~Chapter 03~
Kaire Astum.
It was a name Lorienne knew well.
She had never seen his face, but of course she knew the name Kaire.
Wasn’t he the man destined to become the next emperor of Astum, succeeding the current emperor whose health was failing?
Moreover, he was said to be a terrifying figure who brought bloodshed wherever he went—so much so that he had earned the nickname “Demon of the Battlefield.”
“I told you it doesn’t matter. Everyone uses fake names anyway.”
“…Well… that’s true. It doesn’t matter.”
It really didn’t matter. As long as she and the potion’s owner could identify each other, that was enough.
Quickly accepting it, Lorienne nodded.
Were there ever only one or two strange people? This man must just be another odd one.
The one more flustered than her was the servant sitting beside him. With a shocked expression, he alternated glances between the handsome man and Lorienne before quietly letting out a sigh.
Yes, serving such a stubborn master would make anyone sigh.
The servant soon spoke his own name in a resigned voice.
“My name is Pico…”
Lorienne wrote “Kaire Astum” in her notebook. Then she quickly calculated how much to charge for the potion.
A potion that completely transformed someone into a dog was on an entirely different level from one that merely changed ears, a tail, or paws. It required a massive amount of her magical power, so she planned to charge at least five times more than usual.
She already had a backlog of potions, but if she cut down on her rest and worked through them, she could probably make it within a week.
‘I’ll have to squeeze every last drop of magic out of myself. I’ll probably be bedridden for two days after making it… Maybe I should ask for thirty silver coins. Would that be too expensive? Then maybe twenty-five?’
She usually only wrote down the name and requested potion, but since she hadn’t decided on a price, she tried to stall for time. Next to the name, she slowly wrote unnecessary details like gender and required ingredients.
At that moment—
A pouch dropped onto the request form with a heavy thud.
As if he had seen through her hesitation, the man had tossed the payment in advance.
Lorienne picked it up—and her eyes widened instantly.
‘What is this weight?! It’s not that big, but this heaviness…!’
Gold coins and silver coins had the same size and shape.
But gold coins were far heavier.
With trembling hands, she opened the pouch and snapped her head up.
As expected—
‘I-it’s really gold coins!’
As if he had anticipated her reaction, the handsome man sitting across from her curled one corner of his lips into a smirk.
It was a smile both beautiful and wicked.
“I believe you said one week. Make the potion that turns me into a dog by tomorrow.”
“…T-tomorrow?!”
“Yes. If you make it by tomorrow, I’ll give you the same amount of gold again when I come to collect it.”
Lorienne was stunned.
It was already late, and making such a potion by tomorrow would definitely strain her body.
But earning this much gold at once was rare.
And if she finished it by tomorrow, she’d receive double.
‘With this amount… I can cover a huge portion of the money I need to buy my brother… I could move my goal forward by months!’
Through the thick lenses of her glasses, her pale violet eyes shook violently.
The man noticed—and a cold smile briefly crossed his face, clearly pleased with her reaction.
“Choose. Take this money and give me the potion in a week, or make it by tomorrow and receive double.”
After leaving Loftis, Kaire and Pico mounted the horses they had tied nearby.
The horse Kaire rode had sleek, glossy black fur.
“Your Highness, how could you give your real name as Kaire Astum?! Do you know how shocked I was? I even changed clothes to look like a servant!”
“You gave your real name too.”
“That’s because—! Ugh, whatever! Once you said your real name, I just gave up! Honestly, your personality is terrible.”
Pico grumbled as he rode.
Clop, clop. The horses began moving slowly at the signal of the reins.
After a while, the horse tossed its head, urging to run faster, but Kaire remained lost in thought. Then he spoke.
“Pico, do you think that mage can really make a potion that turns someone into a dog?”
“When she hesitated about making it by tomorrow, it didn’t look like she lacked confidence in the potion itself.”
“I don’t know if it’s something I can trust.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll test it first.”
Gone was his earlier complaining tone—Pico now puffed out his chest confidently.
“You’re unusually reckless.”
“Your Highness, when have I ever held back? Ever since joining the First Knight Order, I’ve always risked my life for your safety!”
Kaire ignored him, thinking it was more nonsense, and simply guided his horse forward.
Among the First Knights, Pico ranked near the bottom. Though skilled with both dagger and sword, his stamina was poor.
Even so, Kaire had appointed him as his personal knight the moment he joined. In reality, it meant serving by his side all day.
In truth, Pico was Kaire’s cousin from childhood.
Though talkative and prone to whining, he had always followed Kaire well and had a kind nature, making him suitable to keep close.
What Kaire needed wasn’t a powerful knight, but someone he could trust.
He knew Pico was cowardly yet always stood on the side of justice—and would never betray him.
“Whether you’re here or not doesn’t make much difference to my safety.”
“It makes a difference mentally! And besides, you don’t trust anyone else anyway!”
“Who said I trust you? I trust no one. I only keep you close because you’re my cousin.”
“You could say the same thing more nicely. Like, ‘Pico, you’re the only one I trust.’ Would that really hurt you?”
“……”
“Alright, alright, I’ll shut up.”
Pico pouted under Kaire’s cold gaze.
Turning his attention forward again, Kaire thought of the mage they had just met.
Making the potion by tomorrow clearly wasn’t easy—she had shown obvious difficulty at the shortened deadline.
But in the end, she nodded and said it was possible.
‘It’s not an amount of money one could easily refuse.’
In any case, he had found a mage capable of making a complete transformation potion, and he would receive it tomorrow. That alone satisfied him.
Still, there was something peculiar about the mage from Loftis.
‘She wasn’t a man. I assumed she’d be a middle-aged male mage.’
Statistically, male mages far outnumbered female ones.
When magical talent appeared in childhood, families tended to invest in boys rather than girls, believing girls would eventually marry and use their magic for another household.
The woman he met—small, thin, and wearing thick glasses—defied his expectations in every way.
A female mage. And no older than her early twenties.
And despite agonizing over money, she had still warned him not to misuse her potion.
She was bold—almost audacious.
“Pico, how long did you say that mage has been running that shop?”
“From what I found, about five or six years.”
“She didn’t seem to be from Astum. Her accent sounded like Lixire.”
“Yes, I heard she’s from Lixire.”
Kaire pulled on the reins to slow his horse.
The Astum Empire was tolerant toward mages, welcoming even those from other nations.
As long as they didn’t practice dark magic or harm citizens, mages could operate freely, leading to a thriving trade of magical items and ingredients.
In contrast, the Lixire Empire strictly regulated mages, only recognizing those who met rigid standards and suppressing unregistered ones.
‘With enough skill to make such a potion, she could have worked as a mage in Lixire… so why come all the way to Astum?’
Even as his horse picked up speed again, thoughts of Lorienne continued to linger in Kaire’s mind, one after another.
