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“THIS is the rare fabric made from embroidering a flower that only blooms at the bottom of an oasis with beads crafted by a royal glass craftsman. And this is the pelt of a deep-sea monster that only surfaces during the Midnight Sun, which was procured from overseas. This colorful fabric here is indeed dyed with holy water from the Kingdom of Snow—the vivid color won’t fade no matter how often it’s washed.”
“I see…” Rose feigned indifference, though she was overwhelmed.
Colorful and resplendent fabrics were laid out in front of her, taking up more space than the narrow room had to offer. There was barely a place to stand because of Rose’s laziness with cleaning up, which spoke volumes of the merchant’s talent for displaying his wares.
“Now then, has anything caught your fancy, fair Witch of the Lake Rose?” asked the fox-eyed man who made even a humble witch feel like a princess. Tien Công, the merchant who had been selling to her family since her grandmother’s generation, smiled.
Rose held up one of the fabrics to hide from his all-knowing smile.
Her current predicament was caused by what was meant to be a casual request.
“By any chance, could you sell me a robe? Anything will do.”
Rose had broached the subject with an air of indifference while selling potions to Tien. But the merchant had known her since she was a little girl. His intuition picked up on more than what she was saying. The next day, he ferried across a store’s worth of goods on the boat, nearly tipping over in the process.
“By the way, I highly recommend the lavender material. I would love to see you in rose pink the most, but—”
“Absolutely not.”
Shuddering, Rose shook her head at the cloth he held up, which was so brightly colored it stung the eyes.
“I thought you would say that.”
Tien’s smart-aleck shrug irked Rose. She wanted to shove a pill in his mouth that “makes a monster with a black luster descend upside down when placed in the corner of the house.”
“Why did you only bring bright colors…?”
“You, the girl who didn’t have the slightest interest in dressing up because you could still wear your mother’s hand-me-downs, asked me for clothing. Can you blame me for going all-out? You wouldn’t even let me make you a robe after you took on the title of Witch of the Lake, despite how much I tried to persuade you. Don’t worry about the cost. Allow me to gift it to you as a belated present. I’ll prepare a whole set for you with a bang. Something adorable.”
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“Something adorable…”
Am I stuck as a ten-year-old in Tien’s mind? Rose was slightly disturbed by how carried away Tien was getting.
Her first meeting with Tien was from behind her grandmother’s skirt. Meeting a young man for the first time was so frightening as a little girl, she hid behind her grandmother. Tien’s appearance hadn’t changed much since then. He was more than ten years her senior, but he descended from people of a distant foreign land and appeared much younger than he actually was.
From an early age, Tien learned the trade by accompanying his father peddling wares. And a good decade ago, he took charge of the Witch of the Lake account.
As with his father, Tien treated them well, and the change wasn’t an inconvenience. The Côngs had been very accommodating all the way back to her grandmother’s era. Without them, Rose may not have even been able to give her grandmother a proper burial.
Rose couldn’t reject him too hard because of what his family had done for hers. At her wit’s end, she swept her gaze over the flood of colors covering the room. She didn’t know much about fashion, but she could tell each fabric was first-class material carefully selected per Tien’s unique tastes. She couldn’t risk wearing them to work in the mud, boil nuts, make herbal decoctions, or do any of the many other dirty jobs her work as a witch entailed.
None of the colors seem to suit me, but I know he wouldn’t bring anything that will look bad on me. Then she spotted a deep indigo material in the sea of bright colors and unwittingly smiled.
“What’s this? Did that one catch your eye? Hold on a moment. Let’s see how it looks against you.”
“Don’t. Tien, just stop,” she commanded, grabbing hold of Tien’s sleeve. Perhaps she spoke too strongly; she was practically admitting that she had an interest.
The indigo fabric was the exact same shade as Harij’s cloak. Wearing a robe tailored from that fabric would surely make her feel like she was wrapped in his mantle. But then she ran the very real risk of being absolutely distracted by her clothing.
Tien pulled a large catalogue from his bags, seemingly deciding to cut Rose a little slack because she was acting different from usual.
“See if there’s anything you like in here. These are the colors that will look good on you.”
Several dozen sample fabrics were glued to the page he opened up to her. Rose poked her face out of the hood and took a closer look at it.
“This material and this material may look plain, but they have been woven to have a floral pattern that really stands out under sunlight.”
“I rarely venture outside when it’s sunny, so I prefer something without any gimmicks. Something I would feel comfortable wearing all the time.”
“Then this is the color for you. It’s called viridian blue—the color of your beloved forest,” Tien explained in a soft and calm voice. Rose felt more comfortable with his recommendations when he wasn’t overly excited. He pinched a fabric between his fingers. It was the same color of the forest reflected on the lake.
Rose’s expression didn’t change, but seeing the way she was captivated by the single fabric, Tien smiled. “Let’s go with this one. It’s woven using silk and gold thread, which makes it exceptionally more beautiful under lamplight.”
“It’s not like I’m trying to be prettier for someone—”
“Either way, it is my obligation as a merchant to explain my wares regardless of what the customer is going to use it for.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Tien offered a satisfied little smile when Rose pressed her lips in a flat line.
“Now then, how about some lipstick and blush while we are at it? It will give you a rosy complexion.”
“My complexion will be rosy enough if I slap my cheeks.”
“I can’t stand for my adorable witch constantly slapping her cheeks to give them color. Pinks with a bluish tint will look absolutely wonderful on your porcelain-white skin.”
“Are you implying I look pale because I don’t go out in the sun much?”
“You have had the bad habit of interpreting everything said to you in a negative light since you were a little girl. All right, which lipstick container do you prefer? On this one you can see the side profile of Countess Taguil, a fashionista famed throughout the royal capital, while this container made with mother-of-pearl took the craftsman three years to create.”
Tien ended up gifting Rose with all sorts of goodies because she couldn’t make up her mind. Rightly assuming he wouldn’t stop even if she asked him to, Rose gave up making remarks for the latter half of their time together.
Rose returned to brewing potions then, too, but that didn’t stop Tien from coming back several days later with a literal boatload of goods, exasperating the Witch beyond words.