborn boy. I don’t know if he still has it or not… Becoming sullen involuntarily, Elusiana stared at the blue bottle.

“Hmmm. Elusiana?”

“Ah! I will apply for it right away.”

“…Okay.”

Elusiana spread a solid white ointment on Aster’s swollen cheeks. Hmm, but the amount seems a bit too much. After looking at Aster’s eyes, she spread all the ointment on the stick and then pretended not to know as she removed her hand.

“What do you think?”

“I… Hmmm. I… fun.”

“Pardon?”

“I, ummm…”

Aster moved his mouth a few times and then frowned.

“Your Excellency?”

“…I, I…”

“Yes?”

“I’m fun.”

“…Ah, yes. You’re fine. That’s what you mean, right?” Elusiana smiled awkwardly and quickly closed the lid of the bottle. It seemed that his cheek was swollen, which made his pronunciation muffled.

In this case, avoiding your seat on your own was good. Just by looking at those red earlobes, the grand duke must be very embarrassed. If I pretended to know for nothing, His Excellency might faint from shame. But will it be okay? That cheek… I think it will be bruised blue tomorrow.

Elusiana pretended not to know, then stood up from her seat. “Your Excellency, I will bring some ice for a moment. There’s nothing better than that to reduce swelling.”

“…”

Aster pouted his lips and nodded his head as if he wasn’t happy about it. With his permission, Elusiana left the office. As soon as she left the office, Aster messed up his bangs annoyedly.

“Dis wok so well… Dam it. (This works so well… Damn it.)”

Aster let out a dry sigh and glared at the blue bottle. If it wasn’t for her, he would have burned it beforehand. I can’t believe this is made by the temple.

The ointment contained a large amount of paralytic poison. It was made from a rare and hard-to-find poisonous plant. An overdose could threaten your life. The ointment soaked into his skin had hardened his heart as well as his internal organs.

“It was a long time ago, so I forgot…”

Aster swept the surface of the blue bottle and racked his brain. Come to think of it, the doctor at that time was also suspicious.

While staying with Elusiana, when Aster passed out due to the side effects of the ointment, the Waieos family doctor diagnosed him as simply falling asleep. Any doctor could tell that he was paralyzed and couldn’t move. After that, the doctor returned to his hometown. Since he didn’t have to use the special ointment, he didn’t care much about it.

“I’ll have… Grrg. (I’ll have to look into this one more time.)”

The ointment was made by the temple and the Waieos family’s doctor. Also… Viscount Waieos. He suspected that something was hidden between the three that he had missed.

* * *

“What about Lusi?”

“I have confirmed that she is getting into the carriage.”

“…Well done.”

Aster glanced down at the empty teacup and smiled bitterly. If Louis hadn’t come out with a detox tea, he would still be quite clumsy talking. Even so, he would have recovered quickly with his monstrous regeneration over time.

Sigh. Nothing really works. It wasn’t long after he met Elusiana, and he didn’t like the fact he had to send her back.

Aster pushed the blue bottle in front of Louis and said, “Find out more about where this came from.”

“This is a special ointment supplied by the temple.”

“In the past… Lusi gave it to me when I was on Waieos Viscounty. It contained a lot of paralytic poison. I didn’t think much of it at that time— But it’s a bit odd.”

“Paralytic poison?”

“Yes.”

Louis’s eyes widened slightly as if he was a little surprised. “If the special ointment has such side effects, wouldn’t there be a problem?”

“It’s suspicious, right?”

“Your Excellency wants me to check if the ointment distributed in the temple is the same as this one.”

“That’s right. If they’re only messing around with the supply for Waieos family, I will have to assume that there’s someone behind them.”

Louis looked at Aster’s swollen cheek for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, I will look into it quietly.”

After Louis left, Aster touched his almost-healed cheek. “If it gets better soon, she will have doubts.”

The power he had was so special that he wouldn’t be relieved just because his appearance had changed. Infinite regenerative power. No matter how effective the temple ointment was, it didn’t make sense that the swelling would subside in one day.  When they were young, he even made Elusiana’s eyes go dark, and it took more than two weeks for them to heal.

Taking out the lisianthus necklace from his pocket, he grumbled. “I can’t hurt my face… Wait, should I really do that?” Brushing her silver hair, Aster was in deep thought.

* * *

Elusiana, who left Grand Duchy Sestein as if being pushed back, was slightly bewildered. But when she thought of the thousand gold in her arms, she quickly forgot about it.

“Let’s meet him first.”

She intended to go to the ‘Dream-seeking Paradise’ and pay off all her debts. Debt grew like a snowball as time passed, and in the past, it was a terrible thing that could even cut people’s breath.

Elusiana put on the calmest expression on her face and quickly crossed the streets. Soon after, she arrived in front of the Dream-seeking Paradise and tilted her head as she entered.

“Is anyone here?”

It was because she couldn’t see the female employee she saw last time, and for some reason, the atmosphere inside felt cold. Then she heard a voice from upstairs. But somehow, the man coming down the stairs was very familiar. Familiar? I’m seeing this man for the first time, so why does he look familiar?

While Elusiana hesitated at the sudden thought, the man approached her with a warm smile.

“Oh my, we have a customer. But, who are you…?”

“Ah, I…”

“By any chance, are you Lady Waieos?” The man with his gray hair neatly tied down asked confidently.

Elusiana’s bewildered expression turned cold for an instant. “Do you know me?”

“Huhu, there’s no way I don’t know who you are. I’m sure no one doesn’t know those scarlet eyes.”

Elusiana asked again, trying to hide her displeasure. “I’ve come to see the owner, Painen. Where is he now?”

The man replied with his blue eyes shining in interest. “I guess you didn’t know yet. The owner, Painen, has withdrawn from this.”

“Withdrawn? What do you mean?”

“It means I took over this business.”

“…!”

Elusiana gasped in surprise. The debtor changed in just a few days? Then what about my guarantee contract? How does that work?

She asked the man with a shaky look. “You mean you’re the new owner of this place?”

“Greetings. My name is Ethan. I’m the new owner of Dream-seeking Paradise. Ah, the takeover has been completed, so don’t worry if it’s about the contract. Then, shall we go up together? Beautiful Lady Waieos.”

Elusiana, who followed Ethan to his office, was really puzzled. She double-checked the original contract just in case, but nothing changed. Right. Changing a contract that has been processed with magic doesn’t make sense.

She didn’t know if he was going to write a new contract under the pretext of taking over the business. But when she saw the contract herself, only then did Elusiana’s face show a slight relief.

“It’s a tea brewed with rosemary. Have some of it.”

Ethan sat on the sofa, smiling with his eyes bent like a cat. When she saw that smile, she had the urge to pet that gray hair for some reason. Those blue eyes that came across her continuously made her want to make eye contact, and she smiled at him.

Why am I being like this? Isn’t that the same as a pervert? Elusiana turned her head suddenly and drank the tea that Ethan handed over. You must be crazy, Lusi. Really.

Elusiana, who wiggled her free hand, put the black stain pouch she had placed on her lap on the table.

“It’s a thousand gold.”

But Ethan glanced down at the satin pocket and said, “I think the calculation is wrong.”

“Pardon?”

Ethan, who smiled softly, swept his lips with his tongue.

Even his lips are so lovely! Elusiana clenched her hand, which was about to pat him at any moment, and bit her lips.

“Ahem. Do you think the calculation is wrong? What do you… mean?”

“It’s been three days since the contract was written, so you have to calculate the number of days properly.”

“Ah.”

Elusiana’s soft eyes twitched at the words that sounded like she had to pay him more.

“…How much is that?”