A sunny morning in the Duke’s palace.
The sunlight coming through the window brightened the Duchess’s bedroom.
“Alice.”
Adrielle smiled brightly, clutching the pillow tightly.
She called her personal maid’s name with a happy face.
She revealed what she never wanted to show.
That gruesome scar that everyone frowned upon.
The painful wound that tormented her every night.
Though she didn’t want anyone else to see it, she ended up showing it to Alice.
A gruesome scar even to herself.
Naturally, she thought Alice wouldn’t view it favorably either.
Yet, Adrielle desperately wanted to trust Alice.
A promise made with her, sealing it with their fingers.
She fervently hoped that Alice would always stand by her side, no matter what.
And soon, her exclusive maid, who faced the dreadful scar, said so.
-“Please don’t say such things again. I’ll get angry.”
Alice nudged Adrielle with an irritated voice.
But oddly enough, it reassured Adrielle greatly.
It was an emotion that stemmed from concern for her.
“Hehe.”
Adrielle chuckled, wriggling under the blanket.
The approaching morning.
Soon, Alice would greet her with a beautiful smile.
And as always.
She would look at her with affectionate eyes.
But..
“Miss. I’ll come back after a short break.”
“….Huh?”
Words she never wanted to hear from Alice’s mouth.
Adrielle’s heart began to beat rapidly.
There are various potions and healing spells here. Elixir that even cure fatal diseases.
Magics that can save lives even if the stomach is pierced.
It’s mentioned that if one swiftly deals with severed body parts, they can miraculously reattach them.
That’s how advanced magic and alchemy have developed.
Numerous medical methods to save lives.
Even though it seemed miraculous, there was one blessing that was impossible.
Erasing scars already engraved on the body.
Even with advanced magic, that couldn’t be achieved.
Of course, if scars appear and are immediately treated, they can fade.
If one receives healing from a cleric within a few hours of a burn, it will become so faint it won’t be visible.
But if the skin tissue is completely destroyed, it’s different.
At that point, no matter what healing spell is chanted, no matter how sophisticated the potion, it’s impossible to restore the damaged cells.
Even in the case of a young lady, it was the same.
No potion could erase her wounds, and Lucy, the saint and heroine, couldn’t do anything either.
And if she couldn’t, then no one could heal them.
But I am different.
Knowing the entire contents of the novel, I knew.
I knew the twists that changed the fate of the world, and even the positions of the treasures called national treasures.
Just one thing.
There was a way to remove the young lady’s scars.
“…Surely, if it’s that person.”
In the empire, there resides an alchemist.
In the novel, she was referred to as the master of alchemy.
Living for centuries and collecting various remedies, she created countless astonishing potions.
The special elixir she happened to create.
If used, it would surely remove the young lady’s scars.
The elixir was mentioned in the middle of the novel.
At that time, there was an incident where demons attacked the academy.
Unfortunately, one demon’s claw scratched Lucy’s face, leaving a deep scar on her cheek along with fresh red blood.
If treated immediately, it would have disappeared.
But our kind heroine put herself aside and treated other students first.
So Lucy dedicated herself to treatment for hours.
Eventually, she saved all the students, but when she finally tried to treat her own wound,
the wound had already turned into a distinct scar.
So, one day as Lucy accepted her scar and lived on.
One of the male leads, a prince, sought ways to heal her.
And that’s when this elixir appeared.
The legendary alchemist, who was kind to Lucy, handed her creation to the prince, who immediately rushed to treat Lucy’s scar.
How happy Lucy was then.
It was a scene where the prince ascended as the main male lead.
I know where the alchemist’s residence reappears later.
If I get the elixir for her, I can erase the young lady’s scar.
But there was one uncomfortable point left in my heart.
If I intercept the elixir…
“…Then Lucy will…”
‘Please respect the saint’s privacy.’ The readers of the novel all loved the protagonist Lucy.
I too was deeply captivated by her charm, able to finish the novel.
But if I use this elixir, Lucy will live her whole life with scars on her face.
Still, is it right for me to intercept the elixir?
Of course, removing the young lady’s scars is the priority.
But at the same time, there was also a fear.
From the beginning, I vowed never to interfere with the tricks used by main characters for such reasons.
I looked at my hand.
A white palm with a jet-black ring inserted.
I looked at my hand.
A black ring was embedded in the palm of my white hand.
‘It’s a simple solution.’
If Lucy doesn’t get hurt by demons, she won’t need the elixir.
I know the date when the Academy will be attacked.
Just one day, exactly that day, to protect Lucy, nothing more, nothing less.
Then, we can heal the lady’s scars and ensure Lucy doesn’t get hurt.
I never cared about intervening in the original story.
All I wanted was to run my café in peace.
But the lady became too precious to ignore.
I couldn’t just overlook the scars that torment her.
What’s the big deal if I step in once?
I only have three days of leave.
Three days are enough to go to the Empire and get the elixir.
‘Just wait a little longer, my lady.’
The lady without scars will become even more confident.
I made up my mind, hoping everything would turn out fine.
But as always, nothing goes according to plan.
I faced a perplexing situation right from the start.
The lady’s blue eyes shook unusually.
It seems like I’ve never seen her tremble like this before.
“Are you… leaving…? Leaving me…?”
Even her voice didn’t sound good.
As if countless emotions were suppressed.
The lady’s body was trembling violently.
“Yes. I’ll take a short break for three days.”
“…Leaving…? Leaving me…?”
The lady staggered backward, her body trembling.
Seeing the lady’s unsettling state, I urgently tried to speak.
“My lady, if you listen to me first-“
“Ah… because of my scars… you… dislike…”
Did she not hear my words?
The lady murmured quietly to herself.
Then she grabbed her own head.
“My lady!”
I rushed to her and grabbed her.
The lady held onto my wrist with teary eyes.
“Don’t go, Alice… don’t go…”
The lady’s face looked unnervingly anxious, almost pathological.
I thought she had improved a lot.
But the wounds inside the lady were still the same.
Does she think I’m leaving?
Maybe showing the scars and then saying I’ll take a break the next day… might have sounded bad from her perspective.
“…I was careless.”
I immediately embraced her.
Then the lady held me tightly around my waist.
As if she would never let go.
“I’m not leaving, Miss. I’ll be back in three days.”
“No, don’t go… don’t go anywhere, Alice…”
The lady’s eyes, unable to see the light.
They were pupils that gave off a feeling of being dead.
The lady had never held onto me this tightly before.
Perhaps she wasn’t scared.
It must be terrifying to have to be alone again.
I never realized because she didn’t express it much… that she would rely on me this much.
It felt sad and uneasy.
“Is there something you need to buy?”
“I’ve used up all the essentials… and there are so many dishes I want to cook for you, but I don’t have enough ingredients. Well… various things, so I’m going to buy them.”
I gently stroked the lady’s head.
But there was still no life in her eyes, and her body continued to tremble without any sign of calming down.
“If you wait patiently, I’ll bring you a gift.”
“…A gift…?”
The lady echoed back at the word ‘gift.’
I shouldn’t be thinking about this in the current situation….
But she’s really cute, this lady.
“Yes. I’ll bring a gift just for you. So, will you wait?”
The lady’s trembling gradually subsided.
The lifeless eyes of the lady became a little brighter.
But the anxiety contained within remained.
It seemed like words couldn’t calm her down.
I took out the black ring that was on my finger.
“Lady, you’re really… then let’s do this.”
I placed the ring on the lady’s small hand.
The lady widened her eyes and looked at the ring.
“It’s really precious to me, as much as my life.”
It was an item worth as much as my life, as it was insurance to save my life.
But now it seemed okay to entrust it to the lady.
It didn’t matter since I was going to the empire’s territory, so it was safe.
Meeting the alchemist shouldn’t be dangerous either, so it should be fine.
“Something precious to Alice…”
The lady tightly held onto the ring.
In her two blue pupils that looked up at me again, a clear light had returned.
“Yes. So you have to take good care of yourself until I come back, okay?”
“…Can’t I come with you?”
It’s not like I hadn’t considered it.
But the Grand Duke would absolutely not allow that, saying he wouldn’t send lady out of Valaxar until he handed over his position.
Well… I somewhat agreed, so I let it go.
Actually, there was a time when a lady was kidnapped outside of Valaxar. And from what the Duke mentioned, it seemed like the forces targeting the lady weren’t just demonic. Of course, I couldn’t accept keeping the lady here indefinitely. But it’s better to be cautious until things are certain. At least within Valaxar under the Duke’s protection, it’s safe.
“I’ll go alone this time, we’ll go together next time, miss.”
The lady bowed deeply.
After a brief silence, finally, she released my hand that she had been holding tightly.
Her eyes, with trembling pupils under the reddened eyelids, seemed to indicate that the lady’s anxiety couldn’t be completely erased.
Still, the lady extended her pinky finger to me and said, “Promise me. Promise you’ll come back.”
Seeing her like that tugged at my heartstrings. Without hesitation, I hooked my pinky finger with hers.
“I promise, miss.”
“If you don’t come back… I…”
I put my finger on the lady’s lips, then smiled at her.
“Shh. Miss, if you worry too much, you’ll get wrinkles.”
A lively blush rose on the lady’s pale cheeks. It seems like she’s finally back to her usual self now.
I bowed to the lady one last time. Well, I’ll see her in three days anyway, so there’s no need for a grand farewell.
“I’ll be off, miss.”
“Al… Alice…”
The lady’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I looked at her with curiosity. With the now more vivid blush, the lady mumbled her words.
Unable to contain her unease any longer, the lady looked at me and slowly opened her pursed lips to speak.
“…Kiss me when you come back.”
For a moment, I blinked in bewilderment at the lady’s words. Then, I couldn’t help but cover the laughter that bubbled up from within me with my hand.
The lady, really. Quite the charmer.
A sunny morning in the Duke’s palace.
The sunlight coming through the window brightened the Duchess’s bedroom.
“Alice.”
Adrielle smiled brightly, clutching the pillow tightly.
She called her personal maid’s name with a happy face.
She revealed what she never wanted to show.
That gruesome scar that everyone frowned upon.
The painful wound that tormented her every night.
Though she didn’t want anyone else to see it, she ended up showing it to Alice.
A gruesome scar even to herself.
Naturally, she thought Alice wouldn’t view it favorably either.
Yet, Adrielle desperately wanted to trust Alice.
A promise made with her, sealing it with their fingers.
She fervently hoped that Alice would always stand by her side, no matter what.
And soon, her exclusive maid, who faced the dreadful scar, said so.
-“Please don’t say such things again. I’ll get angry.”
Alice nudged Adrielle with an irritated voice.
But oddly enough, it reassured Adrielle greatly.
It was an emotion that stemmed from concern for her.
“Hehe.”
Adrielle chuckled, wriggling under the blanket.
The approaching morning.
Soon, Alice would greet her with a beautiful smile.
And as always.
She would look at her with affectionate eyes.
But..
“Miss. I’ll come back after a short break.”
“….Huh?”
Words she never wanted to hear from Alice’s mouth.
Adrielle’s heart began to beat rapidly.
There are various potions and healing spells here. Elixir that even cure fatal diseases.
Magics that can save lives even if the stomach is pierced.
It’s mentioned that if one swiftly deals with severed body parts, they can miraculously reattach them.
That’s how advanced magic and alchemy have developed.
Numerous medical methods to save lives.
Even though it seemed miraculous, there was one blessing that was impossible.
Erasing scars already engraved on the body.
Even with advanced magic, that couldn’t be achieved.
Of course, if scars appear and are immediately treated, they can fade.
If one receives healing from a cleric within a few hours of a burn, it will become so faint it won’t be visible.
But if the skin tissue is completely destroyed, it’s different.
At that point, no matter what healing spell is chanted, no matter how sophisticated the potion, it’s impossible to restore the damaged cells.
Even in the case of a young lady, it was the same.
No potion could erase her wounds, and Lucy, the saint and heroine, couldn’t do anything either.
And if she couldn’t, then no one could heal them.
But I am different.
Knowing the entire contents of the novel, I knew.
I knew the twists that changed the fate of the world, and even the positions of the treasures called national treasures.
Just one thing.
There was a way to remove the young lady’s scars.
“…Surely, if it’s that person.”
In the empire, there resides an alchemist.
In the novel, she was referred to as the master of alchemy.
Living for centuries and collecting various remedies, she created countless astonishing potions.
The special elixir she happened to create.
If used, it would surely remove the young lady’s scars.
The elixir was mentioned in the middle of the novel.
At that time, there was an incident where demons attacked the academy.
Unfortunately, one demon’s claw scratched Lucy’s face, leaving a deep scar on her cheek along with fresh red blood.
If treated immediately, it would have disappeared.
But our kind heroine put herself aside and treated other students first.
So Lucy dedicated herself to treatment for hours.
Eventually, she saved all the students, but when she finally tried to treat her own wound,
the wound had already turned into a distinct scar.
So, one day as Lucy accepted her scar and lived on.
One of the male leads, a prince, sought ways to heal her.
And that’s when this elixir appeared.
The legendary alchemist, who was kind to Lucy, handed her creation to the prince, who immediately rushed to treat Lucy’s scar.
How happy Lucy was then.
It was a scene where the prince ascended as the main male lead.
I know where the alchemist’s residence reappears later.
If I get the elixir for her, I can erase the young lady’s scar.
But there was one uncomfortable point left in my heart.
If I intercept the elixir…
“…Then Lucy will…”
‘Please respect the saint’s privacy.’ The readers of the novel all loved the protagonist Lucy.
I too was deeply captivated by her charm, able to finish the novel.
But if I use this elixir, Lucy will live her whole life with scars on her face.
Still, is it right for me to intercept the elixir?
Of course, removing the young lady’s scars is the priority.
But at the same time, there was also a fear.
From the beginning, I vowed never to interfere with the tricks used by main characters for such reasons.
I looked at my hand.
A white palm with a jet-black ring inserted.
I looked at my hand.
A black ring was embedded in the palm of my white hand.
‘It’s a simple solution.’
If Lucy doesn’t get hurt by demons, she won’t need the elixir.
I know the date when the Academy will be attacked.
Just one day, exactly that day, to protect Lucy, nothing more, nothing less.
Then, we can heal the lady’s scars and ensure Lucy doesn’t get hurt.
I never cared about intervening in the original story.
All I wanted was to run my café in peace.
But the lady became too precious to ignore.
I couldn’t just overlook the scars that torment her.
What’s the big deal if I step in once?
I only have three days of leave.
Three days are enough to go to the Empire and get the elixir.
‘Just wait a little longer, my lady.’
The lady without scars will become even more confident.
I made up my mind, hoping everything would turn out fine.
But as always, nothing goes according to plan.
I faced a perplexing situation right from the start.
The lady’s blue eyes shook unusually.
It seems like I’ve never seen her tremble like this before.
“Are you… leaving…? Leaving me…?”
Even her voice didn’t sound good.
As if countless emotions were suppressed.
The lady’s body was trembling violently.
“Yes. I’ll take a short break for three days.”
“…Leaving…? Leaving me…?”
The lady staggered backward, her body trembling.
Seeing the lady’s unsettling state, I urgently tried to speak.
“My lady, if you listen to me first-“
“Ah… because of my scars… you… dislike…”
Did she not hear my words?
The lady murmured quietly to herself.
Then she grabbed her own head.
“My lady!”
I rushed to her and grabbed her.
The lady held onto my wrist with teary eyes.
“Don’t go, Alice… don’t go…”
The lady’s face looked unnervingly anxious, almost pathological.
I thought she had improved a lot.
But the wounds inside the lady were still the same.
Does she think I’m leaving?
Maybe showing the scars and then saying I’ll take a break the next day… might have sounded bad from her perspective.
“…I was careless.”
I immediately embraced her.
Then the lady held me tightly around my waist.
As if she would never let go.
“I’m not leaving, Miss. I’ll be back in three days.”
“No, don’t go… don’t go anywhere, Alice…”
The lady’s eyes, unable to see the light.
They were pupils that gave off a feeling of being dead.
The lady had never held onto me this tightly before.
Perhaps she wasn’t scared.
It must be terrifying to have to be alone again.
I never realized because she didn’t express it much… that she would rely on me this much.
It felt sad and uneasy.
“Is there something you need to buy?”
“I’ve used up all the essentials… and there are so many dishes I want to cook for you, but I don’t have enough ingredients. Well… various things, so I’m going to buy them.”
I gently stroked the lady’s head.
But there was still no life in her eyes, and her body continued to tremble without any sign of calming down.
“If you wait patiently, I’ll bring you a gift.”
“…A gift…?”
The lady echoed back at the word ‘gift.’
I shouldn’t be thinking about this in the current situation….
But she’s really cute, this lady.
“Yes. I’ll bring a gift just for you. So, will you wait?”
The lady’s trembling gradually subsided.
The lifeless eyes of the lady became a little brighter.
But the anxiety contained within remained.
It seemed like words couldn’t calm her down.
I took out the black ring that was on my finger.
“Lady, you’re really… then let’s do this.”
I placed the ring on the lady’s small hand.
The lady widened her eyes and looked at the ring.
“It’s really precious to me, as much as my life.”
It was an item worth as much as my life, as it was insurance to save my life.
But now it seemed okay to entrust it to the lady.
It didn’t matter since I was going to the empire’s territory, so it was safe.
Meeting the alchemist shouldn’t be dangerous either, so it should be fine.
“Something precious to Alice…”
The lady tightly held onto the ring.
In her two blue pupils that looked up at me again, a clear light had returned.
“Yes. So you have to take good care of yourself until I come back, okay?”
“…Can’t I come with you?”
It’s not like I hadn’t considered it.
But the Grand Duke would absolutely not allow that, saying he wouldn’t send lady out of Valaxar until he handed over his position.
Well… I somewhat agreed, so I let it go.
Actually, there was a time when a lady was kidnapped outside of Valaxar. And from what the Duke mentioned, it seemed like the forces targeting the lady weren’t just demonic. Of course, I couldn’t accept keeping the lady here indefinitely. But it’s better to be cautious until things are certain. At least within Valaxar under the Duke’s protection, it’s safe.
“I’ll go alone this time, we’ll go together next time, miss.”
The lady bowed deeply.
After a brief silence, finally, she released my hand that she had been holding tightly.
Her eyes, with trembling pupils under the reddened eyelids, seemed to indicate that the lady’s anxiety couldn’t be completely erased.
Still, the lady extended her pinky finger to me and said, “Promise me. Promise you’ll come back.”
Seeing her like that tugged at my heartstrings. Without hesitation, I hooked my pinky finger with hers.
“I promise, miss.”
“If you don’t come back… I…”
I put my finger on the lady’s lips, then smiled at her.
“Shh. Miss, if you worry too much, you’ll get wrinkles.”
A lively blush rose on the lady’s pale cheeks. It seems like she’s finally back to her usual self now.
I bowed to the lady one last time. Well, I’ll see her in three days anyway, so there’s no need for a grand farewell.
“I’ll be off, miss.”
“Al… Alice…”
The lady’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I looked at her with curiosity. With the now more vivid blush, the lady mumbled her words.
Unable to contain her unease any longer, the lady looked at me and slowly opened her pursed lips to speak.
“…Kiss me when you come back.”
For a moment, I blinked in bewilderment at the lady’s words. Then, I couldn’t help but cover the laughter that bubbled up from within me with my hand.
The lady, really. Quite the charmer.
