Not Your Real Feelings

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

Only then did the man’s unreal appearance truly register.

Up until now, Max had only thought of him as tall and irritatingly handsome, the kind of guy whose face alone made you annoyed.

But now that he was really looking, the face was terrifyingly familiar.

The face that had dominated the front pages of every imperial newspaper.

The face that had stood beside the Emperor, waving during the triumphant return of the war hero.

The commander of the Empire’s finest force, the Red Wolf Knights.

Under the imperial sky, there was no one who didn’t know that face.

Which meant he recognized him instantly.

‘Why… why didn’t I realize sooner?’

The color drained from Max’s face, leaving him deathly pale.

It had never crossed his mind that a man in a backwater village like this could be the heir of a grand ducal house.

And more than that, Max had lived his entire life as the village chief’s precious only son, revered in this tiny town like a frog trapped at the bottom of a well.

By all common sense, the only way to survive now was to slam his head into the ground and kneel in apology.

But the arrogance and resentment ingrained in him over years reared their heads first.

Why—why was a highborn noble pretending to be a commoner just to torment him?

Wasn’t this blatant aristocratic tyranny?

In the end, Max opened his mouth and spoke the words that would dig his own grave.

“Th-then why… why didn’t you say so sooner…?”

“Hm?”

One of Lucian’s eyebrows lifted.

“If you had told me earlier, th-this wouldn’t have…”

It was obvious he was pinning the cause of everything on Lucian.

At the sheer audacity, Shana’s mouth fell open.

‘He still hasn’t come to his senses…?’

Apparently, the nuisance clinging to her was far more stubborn and stupid than she’d thought.

Max kept muttering on.

“You were the one who struck first… a-and this was just a private matter between Shana and me…

I mean, when you think about it, shouldn’t an imperial hero refrain from beating up civilians like me?”

“No. This is between you and me.”

“…Why? I’m meeting Your Excellency for the first time today.”

“Why?”

The smile on Lucian’s lips deepened, turning cold.

“You touched Shasha first.

The moment you did that, it became a problem between you and me. Isn’t that right?”

How did that logic even work?

Max couldn’t understand it.

Then Lucian began walking toward him.

Step.

Step.

“The reason you dared to touch Shasha…”

His lowered voice carried not a hint of humor.

“…was because you thought it’d be fine even if you died, wasn’t it?”

‘How does someone arrive at that conclusion?!’

And then it hit him.

Lucian and Shana had been far too intimate from the start.

Only now did the pieces fall into place.

They were both in relaxed nightclothes.

They had faced him together, in the same space, early in the morning.

How had he not noticed sooner?

‘That means… they spent the night together?’

The thought made Max’s fists tremble.

‘So the two of them are… lovers?’

At first, Shana had been kind to him, even seeming interested.

Then, at some point, she’d begun treating him like dirt.

When he tried to confront her about it, she’d stopped selling him medicine altogether.

‘So it was all because of Lucian Rithardt?’

He didn’t know where she’d managed to snag a noble of that caliber, but she must have planned this from the beginning to humiliate him.

That cursed noble, throwing his weight around.

At this point, retreat was the only option.

Max lowered his head slightly and forced out the most servile voice he could manage.

“…I-I was wrong. I didn’t know she was the hero’s lover. What should I do to make this right?”

He bent at the waist to a full ninety degrees, deliberately making himself look as pitiful as possible.

Watching him, Lucian let out a small laugh.

“Your eyes are disrespectful.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re cursing me in your head. ‘That damn noble bastard, drunk on his own power.’”

At Lucian’s words, Max’s pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.

“I told you clearly, didn’t I? You touched her knowing you might die.”

Lucian’s gentle smile made Max feel genuine fear for his life.

“I-I’m an only son…I have to inherit my father’s position and run this village…

Please, just forgive me this once.”

He didn’t really believe they’d kill him over knocking on a shop door.

“Shana is also an only child. She runs this apothecary alone as the head of her household.

Seeing her treated like that breaks my heart.”

The air around Lucian grew darker and more ominous.

Max didn’t realize that he was being crushed under the murderous mana pouring off Lucian’s body.

“I won’t talk to the press or anything! I just won’t bother her again, alright? It’s just because of this stuck-up girl—”

Max glared at Shana in one last desperate bid.

Of course, his promise was a lie.

The moment Lucian’s interest wavered, he planned to take revenge.

There was no way a great noble’s attention would last long on a rural apothecary.

“No. You seem to be mistaken.”

In the blink of an eye, Lucian grabbed Max by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“Ghk—!”

Even without using magic, Max couldn’t put up any resistance.

Lucian tightened his grip.

“When someone says things like that…”

His voice was chillingly calm.

“…I usually just bury them quietly. That way, there’s no one left to report it. Isn’t that convenient?”

“Gk—guhhh—!”

A wet, choking sound escaped Max’s throat.

Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot and bulging as his face slowly turned blue.

Watching him suffocate, Shana finally stepped in.

“Lucian. That’s enough. Put him down.”

At her calm voice, Lucian tossed Max to the ground.

“Kh—koff! Koff! Aaaah!”

Max collapsed, coughing violently, tears and mucus streaming down his face.

“Sorry, Shasha. I let my emotions get the better of me. He called you a stuck-up girl.”

…That was all it took?

Shana blinked.

Perhaps because she’d grown numb to ridicule for being mana-less and a debt-ridden noble, insults like that barely registered with her anymore.

‘Though nuisances are still annoying.’

“Max.”

“Huh?”

“Drink this, and I won’t report you.”

Shana held out a small vial.

Inside, a black liquid bubbled unpleasantly, giving off a stench like rotten fish entrails.

“…W-what is that?”

“A laxative strong enough to keep you living in the toilet for three days.

Compared to what you’ve done, that’s nothing.

I also put a special enchantment on it.

From now on, if you plan anything bad toward me or anyone else, the effect will trigger again and twist your guts.

You won’t even have time to digest food before it all comes out.”

“Y-you want me to drink something that horrible?”

Max looked like he’d rather die, but Shana merely pointed her thumb at Lucian behind her.

“Yes. Or you can be buried by him. Your choice.”

“Did you call me, Shasha?”

Lucian asked cheerfully from behind.

Max screamed and grabbed the vial.

“I-I’ll drink it! I’ll drink it!”

He squeezed his eyes shut and gulped it all down.

The stench and horrific taste made him scream once more.

“Ugh—ghhhk!”

“You should hurry home. This apothecary doesn’t have a toilet.”

Which meant she had no intention of letting him use one.

Moments later, thunderous gurgling echoed from his stomach.

Clutching his backside with both hands, Max staggered out the door.

“Aaaaaah!”

Only after confirming he was gone did Shana shake her head and stand up.

‘Of all times, right before moving.’

“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”

Lucian supported her back and asked,

“Fair enough. Want to rest?”

“…I still have to pack. Though we did manage to take out one piece of trash.”

“What? Which one?”

“The potion I gave him earlier. It was just leftover sludge from failed experiments.

I was supposed to dispose of it properly, but he saved me the trouble by drinking it.”

Lucian paused, thinking of the rare ingredients he’d brought earlier.

“…Was that curse effect real?”

“Hm? Well, he’ll definitely have a severe stomachache.

It’s a mess of ingredients. But the ‘do something bad and get diarrhea’ part was obviously a lie.

If he believes it, he might behave for a while.”

Shana turned to head back inside when Lucian grabbed her shoulders.

“Why let him off so easily, Shasha? You should’ve left him half-dead.”

“Too much effort.”

And watching him foam at the mouth had oddly erased her desire for revenge.

Lucian touched his jaw and mouth, then said,

“Shasha, you’re an angel.”

“What?”

“I’m losing my mind.”

Shana frowned.

The one truly close to losing her mind was her.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner you had customers like that? If you had, I would’ve gotten rid of him immediately—”

Lucian stopped mid-sentence.

He clearly realized it himself.

He had been the one to keep his distance first.

“…Running a business means dealing with all kinds of people.”

Shana shrugged instead of arguing.

“Anyway, Lucian. Thanks for earlier.”

“Hm? No, Shasha. Between us, that’s only natural—”

“But from now on, you don’t have to help like that. There was no need to get so emotional.”

“Shasha.”

“Lucian, I don’t think you should believe all the impulses you feel because of the medicine I made.

They’re not your real feelings.”

At her serious advice, Lucian simply looked at her in silence.