Chapter 42.2

As Collin jumped out of his seat and rushed in, seizing him by the collar, Irvan punched him relentlessly. He fell to the floor, grabbing his nose. Blood was oozing through his fingers.

“Arrggh! My nose!” he wailed.

“Shut up.”

“You dare hit your uncle? How can you commit such a sin!”

When Collin shouted in astonishment, Irvan immediately reached out to the wall to grab a decorative sword and was about to lift it.

“What sin? We are just legally bound, not even real blood relatives. If you don’t like my rudeness, follow the courtesies of nobility and accept this as a duel. A fair Lord will decide the outcome.”

“Oh, Irvan… no, knight commander. Please stop this instant!”

As the situation turned ugly, Countess Karina turned contemplative and shouted. The servants came forward in unison to hold Irvan back. But they were not enough.

“Let me go. I said nothing bad.”

As the servants faltered at Irvan’s threatening scowl, Vice Commander Roham bolted from the knights’ table like an arrow towards the site of conflict and restrained him. He not only was as strong as Irvan, but he was also as brute as a bear, barely a match for Irvan.

“He seems drunk. Hurry and take him away!”

The knights and servants receiving Countess Karina’s order tried their best to calm Irvan down. Irvan left the dinner hall, dragged away by Roham, and the dinner hall broke out into a chaotic mess as Emma chased after him.

“I’m not going to let him do that to you again.”

Having followed him to the annex, Emma’s cheeks reddened when Irvan mumbled this with not an ounce of drunkenness on his face.

“Don’t tell me you planned all of that?” she asked.

“I heard that Evelyn visited,” he replied. Emma was surprised by his sudden behavior at the dinner hall, but after knowing what was inside his mind, she felt thankful for him.

“Thank you…”

“… Only with words?”

It was a deep night. While the two of them were left alone in the annex, they spent a pleasurable time with each other. She only came to her senses when her eyes met the soft blue dawn sky beyond the windows.  Emma dug into his warm arms, warming herself from the cold morning air.

She looked up at Irvan and softly whispered, “Can I send a letter to my uncle?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” Lowering his head and burying his head into her chests, Irvan let out a lazy sigh without replying.

“Is it okay if I do that?”

Emma ran her fingers through Irvan’s hair, spoke to him again, but he was fast asleep. Her eyes, too, slowly closed after she caressed his head one more time. Then, just like that, they fell into a deep, sweet slumber. Since it wasn’t that urgent, she thought that she could just get permission from him later on.

***

The next day, Emma was accompanied by Laute to the pharmacy. Layna looked busy when they arrived. She was trimming a purplish-black fruit with gloves on and a pair of protective goggles. The fruit, the size of a fingernail, hung from a dry flower stem.

“It’s Cabelladonna,” Emma noted.

“How do you know that from first glance?” Layna laughed incredulously,  lifting her head and welcoming her in.

“A pharmacy is a dangerous environment for a child to play around in. Under my father’s authority, the poisonous weeds had to be cooked…” then she added, “I’m worried I disturbed you because of my arrival.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just about to take a break,” Layna shook her head. “Anyway, your father taught you well. It isn’t easy to distinguish Cabelladonna so quickly; that’s some talent you have there. Even seasoned pharmacists can’t tell what it is if they don’t have years of experience.”

After taking her gloves off, Layna boiled some homemade tea for Emma and Laute. “How is it? This?”

Emma lowered her gaze when she heard Layna’s question, which seemed to be a test. Then, she smiled looking down at the steaming teacup on the table. A sweet scent came from the purple tea. When she analyzed the faintly rising steam, she found that it smelled of wild, red panmint. Red panmint was a type of wild herb. It had many benefits, but among them, red panmint was especially good for the respiratory system, so it was useful during the seasonal changes. However, it was a very expensive one due to strict growth conditions.

“That’s red panmint,” Emma said.

“You got it right,” Layna nodded with a small, proud smile on her face. “The air inside this pharmacy is thick, that’s why I drink it. By the way, you’re really wasting your talent. You’ve never thought about enrolling in the academy? I think you have the skills for it.”

“I’m not sure, actually, since it hasn’t been that long since Father passed away… His death still troubles me.”

“Oh my! It must be hard now, but you’ll eventually get used to it after some time passes… And you’re young, so there will be plenty of time to think about your career. Consider that for yourself.”

Layna uplifted Emma with kind words.