The Wrong Man to Threaten

“W-who the hell are you, you bastard?!”

Max shouted grotesquely, still collapsed on the floor, clearly unable to grasp what was happening.

“Do you really need to know?”

Lucian spoke while resting his chin lightly on Shana’s shoulder.

He didn’t move a single finger.

And yet, Max’s body suddenly floated up into the air.

It was a grotesque sight, as if an invisible giant had grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up.

“W-what the hell?!”

Max flailed helplessly before being slammed straight back down onto the floor.

He stared around blankly, as though unable to process what had just happened.

Then—drip.

Blood began streaming from his nose.

The moment he noticed, he let out a shriek far sharper than before.

“You picked him up, and this is the thanks you get. How rude.”

Lucian muttered quietly.

Bang!

Max’s body was driven into the floor once more.

This time, the impact was far stronger than before.

A dull thud echoed through the apothecary as his face collided squarely with the wooden floor.

“Aaaargh!”

Max hurriedly tried to brace himself with his hands, but it was already too late.

‘You said you wouldn’t touch him! You literally just didn’t use your hands!’

Despite slamming someone into the floor twice already, Lucian hadn’t shifted an inch, still leaning against Shana’s shoulder.

“So. What exactly did you come here for?

You were pounding on someone else’s door at dawn like you wanted to tear it down.

There must’ve been a special reason.”

Lucian’s voice was eerily calm.

Max blinked dumbly while lying face-down, then groped at his face.

When he saw his palm smeared red with blood, he began screaming hysterically.

“B-blood! Blood! Aaagh!”

The shrillness was so excessive that even Shana briefly wondered if he’d gotten a concussion.

“…What a drama queen.”

Lucian murmured, nudging the floor lightly with the toe of his shoe.

Shana shot him a glare, then approached Max and crouched down in front of him.

“…Shasha?”

Lucian’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Shana didn’t notice.

“Luckily, your nasal bone isn’t broken. Just block it with some tissue and it’ll stop soon. Don’t lift your head.”

Her apothecary instincts kicked in as she examined him.

Thanks to Lucian’s absurdly precise control of force, Max didn’t seem seriously injured.

She let out a long breath of relief.

‘At least this won’t turn into a lawsuit.’

Not that anyone would have the guts to sue a grand ducal house—but rumors of violence breaking out in her shop would still be troublesome.

Max, however, completely misunderstood her intentions.

Seeing her check him with concern, his face flushed slightly.

“Sha… Shana…”

Then he realized how ridiculous he looked, bleeding from the nose on the floor.

Embarrassment surged.

Grinding his teeth, he shouted angrily.

“Y-you did this, didn’t you?!”

He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and glared at Lucian.

“…Hm.

At first, I just opened the door. After that, didn’t you fall over all by yourself? Seems your sense of balance is severely lacking.”

“Bullshit! My body floated!

You’re a mage, aren’t you?! You think it’s okay to use magic on a civilian like this?!”

Max screamed, pointing accusingly.

“Oh. You noticed.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow gracefully, folding his arms.

“What?”

“I thought you were too stupid to figure it out. Color me impressed. Right, Shasha?”

He smiled at her, eyes curving softly.

It looked absurdly affectionate.

Max felt a surge of jealousy and turned back on Shana.

“W-what? Sh-Shasha? What did that bastard just call you?”

More shocking to him than the hives on his arm was that intimate nickname.

Ignoring both men, Shana pointed at Max’s arm.

“This is just an allergic reaction. Considering your birch allergy, it looks like something that would happen if you rubbed tree bark on your skin.”

At her sharp assessment, Max trembled, looking between them before yelling irrationally.

“…Bullshit! You’re blaming the customer now?! I used ointment and this happened—aaagh!”

Before he could finish, Shana had already stuck a syringe into his arm.

“…Shasha?”

Even Lucian hadn’t expected that level of speed.

“W-what the hell did you inject me with?!”

Max shrieked, staring at the syringe.

Shana didn’t answer.

She simply pointed to his arm.

The numerous hives began shrinking the moment the medicine entered his system.

Within seconds, they vanished without a trace.

“Since it responded to an anti-allergy agent, it was an allergy.”

Max’s mouth opened and closed like a stunned fish.

“A-an allergy treatment…”

The idea that such a thing existed had never crossed his mind.

Much less that someone would inject it into him without explanation.

“Pay for the medicine and leave.”

Shana held out her hand.

“P-pay?”

Max exploded.

“This is insane! You stabbed me with a syringe without asking, and I’m supposed to pay?!”

“Then does it make sense for you to buy my medicine secondhand, use it however you want, and scream about side effects?”

“……”

While Max bit his lip, Lucian asked gently.

“Shasha, how much is the medicine?”

“F-four… hundred bronze.”

“Four hundred? Not forty? You raised it tenfold just now.”

He whispered at her ear.

‘How did he catch that?’

She’d assumed he was clueless, but he caught things like that instantly.

“Alright. Four hundred bronze.”

Lucian clapped lightly.

Instantly, Max’s body floated back into the air—far higher than before.

His face drained of color in sheer terror.

“W-what are you doing?! Put me down!”

Lucian flicked his finger.

Max flipped upside down, suspended in a perfect handstand.

His shirt slid down, exposing an unsightly belly.

Lucian frowned in genuine disgust.

“Shasha, close your eyes. This can’t be good for your eyesight.”

She tried to peek anyway, but after locking eyes with Max’s protruding navel, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Y-you bastard! Aaagh! Someone help!”

Lucian then proceeded to literally shake Max down.

Suspended in the air, Max was rattled violently until everything in his pockets rained onto the floor—coins clattering, a wallet, and one other object.

Before Shana could get a good look, Lucian snatched that item with magic, slipped it into his pocket, then extracted exactly four hundred bronze from the wallet and handed it to her.

“Shasha, you can open your eyes now.”

After assault and extortion, Max was seething with rage.

Many people possessed mana, but few were skilled in magic.

Clearly, this mage thought he could look down on the village chief’s son.

“H-how dare you! Do you know who I am?!”

“No.”

Lucian replied flatly.

“I’m the village chief’s son! You look like some hired mage—

I can make sure you never work around here again!”

“Really? So am I.”

“Where?”

“The Ristoria Territory.”

“…Ristoria? The northern Rithardt Grand Duchy? That place has village chiefs too?”

Max stared at him stupidly.

Shana shook her head.

“I’m suing over this! I’ll report you to the guards!

And Shana, I’ll make sure you can’t show your face in this village ever again, you fraud!”

“…Fraud?”

Shana raised an eyebrow.

‘All I’ve ever done is work hard and live honestly.’

Max dug through his pockets, searching for the item he’d prepared to incriminate her.

They were empty.

Lucian watched him coldly.

Realizing Lucian had taken it, Max let out a hollow laugh.

“Hah. Now you’re stealing too? Assault and theft…I’ll see you rot in prison.”

“Go on.”

“…What?”

“You said you’d report it. Go ahead. Run.”

Max glared at him.

Did he think he wouldn’t?

But his legs wouldn’t move—rooted to the floor.

Lucian’s magic held him fast.

“U-ugh!”

“You’re not running.”

Lucian said coolly.

Not won’t.
Can’t.

No matter how hard he tried, his body didn’t budge.

“Y-you bastard!”

“All bark.”

Lucian snapped his fingers.

Max’s lips sealed shut as if locked.

Only muffled air escaped.

“Shasha, our shop is lacking decorations.

He’s aesthetically worthless, but maybe we could turn him into a statue and place him out front?”

Lucian looked genuinely entertained.

“…You want our sales to drop?”

At Shana’s serious reply, Lucian burst out laughing.

Max’s muffled protests went ignored.

“Then I’ll arrest this pest as Captain of the Imperial Guard.

Charges: fraud, unlawful trespassing, stalking, intimidation.”

“…Mmfh?!”

Max’s eyes widened.

“I want to see his reaction. Unseal his mouth.”

Shana said, half-amused.

Lucian flicked his finger.

Max could speak again.

“L-lies! Bullshit! The Guard Captain is a war hero…

Recently returned…Recently…”

The name he’d read in the papers surfaced slowly.

Max’s face went deathly pale.

“Lucian… Rithardt?”

His mouth hung open.

The man every girl in the Empire dreamed of.

The living legend who won the war.

Why was he here—In this shabby rural apothecary—With that sharp-tongued apothecary?

His feeble mind desperately rejected reality.