Chapter 8
Even though he could finally break free from the pain that had bound him for three years, it was hard to pretend he didn’t care.
Valentis had never once forgotten Sophie, not even at the imperial palace.
Her indifferent face, the tiny spirit creatures no larger than acorns, even the warm tea she always held in her hands.
But what surprised him most was that drinking the tea Sophie brewed helped him control his mana.
His mana had always been uncontrollable, prone to rampaging.
Because of it, he was incredibly strong, but despite his will, he often ended up harming others.
He’d lived with constant chest pain all his life.
But then, just a single cup of Sophie’s tea.
With just that, all his symptoms vanished like magic.
Though only for a day. A single day.
“Damn it.”
Valentis had finally found a way to be freed from the self-loathing and pain that plagued him.
And once he’d tasted peace, he never wanted to lose that warmth again.
He became thirsty for it. He kept thinking about that tea.
So he had Robin procure the tea leaves.
But the symptoms didn’t improve like before.
Even though the herbs had surely been raised by Sophie, even when brewed the same way—it didn’t work.
“We’re going to the apothecary.”
So Valentis threw away his pride and visited Sophie’s apothecary. But it was empty.
He waited there, upright and unmoving, until the owner returned.
He had never spent time waiting for someone before.
Yet when Sophie saw his face, she remained calm and unfazed.
“What did you do?” Valentis asked.
“Do what?” she replied.
“To me.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
If I had done something, wouldn’t you already be dead? Sophie shrugged.
“You gave me medicine.”
“Technically, I gave you tea.”
Looks like it had an effect, huh. Sophie muttered and slipped into the apothecary.
Arthur’s knights, sensing the tension, waited outside.
“Your Highness?”
Arthur recognized Valentis.
“What brings you here…?”
“The same reason as you, Duke.”
Valentis responded bluntly to Arthur’s question.
“What do you mean, the same reason…?”
“For treatment.”
“Excuse me?”
The two men followed Sophie inside the apothecary.
“Then the strong presence that visited not long ago must have been…”
“It was him,” Sophie answered flatly.
Even now, she didn’t want to deal with Valentis.
After mocking her abilities, he had the nerve to come back?
“What brings you here?”
Though she knew the tea had helped, Sophie acted as if she didn’t.
“The tea leaves I bought before. Were they really grown by you?”
Loyal Robin asked on Valentis’s behalf.
“Yes. I personally cultivate all the herbs I sell.”
“But then, why didn’t those herbs help His Highness…?”
Ah, that. Sophie replied lazily.
“If it’s because of the curse, then it likely had no effect because I didn’t brew it myself.”
“A curse?”
“You have to brew it yourself?”
Arthur and Valentis asked at the same time.
“According to the Duke, when I don’t brew the tea myself, its effect on curses is practically nonexistent.”
“…”
A storm seemed to sweep through the apothecary.
“Your Highness, what’s this about a curse?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“I do need to know.”
Valentis had known Arthur was cursed, but Arthur hadn’t known the reverse.
The fact that the prince had come here was shocking enough, but now to find he was cursed too—Arthur struggled to grasp the situation.
“Are you cursed, Your Highness?”
Arthur asked.
“You’re here because the tea worked on you, aren’t you? Then it must be the same curse from a magical beast, just like the Duke.”
Even Sophie joined in.
Valentis hesitated, lips twitching, then finally gave in.
“To be exact, it’s because of a dragon’s heart.”
He rolled up his shirt to reveal a tattoo on his chest.
Arthur let out a gasp when he saw it.
A dragon’s mark.
The crown prince possessing a dragon’s heart was unthinkable.
It threatened the very legitimacy of his right to the throne.
“It happened three years ago during a battle with a dragon. That’s when it began eating away at me,” Valentis explained.
“You mentioned a curse, Duke?”
Valentis turned to Arthur.
“I’m in the same boat. That dying dragon cursed me even though it knew I was the prince.”
A secret that no citizen of the empire should ever know was revealed in this small apothecary.
The duke was cursed. The future emperor had a dragon’s heart.
Sophie said nothing, quietly observing the unfolding scene.
“Whenever I use mana, it goes berserk. And I lose my sanity. That’s what the dragon’s heart does.”
“…”
“But when I saw that idiot duke recovering from a curse, I decided to follow in his footsteps.”
“Wait! How did you know I was cursed?”
“Because I saw it with my own eyes in the Antarakos Mountains.”
Valentis scoffed and replied mockingly.
“When facing magical beasts, you can’t afford to be that careless.”
Arthur was left speechless by Valentis’s arrogance.
“But after drinking this apothecary owner’s tea, I got better. Even if it was just for a day.”
“…”
“What did you do? Tell me what you did!”
Even with Valentis towering over her like a warrior exuding pressure, Sophie showed not a flicker of emotion.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Truly, I don’t. I hear it works, but I can’t explain why.”
Valentis chuckled bitterly at her emotionless response.
“Hard to believe, isn’t it? Weren’t you the one who said it wasn’t my ability that cured the Duke? Told me to stop clinging to delusions?”
“…”
“I don’t believe it either. But I am curious. Still, I’m just a lowly spirit pharmacist who runs an apothecary.”
Sophie smiled brightly and turned her back on Valentis, flipping through the shelves where the tea leaves were stored.
“But I suppose it doesn’t matter to you anymore.”
“…Huh?”
“You said you wouldn’t drink tea anymore, didn’t you?”
Valentis’s face twisted.
“R-right…”
He remembered it well. He’d said it to Sophie himself—that he’d never drink tea again.
Because he thought alcohol suited him more than tea. Holding a teacup in his big hand felt ridiculous.
But now that he knew the tea was effective, there was no way he could give it up. And yet, he couldn’t just take back what he’d said.
“If I don’t brew it, it won’t work anyway. What a shame.”
“…”
Did the prince know all along?
Arthur nearly laughed aloud. Not only did Valentis know about Arthur’s curse, but he had even investigated him after witnessing his recovery.
Apparently, he had insulted Sophie before—yet now he wanted her tea?
Arthur found Valentis utterly shameless.
And he didn’t want to show Sophie to a man like him.
He was dangerous.
Danger and bloodshed clung to him like shadows.
“I had no idea something like that happened to you, Your Highness.”
Arthur kept his tone light, masking his emotions.
“But if you dislike tea, there’s nothing we can do.”
He sounded regretful, but his expression said otherwise.
“Sophie, it’s getting chilly. How about a cup of tea?”
Arthur wasted no time offering a pointed invitation.
“Sure. I was thinking of using a different herb instead of Hedelria today. What do you think?”
“Anything is fine.”
As the two of them coordinated their tea time so smoothly, Valentis stiffened.
So they were just going to drink tea without him?
With Sophie leading, a full tea session was soon arranged. Even the knights waiting outside were invited in.
At first, they were hesitant in front of the prince, but after a few sips, they all let out relaxed sighs.
Knowing well how comforting Sophie’s tea was, Valentis swallowed hard.
‘Even the knights get to drink it, but I can’t?’
Even though the prince hadn’t taken a seat, the knights and the duke were casually enjoying their tea.
“Your Highness…”
Robin, Valentis’s aide, looked completely flustered.
Sophie’s pride had clearly been wounded.
“Would you like some with nuts?”
Without even glancing at Valentis, Sophie placed a dish of walnuts and almonds on the table.
“They go really well with the tea’s aroma.”
“They already taste delicious.”
And even Arthur was ignoring him now.
Valentis watched them sip tea while he sat there swallowing nervously.
“Ahem…”
With his massive build looming behind the table, he was impossible to ignore.
Despite his fierce eyes, the pitiful expression he wore made him look like a sulking giant dog.
Though he cleared his throat and tried to maintain his pride, it was obvious he wanted tea.
“Sigh…”
Even as Sophie sighed, Valentis pretended not to notice, hands behind his back.
He needed her help. He was a patient who needed her herbs.
“…Please have a seat, Your Highness.”
“…?”
At last, Sophie offered to make him tea.
“I’ll bring it over.”
She could no longer bear to watch him sit there swallowing his pride.
Valentis brightened visibly at her words.
Sophie quickly prepared his tea.
Soon, a cup was placed in front of him, and Valentis carefully picked it up.
‘Will it really work?’
Robin, curious to confirm whether the tea truly had an effect, watched Valentis closely.
