Chapter 12

Rosaceae City, Year 1217

In the deserted corner of the tavern, a man wearing black hooded cardigan with his face hidden, sat quietly as if he was in a different space from others. The tavern was lively with people cheering and laughing, and yet, the man stare at the air in silence. Another man with brown hair wearing a white shirt and dark brown vest approached. He sat on the opposite side of the table, face to face with the hooded man.

"Sir, there's a new 'steakhouse'," the man with brown hair whispered.

The hooded man caught a glimpse on the tavern wilderness. He rubbed the ring on his thumb with his index finger. "Talk," he said.

"From what our intel had gathered before, Frederick Andino was a man with the image of a hero and was the most respected man with high moral value. However, who knows, this man could pull the wool over everyone's eyes. There was a woman he had been seeing."

The hooded man frowned. "Is that all?" he said, feeling dissatisfied.

The man with brown hair shake his head. "The crucial point was, since the meeting with this woman, his movement change. He was raising a new troop of knights, without the king's permission."

"Is he planning for a treason?"

"Probably."

"What about the woman?"

"Ella, 17 years old. She had been working there for 5 years. Got 5 other younger siblings."

"17? Wasn't Andino in his late thirteenth?"

"Yes. However, it doesn't seem that he choose her because she was young either."

"Is that all?"

"The complete document, in Chris hand. Should I retrieve it from him, now?"

"Where is he?"

"At the inn near that place."

"We'll just meet up there."

The man with brown hair nodded. The hooded man rubbed the ring on his thumb again. He put down few silver coin and strode off from the tavern.

***

The wind breeze blew through the dancing leaves. The flowers hummed with magic, and the grass sparkled with the early morning-dew.

Her scarlet long wavy hair fluttered as the wind blew. The cold fresh air caress her milky white skin. Her small body covered with a loose white gown draped with a long flowing pink robe. The light pink loose sleeves waved with the course of the wind.

The long and thin fingers of her took a piece of a small delicate dessert into her mouth. She took a small bite and chewed on as she closed her eyes.

"New recipe?" she said.

A girl in a blue plain dress hummed. "I had increased the dose, so I thought that the flavor might not be sufficient to cover the bitterness. How is it?"

She nodded. "It's good. This time, there's lot of improvement. Well done."

The girl in blue dress sigh breathe of relief. She curled up her thin lips. Her palm on her chest. Another girl, slightly shorter that the girl in blue dress raised her hand.

"Mine too! Try to taste mine too!" she chirped in with her voice bubbling in excitement.

The young lady chuckled. She picked up a cup of tea and have a small sip. "You've also improve quite a lot. However, the sweetness of it, although just a little bit, it still linger around with the flavor of the tea. There are still room for improvement, overall, it's well done."

"It's flavor, huh…" She nodded vigorously, "I'll take note of that. After I make new adjustment, I will shock you with my achievement." She clenched her fists.

The girl in blue dress peeked on the young lady's face. "Sister, does your body still didn't feel anything this time?"

Aretha gaze lingered on the flower garden. She smiled. "There is a slight discomfort in my head, but not to a point it hinder my daily life."

"I see. I'm a bit disappointed because mine didn't show any changes, but I'm also glad that it didn't do anything to you."

"Didn't I always tell you. Don't sell yourself too low. It didn't seem much because it's me that try it. If we were to use any other person, I doubt they would live."

The girl in blue dress smile from ear to ear. Her ears flushed red.

"How are the other project faring?"

"Everything is on track. The notes you gave me was really useful. The results turned out better than expected."

"That's great. I might not be of help that much, but still, tell me when you need anything."

"Sister, what are you saying. If not for you to discover our aptitude for alchemy, would we be making potions right now?"

"Even if it's not me, you will find out about it. It's written in your destiny."

"Sister, it's also written in our destiny that the one who guided us this far is you."

"I still couldn't shed my guilt for exposing you guys to this harsh world."

"Sister…" The short girl whimpered.

The girl in blue dress knelt down on her knee. She grasped Aretha's hand in hers. "Sister, if you didn't taught us early on about the way to survive in this harsh world, we wouldn't be here with you. Perhaps, we would be meeting with our fellow villagers already."

"That's right!" The short girl wrapped her arms around Aretha's neck. "Plus, it's those bastards that dragged all of us here. They're the bad guys!"

Aretha patted the arms that wrapped around her. She chuckled. "Right. There's no use in blaming anyone now. Then… Lucy, how was your progress with that?"

"Eh? That? Oh! That~" Lucy let go of her arms that was wrapping Aretha's neck. She took one step backward. She fiddled with her fingers. "About that…"

"Is it a fail?"

"No!No! It's not a fail." She waved her hand frantically. "But… sister, I still didn't finish with experimenting."

"Was there any problem?"

"No, just… I can't use it on anyone."

"Because there might be backlash…"

Lucy nodded. "Sister, I don't think anyone would want to risk their life for something uncertain. There are healer everywhere, so, a potion made from poison to fight poison would have no credibility."

"Lucy, it's true there are healer everywhere, but, they can't heal everything. Plus, because they use lot of mana, the area they can heal is limited. Even in the empire where most talent would gather, they were still unable to heal many poison based injury."

"Hmm…"

"Give it to me, at least we know I won't die for it."

"Sister, I don't understand," Daphne interrupted, "Why did grandpa Bastian and grandma Rea fed you poison?"

"Who knows. Perhaps they could predict one day, it will be of use for me. They worry about me a lot. Perhaps they knew, they won't be able to protect me."

"But, sister… although your body is immune to poison, it also means no potion could work on you either. If you were to get injured, you could only rely on healer."

"Then, I'll just try not to get hurt."

"But—"

"Sister." A tall young man stride closer to the table. He bowed his head. "Rick just came."

Aretha's face turned sour. "What did he come for?"

"He said, Maria asked for you. He told you to go to her office in two hours."

***

The light that came from the window, reflected on the man's silhouette. The light shines on his dark purple hair and his beautiful golden yellow eyes. The black suit draped over his body perfectly match well with his broad shoulder and mass muscle. His waistline complement his broad shoulder, not too small and not too big. It didn't go out of proportion like some other male lead in romance story. He sat on the chair with his long leg crossed and his hand on his thigh.

Maria stole a few glance on that almost perfect figure of his. She quenched her thirst with a cup of tea. 'Such perfect man! If I could, I would pushed him down already!' Maria put down the cup. "Your excellency, there still some time for Ella to arrive. How about some refreshment while waiting?"

His fierce gaze pierced through her. "No need." He blatantly shot down the offer.

His gaze sent shiver down to her bone. But, how could she give up. "I have some old wine. Perhaps, Your Excellency would like to try some?"

He sighed. "No. I only came here to meet her."

Her smile fade away. Her cheeks flushed. Although she might be few years older, she was a unparalleled beauty. Even the younger women could not overthrow her. However, since that girl came in her life, reality proved she could not be at the top forever.

"I apologize on that girl behalf. She was a bit conceited and always make other people wait on her. I hope Your Excellency could forgive her discourtesy." Maria said. She lowered her head, her lip twitched.

The man in front of her is the ruthless and cruel killer from Eins Empire. With one fell swoop, he could slice her neck right here. Yet, she dare to lie and make the man wait. It was a gamble. Whether she could win him over or not.

________________________

*Little Theater*

C.Udon : "Girls, boys. Be careful when you interact with stranger. Be more careful if that stranger is good looking. Cause if they're not, you would already be cautious. 〜(￣▽￣〜)"

Aretha : "Udon. How old is Andino actually?"

C.Udon : "That… um… 3… 8…"

Aretha : "38? (￣_￣|||)"

C.Udon : "Well…"

Aretha : "Everyone. Please be careful. Although it's true some would say age is not the problem, but, do think about it thrice or more. It won't hurt to always be cautious, even toward the most trusted person in your life. You are matter."