Chapter 18: Scent

My entire body was covered in a mix of alchemy substances.

Oliver's new "perfume" from his Alchemy class had been poured onto me in all its glory.

"Damn it!" Oliver yelled, raising his hands in the air. "This experiment could have been a success!" 

"Is this what could have been successful?" I opened my arms to show myself. From head to toe, I smelled like lavender and vanilla. Did it smell nice? Yes. But could such an intense fragrance be carried around? No!

"Well... at least you don't smell like a corpse," Henry intervened, sniffing. "Imagine if it had been something that smelled like rotten eggs."

Edwin was trying to hold back his laughter next to me, but his trembling shoulders gave everything away.

"Should I be happy that it could've been worse?" I grumbled.

"Of course!" Edwin lightly patted my shoulder. "Who knows, maybe you'll become the new fashion scent at the Mansion!"

Ah, the Mansion! I had already started thinking about how the nobles there would react to someone smelling like strong vanilla and lavender.

Oliver, however, was still defending himself. "Technically, this isn't a mistake. This scent is very close to the recipe in Small Alchemy Miracles!"

Henry gave Oliver a sharp look. "Dude, that book definitely didn't say 'turn someone into perfume from head to toe.'"

Oliver grinned. "Well... I added a creative twist."

After the other three's carriages arrived, everyone got into their respective carriages. We were about to get into ours when Young Master furrowed his brow slightly and wrinkled his nose as he turned to Edwin.

"Let Theodore sit outside. The scent is too strong."

Edwin nodded, while I let out a deep sigh. There was nothing to be done; what's done is done. I hadn't wanted the scent either! But by chance, I was the one who ended up being the unwanted person in the big carriage.

When I sat next to Edwin, he also slightly wrinkled his nose and, laughing, said, "Vanilla lavender Theodore, welcome!"

I rolled my eyes. "If you're going to make fun of me, I might as well jump out and walk."

Edwin chuckled and waved his hand. "No, no, don't get me wrong. It's not bad… just a bit too strong. I think as soon as you enter the Mansion with that scent, the servants will escort you straight to the garden."

I couldn't help but laugh. Well, it was what it was. The only thing I could do now was get used to this scent for the time being. In my mind, only one thing was running through my head:

Please, let this scent lighten up a little in the next few hours! Otherwise, as soon as I step through the Mansion door, I'll be greeted by people plugging their noses!

... ... ... 

When we got out of the carriage, Eric was waiting for us in the garden. After getting Genç Efendi out of the carriage, he approached me with a mocking expression on his face and spoke:

"You've turned into one piece. You surprised me."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why are you surprised? What were you expecting?"

Eric raised his hands in the air, adopting an innocent demeanor. "I wasn't expecting anything special. I thought you'd be like the others."

The others? Wait... What happened to them?

When I shot him a questioning look, Eric put his hand on my shoulder, leaned slightly to the side, and began speaking in a whisper:

"You wouldn't believe it, but most of them came back half-dead."

WHAT! Did they actually try to hurt me during the test? I want to retract my idea right now!

Eric's slight mocking expression suddenly crumpled. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air a few times, then narrowed his eyes and leaned toward me.

"Wait a minute... What's that smell?" He tilted his head slightly and examined me carefully. "Is that lavender? Or rose? No... It smells like vanilla too..."

My face stiffened. Here we go…

Eric gently pulled back and exaggeratedly rubbed his nose.

"Dude, what is this, you smell like a botanical garden! Did you fall into a perfume barrel? Or did a flower fairy bless you?"

Just as I was about to snap back at him, Genç Efendi called my name from in front of the door:

"Theodore,"

Genç Efendi had called me from the door. I suppressed the wave of panic inside me and quickly went to his side. As we walked toward the salon, I noticed the staff at the mansion staring at me strangely. One of them lightly sniffed, another furrowed their brows.

I thought it might lighten up a bit in the open air, but Oliver's perfume seemed to be sealed with a permanent spell.

When we arrived in the salon, everyone was there except Count Ashford. Lady Anna was bent over the large center table, drawing a picture in a notebook. The Duchess and Duke were sitting across from each other, drinking tea.

Just as I was about to gather my breath and quietly step back, the Duchess slightly flared her nostrils and spoke:

"What's that sweet scent?"

Sweet? I've literally turned into a walking fragrance bomb, and she's calling it "sweet"?!

The Duke also turned his gaze toward us. At that moment, Genç Efendi had sat down on one of the chairs, pretending not to care, holding a book in his hand.

Just as I was about to explain, someone unexpectedly beat me to it:

"Quite nice, isn't it, Duchess?"

You… weren't you the one who didn't let me into the carriage?! Though I wanted to scream inside, I noticed that the Duchess gave me a meaningful glance in response to Genç Efendi's words.

"Yes, it's quite nice. I think the scent is coming from your assistant. Come closer."

Even though I had a feeling something was off, I carefully moved toward the Duchess. I glanced at Genç Efendi from the corner of my eye, but he was still pretending to be engrossed in his book.

The Duchess placed her delicate fingers on her chin, examining me, and then leaned slightly forward to inhale my scent. 

"Hmm... The lavender is a bit intense, but combined with the rose, it's quite nice. There's also a bit of vanilla, I think?"

After analyzing it a bit more, the Duchess finally said, "You can go now."

I gave a slight bow and quickly stepped back, standing behind Genç Efendi. The gazes from the salon were still on me, but at least the questioning had finished—I thought.

At that moment, Lady Anna lifted her head and looked at me.

"Did you fall into a flower garden?"

A light laugh rose from the salon. I let out a deep breath inside.

Please, please don't continue...

But of course, Eric didn't miss the chance:

"I think you fell into a flower garden and then bathed in a barrel of rose water."

The Duchess smiled faintly as she took a sip of her tea. "Who knows, maybe he's interested in perfume formulas?"

If I spoke now, I would just give Eric and the others more material. Just then, Count Ashford entered, and it was announced that we were moving to the dining room.