“Y-You remember me?”
“Of course. From the knickknack shop.”
He remembered me!
The joy from this minor event left Cecily tongue-tied.
I can’t let my heart start racing at something so trivial!
Right now, Cecily was a witch fueled by revenge. He had played with her heart and had cruelly let her down. And she had vowed to make him drink this love potion.
Zeke was peering down at her with those hazel eyes of his. She stared back—at his nose—as she asked of him in a quivering voice, “Do you, um, want to perhaps maybe go for dinner?”
That was way too direct!
When she had practiced what she was going to say in her head beforehand, she had imagined herself easing into the topic with some nonchalant small talk first! She’d meant to say something natural like, “Oh, have you eaten yet, by the way?”
I can’t be too hard on myself... I’ve never asked a guy out to dinner before.
Cecily’s vision went blurry with stress as she tapped her index fingers together as if she were knitting. Anyone watching would have been suspicious of her right now, but that wasn’t what she was worrying about.
What does Zeke think of me?
Feeling as if her furiously pounding heart was going to crush her from the inside, she peered up at him.
“Hm? Dinner?”
As expected, his eyes were wide in surprise.
Cecily could already feel a twinge of disappointment, but she knew that if he turned her down here, she would never get another chance to get him to drink the love potion. She needed to get him to agree to go with her, no matter what.
“I-I’ll pay! So, please!”
Without a care as to how it would look, she bowed her head to implore him, attracting stares from passersby.
Perhaps made uncomfortable by the attention, Zeke said, with some urgency in his voice, “Please stop that! I’ll come with you, so please, raise your head. And please allow me to pay.”
“Huh? O-Okay, but...”
“Is there anywhere you want to go? Anything you want to eat?”
As Cecily shook her head up and down and nodded it left and right, Zeke led her to a restaurant near the noble district.
Compared to the popular cafeteria from before, the restaurant had a somewhat sophisticated air to it. Still in a daze, Cecily watched as Zeke whispered something to one of the staff before they were both led upstairs to a private table.
However, there was an open atrium which gave a view of the first floor, meaning that they weren’t in a completely secluded space. For Cecily, who didn’t like the attention of strangers, it was perfect.
Did he choose this table for me?
As she realized this, her heart skipped a beat.
I said stop racing, stupid heart!
Cecily couldn’t help but react each time Zeke showed her kindness.
Perhaps unsure of what to do with her, Zeke pulled out a chair for her and urged her to sit down. Again, her heart skipped another beat. Every time she thought she was getting somewhere with her feelings, she was won over again.
Despite the extra time it took, they finally settled down at the table, facing one another.
Zeke let out a polite cough.
“Oh, right, I still haven’t introduced myself properly. My name is Zeke Stein. I’m the captain of a group of knights called the Celestial Knight Brigade.”
“I...”
“...know,” is what she couldn’t say.
Instead, she bobbed her head politely.
“M-My name’s Cecily.”
“Cecily, huh? A good name you’ve got there.”
Cecily’s chest filled with a wave of warmth.
I told you to stop losing it over every little thing!
As Cecily trembled in annoyance at herself, she heard the burbling of liquid. It was the love potion in her bag.
That’s right. I need to somehow force him to drink this love potion during this meal!
Totally unaware of the resolve burning within Cecily, Zeke pointed at the menu.
“Would you be happy with some fruit-infused water? If you’d prefer something alcoholic, we can get that too.”
In the Carzenia Kingdom, one became an adult at the age of sixteen. And when it came to witches, many of them could hold their drink as they often tested whole ranges of different potions on themselves. However, Cecily wasn’t a fan of the taste of alcohol. She would much prefer some water that had been flavored by freshly squeezed citrus fruits.
“I’m happy with the fruit-infused water. How about you, Sir Zeke?”
“Let’s see... I’ll have the same.” Upon seeing Cecily’s confusion, he continued. “I don’t intend to drink booze when I’m alone with a woman.”
Cecily’s gasp was almost audible. Was the reason she was so overjoyed by this really only because she knew so little about interacting with men? Or maybe the world was full of people who were considerate around women. Cecily didn’t know.
Zeke called for a waiter and ordered the drinks as well as some simple dishes.
As they waited for the drinks to arrive, Zeke spoke again.
“Do you live in the capital, Cecily?”
“Oh, no, I live alone outside the city.”
Technically, in the forest outside the city.
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise, but fortunately he hadn’t seen through her white lie.
“Alone? What about your parents?”
“Well, due to a particular rule of witch society, I was...thrown out of my home.”
“You were thrown out?!”
Cecily flinched in surprise at Zeke’s sudden exclamation, and seeing her fear, Zeke clapped his hands over his mouth.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay.”
It’s my fault for not giving him a full explanation.
“Um, the thing is, the rule actually states that a witch must leave her village and travel the wider world for two years once she turns fifteen. I didn’t want to leave, but that’s the rule, so I had to.”
Choosing her words carefully, Cecily explained the situation to Zeke.
“I didn’t realize that witch society had such a strict rule,” Zeke murmured to himself. He fell into silence and didn’t say anything further on the matter. Instead, he went on, “By the way, Cecily...”
Cecily panicked at his words. This isn’t good. At this rate, he’ll be in control of the conversation.
In fact, Zeke had long since been controlling the flow of their conversation, but Cecily couldn’t afford to let this continue lest she miss the opportunity to enact her plan. She took a deep breath and forced her mouth open.
“U-Um, erm, you must be quite popular with the ladies, Sir Zeke.”
“Excuse me?”
No matter how much she tried, the fact of the matter was that Cecily had practically zero communication skills. Her change of topic was far too sudden.
However, it seemed that Zeke had gauged from her serious expression that she wasn’t merely joking with him. He put his hand to his jaw, as if deep in thought.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience where I’ve been seen as attractive to a woman.”
“What?”
Cecily couldn’t believe it. She blinked, and Zeke scratched his chin.
“I’m the third son of a merchant family. My father purchased a noble rank for our family, so on paper I’m the third son of a baron, but in all honesty I’m from a pretty no-name family. I turned twenty this year, but unlike my brothers, I don’t even have a fiancée.”
Thank goodness!
Cecily quickly wiped away the smile that crept across her face.
Ignoring the way that Cecily was massaging her cheek muscles, Zeke looked off into the distance.
“The people I’m tasked with protecting get scared of me. Sometimes when I’m out on patrol, I’ve made women and children cry too.”
“Because they’re scared of you?”
“Yeah. As you can probably see, I’m not easy on the eyes whatsoever. Nothing I can do about that, though.”
As he shrugged, Cecily took a hard look at him.
But he’s so wonderful.
It was true that he was tall and had a gruff expression. And that his brow was constantly furrowed, as if in anger. And that he had a fierce look in his eye and a deep voice. Cecily could concede that there might have been people who were scared of the slight air of violence which seemed to follow him.
However, this was an impression that would easily vanish once you talked to him. Upon a closer look, she saw that his features were handsome—his hazel eyes were beautiful and intelligent. The words that fell from his slender lips were kind and gentlemanly.
I don’t think there’s anyone who’s more suited to this gallant knights’ uniform. Not only that...
How strange. Just like a wellspring of water, Zeke’s positive traits kept popping into her head.
“I’m sorry. This is probably just making you feel awkward.”
Cecily shook her head at Zeke’s apology.
“I don’t usually talk about this stuff with people,” he added.
Zeke tilted his head, as if wondering what it was that got him talking about it. Cecily quietly watched his well-positioned features.
He’s simply surrounded by people who can’t see him for who he is.
A new wave of frustration passed over her. If she hadn’t been a witch but a normal young woman, then she would have simply been head over heels for him.
The pair clinked their newly arrived glasses of fruit-flavored water together.
Just as Cecily removed her lips from the glass after taking a sip, Zeke spoke.
“Can I ask something, Cecily?”
“Wh-What is it?”
“Did you come to me because you’re in trouble of some sort?”
This line was the nail in the coffin.
Taken by surprise, all Cecily could do was nod as tears started to well up in her eyes.
She finally realized why Zeke had accepted an invitation from a woman—a witch—that he barely knew without doubt or hesitation in his heart. He had thought that Cecily perhaps had something she wanted to tell him that she couldn’t say in public, which is why he had gone to the effort of setting up this private table for them.
He truly is kind.
Cecily realized then and there that she couldn’t force a good person like this to drink such a cowardly concoction.
She had been buoyed by a wave of passion, and by her desire for revenge, when she had concocted the potion, but the truth of the matter was that Zeke had done nothing wrong. It was Cecily’s fault for searching for him, eavesdropping on him, and being shocked by what she then heard.
If she had simply been content to hold the memories of his gallant rescue at the knickknack store in her heart, then she wouldn’t have gotten into this situation. It was Cecily who had created this situation for herself.