“Good morning, Miss Misfortune Devouring Witch. I’ve come to call on you once again.”
Yuuri met Ernest’s perfect smile with a stony face.
If he’s going to show up, he could have at least offered to give me a ride home in his carriage, Yuuri sighed.
“Good morning, Count—oh, that’s right. You don’t like me calling you by your title.”
Ernest was an attendant to the royal family with the title of count. Yet he was kind, lacking the haughtiness and unapproachability that plagued the nobility. On the other hand, he came off as very frivolous and vexing for his age. And his shimmering gold locks and sapphire eyes stood in sharp contrast to Yuuri’s jet-black hair and eyes.
He seemed to glow in the sunlight, making the distance between him and Yuuri feel vaster than ever. She wondered whether he treated other girls the same way he treated her. Her social circle was so terribly small, she found it difficult to imagine their interactions. And what she did imagine proved too unpleasant, so she stopped.
“No, I don’t. You promised to start calling me Ernest, so why won’t you?” Ernest implored, playfully snatching away Yuuri’s basket.
Yuuri used her freed hand to pull the key from around her neck, the one Ernest had gotten her the other day, and unlock the door.
“This heat wave seems to have come out of nowhere. At least you’re dressed appropriately. You look nice today,” he remarked as she stepped inside.
Yuuri was wearing an airy dress and her hair was pulled back with a ribbon made from the same cloth as a Hinomoto kimono. She always wore the haori her brother sent her around the house, but in this weather the haori was unnecessary. The ribbon was the only thing she wore from Hinomoto, and naturally it was a gift from her brother.
She should have been genuinely pleased at the compliment, but she instead lowered her head to hide her reddening cheeks. “Lord Ernest, what have you come for today?”
The shelves lined with jars of mysterious roots, frogs preserved in alcohol, and scrolls written in foreign script all seemed befitting of a witch’s shop, but Ernest never came with the intent to buy such things.
“Shall we have some lemonade?” Ernest suggested, taking his usual seat on the couch after setting the shopping basket on the counter. He crossed his legs and made himself comfortable as if this were his home.
“This is a shop meant for paying customers, or have you forgotten?” Translation: this wasn’t a cafe. But despite Yuuri scowling at him, he was unflappable, returning her glare with a broad grin.
“Now, Miss Yuuri, should you really say something like that to me of all people?”
“What do you mean?”
Yuuri had a bad feeling about this. His tone, his mischievous smile. He was planning something.
“The other day, while you were sleeping, I’m pretty sure I heard—”
“I-I didn’t say anything! I don’t remember anything! Just hush and I’ll go get your lemonade!”
Yuuri had hoped he’d at least pretend to forget the words that had slipped from her when she was delirious with the fever. She grabbed her shopping basket and darted into the back. She stored the produce she had bought that morning in the pantry and set to work making lemonade. She already had some lemon syrup set aside, so she diluted it with water.
She had her own special lemonade recipe. After peeling the skin off the lemon, she sprinkled it with sugar and let it sit. Everyone had their own recipe, but Yuuri still worried that Ernest would mock her for having a childish palate. She gave it some thought, then added a mint leaf to the lemonade, hoping it would give the zesty drink a manly twist.
Yuuri set the lemonade glasses on a tray and ferried it out to Ernest. She had fled the room to avoid talking about what had happened, but Ernest seemed to have already forgotten about it as he casually accepted a glass. He really didn’t seem like he wanted to cause Yuuri pain. But his mischievous nature and tendency to tease her made him hard to read. She sat next to Ernest, telling herself it was really just because there was nowhere else to sit.
“Ahh, there’s nothing like lemonade on a hot day. This is delicious, Miss Yuuri.”
Yuuri wondered just how long he had been standing outside waiting for her, because he must have been parched, as he drained the lemonade in one gulp.
“I’ve a favor to ask you. I need your help… Specifically, I need your insight.”
“Again?”
“Yes, again. I’ve found myself embroiled in another cumbersome situation. Do you know why this keeps happening to me?” Ernest stared at her with a serious expression.
“I don’t. Nor am I certain that I can be of much help. But I can listen to what you have to say.”
“Thank you. Will the usual…reward suffice?”
Yuuri emitted a soft gulp, then nodded once. She hoped he wouldn’t be able to see her cheeks glowing scarlet in the dimly lit room.
“My good friend, a man by the name of Leonard who is a viscount’s son, recently broke up with his fiancée. To put it bluntly, I’d like you to mediate the dispute between them. Will you help us?”
“I doubt I would be of much help in such matters. Do you really think I’m the best person to mediate a lovers’ quarrel?” Matters of Eastern medicine and trade were the only two topics Yuuri was wholly confident within her scope of knowledge. She scarcely had a friend, let alone enough experience socially to mediate a dispute between lovers.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a love potion for sale, would you?”
“L-Love potion?!” Yuuri nearly spat out her lemonade.
She was genuinely shocked at how casually he suggested the idea. She never would have expected that nonsense out of Ernest, and honestly, the suggestion irritated her. She downed the rest of her lemonade, hoping it would calm her nerves, then set the empty glass on the table.
“Magic potions are expensive! And the effects aren’t permanent. I know of some that may alter a person’s state temporarily. But a love forged under false pretenses will only hurt both parties in the long run,” Yuuri said, angrily stating conventional wisdom despite her lack of social experience.
“All right. Then how about a potion to make someone speak their true feelings?”
“True feelings? There is such a thing as truth serum. Someone as involved with national security as yourself should know that much. But why would a little shop like mine carry something so potent?”
There was little difference in the fundamentals of Eastern and Hylantian medicine. If the medicine had a positive effect in one area, then there were bound to be side effects. And what was poisonous in one country was poisonous everywhere—the same applied to what was medicinal. Those principles were always the same.
The only major difference was what plants, animals, and minerals were available in each region.
“Well, that is quite the disappointing answer coming from a witch.”
“Just so you know, that’s not normally something a witch like myself would dabble in.”
Ernest looked disappointed. Yuuri felt equally so. Because if she couldn’t fulfill his request, she couldn’t reap the sweet reward.
“This should come as no surprise, but I am not like the witches portrayed in fairy tales. I can’t make miracles happen. I merely possess different medical and herbal knowledge from the people of your country.”
“Don’t say no so easily. At least meet with Leonard once—give him another woman’s opinion! Now, we’ve got to go get ready!” Ernest leapt off the couch and offered Yuuri his hand.
“Wait, you want me to go outside now…?”
The shut-in witch had to muster a great deal of courage whenever she left the house. Going out that morning had drained her of energy as it was, but the sun would only climb higher as the day went on.
“That’s why I tried to get here as early as I could. Don’t worry, my carriage is waiting.”
“P-Pardon?”
Ernest brought the empty glasses to the kitchen and grabbed Yuuri’s parasol. Ever since that time she was sick, he lost all hesitation over entering her living quarters.
He grabbed the petite witch’s hand and dragged her outside under the cover of her parasol.