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ONCE he finished his bath, I wrapped him in a fluffy towel and led him into the other room. I had him sit on a stool while I changed out of my wet apron dress. I wanted to take a bath, but I’ll do that later. He’s completely naked anyways, so I shouldn’t just let him be. I took a black and white apron dress out of the closet and swiftly changed into it before returning to Mr. Julius.
I decided to dry his damp hair with my wind magic. I could’ve made something with alchemy, but it was easier with magic. As warm air came out from my hands, Mr. Julius’s hair was dried in an instant.
“Oh! You’re quite handsome, aren’t you? I think cleaning you up made you look much better,” I said.
His sparkly golden hair, which was like a ray of sun on a cloudy day, had gotten its shine back. It was straight with no curls but cut very unevenly. Some cascaded down to his shoulders, while other parts only went to his neck. From between the locks of his hair that seemed to hide his right eye, a beautiful almond-shaped left eye surrounded by golden eyelashes peered at me. He was tall and muscular. The scars on his body seemed to emphasize his beauty. He initially seemed a lot older than me, but he appeared to be in his late twenties at most, making him only a little older. My former fiancé, Cyril, was quite the handsome man, but when compared to Mr. Julius, he seemed to fall short.
“You’re normal-looking, Chloe,” Mr. Julius remarked.
“Shut up! I was called pretty in the past, okay? I’m still a beautiful alchemist, though!” I snapped.
“That’s good to hear.”
“You’re mocking me, aren’t you? Aren’t you? Well, whatever. Since I’m so kind, I’ll even prepare some clothes for you. I don’t know your size, though, so here’s a one-size-fits-all robe.” I hurriedly went to my closet and picked out a black robe. I chose the largest size, so it felt heavy in my arms.
Well, too big is better than too small. I put the large robe on him headfirst. It had a hood, sleeves, and was large enough to cover his feet. I took the towel he had wrapped around his waist and threw it in the laundry basket in the dressing room. As I returned, I saw him lying on my bed.
It didn’t have a canopy and was a simple double bed. It was fitted with cute flower-patterned sheets that I had purchased from a nearby shop. Though the large Mr. Julius in his black robe was able to fit on my bed, the sheets didn’t suit him at all.
I walked up to him and tugged on his robe. “What are you sleeping here for? This is my bed.”
“I feel refreshed after taking a bath. I want to take a nap,” he replied.
“Do you always go at your own pace? We still have quite a bit of stuff to do, like buying you clothes and weapons.”
“Buy whatever. I’ll be fine if I have a sword and a spear. The blades can even be dull.”
“I can’t carry heavy weapons, and you’re my slave. You can’t leave my side.”
“Then let’s go tomorrow.”
“Are you a child? That’s my bed. Move.”
He looked up at me from the bed, an amused twinkle in his eyes. “Our contract is that I have to always stay near you, close enough to hear your voice, yeah? That means I have to sleep in the same room as you. The other condition is that I can’t do anything you dislike. Since I’m not getting punished for this, clearly you don’t dislike what I’m doing.”
“Are you a detective? Jeez. Are you that tired?”
“I had to be on guard every day to make sure I wouldn’t get murdered in my sleep. Talking with an idiot like you is much more relaxing.”
He yawned a little. He really does seem sleepy.
“Fine. I’ll go make your artificial eye, so you can sleep. I’m really treating you the best that anyone ever could, so be grateful.”
“Well, thank you,” he replied lazily and closed his eyes. After a minute, I could hear his breathing—he had fallen asleep.
Like me, he’s been through quite a bit. I should let him be. I don’t have any urgent requests anyway.
I stepped away from him and prepared to take a bath. As I finished and came out, he was still fast asleep. His eyelashes from his closed eyelids had created a shadow over his cheeks. The lack of his right eye felt unfitting for his beautiful face, and I was determined to add an eye to that wound. There was some scarring, but I felt it would look a lot better if I added an eye and cast some healing magic on the area.
I went down to the first floor and stood in from of my alchemy furnace.
“Materials for an artificial eye are an Evil Eye’s eyeball, an Unseeing Crystal Lens, Glittering Holy Water, and since I want it to be red, I’ll add a ruby to it. What additional abilities should I add? I should make it something useful. Maybe I’ll use the Glasses of Truth,” I mumbled.
I went over to my infinite storage trunk, took the materials out, and tossed them into the black alchemy furnace. The materials dissolved into the purified water that I had in the furnace. As I put my hands above it, I constructed an image of the ingredients and the final product in my head and poured my magic in.
The purified water glowed with a rainbow light, and an artificial eye rose to the surface. I pinched the eyeball with my fingers. A red iris was in the middle of the white eyeball.
“It’s very well-made. As I thought, I’m a genius alchemist,” I said as I put the eyeball onto a petri dish. A small hexagram pattern could be seen in the red iris. The pattern was proof that the ability, Anagram of Truth, had been successfully applied. It was a good ability, so I was sure that Mr. Julius would be satisfied.
I took the petri dish and headed back to my room. The sun was setting, but he was still fast asleep on my bed. I headed towards him to fit this eyeball into his socket. Isn’t it weird that I’m approaching him like this? This is my room and my bed. Why does it seem like this is his room now? Is it because of his aura as a former general?
I approached him. He was sound asleep and breathing regularly on my cute bed that was illuminated by the late afternoon sun. After pondering over whether I should wake him up, my curiosity had won out, and I decided to fit him with this eyeball. I put the petri dish on my bedside table.
“Mr. Julius, wake up. It’s night already. Nighttime. Let’s have dinner,” I called. I peered in closer at him as I tried to tug on his robe. In the next instant, he opened his eyes and twisted my arm. As I met his cold stare, I flashed a goofy smile. “Good morning, Mr. Julius,” I said.