Do Not Touch the Apothecary

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As if struck by a hammer, the old wooden door boomed violently, the impact shaking the entire house.

Dust cascaded from the shelves, and glass medicine bottles rattled precariously.

Still reeling from the horrifying memory of having slept while clinging to Lucian like a giant stuffed doll the night before, Shana had barely managed to pull herself together when the noise made her frown deeply.

“Hey! Open the door!”

A rough, familiar voice.

‘…Who is it? This early in the morning. Don’t tell me…’

After only a brief moment of consideration, the image of a freckle-covered face surfaced in Shana’s mind.

A habitual troublemaker who appeared at regular intervals to gnaw away at her sanity.

‘Ah.
Being self-employed really is hell.’

Bang! Bang!

Once more, the door shook as though it were about to be torn off its hinges.

“…I said come out here, boss!”

“Ugh… I’m so sick of this.”

As Shana muttered and pushed herself up with a groggy body, a massive shadow silently enveloped her from behind.

Lucian leaned against her back, wrapping her as if draping himself over her, and asked softly.

“Shasha, what’s that?”

His voice was languid, but the usual playful warmth was nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was the sharp sensitivity of a top predator whose territory had been violated.

“I’m not leaving!
You trying to go out of business or something?!”

Another string of curses exploded from outside.

Shana felt like she might lose her mind for an entirely different reason.

One uncontrollable intruder named Lucian was already more than enough; this was truly trouble on top of trouble.

She spoke dismissively.

“Stay here. He’s my customer.”

“With that kind of racket, you’re going alone?”

Lucian’s eyebrow twitched.

He looked like he wanted an explanation, but Shana had no intention of giving one.

“Shasha, if you don’t tell me why, I’ll tie you to this bed and make sure you don’t take a single step until sunset.”

At his childish but very real threat, Shana finally let out a deep sigh.

“It’s nothing serious. If he sees your face, he’ll just make an even bigger scene.”

Resigned, she continued.

“That guy’s name is Max. He’s the village chief’s only son.”

“He was the first customer of this apothecary.

At first, he kept helping out with this and that, so I thought he was just a nice person.

Turns out, the people in this village were trying to set me up with him since I was an outsider.

No wonder the shop was empty in the beginning.”

The moment Lucian heard that, fine cracks spread across his previously gentle expression.

The air around him seemed to drop by ten degrees, freezing over.

Shana, however, noticed nothing.

“…That inferior squid, with you, Shasha?”

“Squid-level? Wasn’t he just average-looking?”

Through the window, the brown-haired, freckled man looked objectively ordinary.

Lucian grasped Shana’s chin firmly and turned her face to look straight at him.

Her gaze naturally traced his eyes, nose, and lips.

A face like a marble sculpture, an atmosphere layered like oil paint on canvas filled her vision.

Without realizing it, Shana swallowed.

“Now, look at that man’s face again.”

She turned back to Max.

Suddenly, the features that had seemed average moments ago looked so ugly it was almost blinding.

“O-oh… squid!”

“Exactly.”

Lucian nodded with satisfaction.

“So he was a squid…

Anyway, he started pestering me with date requests, so I lied and said I had a fiancé.

Since then, he’s been showing up regularly just to pick fights.”

“Repeatedly?”

“I gave him supplements when he said his mother needed medicine, and then he complained about why her osteoporosis wasn’t cured.

Cold medicine didn’t work. Insomnia got worse. His skin broke out.

He just keeps changing excuses. A textbook nuisance.”

Shana spoke casually as she slipped on her old coat.

“But it’s fine. I’ll just go calm him down with words. No need to worry.”

“Shasha. After hearing all that, do you really think I’d let you go alone?”

She ignored him.

Instead, she tapped his chin lightly and issued a final warning.

“Yeah. The moment you follow me out, I’ll make sure you never sleep with your eyes closed for the rest of your life.”

Just thinking about another verbal scuffle exhausted her, but if Lucian and that nuisance fought, things would get far worse.

‘Imperial Hero Assaults Rural Youth’ would make one hell of a newspaper headline.

‘He’s really not following, right?’

Shana glanced back.

Lucian wasn’t coming after her.

Instead, he sat on the bed with a sulky expression.

‘Will his separation anxiety be okay? He said his heart hurts if we’re more than four steps apart…’

Worry surfaced before she could stop herself.

‘Get a grip.’

She shook her head.

Getting anxious over a distance of just a few meters meant she’d gotten far too used to living with him.

She failed to notice Lucian watching her leave the room.

Outside, the wooden door shook violently again.

‘…How long is he planning to keep this up?’

Shana grabbed the self-defense switch she’d left on the desk and flung the door open.

Max, who had been leaning against it while causing a scene, nearly pitched forward.

“Are you crazy?! I almost fell! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Right back at you. Who told you to lean against someone else’s shop door and cause trouble?”

Shana frowned.

A pungent mix of alcohol and sweat wafted off him.

Did he really start drinking this early in the morning?

She asked flatly while watching him stagger.

“…You said to bring out the owner. Didn’t you have something to say?”

With empty, insect-like eyes, Max shouted, his pride wounded.

“You think you can treat me like this? Your apothecary is about to be shut down for good!”

“…What?”

“Someone used ointment bought here and broke out in a rash. You think you can sell this kind of crap as medicine?”

“Ointment? I never sold you any. Where did you get it?”

At her words, Max’s face flushed red and blue.

“…I bought it from old Grace next door! She said you made it!”

“You bought my medicine from someone else again?”

Shana pressed a hand against her throbbing temple.

After Max had once pulled something close to a false report, she’d deliberately stopped selling him medicine.

Yet he persistently bought what she sold to others and came back to complain.

“Yeah! I put it on a wound on my arm, and look—hives everywhere!”

He yanked up his sleeve.

Red welts had bloomed across his arm.

“Look at this! All because of your medicine! I scratched all night and couldn’t sleep! Take responsibility!”

Shana narrowed her eyes.

“…I didn’t sell it directly. How do you know it’s mine?”

“Hah! Don’t make excuses! I heard your name. Grace told me everything.”

Despite stammering, Max pushed his claim.

“Do you know how much I paid?!

Not only did it not work—it made things worse! My skin’s ruined, I scratched all night…

You call this medicine? You’re messing with people!”

Arms crossed, Shana replied without expression.

“So what, you want a refund?
Or is coming here to shout your hobby?”

“A refund? Ha!

You think that’s enough? You attempted murder!

You owe me compensation for physical and mental damages!”

His voice rose higher, alcohol-laced breath hitting her nose unpleasantly.

“You can’t let this slide. I could tell everyone your apothecary is dangerous, you know?”

“Go ahead.”

“…What?”

“Go ahead.”

They were moving to the capital tomorrow anyway.

What did it matter?

Until now, she’d always placated him when he said things like this.

She couldn’t afford money, but she’d handed over new medicines instead.

‘Because he’s the village chief’s son.’

She’d worried that pushing back too hard might really get her shop shut down.

But that concern was gone now.

“Spread whatever rumors you want. I’m busy.”

She moved to close the door.

That was when it happened.

Having lost all reason, Max grabbed her wrist roughly.

“Hey! You think you can just walk away?!”

As he yanked her closer and shoved his other hand into his pocket—

Crunch.

Suddenly, his momentum died.

The strength drained from the hand gripping Shana’s wrist, his fingers beginning to tremble in midair.

“My… my hand… what’s wrong with it…?”

As if caught in an invisible steel clamp, his wrist twisted at an unnatural angle.

There was a sickening sound of bones grinding out of place.

“Ugh—Aaaagh! My hand! My hand!! Aaaagh!”

A scream-like wail burst from his throat.

Shana’s eyes widened in shock—

Tap.

Tap.

Familiar dress shoes echoed across the apothecary’s old wooden floor.

“Don’t look at something so ugly, Shasha.”

Lucian had appeared behind her without a sound.

He lightly rested his chin atop her head.

Warm breath brushed her hair, and his large hand gently covered her eyes.

With her vision blocked, the nauseating stench of alcohol was replaced by Lucian’s clean, clear scent.

“…Lucian?”

At her startled voice, he chuckled softly and whispered.

The tone was nothing like his usual clingy playfulness.

“You left me alone in the room just to play with a bug that ugly?”