~Chapter 10~
Lorienne had never forgotten those words—that he would definitely come find her.
But even now, more than six years later, her older brother was still a slave of Rixir.
On days like this, when Marmo came and left, she found herself thinking of Elond even more painfully.
The fact that her brother’s price kept doubling as he was resold was maddening enough, but what truly suffocated her were the rumors—slaves in those households were often starved, beaten, and treated brutally.
There was no doubt Elond was experiencing something even worse than that.
She also knew there were things Marmo couldn’t bring himself to tell her.
When delivering news, his young eyes constantly wandered, and he often looked like he had given up on speaking altogether.
He was a perceptive child.
“I should have gotten off that ship with my brother back then…”
Lorienne understood why Elond had forced her to leave the ship alone.
If she, a young lady of House Croitz, had been sold into slavery, it was obvious what would have happened to her.
When a noble family fell due to serious crimes, it was standard procedure for the wives and daughters to be sold as slaves.
The lives of those enslaved women were so horrific and degrading that even as a fellow woman, she could not bring herself to speak of them.
Whenever she thought of Elond, regret for not jumping off that ship with him resurfaced, along with a desperate desire to turn back time.
But the conclusion was always the same.
Elond would never have gotten off that ship with her.
If they had jumped into the sea together, the slave ship’s captain would have assumed both siblings escaped.
And Cloni would surely have ordered their corpses recovered.
After that, they would have lived as runaway slaves, hunted relentlessly until they were eventually killed somewhere on the road.
Because Rixir pursued escaped slaves to the very end.
Because Elond had remained on the ship, people believed Lorienne had simply thrown herself into the sea to die.
Thus, she became known in Rixir as the tragic figure of House Croitz—
A pitiful, unfortunate young lady who chose death by drowning rather than endure slavery.
“No. I won’t give up. My brother is enduring it too. I will bring him back for sure.”
Wiping her wet face roughly with her sleeve, Lorienne stood up from her chair.
She exhaled shakily, clenched her fists tightly, and composed herself.
She changed her clothes, tied her loose hair firmly into a braid, then stepped outside and removed the “closed” sign from the door before bringing it back inside.
She unfolded the order sheet and checked the magical ingredients required for the potions she had to make. Confirming she had enough supplies, she took a deep breath while reading.
“I can’t make five bottles of that fake archduke’s potion at once. I’ll just prepare two for now. There’s no time to be lazy sitting around like this.”
As she prepared to make the potion that turned people into dogs, Kaire naturally came to mind.
A man larger and more handsome than anyone she had ever seen.
She had been thinking about the help he gave her for days.
At first, when that young noble—who talked about her “taste”—showed up, she had stubbornly rejected his help out of pride.
But looking back, she was certain that if Kaire hadn’t intervened, she might have ended up in real danger.
“The first person who helped me in Astum is the fake archduke…”
Lorienne let out a long sigh.
He was the first customer to ever treat her so arrogantly.
The first to commission potions worth gold coins in large amounts.
The first person in Astum to help her at all.
For the past six years, Lorienne had been completely alone.
No one had reached out to her in isolated Loftis, and there was no one she could ask for help.
And honestly, that was more comfortable.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch…”
Knock, knock.
In the early evening, someone knocked on the door of Loftis.
Lorienne glanced at the clock, put on her glasses, and opened the small door.
“Hello, Mage!”
Pico greeted her brightly from outside.
Lorienne smiled and opened the door wider.
“You came earlier than I expected. Come in.”
Pico entered first, followed by Kaire.
He was wearing his hood again, hiding his face in shadow.
Sitting down, Kaire removed his hood and brushed back his tousled golden hair, strands slipping through his fingers.
“Are the potions ready?”
‘This fake archduke bastard, is he really planning to keep looking down on me?’
“Yeah. Half of them.”
At Lorienne’s immediate casual response, Pico flinched and widened his eyes. He nervously glanced at Kaire to gauge his reaction.
He expected something like “Cut her down.”
But instead, Kaire only let out a short laugh.
“Hah.”
“I’ll step outside for a bit and get some air. Please talk comfortably.”
Pico quickly left the room, leaving only the two of them.
A cold silence filled the space.
Lorienne placed two prepared potion bottles in front of Kaire.
“Take these two first.”
“Why only two? That’s not even half of five.”
“Who said half? I said ‘about half.’ And I can’t make five in three days. I have other clients too. And these require a lot of magical energy.”
Kaire stared at her face.
Her skin, already pale, looked almost ghostly today.
“So when will the remaining three be done?”
“Come back around the end of next week. Oh—did you try the potion?”
Kaire tapped the table lightly with his fingers.
He wasn’t pleased with the answer.
But at the question, he gave a small nod.
“It was effective.”
It was a compliment, though delivered without warmth or emotion.
Lorienne lifted her chin confidently.
“I’m not someone who’s affected by praise. But my potions are certainly worth it.”
“It wasn’t praise. Just an evaluation.”
“Same thing. If it’s good, it’s praise. Seriously.”
Kaire let out a short, dry laugh and turned his head away—then noticed a red fruit on the potion desk.
He stood and walked over.
“…Enyu?”
He turned back toward her.
“How do you know about Enyu? It only grows in Rixir.”
Lorienne widened her eyes and walked beside him.
It was a single Enyu Marmo had brought yesterday. She had only eaten one and left the rest on a plate, savoring even its scent.
Kaire fell silent.
Enyu was a soft, sweet fruit difficult to transport abroad.
Although Astum and Rixir were rival nations, they still exchanged gifts through diplomatic relations.
Rixir occasionally sent high-quality Enyu to the Astum imperial family.
Ordinary people rarely had the chance to taste it.
“I’ve had it before.”
Kaire cleared his throat and looked away from the fruit.
Lorienne felt oddly pleased at that. She picked up one and held it out to him.
“You know how good it is then, right?”
Kaire simply looked at the red fruit in her small white hand.
She nudged it closer, like a child urging him.
He finally took it.
“Eat it. It’s small but sweet.”
Lorienne bit into another one herself.
The seeds popped pleasantly inside her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed.
Unlike her pale skin, her lips were a deep red.
Kaire stared at her moving lips quietly.
‘Her lips are… really plump and red.’
