A few hours later...
Cecily was back in the Snowflower Palace, in a room by herself. After all, the Celestial Knight Brigade had just come back from their mission in the northern mountain range. They had finished their mission report at the castle, but they now needed to recover from the pent-up exhaustion after traveling, battling magical beasts, and sleeping rough. Rest came before chatting.
As for Zeke, he had finished his reports too, then gone off to bathe to get rid of the sweat from his long journey. Cecily was waiting impatiently, hoping he would return at any moment.
He said he had something he wanted to talk about in private...
Even a minute—a second—without Zeke seemed to last an eternity.
A knock broke the silence. Cecily got up and rushed to the door, and there Zeke was.
“Sorry you’re seeing me like this...”
“It’s fine.”
Cecily nonchalantly took Zeke’s hands in her own, but secretly her heart was racing.
Zeke’s hair was still wet, and his cheeks were red from the hot water. Maybe he was feeling warm, for his white shirt was open at the top. His collarbone, broad chest, and pecs, which were usually hidden, were on full display, and Cecily couldn’t help but feel dizzy.
H-He’s amazingly cool.
Zeke was devastatingly handsome. Cecily didn’t know who’d come up with that turn of phrase, but Zeke was the very picture of it.
She smiled at Zeke before closing the door. Zeke sat on the bed, and she sat down too, a little distance from him.
They remained in silence for a little while, though Cecily couldn’t help but glance over at Zeke. More accurately, at his lips.
I can’t believe I kissed him!
At the end of the fairy tale, the princess and the prince would kiss. That was how it always went.
Their gentle, storybook-like kiss had been enough to set Cecily’s heart racing. She was proud of herself for not fainting there and then.
They were on the same page now, yet Zeke had something he needed to tell her. Cecily fidgeted nervously before Zeke spoke in a quiet voice.
“You tried to get me to drink a love potion, huh...?”
Cecily jumped in surprise. Although the mixture had been more akin to a tomato and burdock root juice (with some cut-up hemp rope), the fact of the matter was that Cecily had made what she thought was a love potion, and wanted Zeke to drink it.
“I really am sorry, Zeke...”
Cecily turned to Zeke and bowed her head in apology. In all honesty, it wasn’t Nora or anyone else Cecily should have apologized to, but Zeke.
Even if it wasn’t actually a love potion, it doesn’t change the fact that I made it with the aim of getting him to drink it.
“Cecily, raise your head. I’m not scolding you. I...think you’re incredible.”
“Me? Incredible?”
Cecily looked at Zeke with confusion. Before she could ask what he meant, Zeke went on.
“You plucked up your courage to invite me to dinner to get me to drink this potion. But what about me? I wanted to meet you again, it’s true, but I didn’t even think to invite you to dinner or anything like that.”
Cecily listened in silence.
“The existence of our relationship is all thanks to you. If you hadn’t gotten me to drink that honesty potion, I would never have been able to tell you how I felt. Things would have ended with all of these thoughts—that you were pretty, or that I liked you—simply remaining buried at the bottom of my heart.”
Thus, Zeke laid his feelings bare to Cecily. It must have taken real courage to expose these thoughts to her. He seemed so wonderful in this moment, but Cecily restrained those emotions and simply put her hand over Zeke’s. It was still warm from the bath.
“I know, but... But I’m the same way.”
“Cecily?”
“You might get angry with me for this, but if you hadn’t said anything to me then, I think that day would have ended without me saying anything either.”
Zeke’s face crumpled into a soft smile.
“Then...that potion was a necessary ingredient for our relationship.”
He squeezed Cecily’s hand.
“But I’m a pitiful man. To think I couldn’t explain my feelings without the help of a magic potion...”
“That’s not true...”
“I’m...scared. Scared of what will happen when the effects of this potion run out. You might hate me if I become someone who can’t express himself.”
Neither of them knew how long the effects of the potion would last. When would they come to an end? Today? Tomorrow? Or maybe a few seconds from now?
But Cecily shook her head.
“All of your honest feelings that you’ve shared with me until now are my treasures. That’s not all. Nothing changes the fact that you’re kind, and I love that side of you.”
It was true that Zeke’s passionate words and actions had been intense and often put her at his mercy, but it wasn’t solely that which had caused Cecily to fall for Zeke. Cecily didn’t care if Zeke one day ended up becoming a silent person. If saying he loved her or he thought she was pretty ended up being something that required so much effort on his part, then she would simply gather those precious few words together like flowers, and treasure them.
“If you end up becoming a quiet person, then I’ll just talk enough for the both of us! I’ll say ‘good morning’ or ‘I love you’ as much as you like. Every day, lots and lots. So don’t be so hard on yourself, Zeke. It’s not your fault that you can’t be so honest all the time. Please don’t hate yourself.”
Zeke’s hazel eyes began to swim.
“Cecily...”
But in the next moment, a loud bang came from the window.
Cecily let out a scream and instinctively grabbed onto Zeke. Whatever it was had ruined their delicate moment. Had a bird crashed into the window?
“What happened?”
A voice came in through the window.
“Cecily! I know a beautiful woman like myself shouldn’t interrupt a conversation between lovers—sorry!”
“Mom?!”
It was Greta. Her bewitching silhouette could be seen through the curtain. She began to speak quickly.
“There was something important I forgot to tell you. It’s about the potion that will make the drinker completely and utterly honest with the person who made them drink it. Its effects only last half a day or so.”
“Really?!”
“It was originally made for confessions, so that’s no surprise, huh? Anyway, see you later!”
Greta’s silhouette gradually faded away. The weirdness of the situation was compounded by the fact that they were up on the second floor...
Left in silence, the pair looked at each other.
Cecily was in shock, but Zeke was smiling. Cecily placed her hands in front of her to try to tamp down on the strange mood that had settled over them.
“H-Hold on. Does that mean that you were back to normal the day after that dinner? Not affected by a love potion or an honesty potion?”
“Now that you mention it, I think so. Although I think it’s true that the honesty potion has caused me to speak more honestly in general.”
So that means everything Zeke has said to me until now...
Cecily was starting to realize something quite amazing.
Zeke took Cecily’s hand as she was in thought and laid a kiss upon her palm. She quivered in shock—her hand was more sensitive than she’d realized.
She stared up at Zeke with an expression that said knock it off, but he placed more kisses over her palm, and at the base of each finger. Almost as if he wouldn’t be satisfied without having loved every part of her.
Cecily’s breath came in fits and bursts at this display of physical intimacy.
“St-Stop it, Zeke!”
“Why?”
“B-Because I’ve only experienced romance through my picture books! I-I’ve never done anything past a kiss!”
Theirs had been a romantic and innocent kiss. It was the pinnacle of Cecily’s happiness so far.
But every time Zeke touched her, she felt electricity running through her. Her picture books had said nothing about this.
“Neither have I. But I’d like to learn what comes next with you.”
“Y-You say that, but— Eep!”
Zeke’s hand was stroking her cheek.
Goose bumps rippled over Cecily’s back. Her little scream wasn’t ladylike in the slightest.
She felt scared, like she wanted to run away. But her body wouldn’t move. Completely entranced, Cecily let her flaxen hair be stroked by Zeke. All her senses were focused on the places where his hands touched her.
“I-I-I need to make it quickly!”
“Make what?”
Having completely lost control of herself, Cecily shouted her next words. “A potion that will calm down a certain man who’s far too assertive!”
Zeke was taken aback, but only for a moment, for then he started to chuckle.
“That won’t work on a guy like me.”
“Wh-Why?”
Cecily pouted. Zeke whispered into her ear in a low, gravelly voice.
“I told you that day, didn’t I, Cecily? Our deep love for one another will only accelerate.”
Cecily could only make a frustrated sound in reply.
Zeke’s face came even closer, as if to tell her she shouldn’t fight her feelings any longer. It was then that Cecily understood something. Although Greta had said otherwise, Cecily was sure that the two of them wouldn’t need any kind of potion to help them out again.