Chapter 2
What a pain in the neck.
Sophie thought so as she picked herbs. But since they were such high-ranking individuals, she didn’t dare say it out loud.
Two people had come to her apothecary early in the morning and had been pestering her the entire day.
Even her regular visitors began to worry that something serious might have happened.
“What in the world is going on here?!”
Paul, the one who had come with a thigh injury, shouted.
“We should bring every physician from the ducal estate if we have to! We must get to the bottom of this!”
Despite his limp, Paul’s booming voice filled the apothecary to the rafters.
Knowing how much Duke Arthur had suffered due to a monster’s curse, Paul desperately wanted to understand this miraculous cure for his insomnia.
“Miss Apothecary! I’ll buy every herb in your greenhouse right now!”
“…I can’t allow that. And please, just call me Sophie.”
If he bought all her herbs, what would she give to everyone else?
The earth spirits, including Silco, glanced curiously at Paul, seemingly bewildered by the commotion.
“Sophie! What exactly did you do?!”
“…I picked tea leaves, boiled some water…”
“No, I mean—did you use magic?!”
“…Not at all.”
Paul’s voice was so loud her ears rang.
“Wait! Is that a rare herb?!”
“That’s… just a digestive aid.”
He wandered around the apothecary, asking about everything.
[That man is so loud!]
Even the spirits, who had been quietly enduring it, began to protest.
Sigh…
Sophie let out a deep sigh, careful not to let Paul hear.
Meanwhile, his liege, Arthur, strolled around the apothecary like he was enjoying a quiet garden walk.
“You can trust us, truly. If there’s a secret you’re trying to hide…”
“I have no secrets or dramatic stories to hide.”
At first, she’d just been glad his insomnia had eased somewhat.
As an herbalist, she was of course curious about the phenomenon.
But this noisy, chaotic behavior? She wanted none of it.
Sophie seriously considered tying Paul to a tree.
[Sophie, should we stuff some dirt in his mouth if he keeps yelling?]
“Please don’t.”
Though she was formally contracted only to Silco, earth spirits swarmed around Sophie.
Perhaps because of her naturally friendly nature, the spirits liked to stay close to her.
They often helped her, too.
That’s why her apothecary always glowed with a warm golden light, thanks to the earth spirits’ presence.
“If you don’t mind, could you tell me exactly what tea leaves you used last time?”
Leaving behind the noisy Paul, Arthur asked her gently.
“Of course. This way, please.”
Sophie chose to speak with Arthur.
Above all else, she hated noise.
She led Arthur into the greenhouse, where spirits peeked through the leaves as they picked herbs.
Arthur let out a soft exclamation as he entered.
“These are…”
To most, they would appear as mere yellow orbs. But to those who could sense mana, spirits were visible.
“Spirits.”
“Yes.”
“You’re a spiritist, then?”
“Yes, I’m contracted with an earth spirit.”
Arthur’s face lit up as if he had found the missing piece.
“Are you perhaps a high-ranking spiritist? I’ve heard that sometimes those contracted with greater spirits possess minor healing abilities.”
“…No, I’m just a low-rank spiritist.”
“Ah…”
In truth, earth spiritists were rare. Spiritists in general were hard to find.
But the problem was that earth spirits weren’t considered particularly useful on the continent.
There were simply more practical elemental spirits—like lightning, water, or fire, which wielded great destructive power.
Earth spirits merely embraced the land, the forests, the valleys… They were nurturing but not combative or utilitarian.
And there were plenty of other means to achieve what they could.
“But… there are so many spirits here.”
“They’re not contracted. They just… follow me.”
Sophie shrugged as she explained to Arthur.
“The tea I gave you was simply a blend of Hedelria and Santherpic, with a bit of honey.”
Not a powerful sedative—just basic herbs that helped with insomnia.
No side effects, no risk of addiction—gentle herbs even a child could take.
“Hedelria and Santherpic?”
Arthur was visibly taken aback to hear it was nothing more than those common herbs.
“You’re absolutely sure you didn’t mix in anything else?”
“Yes. I remember clearly. I wouldn’t dare add anything unknown and risk a reaction.”
Sophie spoke carefully and studied Arthur’s face.
Though subtle, a trace of disappointment appeared on his face.
Hair as golden as the sun, and shining green eyes beneath it.
His bright green eyes dimmed slightly.
“Forgive me, but… you mentioned your insomnia was caused by a curse, yes?”
Sophie truly hoped she had helped him, even if only a little.
“Yes. I was once attacked by a monster while hunting in the Antaragos Mountains…”
Instead of a lengthy explanation, Arthur simply showed her a purplish scar on his shoulder.
A mark left by the curse.
“Since then, I’ve suffered from severe insomnia.”
His voice was bitter.
“They were days full of torment and chaos. Being unable to sleep… it’s a kind of suffering no words can describe.”
“…”
“And I thought, finally, I’d found relief…”
Arthur lowered his head in despair.
“It seems… it was just luck after all.”
Sophie didn’t think of herself as Arthur’s savior.
His body was far too damaged—he must have passed out from exhaustion.
There was no way a frail little herb like that could lift the curse placed on a duke.
“But thank you, truly, miss.”
“…Please, just call me Sophie.”
“Yes, Sophie.”
Arthur gave her a bright, beautiful smile.
Despite his disappointment, he remained unfailingly courteous—his smile kind and sincere.
“Thank you for helping me sleep, even just for a while. It was a truly peaceful rest.”
Despite the noisy morning caused by Paul, seeing Arthur smile lifted her mood considerably.
Sophie nodded lightly, smiling back.
“…My lord.”
Paul, who had been watching quietly, said with regret in his voice.
“Well, while you’re here, let me at least make you another cup of tea.”
There wasn’t much else she could do for him, so Sophie offered him the one thing she could.
“To prove once and for all that it’s not some magic trick.”
She tried to keep the mood light with a cheerful tone.
“Yes. I’d like another cup, just like last time.”
Arthur asked if he could look around the greenhouse while he waited.
Sophie nodded without hesitation.
Even the spirits seemed smitten by his dazzling beauty, blushing behind the leaves as they stared at him.
“Sophie! Can I get that herb again? The one that worked so well last time.”
“Oh, Mr. Ferman, you’re here?”
“Yeah! What was it called again… Fade… something?”
“Fadechovric.”
Fadechovric was most effective when freshly picked.
While Sophie was in the greenhouse collecting tea leaves for Arthur, she saw him fiddling with the plant.
“This is Fadechovric, isn’t it?”
“Yes. You’re quite knowledgeable.”
Sophie smiled softly and approached him.
“But be careful, Your Grace.”
She whispered gently, moving closer to Arthur as he touched the plant.
Then, she carefully took his hand and moved it away.
“Fadechovric hides thorns on the back of its stems.”
“…Ah.”
Arthur flushed slightly at the sound of her soft voice and nodded awkwardly.
Just as she’d said, tiny thorns were indeed hidden behind the stem.
Arthur slowly brushed the back of his hand where Sophie’s fingertips had touched.
After serving Arthur his tea, Sophie returned to tending the Fadechovric.
While Arthur sipped his tea quietly, Paul approached her.
“So it really was just normal herbs?”
“I know. I just… didn’t want to believe it.”
Paul murmured.
“I truly thought we’d finally broken the curse this time… or at least eased the insomnia.”
Despite his suffering and frayed nerves, Arthur always tried to smile.
Paul had watched his lord suffer in silence and felt wretched for it.
He’d genuinely believed this time might be different.
He looked at Sophie with his gentle black eyes beneath brown hair.
“I’ll look into it as well. Maybe the spirits know something.”
“We even asked mages and high-ranking spiritists. None of them helped.”
“Ah… I see.”
If even the best spiritists didn’t know, how could she figure it out? Sophie gave a small shrug and finely chopped the Fadechovric.
“In any case, thank you for treating his wound. I don’t know how to repay this kindness…”
“I was only doing my job. There’s no need for repayment.”
It was time to part ways with the loud Paul and the pitiable duke.
“By now, His Grace has probably finished his tea.”
Sophie said her farewells to Paul.
He nodded and returned to the greenhouse, where Arthur was quietly drinking tea.
And then—Paul’s scream rang out.
“…?!”
Startled by his wild scream, Sophie ran straight into the greenhouse.
“His Grace fell asleep again!”
Arthur sat there, his head nodding slightly, a bit of tea left in his cup.
A tiny spirit the size of a thumb danced atop his golden head.
“I knew it!”
Paul glared at Sophie with blazing eyes.
“What did you do?! How did you make His Grace fall asleep?!”
Paul bellowed.
“…Silco.”
Sigh. I keep saying I’m just a low-rank spiritist…
Sophie, feeling utterly defeated, called out to Silco.
Was it possible Arthur hadn’t fallen asleep but was actually drugged?
[…Miss Sophie.]
Silco, a boy with chestnut hair and a scarf over his head, bowed respectfully.
“Is he really asleep?”
[Yes. He seems to be in a very peaceful sleep.]
Silco never lied. His answer was definitive.
“How?! How did you do it?!”
Paul’s voice shook the apothecary once more.
“…I told you, I really don’t know.”
Sophie lowered her head, exasperated beyond belief.
