Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 23
As Kyle turned his head to the other side of the road, he noticed a lone carriage in the distance. The path had already darkened, and apart from him and Pico, there was no one else around, just that solitary carriage.
I might catch a whiff of it from that carriage.
Not expecting to catch a scent like this on a road far from the palace, Kyle felt bewildered. He quickly fumbled inside his clothes. Since receiving the magic potion from Lorienne, he had been carrying a vial just in case.
He swiftly retrieved the magic potion from his pocket and drank it in one gulp. Soon, transformed into a large golden retriever, he bounded after the path the carriage had taken.
In an instant turn of events, Pico exclaimed, “Wha-what’s happening!”
He quickly picked up Kyle’s clothes that had fallen to the ground.
“What if someone sees you like this all of a sudden!”
Pico glanced around and discreetly placed Kyle’s clothes in a thick bush to keep them from being noticed. Kyle ran off so fast, Pico could barely see his light brown tail in the distance.
As Pico was about to run towards Kyle, the door of Loftis opened unexpectedly. Lorienne, holding a bucket filled with something, tilted her head with a grin.
“Pico? You could’ve knocked once you’ve arrived. Why are you standing here?”
Lorienne found it strange to see Pico just standing by the door of Loftis. He took a step back and stood in front of Lorienne.
“Haha, well, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment and almost passed by Loftis! Haha! If it weren’t for Miss Mage… who knows how far I would have gone…”
He looked again in the direction Kyle had run, but he couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Perplexed, Pico made a strange face that was neither crying nor smiling.
“Come in.”
Lorienne poured ashes by the overgrown path and gently nudged Pico’s back inside Loftis.
“Yes, we should go inside.”
This is a big problem. Just how far did he go?!
Lorienne tilted her head inquisitively toward the visibly flustered Pico.
“Pico, is something wrong?”
“What?! Oh, no! I mean, um, is the potion ready, Miss Mage?”
“Of course.”
Lorienne placed the two vials of magic potion Pico had requested onto the table. Pico quickly noticed around 50 glass vials lined up on the brewing table. All of them were empty..
Pico’s mind flashed back to that rumor that Lorienne makes more money than most palace mages.
“Wow… Are you making this many potions just for today?”
“Oh, yes.”
Lorienne glanced at the empty glass bottles lined up behind her. Pico seemed to be impressed or amazed by something because a laugh escaped him.
“But this is a cheap potion. A regular prescription potion for an everyday customer and extremely cheap compared to Pico’s dog transformation concoction. There are many types of potions, after all.”
At the mention of many types, Pico couldn’t help but ask in a hushed voice, “Um, is there, like, a potion to make someone talk more nicely?”
In response to Pico’s question, Lorienne slapped the table and laughed. Pico joined in with chuckles. They both understood without explicitly saying who the potion was for.
Caught up in the conversation about magic potions, Pico suddenly realized he needed to find Kyle quickly.
“I’ll be going now!”
“Sure.”
As Pico was about to turn around, a scratching sound at the door caught their attention. Pico and Lorienne exchanged glances. Who in the world would scratch at the door instead of knocking?
When Pico flung the door open, a large golden retriever bounded inside.
“Oh!”
“Goodness!”
Pico exclaimed, realizing it was Kyle.
Lorien was surprised, too, but he didn’t look frightened or displeased. She quickly walked over to the intruder and patted his head.
“Coco…”
Lorienne continued to stroke the head of the transformed Kyle, her eyes glowing with affection. The touch was so tender, and the look in her eyes was so genuine, as if she was seeing a long-lost lover.
Pico, knowing that the dog was actually Kyle, felt a shiver run down his spine—Kyle would have a conniption being called something as cutesy as “Coco.”
However, seeing Lorienne’s genuine delight, he decided to ask, “Coco…?”
