Episode 4
The man had a high fever and was suffering from several unknown symptoms.
The sun was setting, and it looked like he couldn’t move on his own. Winter nights here were freezing cold.
“Seriously, this is bad.”
I had laid him down roughly next to the bed and examined his condition carefully.
“Now… if I add some Tentil powder… done.”
A purple liquid filled the pot—medicine I had made just for him. After letting it cool a bit, it would be ready.
I poured the potion into a specially treated bottle and returned to the man.
“This is a really nasty illness. Or… is it poison?”
Status: ???.
Fainted from cold and pain. Still in pain. Wound on forehead.
I read the status out loud.
“Pain starting from the heart, spreading to the limbs. Starts with needle-like pain, then becomes like being cut by knives and burned by fire… Good grief, how does a person even survive that?”
“Ugh… ngh…”
Sweat was forming on the man’s forehead. I stared at him and smiled a little.
“Whoever you are, you’re lucky. Imagine how lucky you are that a crazy alchemist lives here, huh?”
Of course, he didn’t reply.
“Looks like it’s ready.”
The potion had cooled. It wasn’t a perfect cure, but it would help with the worst symptoms.
It could be absorbed through the skin, but drinking it worked best.
I gently shook the man. His eyes fluttered open, and I saw the blue of his irises.
I let out a small gasp—it didn’t match the situation.
Black hair and a tiny teardrop-shaped mole under one eye… He gave off a strange, alluring energy. He was really handsome.
His eyes shimmered like the sky, pulling you in.
Then suddenly—
“Ah!”
He pulled me close with surprising strength.
His face was right in front of mine, and his arms wrapped around my waist and back.
Sure, I’d just thought he was handsome—but I didn’t want to be this close! I widened my eyes in surprise.
“Are you crazy? Let go of me!”
“Wait… just a moment…”
He barely got the words out and clung to me tighter.
I could feel his breath on my neck, and his heartbeat through our touching bodies.
His heart was beating like it was about to explode.
It was like… I was being pulled in. My hands, which were trying to push him away, slowly lost strength.
Time passed. The sound of rain outside mixed with the man’s uneven breathing.
“What is this situation, seriously…”
As I muttered, he trembled slightly, and I could feel it through our touching bodies.
It felt strange—but not unpleasant.
In a place where I only felt my own presence for years, there was finally another person.
And it had been so long since I felt someone else’s warmth.
It felt like his heartbeat was syncing with mine.
He clung to me like it was his first time breathing properly, and I gently patted him.
“Hey. I don’t mind hugging a handsome guy, but you’re going to die if you don’t get treated. Drink this first, okay?”
His grip loosened a little.
I took the chance to create some distance and grabbed the potion bottle.
His face was now just a hand’s width away.
His dazed eyes followed the bottle as I shook it, just like a cat would.
Then he muttered—
“…Poison?”
“…”
Did he just call my potion poison?
I could take insults—but not about my potions.
Smiling sweetly, I grabbed his collar.
The tense atmosphere shattered instantly.
“Are you joking? Did you just say what I made is poison? Want me to show you what real poison is?”
The man still seemed half-asleep and confused.
He clutched his head like he was in pain, but his other hand still held my waist.
“A dream…?”
“This is real life, so apologize! Say sorry! You dare insult my potion?!”
I shouted, and he let out a weak laugh, his lips curling into a small smile.
Then—his eyes rolled back, and he passed out again.
“Hey! You’re going to die on me!”
His consciousness was fading again.
I could feel the energy—his aether—going wild in his body. I quickly moved to help him.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t spit it out! You don’t even know what it is. It’s not poison, just drink it. This potion is worth a gold bar, got it?”
Maybe he understood. He stopped resisting.
When I saw his throat move as he swallowed, I finally relaxed and pulled back.
His wild aether started to calm down. Just like that, the status window changed:
Status: ???.
Asleep. Mild cold and weak pain.
“See? Works great. Never forget this—I saved your life. You better repay that favor.”
I looked at the status with pride.
His breathing was steady now. The frown from his pain had faded, too.
It was a shame I couldn’t remove all the pain, but honestly, this was a potion I made just by guessing from the status. So it was a big success.
“See? My potion really works. And you doubted me—rude.”
I looked at his sleeping face, remembering how he had followed the bottle with his eyes like a kitten.
“Fine. I’ll forgive you just this once.”
But… why did he cling to me the moment he woke up?
Now that I had time to think, I wondered about it.
Still, I had no way of knowing the answer now—so I pushed the question aside.
The important thing was this: even after two years of isolation, my skills were as sharp as ever.
Feeling proud, I stretched out my chest and laughed to myself like a villain.
Meanwhile, the man slept deeply. When I touched his forehead, the burning fever had gone down.
“Whew… Another success, Violetta. You’re amazing.”
It had been a long time since I felt this proud.
“I’ll put it on his tab. Even animals know how to repay kindness—surely a human will too, right?”
I hummed happily. Just hours ago, I thought my future was stuck in this old cabin with no hope—but now, I felt totally different.
Since I had decided to escape this place, I believed the kindness I gave would return to me one day.
“Oh right. I need to check something.”
The moment I saw the man, one thought came to me—
‘How did he get in here?’
No one was supposed to be able to enter this place without permission. If someone had entered on their own…
‘It means the barrier is broken.’
If that was true, I needed to check it myself.
I put on my cloak again and stepped outside.
If the barrier really had weakened, there was only one thing left to do.
Escape—quickly.
“This should be the edge of the barrier, right?”
An old cloth was tied to a branch that hung low.
After nearly dying once from touching the barrier by mistake, I had left markers around the area to avoid it.
As I got closer, a chill ran down my back.
Rubbing my arms, I looked around carefully to see if I could throw something past the barrier.
