Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 20
Knock, knock.
In the early evening, there was a gentle tapping at the door of Lorienne’s abode in Loftis.
Lorienne glanced at the clock, picked up her glasses, and opened the small door.
“Hello, Miss Mage!”
Pico greeted with a sunny face from outside, and Lorienne responded with a smiling face, opening the door wider.
“You’ve come sooner than I expected. Please come in.”
Pico entered first, followed by Kyle. Kyle, as usual, had his hood flipped, obscuring his face in shadows.
As Kyle sat down and removed his hood, his tousled blond hair fell between his fingers.
“Is the potion ready?”
This fake Archduke brat, persisting in belittling me.
“Uh-huh, halfway.”
Upon hearing Lorienne’s informal tone, Pico widened his eyes in surprise. He glanced over to Kyle as if assessing his reaction.
One might expect a grim response or a harsh word from Kyle in such a situation, but unexpectedly, Kyle simply chuckled and smiled.
“Hehe, I’ll step out for a moment to get some fresh air. You two take your time and chat!”
With Pico swiftly exiting Lorienne’s place, the remaining space was filled only with a chilling atmosphere.
Lorienne placed two pre-prepared magic potions in front of Kyle.
“Take these two for now.”
“Why? And two out of five isn’t even half.”
“Who said it’s half? It’s almost half. And making five in three days is impossible. I have commitments to other clients and can’t completely neglect their requests. Also, this potion consumes much more magical energy compared to others.”
Kyle gazed intently at Lorienne standing before him. He had thought her skin was exceptionally pale when he first saw her, but today, she appeared even paler, almost ghostly.
“So, when will the remaining three bottles be ready?”
“It would be nice if you could come by around the end of next week. Oh, have you tried the potion?”
Kyle tilted his head slightly and tapped the table with his fingers. It wasn’t the response he had hoped for.
He nodded his head in response to her question. “The potion is effective.”
An unexpected compliment slipped out of his mouth. Although it didn’t sound like much of a compliment; it lacked any sense of admiration.
Lorienne, displaying a confident expression, raised her chin. “I’m not one to be easily swayed by praise. However, my potions are indeed remarkable enough to deserve it.”
“It wasn’t really praise, just an assessment of the potency.”
“If something is deemed good, it’s a form of praise, isn’t it? You’re quite amusing.”
As Lorienne fired back, Kyle let out a hollow laugh, turning his head slightly. His attention was caught by a red fruit on the potion-making desk.
Kyle rose to his feet and stepped forward. “…Ennew?”
“How do you know about ennew? It’s a fruit only found in Rixir.” Raising an eyebrow, Lorienne approached Kyle’s side.
Yesterday, she ate only one of the ennews that Marmo had brought and set the rest aside. Its fragrance alone made it too precious to eat.
When asked how he knew what an ennew was, Kyle was immediately silent. The ennew, sweet and tender, was a delicate fruit that wasn’t easily transported to other countries. Though Astum and Rixir were in constant competition and tension in various aspects, being the two largest neighboring nations meant there were times of external cooperation.
As a gesture of goodwill, Rixir would occasionally send superior ennew fruits to the Astum royalty. It was uncommon for anyone outside the royal circle in Astum to have tasted ennew.
“I’ve tasted it before,” Kyle said, clearing his throat and shifting his gaze from the ennew to somewhere else.
Lorienne seemed oddly pleased by Kyle having tasted Rixir’s fruit. She extended a small hand closer, offering Kyle one of the ennew fruits.
“Now that you’ve tasted it, do you understand how delicious ennew is?”
Kyle only gazed quietly at the bright red ennew in Lorienne’s small, white hand. Then, as if urging him to take it, Lorienne extended her hand a bit further.
Her insisting was an oddly childlike gesture.
When Kyle accepted the ennew, Lorienne also picked up another ennew and took a bite.
“Go ahead, try it. It’s sweet even though it’s small.”
The tiny seeds burst into a cheerful crackling sound inside Lorienne’s mouth as she bit into it. Her cheeks bulged as she put the ennew in her mouth and tightly closed her lips, chewing diligently.
Unlike her fair skin, Lorienne’s lips were red. Kyle gazed intently as her small, plump lower lip moved rhythmically while chewing.
Her lips… they’re quite plump and red.
