Chapter 40

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 40 – I Guess That’s The Way I Like It

The morning in the capital city of Carmian was simple and friendly. It was a completely different look from the glamorous, luxurious, and bustling evening scenery.

She opened the shop right away after she had filled her stomach with fresh milk and freshly baked bread. It was a morning like any other. The trees and flowerbeds that added fresh vitality to the street, and the birds coming to and fro on top of them, were refreshing.

She opened her shop with her usual expression, but what was in her heart was definitely different than usual. Ashia herself was perhaps unaware that there was a real smile on her face rather than her business smile.

Just in time, a customer came in and opened the store door.

“Ah!” Cleaning the shelves, Ashia quickly ran back to the sales stand. “Welcome!”

The woman who just entered the store turned to Ashia at her greeting. Her eyes widened as she looked at her. “Oh my, you are beautiful!” She covered her mouth in admiration.

“Yes?”

“Ah! I didn’t even know I said it out loud.” She smiled as she lowered the hand that covered her mouth and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking.”

It was a graceful and bright smile. There was no feeling of arrogance or contempt from her smile, which Ashia generally felt from other young ladies of noble families. Her eyes were taken aback first by the unusual silver hair for a moment, but she moved back her gaze to her face.

Ashia smiled looking at her. “Do you need any help? I was a little surprised because a young lady from a noble family doesn’t normally come here directly.”

“Oh, I see. I am in a bit hurry right now, so I came here by myself.”

“Yes, please go ahead I will help you with anything.”

Thinking for a moment, the woman’s gaze turned thoughtful. “Well, my friend is very sick right now. I think something happened yesterday, but she won’t tell me what, so I also don’t have any idea.”

“What are her symptoms?”

She enumerated her friend’s symptoms as if she was waiting for that question. She said that her fever kept going up and down, and she was also shaking and talking gibberish. Now, she couldn’t even get up.

Ashia blinked worriedly. “Ah… I think you should call a physician at this point.”

The woman was looking around the store with her pinkish silver hair, but she turned around at Ashia’s words.

– I’m going to call you a physician.

No! I’ll get better after a little rest.

Last night when she was about to call a physician, she remembered that Lisa screamed at the top of her lungs to stop her, so she shook her head. “I can’t, she told me to never call a physician.”

Anguish crept across her face. She seemed to care a lot for that friend.

Looking at the woman, Ashia told her as a suggestion, “Well, then shall I go with you and see?”

“Your…self?”

“Yes, because she told you not to call a physician but not a wizard.”

“Oh, were you a wizard?”

“Yes.”. Even now that she suddenly had something to do, Ashia was smiling because of the beautiful and kind-hearted customer who deeply cared for her friend.

The woman pondered for a short time at Ashia’s suggestion, “Hmm… no, thank you. I don’t know if that friend of mine will get angry at me again if I do that.” She waved her hand at Ashia with a puzzled expression on her face.

Ashia did not push anymore thinking that the friend was very picky. “Yes. Do what you feel comfortable with.” She took a small box and walked out from behind the sales counter, then headed to the shelf where the potions were listed.

Aileen liked watching Ashia like that. The owner of this shop certainly didn’t seem like a young lady from a noble family with her light footsteps, but the habit permeated throughout her appearance was no different than that of nobility the more she looked at her. There was no law prohibiting a noble to open their own shop, so this might be only her narrow-minded view on it.

She stopped tilting her head and looked at Ashia again.

“First, I’ll bring you some potions for her symptoms.”

“Yes, please.”

Ashia began to move the potion bottles into the small box while giving her brief explanations for each. She moved three to four potion bottles, then turned to her with the last of the soft purple potions. “Finally, this is a pain-relieving potion, and it works great for muscle pain as well.”

“Thank you… You are so kind.”

“Though it would have been better if I had gone there myself and helped her.”

“This is enough.” Aileen smiled softly as she spoke, and so Ashia returned her smile while she moved back to the counter.

She closed the lid of the box, wrapped it, and looked at the woman standing in front of her. “I don’t think you’re from the Karhan Empire just by your accent.”

“Yes, I came from another place.”

“Ah, you came here to travel?”

“Well, that was my primary goal, and I will soon be living in this empire, in fact.”

“By any chance, for marriage?”

“Yes.”

“He’s from the capital? Here in Carmian?”

“He’s not. It was quite a distance…”

While Aileen was thinking of the distance between the capital and the Grand Duke’s estate, Ashia held out the already wrapped box. Aileen also took out gold from her pocket and placed it on the stand.

“Thank you. I will use it well.”

“Yes, you’re welcome. Have a nice day.”

The door swung open and a man ran inside the moment Aileen opened the door to get out of the store with the box.

“Oh, Miss Ashia Bliss!”

“Yes?”

Aileen, who was about to go outside, paused for a moment, then moved on slowly.

“H-His Grace, His Grace the Grand Duke….”

Ashia’s eyes widened when the words ‘His Grace’ came out of his mouth.

“What happened?!”

“Wh-what I mean is, he’s having a s-seizure!”

Before he could finish speaking, Ashia summoned the gate. “Guard the store.”

She hurried to the gate, and the gate soon disappeared, leaving only sparkling powder behind.

“…”

“…”

[…]

The bustling store became quiet in an instant. Watching the Grand Duke’s employee who had surprised eyes, Aileen only left the store after Ashia disappeared.

‘He said His Grace the Grand Duke…’

Kaligo was the only Grand Duke of Karhan Empire, but it seemed like the two of them were close.

‘Is he receiving treatment?’

Tilting her head, Aileen hurriedly went back to where she was staying as she fixed the medicine box.

“Kaligo!” She followed Redin into Kaligo’s room.

He was struggling too much that bed sheets were already a mess as if a war already had begun. Ventus was also exhausted who rushed in to stop him.

“Ah.” Ventus walked over to Ashia, wiping the sweat running down his chin.

“What’s this? He was still having seizures even after the medicine I gave him?” Ashia’s brow twitched as she looked at Kaligo.

“No, he drank the wrong medicine.”

Ashia’s head swung back at Ventus’ words, “How did that happen?!”

“It’s a long story. First of all, that guy over there.”

Ashia bit her lower lip and chewed it. “Everyone get out, quickly!”

“Ashia, this is the antidote. You have to feed this to him.”

“…”

Antidote? So he knew what Kaligo drank? Ashia looked at Ventus with fierce eyes as she was handed the medicine bottle.

“Everyone, get out.”

After letting Redin, Ventus, and some of the servants out, she hurriedly jumped onto the bed.

“Ugh… urgh…”

“What’s with you? I made it really well, so why did you drink the wrong thing?”

Looking down at Kaligo who was clawing at the skin on his chest without even opening his eyes properly, Ashia’s expression crumpled like a sheet of paper.

“Luke, I need to tie him up… ah.”

She had forgotten that she had taken off her necklace for a while because it happened to get tangled with her hair when she was cleaning in the morning.

‘D**n it…’

Her magical power would be consumed and reduced to less than half when she used magic with Luke’s help. He was a unique and useful guy in many ways, so she never took it off from her body, but today…

Blue energy flowed from Ashia’s body in an instant. She seems to have gotten used to tying people now. Her magical power pressed Kaligo’s hands and feet firmly without hesitation, preventing him from struggling.

“Urggh!!”

“I said you should drink this.”

She reached out several times to pour the potion into Kaligo’s mouth, but even aiming the vial’s tip to his mouth was difficult.

“Ah, really!”

The impatient Ashia poured all the medicine into her mouth before throwing away the vial somewhere, and then she held his face firmly with both her hands. As she quickly put her lips on his, she paused for a moment; his head that was resisting strongly became as quiet as if everything had been a lie.

“…”

“…”

Ashia rubbed her lips softly against Kaligo’s pursed lips, urging him to swallow. She quickly ran the medicine through his teeth when a small gap appeared. She heard the sound of him swallowing.

‘He drank it, right?’

Asha slowly parted her lips and lifted her upper body.

“Sigh…”

The drug quickly seeped into Kaligo’s body. His erratic heartbeat and the sound of him breathing vigorously had subsided. Ashia caressed his face and fixed the hair that was stuck to his cheek.

“Kaligo, are you finally coming through?”

“…Renna.”

Ashia sighed in relief at his dry voice that came out scratching his throat. but her tone was blunt as ever when she spoke, “Since when did you start calling me by that name?”

“Renna…”

His watery eyes didn’t even fall away even though he was in a dazed state.

Ashia was also caught in his gaze. Looking at him from above, Kaligo was captivating even though he’d just gone through an ordeal. The thin shirt he was wearing was already torn and was unable to use its function as a garment, while his sweat-soaked skin and well-defined muscles were clearly defined.

Kaligo was looking up at Ashia with narrowed eyes with all his arms and legs tied, whether he was aware or unaware of his condition. Blood gradually came to his lips, which opened as he breathed, while his eyes were wet with pain. He groaned loudly as he swallowed dry saliva and blinked.

“…Ashia.”

An indescribable shiver ran down to her up to the nape of her neck as his low voice called out her name.

Slowly examining Ashia, Kaligo had a slight smile on his face, and said with a soft smile, “In other words… I thought I was going to die.”

“…”

She still had her gaze fixed on him without saying a word.

Kaligo realized that his arms and legs were immobile, so he looked at her and raised his eyebrows. “Ashia, really, your taste…”

As if it was contagious, Ashia followed suit and swallowed dry saliva. “Even then, you were asking about my taste.”

– It’s alright if you cling to my skirt, or beg me, ah… I want to see your face as you suffer because of me.

– Do you like it that way?

“…”

“Certainly… I guess that’s the way I like it.” Ashia’s arms rested on his firm chest. She lowered her upper body very slowly and continued speaking, “Say no… if you don’t like it.”

At her low voice, the corner of his mouth raised in a natural smile. “…I can’t hate it.”

Ashia instinctively lowered her head. Her curly blonde hair fluttered, cascading down his cheek and casting a thin curtain next to the two of them.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────