Chapter 54
“No chance.”
“Y-You…!”
This damned man!
My clenched fists trembled as my anger surged, but this wasn’t the time for that. It’s not like water only exists here! I turned toward the kitchen.
“Where are you going?”
That was the moment. Chase grabbed my arm and pulled me sharply, and in an instant, I was dragged back and collided with his solid chest. Before I could even process the situation with my face twisted in frustration, Chase let out a small laugh, took something out of his pocket, and popped it into my mouth.
It was candy. Extremely sweet. Because my mouth was so bitter, it tasted even sweeter.
“Endure it. It’s a highly concentrated solution anyway, so you can only take it twice a month.”
“I’m never taking it again.”
“Who decided that?”
“I did!”
I snapped back boldly, but in truth, my anger was already softening a little because of the sweetness of the candy.
“Nita.”
“What.”
“It seems Anthony hasn’t told you yet, but a few more rules have been added for you to stay in the Grand Duke’s residence as a mage.”
What?
“What kind of rules?”
“The rule that you have to consume everything I give you for the sake of your health.”
Is he insane? He’s going to make rules just to force me to take this again? At the utterly absurd statement, I froze on the spot. Even so, I kept rolling the candy in my mouth to get rid of the bitterness, and I noticed the corner of Chase’s lips curl up as if mocking me.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because I want to.”
I glared at him as fiercely as I could when I asked, but Chase simply turned around. Then, just as he was about to leave the dining hall, he stopped and turned back to ask,
“Nita.”
“What!?”
“Do you need anything?”
“…Need anything?”
“I’m going to the capital. If there’s something you want, tell me.”
Caught off guard by his suddenly softened attitude, I looked at him in confusion. Chase lightly gestured toward my arm.
“Your hand’s healed.”
Is he saying he’ll buy me something to celebrate my hand getting better? Come to think of it, I hadn’t shown off my hands to him yet. Only then did I spread my fingers wide like I had done for Anthony. But there wasn’t really anything I wanted. Still, since he was asking, I thought hard. Then I spoke of something I had been thinking about while walking around the bleak Grand Duke’s residence.
“Then, flowers.”
Chase asked back as if dumbfounded.
“Flowers?”
“Yes. Flowers.”
I nodded and continued explaining.
“The Grand Duke’s residence. I was thinking about why the atmosphere feels so dreary.”
“I told you to say what you need. Why are you suddenly talking about the atmosphere of the residence?”
“Could you not cut me off? It’s all related.”
“How is it related?”
Chase asked as if he truly didn’t understand. I pointed around the dining hall with my finger.
“Look.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Do you like flowers?”
“It is a problem. There isn’t a single flower in a place this nice. The design is impressive and all the furniture is high-end, but it looks bleak. It’s a waste.”
Is there anyone who doesn’t like flowers? Unless they have allergies.
“I like them.”
At that moment, Chase’s mouth suddenly shut tightly.
He raised one eyebrow slightly, then lowered it, and asked,
“Fresh flowers?”
I nodded. Fresh flowers would be best. But…
I naturally turned my gaze out the window. Winter in the North was bleak. Over the past week, I had traveled around the North diligently for purification, but flowers were rare to see.
So I added a few more words.
“Of course, it doesn’t have to be now. It’s fine if you buy them in the spring. Flowers are hard to come by in the North during winter.”
“That’s not the issue.”
“And when spring comes, I’d like a vase too. It would be nice to place them in the bedroom and the office. Seeing flowers makes you feel better.”
Chase, who had seemed to be considering it, changed the subject as if he wasn’t very willing.
“Something else. Another one.”
Was asking him for flowers too much? I started thinking again.
“Does it have to be something I need, or can it be something I want to ask for?”
“What is it?”
Compared to the quiet time before that massive surge of mana, over the past week, mana fog had been occurring two or three times a day in the North. I had been busy purifying several times a day, and because of that, there was something I had completely forgotten.
Finding Joel, the genius herbalist who appears in the original story.
I looked at the cup that had contained the nutritional drink. Ugh. Just looking at it made my whole body shudder. I can’t drink that again next month.
If I find the herbalist, he might give me something else instead of that. Whatever it is, it has to be better than that.
Of course, the reason for finding Joel wasn’t just for my health. In the original story, Joel had been researching a cure for Graphite Disease. If I find him and help develop the medicine, my position in the North will become more secure.
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