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~Chapter 49~
“Why do I need such a fake story?”
“I already told you, Shariette. We plan to give you every reward we can.”
To a pharmacist who didn’t even understand the meaning of a piece of paper, the Duke and Duchess worked hard to explain the good points.
“Even if it’s only in name, people will treat you very differently. Of course, no one would dare touch someone protected by the Rubellots.”
As he said this, the Duke quietly looked at Shariette’s finger — the one where a ring had once been.
The Duchess, who knew Shariette a bit more, chose words that would strike her heart.
“Oh, didn’t you say you wanted to open a pharmacy someday? It would be easier with taxes, loans, and business rights. Why do you think the Varein pharmacy became so successful?”
Hmm. Maybe this isn’t bad?
“Did the Genoa boy come here?”
Noxian burst into the pharmacy and asked at once.
Like his mother, he also looked displeased.
“Yes. He came to thank me for saving his mother and offered to escort me.”
Her calm answer made a sharp, crooked smile appear on his lips.
“Aha. So that’s what happened.”
Noxian guessed it was because of the tearoom incident a while ago. Count Genoa, who had been making trouble for two years with trade routes, suddenly changed his attitude and became friendly.
For the Rubellots, the difficult matter the king had pushed onto them had been solved thanks to Shariette.
That much was fine.
But why did his son come here?
And what? He offered something?
“So what then?”
Noxian stepped closer, placing his hand on the desk and staring down at Shariette.
But Shariette, busy checking a test tube, replied casually.
“He must have thought I’d attend the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet. Since I saved his mother, maybe he just wanted to help me so I don’t trip and hit my head on the marble floor.”
The pale yellow liquid turned blue when it touched a colorless reagent.
‘Oh, success!’
Noxian, staring at her careless white head, let out a sigh.
“Yes, there is such an event. I forgot, since it doesn’t matter to me.”
His voice dropped heavily.
“Doesn’t matter? You’re the heir of the Rubellot Duke.”
In Shariette’s mind, she pictured a simple hierarchy chart.
King. Queen. Prince. Duke. Marquis… it went like that.
The Rubellots shone brightly near the top.
“There are special reasons. That’s why I’ve avoided it until now.”
“Special reasons?”
Shariette finally looked up from the test tube.
The first thing she saw was a bitter smile.
“…?!”
What kind of smile was that?
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she had seen wrong. But no — his face stayed the same.
‘What kind of reason makes him smile like that?’
“What special reason?”
Finally, he looked at her properly.
Noxian raised a hand and covered his mouth. It made his face look darker and heavier.
“…A long time ago, I went through something unpleasant.”
Shariette flinched. She had many things in her past that could be called “unpleasant.”
His shadowed face looked strangely familiar.
“After that incident, I couldn’t stand people touching me. Especially women.”
“……”
The snowball of karma rolled in again, hitting Shariette on the back.
‘Hmm. That… actually makes sense.’
The brainwashing potion Noxian had been forced to drink had been made by Shariette herself. She knew better than anyone what its effects were.
And she could imagine what Blanche had done to him when he refused to confess easily.
“But you, Shariette… you’re fine.”
Noxian deliberately caught her fingertips.
“Only you.”
His fingers slid between hers, locking them tightly so she couldn’t pull away.
“Back then, and even now.”
Shariette’s eyes rolled quickly.
‘Back then?’
“At Willowhill, I thought it was just an illusion. But it wasn’t.”
‘Ah. That time.’
Watching the tension slowly leave her like a cat’s fur smoothing down, Noxian held back a smile. He couldn’t laugh here.
Shariette thought hard.
If he hated touching, then wouldn’t it help if he couldn’t feel it?
“Hmm… Then, should I make you a medicine that blocks touch for a while?”
“……”
It wasn’t teasing. It wasn’t joking. It was a serious offer.
Noxian was speechless.
“…Ha. Hahaha!”
Suddenly, he laughed. Not because it was funny, but because it was so absurd.
“Truly my personal doctor. For gratitude, you give me chocolate-flavored sleeping pills. For worry, a touch-numbing potion? What will you make next, I wonder.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“Neither was I.”
Then stop laughing, Shariette puffed her cheeks.
“If it bothers you so much, why not just not go?”
Noxian stopped laughing and pulled an envelope from inside his jacket.
It was light blue, already opened with a knife once.
On the front was the royal seal.
“Until now, I avoided such events. But this time, I can’t. The princess herself sent me this invitation.”
“Then you’ll need the touch-numbing potion even more—”
“If I lose sensation, I won’t be able to defend myself if danger comes.”
Ah. She hadn’t thought of that.
‘But what danger could happen at a banquet?’
Wasn’t it just a place for fun?
“If a rumor spreads that the Rubellot heir has some problem, that would be bad too.”
Shariette remembered his terrible reputation, so bad it even reached Willowhill.
“So, Shariette… if my personal doctor goes with me, I’ll feel safe.”
He pressed his cheek against the back of her hand, which he still held tightly.
While speaking weakly, his half-closed eyes still glittered.
Looks like I’m going to the Crown Prince’s birthday party — something I never even dreamed of.
People really should live kindly.
You never know when karma will roll in and climb up on your shoulders.
The road to clearing karma was still long and far.
Honestly, giving someone sleeping pills would’ve been a much cheaper repayment.
“Anyway, how’s your dance practice going, Shariette?”
Nixia sat beside her, asking as Shariette struggled with her letter.
“No.”
Shariette’s answer was firm.
She hadn’t known that a banquet came with an extra “dance” option. Lately, she was suffering with this unwanted bonus.
“Why do I have to do something like this too?”
“The birthday boy loves dancing.”
“Then he should dance with someone else. Touch-numb—”
“Are you planning to hand me over to another person?”
He stabbed at her conscience so pitifully that she couldn’t fight back.
She had no choice but to admit it — she was weak against those eyes.
“Oh my, I thought you’d be good at it, Shariette.”
This time, Shariette realized something new.
Just because you know the moves doesn’t mean your body will follow.
“I’ve memorized all the steps. But strangely, when I practice alone, I’m fine. When I dance with someone else, I always mess up.”
Well, it’s not like she’s entering a dance competition.
Nixia listened to her serious report on her progress and had to hold back laughter.
“How’s the letter writing going?”
“……”
Shariette crumpled up the messy letter filled with crooked handwriting.
Can’t someone invent a magic tool that writes down exactly what you think?
“Do I really have to write this?”
“Shariette, politely sending a refusal is one of the most important manners.”
After struggling several more times, Shariette finally wrote a draft.
When Nixia read it over, she burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Shariette, oh heavens, really!”
Both brother and sister act the same way.
Shariette glared unhappily while Nixia wiped away tears from laughing so hard.
The Letter Draft:
To Countess Genoa,
I heard Caiel Genoa’s proposal, but I must be escorted by someone else.
Goodbye.
P.S.: Always be careful about food allergies. Ingredients that can cause reactions similar to the combination of Flua flowers and Chamille leaves include the following…
And then, the postscript went on — even longer than the main body of the letter.
