Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 10
The day he first arrived at Loftis she met his eyes as if challenging him, tapping the order sheet she had received first and engaging in a verbal back-and-forth. More importantly, then and even now, she didn’t seem nervous around him at all, treating him as like any ordinary customer passing through.
That was what irritated him the most.
How can she remain so calm in front of someone as striking and handsome as me? It’s something I’ve never experienced in my life.
The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t understand the sorceress. Lost in these thoughts, Kyle’s eyes followed Lorienne as she diligently cleaned and organized the table, oblivious to Kyle’s attention.
Ah, so it’s because of poor eyesight? Perhaps she can’t see my face properly; she might need better spectacles. Or maybe… she’s the type more interested in status than faces. Hmm, judging by her fondness for money, the latter seems more probable.
Kyle’s lips curled slightly upwards as he made his own deductions. He was someone who couldn’t let go of his status even for a moment.
One of these days, I’m going to tell you that I’m the real Kyle Astum.
Imagining the arrogant sorceress’s astonished face somehow made Kyle feel a little better.
“Yawn.”
After finishing cleaning, Lorienne stifled a yawn, covering her mouth. With a dazed expression, she continued to watch Pico, the Chihuahua, still frantically wandering around. After a few more yawns, Lorienne snapped her mouth shut and turned around quickly.
“I told you. Be careful when you return naked.”
Exactly half an hour later, Pico, now transformed back, lay sprawled on the floor, not a single piece of clothing covering his round back and pristine b******s.
“Oops! S-Sorry! I’ll get dressed right away!”
As Pico hastily put his clothes back on, Kyle shook his head at how utterly frenzied the scene was.
“I, no, Master, you saw, right? I really turned into a dog! Wow, but what kind of dog was I? A Bulldog? A Tibetan Mastiff? A majestic and ferocious beast-like dog, wasn’t I?!”
“Yeah. A majestic and beastly chihuahua.”
“What? A ch-chihuahua…?”
Pico gazed at Lorienne with a face that asked if it was true. Lorienne nodded.
“Unbelievable. Why of all breeds…?”
Disappointed, Pico slumped his shoulders. Kyle, pushing the dejected Pico aside, plucked five strands of hair and handed them to Lorienne.
“Make at least this much more. I’ll come to pick it up in a few days.”
“….Just so you know, don’t drink two or three vials at once.”
“Why not?”
“Physically, you might endure for over 30 minutes, but if you drink that much, even when you return to your original form, you might act like a dog for a while. Naked. Perfect opportunity to be called a lunatic.”
“I’ll take care of that myself. Just make the potion.”
Lorienne stared intently at Kyle, who was persistently condescending. Among the nobles she had met, this was the first time a guest had treated her with such disdain.
“Why do you keep talking down to me?”
“What?”
Pico, taken aback by the sudden coldness in the air, quickly glanced between Kyle and Lorienne.
“I’m a potion-making mage. Not a slave, not a servant of yours, so at least refrain from being condescending, especially if you’ll continue to need my services.”
A flustered Pico approached Lorienne, clasping both hands tightly. “So-sorceress, it’s just that our M-Master is so…”
Behind Pico, Kyle’s icy voice interjected, “Then perhaps you should treat me with disdain too. I’ve lived my whole life being looked down upon, so I have no clue how to treat you.”
Lorienne, seeing Kyle sitting smugly with a crooked smile, felt a surge of both anger and frustration.
So, being good-looking is all that matters, huh?
But Lorienne wasn’t one to lose her spirit easily. Over the past six years of running Loftis, she had gained insights into the traits of nobility. From the beginning, nobles who treated her with disdain only looked down on her more as time passed. They often degraded her potions and mocked her profession. It wasn’t until she realized that that Lorienne stopped trying to hide her Rixir accent. She was a foreigner who didn’t adhere to the noble customs of Astum, but rather someone who crafts magical potions for fair compensation. That was the attitude she maintained.
“Well, let’s do that then. I’ll speak freely. Fake. Noble.”
The veins bulged on Kyle’s smooth forehead.
