∴ ∵ ∴
ROSE slipped on the jet-black dress. This was yet another of many dress fittings she had been through.
Tien was chased out of the room they borrowed for the fitting session, leaving only the seamstress he brought over and Mona to look after Rose.
The wedding was just around the corner now. They were doing the final checks during today’s session. The seamstress had sewn the perfect dress using outstanding techniques, which was proved by how seamlessly it fit Rose’s slender frame, accentuating her shape in all the right places.
She was going to wear dreadfully high heels in order to balance out the height difference between her and Harij during the ceremony. It took every ounce of her concentration just to walk straight in the tight dress and unreliable shoes.
After the seamstress left for the day, Rose fell back on the sofa, exhausted.
“You look beat. Want to have some dessert?”
Rose sat up straight—the proper courtesy for sweets.
She fidgeted as she waited for Mona to finish laying out what Tien had brought. Attractive delicacies decorated the plate—beautiful and delicious at a glance.
“I happened to get a hold of some unusual sweets. Believe it or not, the apple these are made from turns red when boiled.”
This type of confectionary, which was made by thickening jam, was shaped like a perfect teardrop. It glistened like a ruby. Tien had explained it was made from boiled-down apple pulp and then covered in sugar.
The apple drops were gorgeous lined up on the plate, but they were exceptionally more beautiful when Rose held them up to the light with her fingers. Light gathered within the transparent pulp, making it shimmer like a gem. Rose had never seen such a red confection before. Just looking at it made her mouth water.
Rose’s eyes shone as bright as the sweet when she took a bite. It was soft yet firm enough to give her teeth something to enjoy.
What a robust apple flavor! Every bite was packed with rich juices. The sweet yet slightly tart taste and smell spread over her tongue. Rose licked the specks of sugar off her lips.
“By the way, do you know what this is, Rose?”
Tien carefully pulled a small bottle from his bag as he sipped his tea. It looked like the kind of fancy thing the upper class was fond of.
Rose didn’t recognize it. Tien held it out to her, so she returned the apple candy to her plate and went to take it. But she hesitated because her hands were sticky with sugar, so Mona brought her a wet towel. She gratefully accepted it, wiped off her hands, and finally took the bottle from Tien.
“What is this?”
“Want to know?” Tien leaned forward, bringing his face up close to hers. His eyes twinkled like a boy who wanted to boast about the secret fort he just built.
Due to the nature of his job, Tien had access to all sorts of information, but his job also didn’t allow for him to leak any of it to anyone—not even his real father in the privacy of their own home.
But Rose was a witch. Witches never shared private client information, nor did they even have an interest in human affairs. For as long as she could remember, she had been an outlet for Tien to air his dirty laundry.
“I obtained it from a certain source. Word has it it’s a potion secretly gaining in popularity with the august ones of late.”
“Heh. A potion, is it?”
She had a passing interest in anything dubbed a potion. After all, she made a living concocting potions.
“You remember how I mentioned some of my favorite regulars collapsing randomly?”
“Yeah.”
“Rumor has it it’s all due to this. A potion they call ‘the Witch’s Love Potion.’”
Mona shuddered as she was trying to clear away the wet towel. As she did, her hand hit the plate, knocking the apple drops onto the ground, where it almost seemed as if they’d been swallowed. She blanched when she saw them plop onto the rug.
“I-I am so terribly sorry!”
“We don’t mind. Do we, Rose?”
Rose couldn’t agree. The dusting of sugar crystals on the rug looked like the confections were shedding tears.
“Rose, I’ll give you mine. Rose, look at me.”
Rose reluctantly wrenched her gaze away from the weeping apple candies. She looked to the frazzled Mona and said, with all seriousness, “Bring these to the kitchen… I will rinse them off to eat later—”
“Rose!” Tien raised his voice to stop her and waved off Mona to quickly take the soiled treat away. Mona bowed apologetically and departed. “I can’t believe you have become such a big glutton.”
Though he sounded exasperated, he seemed happy to see her develop an attachment to food. Finding that embarrassing, Rose turned her nose up at him.
“Meanwhile, you have always been a big schemer.”
“Me? A schemer? Whyever would you say that?”
“You purposefully brought up this topic while Mona was present because you wanted her to overhear, no?”
She had no doubt he expected Mona to react to the potion bottle, after seeing her stiff expression when they briefly touched on the subject the other day. Mona was close enough to see the bottle because she just so happened to be nearby to deal with the towel, but Rose was starting to suspect Tien deliberately chose this sticky snack for such a reason.
Tien’s foxlike eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t sure but decided to take a gamble since you said she was acting funny the last time the topic came up. I figured there was a chance a new maid might have spotted this potion at another noble’s mansion…” He slowly lifted his head and spoke to the space behind Rose. “…Say, where have you seen this before?”
Mona, who had dutifully returned to the room, stood in the corner looking whiter than a ghost. Brought into the conversation, she wrung out a pathetic reply. “…I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone I heard it from you.”
“…Is that an order?”
For those who served nobility, their lord’s guest was someone they must never upset, even if they had to go to greater lengths to please them than their lord. Mona’s voice was trembling.
“Stop that.” Rose smacked Tien on the head when he sat there silently smiling. “Don’t go coercing people in Sir Harij’s home.”