March 8th, 2012 — 2:15 PM
Capital Lower District — Scrap Iron Alley
Perspective: Kaiser Everhart
The lower commercial fringe smelled of rust, damp sawdust, and rotten fruit.
Heaps of discarded carriage axles, broken copper pipes, and cracked glass demijohns were piled along the narrow brick alleyways behind the repair shops. It was an unofficial graveyard for broken machinery. To a noble, it was municipal waste.
To a mechanic, it was a free supply depot.
Free is the best price.
I crouched beside an overturned wooden handcart, digging through a crate of discarded parts, while Axel hovered over my shoulder like an anxious crow in his oversized dark trench coat.
"Boss, why are we digging in literal garbage?!" Axel yelled, hopping over a puddle of oily water. "I thought we were going to a laboratory! High-tier alchemists use silver cauldrons and crystal flasks, not rusty nails and broken bucket handles!"
"A laboratory is just an organized workspace with temperature control and measurement tools," I said, pulling out a 10-inch brass sleeve and tapping the rust off against my boot. "Medicine isn't magic, Axel. It's chemistry and biology. You take natural compounds, extract their active molecules, isolate them from unwanted toxins, and bind them with an inert carrier so the body absorbs them cleanly."
"Yeah, but why the trash?!"
"Because custom distillation equipment costs 15 silver coins," I explained calmly, retrieving a discarded brass pressure valve from under a rotten plank. "This brass valve, this hollow conduit, and a cracked copper kettle cost exactly zero copper coins. With basic heat-bending and mechanical sealing, they function identically."
Axel stared at the brass junk in my hands, his face twisting into profound skepticism. "Are we going to feed Elfie melted bucket water?!"
"No," I replied deadpan. "The internal extraction chambers will be sterilized with high-temperature vapor and ethanol. Now listen carefully, because I need you on botanical procurement while I build the rig."
Axel straightened his trench coat immediately, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "The Dark Wolf is listening. Give me the coordinates."
"You need to retrieve 5 specific raw plant specimens," I instructed, dusting off my hands. "First, Filipendula Ulmaria—wild meadowsweet. Look near the damp banks of the canal by the 3rd District aqueduct. It has clusters of creamy-white, almond-scented flowers and crinkled leaves."
"Creamy flowers by the canal. Got it. What else?"
"Second, Viburnum Opulus—cramp bark. You'll find the bushes along the outer stone fence of the municipal arboretum. The bark has a greyish, slightly furrowed texture. Scrape the outer bark with this knife—take only the green cambium underneath." I tossed him a small pocket blade.
Axel caught it, nodding with intense focus. "Third?"
"Third, Pimpinella Anisum—anise seeds. Go to the open spice stalls in the lower market. Buy a handful of dried seeds for 2 coppers. Fourth, Papaver Somniferum—opium poppy pods. The ornamental flower beds near the old cathedral fountain grow them in plain sight. Take 3 unripened green seed pods. Do not bruise them."
"And the 5th?"
"The most critical one: Salix Alba—white willow bark," I emphasized, looking him dead in the eye. "It grows near running fresh water, specifically the weeping willow groves along the riverbank path behind the south gate. Look for young, flexible branches with silvery undersides on the leaves. Strip the inner bark."
Axel blinked, his eyebrows furrowing as his brain tried to organize the mental map. "Canal flowers, park bush bark, market spice, church pods, and river trees. Bro, this sounds like a scavenger hunt for a medieval witch!"
"It's targeted pharmacognosy," I corrected. "And it's for Elfina. Her cramps are peaking right now. Every minute you waste is another minute she spends in severe pain."
Axel's eyes flared with sudden, heroic determination.
"For the buttercup!" Axel roared, slamming his fist against his chest. "The Dark Wolf shall scour the earth!"
He spun around on his heel, his trench coat flaring dramatically in the breeze, and sprinted down the alleyway at full speed, nearly colliding with an elderly baker carrying a basket of bread.
I shook my head, turning my focus back to the workbench.
Time to construct an analytical extraction rig.
I cleared a flat stone slab beneath the overhang of an abandoned warehouse. From my pockets, I retrieved my folding multi-tool, a small brass hammer, a file, and a spool of copper wire.
First, I needed a reflux condenser. I took a long, hollow copper tube from the scrap pile, wrapped it tightly around a cylindrical wooden broomstick to form a neat, coiled spiral, and fitted it inside a wider brass outer pipe. When cold water was funneled through the outer pipe, the vapor rising through the inner coil would rapidly condense back into liquid without losing volatile aromatic esters.
Second, a trituration mill. I took a discarded cast-iron mortar from a blacksmith's trash heap, cleaned the interior with coarse sand and oil, and filed down a heavy iron bolt to serve as a high-density mechanical pestle for pulverizing plant cellular walls.
Third, a fractional filtration chamber. I stacked three cylindrical brass mesh screens of varying porosity—500 microns, 150 microns, and 20 microns—inside a cut copper funnel, creating a mechanical sieve array to filter out insoluble cellulose and plant waxes.
Fourth, a double-jacketed water bath. I nested a small tin pot inside a wider iron skillet, separating them with a layer of clean river sand to distribute heat evenly and prevent the botanical extracts from scorching over the open flame.
I reached for a fifth component—a rubber gasket from a broken carriage piston to seal the condenser joint.
I stopped.
I held the weathered black rubber up to the light. The material was brittle, coated in sulfur vulcanizers, oxidized grease, and toxic petroleum residues.
If heated vapor passes through this, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur compounds will leach directly into the distillate.
Contamination.
In professional chemical synthesis, raw materials could be improvised, but reaction seals directly touching consumable compounds could not. A single trace of degraded industrial sulfur in Elfie's medicine could trigger acute gastroenteritis.
Trash has its limits. Don't be cheap on human safety.
I wiped my hands, left the assembly on the stone slab, and walked three streets over to the Harlan & Sons Precision Tool Exchange.
The shop was quiet, filled with the clean smell of mineral oil and brass shavings. Behind the glass counter stood a middle-aged dwarvian technician with thick magnifying goggles pushed up onto his forehead.
"Welcome," the dwarf grunted, looking down at me. "What does a kid need? Clockwork springs? Toy gears?"
"I need two food-grade borosilicate glass delivery tubes, a silicone heat-resistant sealing ring rated for 150 degrees Celsius, and a pack of unbleached cellulose filter discs," I stated calmly.
The dwarf froze, his bushy gray eyebrows slowly climbing his forehead. He adjusted his goggles, staring at me with genuine bewilderment.
"Borosilicate tubes and food-grade silicone?" the dwarf repeated, letting out a low, impressed whistle. "Those are pharmaceutical laboratory fittings, lad. What are you building? A micro-distiller?"
"Just a home science project for biology class," I replied with an innocent, polite smile. "My teacher is very strict about seal degradation."
The dwarf laughed, a booming, rumbling chuckle. "Ha! A kid who understands chemical purity! That'll be 8 copper coins, lad. Take care of that glass—it's imported from the northern dwarvian kilns."
I paid the coins, packed the pristine glass and silicone components into my canvas pouch, and jogged back to the alley.
---
Meanwhile — South Gate Riverbank
Perspective: Axel
I am a creature of the shadows. A phantom of the wind.
I vaulted over a wooden drainage ditch, my oversized trench coat flapping wildly behind me as I sprinted along the muddy canal path.
In my leather pouch, I already had the white meadowsweet flowers from the aqueduct (which smelled shockingly nice), the scraped green cramp bark from the arboretum (I almost got chased by a groundskeeper with a rake), a bag of anise seeds from the market (cost me 2 coppers, but I bargained the guy down from 3 like a master merchant), and 3 green poppy pods from the church garden (I prayed to the Creator first so it wasn't technically stealing).
Now... where is the damn silver tree?!
I skidded to a halt on the gravel bank of the river, panting heavily. The sun was beating down, sweat was stinging my eyes, and my feet felt like lead inside my heavy boots.
I checked my phone clock.
2:48 PM!
"33 minutes have passed!" I gasped in sheer panic, grabbing my hair with both hands. "The boss is gonna execute me! Kaiser is gonna use my allowance to pay off his debts! And Elfina is suffering!"
I frantically scanned the riverbank. There were oak trees. There were birch trees. There were thorny bushes that kept snagging my coat. But none of them had the silvery leaves Kaiser described.
"Where are you, Salix Alba?!" I shouted at the river. "Reveal yourself to the Dark Wolf!"
A passing fisherman in a small wooden rowboat stopped rowing, staring at me as if I had completely lost my mind.
I ignored him, running another 100 meters down the rocky bend.
And then, right near the water's edge, partially hanging over the rushing current, I saw it.
A massive, weeping willow tree with long, drooping branches. The afternoon wind caught the foliage, flipping the leaves over—and their undersides shimmered with a brilliant, unmistakable silvery-white sheen in the sunlight.
"THERE!" I shrieked with uncontained triumph.
I scrambled down the muddy embankment, lost my footing, slid 3 meters on my rear, and slammed right into the trunk.
Ignoring the mud caked on my trousers, I whipped out Kaiser's pocket knife, grabbed a low-hanging young branch, and sliced through the bark, carefully peeling away the moist, pale inner layer just like he taught me. The fiber was flexible, smelling fresh, bitter, and medicinal.
I stuffed a massive bundle of the bark into my satchel, scrambled back up the embankment, and checked the time.
2:55 PM!
"40 minutes!"
I sprinted toward Scrap Iron Alley like a man possessed, lightning sparks literally shooting out of the heels of my boots.
---
3:00 PM
Abandoned Foundry Yard — Under-Bridge Pavilion
Perspective: Kaiser Everhart
The foundry yard was completely deserted—an open stone clearing shaded beneath the massive arches of the Grand Canal Aqueduct. It provided natural shelter, a nearby water source from an overflow valve, and total privacy.
My rig was fully assembled on top of a flat, overturned iron furnace.
The setup was a marvel of improvised engineering. The copper boiler rested securely over my portable spirit-burner. The borosilicate delivery tube connected seamlessly to the water-cooled brass reflux coil via the clean silicone gasket. At the bottom, a sterilized glass collector sat inside a cold-water bath, ready to receive the condensed active principles.
Footsteps pounded across the gravel.
Axel burst into the pavilion, covered in mud from his knees down, his hair a wild, sweaty bird's nest, clutching his leather satchel like a newborn child.
"I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE ABYSS!" Axel wheezed, collapsing onto a wooden crate and dumping the botanical materials onto the stone table. "Canal flowers! Bush bark! Church pods! Anise seeds! And the legendary silver tree bark! Every single one accounted for!"
I inspected the haul.
The meadowsweet was fresh and unbruised. The cramp bark had clean cambium exposed. The anise seeds were fragrant. The poppy pods were intact. And the willow bark was prime—rich in salicin.
"Excellent work, Axel," I said, giving him an approving nod. "Your physical utility is appreciated."
"I risked my life for that willow tree!" Axel panted, wiping mud from his cheek. "I slid down a cliff! Now hurry, let's brew the potion and go save her!"
"It isn't brewing," I corrected, lighting the burner under the boiler. "It is extraction, hydrolyzation, and stabilization. Watch and learn."
What followed was a brutal masterclass in laboratory reality.
Science is not magic. It is iterative failure until variables align.
Experiment 1 — 3:15 PM:
I pulverized the white willow bark and meadowsweet together in the iron mortar, mixed them with distilled water in the boiler, and heated the mixture to a rolling boil.
Result: Catastrophic failure. The direct high heat scorched the meadowsweet mucilage, turning the solution into a bitter, charred brown sludge that destroyed the delicate buffering flavonoids.
"It smells like burnt cabbage," Axel observed, pinching his nose.
"Temperature was too high," I noted calmly, scraping the residue out. "Meadowsweet requires gentle indirect extraction at precisely 65 degrees Celsius. We adjust the water bath."
Experiment 4 — 3:42 PM:
I successfully extracted the salicin and meadowsweet separately, then introduced the titrated opium poppy sap.
Result: Chemical precipitation. The natural tannins in the cramp bark bound directly to the alkaloid molecules of the opium, forming dense, insoluble gray flakes that clogged the 20-micron filter screen entirely.
"Bro, it looks like wet cement!" Axel shouted. "Is it supposed to look like cement?!"
"No. Tannin-alkaloid antagonism," I analyzed, checking the residue. "We must introduce Pimpinella Anisum essential oils first to create an emulsion barrier before blending the poppy extract."
Experiment 7 — 4:05 PM:
The emulsion held, but during the final reflux phase, a sudden pressure spike inside the copper coil blew the silicone gasket slightly loose.
Result: A hiss of pressurized steam escaped, scalding the back of my left hand and spraying hot botanical vapor into the air.
"WHOA!" Axel panicked, jumping backward. "Kaiser! You're bleeding!"
I looked at my hand. The skin along my knuckles was scraped, red from the heat, and marked with small cuts from tightening the copper wire brackets with bare fingers.
"Minor thermal and mechanical abrasion," I dismissed flatly, wiping the blood on a rag. "Focus on the condensation rate. The reflux coil needs tighter clamp torque."
"Bro, your hands are completely battered!" Axel protested, looking at my scraped palms with genuine worry. "Take a break! Let's just buy normal medicine!"
"No," I said coldly, adjusting the wire brackets. "Her pain is continuous. A scraped hand is irrelevant."
Experiment 11 — 4:30 PM:
The extract distilled cleanly into a clear, golden-amber liquid. I used a drop of litmus-infused paper to test the pH balance.
Result: Highly acidic (pH 3.8). The salicylic acid concentration was too potent; it would cause gastric spasms if ingested by a fasting stomach.
"Still too acidic," I muttered, recording the metric with a piece of chalk on the furnace side. "We need to increase the buffering alkaline salts from the cramp bark ash."
Experiment 14 — 4:55 PM:
I neutralized the acid using purified plant ash, but the resulting solution tasted overwhelmingly acrid and triggered rapid oxidation, turning dark brown within 3 minutes of air contact.
"It oxidized," I deduced. "We need a natural antioxidant stabilizer. Dextrose and ascorbic acid vectors."
An hour and a half had passed. My fingers were stained dark yellow with plant tannins, my knuckles were raw, and my apron was covered in charcoal dust.
Axel sat on his crate, watching me in stunned silence as I methodically cleaned every piece of glassware, recalculated the molar ratios on the stone slab, and re-pulverized a fresh batch of raw ingredients from scratch.
Experiment 17 — 5:20 PM.
I integrated every single correction.
1. Willow bark boiled under controlled reflux to yield pure, hydrolyzed salicin.
2. Meadowsweet extracted in a secondary gentle water bath at 62 degrees Celsius, preserving 100 percent of the gastroprotective mucilage.
3. Anise seed essential oils homogenized with micro-dosed (0.05%) poppy alkaloids to prevent tannin binding.
4. Cramp bark extracts added under cold-pressed filtration for direct myometrial antispasmodic action.
5. Sweetened with pure raw honey and a pinch of salt to balance osmolarity and prevent gastric rejection.
The final drop dripped from the borosilicate glass tube into a clean crystal vial.
It was a luminous, pale amber syrup—crystal clear, completely free of sediment, smelling of sweet honey, gentle almond blossoms, and a hint of warm anise.
I picked up the vial. I dipped a glass rod into the solution, testing it on the litmus paper.
pH 6.4. Mathematically neutral.
I placed a single drop on the back of my tongue.
The flavor was sweet, smooth, and mildly herbal, coating the palate without any bitterness. Within 45 seconds, a gentle, penetrating warmth spread through the back of my throat, accompanied by a noticeable relaxation of localized muscle tension, with zero drowsiness, zero mental fog, and zero nausea.
Extraction efficiency: 99.2%.
Bioavailability: Immediate.
Toxicity profile: Absolute zero.
I stared at the glowing amber vial in my palm.
"It worked..." I whispered.
Axel jumped up from the crate, his eyes wide. "Wait... really?! It actually worked?!"
"Perfect balance," I confirmed, a wide, genuine grin breaking across my face. "Zero side effects. Immediate antispasmodic relief."
"LETTTT'S GOOOOO!" Axel screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing his hands in the air.
He grabbed my shoulders, and the two of us broke into an absurd, chaotic victory celebration right in the middle of the foundry yard—Axel jumping up and down in his muddy trench coat doing a wild, uncoordinated jig, while I laughed out loud, trading aggressive, synchronized fist-pumps and high-fives in the dusty air.
Two passing foundry workers peered over the stone wall, staring at a muddy boy in a trench coat and a soot-covered kid in a hoodie wildly dancing around a copper scrap-pipe rig.
"Look at those two," one worker muttered, shaking his head. "The academy students have completely lost their minds."
We didn't care.
I sealed the crystal vial with a clean cork, carefully wiping the glass with a clean cloth before slipping it into my inner chest pocket, right over my heart.
I looked at Axel, whose face was covered in soot, mud, and a massive, proud grin.
"Axel," I said, clapping his shoulder. "Clean yourself up. We're going back to the dorms."
"Mission accomplished, boss!" Axel beamed, puffing out his chest. "We're the chosen duo!"
---
March 8th, 2012 — 3:34 PM
Class C Dormitories — Elfie's Room
Perspective: Elfina
The afternoon light filtered through the thin cotton curtains, warming the wooden floorboards.
Leena sat beside my bed on the wooden chair, closing the thick leather binder containing Instructor Aisha's briefing notes.
"So that's the general structure," Leena summarized, resting the binder on her lap. "Two Life anchors sealed in containment booths, six Protectors on the field, three classes fighting in a simulated realm at once, and a mandatory 1-on-1 duel if we end in a sudden-death stalemate."
I adjusted the lavender blanket around my shoulders, leaning back against the plush pillows.
"It sounds really complicated..." I murmured, resting my chin on my knees. "Sealed booths and random selection? It feels like the instructors are trying to make us fight each other's brains instead of just using magic."
"That's exactly what it is," Leena agreed, her green eyes serious. "Class A has Roman-level firepower and dwarvian magitek, while Class B has Xeno's tactical formations. If we lose even 0.1 percent more Health Matrix than them, someone from our class gets expelled."
"We won't fail this time," I said softly, my voice firm with absolute certainty. "We have Rigel's tactics, and we have Kai. When Kai plans things, nobody can predict what he's going to do. We're going to protect everyone."
Leena looked at me, a warm, affectionate smile spreading across her face. "You really trust him with everything, don't you?"
"Of course," I replied immediately, feeling a soft blush rise on my cheeks.
I paused, looking at her green braids, and decided to change the subject before she teased me again.
"Leena... what about what you promised earlier?" I asked quietly, tapping the edge of the mattress. "You said you'd tell me about your first period once we finished the exam notes."
Leena let out a soft sigh, setting the binder on the nightstand, and leaned her chin into her palm with a nostalgic, slightly tired smile.
"Ah, right. My glamorous origin story."
"How was it for you?" I asked, pulling the blanket higher. "Were you scared too?"
"Terrified," Leena confessed with a wry chuckle. "I was about 11, living in the outskirts of the human farming village after we left the elven kingdom. I woke up with my lower back burning like someone had struck it with an iron rod, and when I saw the sheets, I literally thought my mana core was rupturing and leaking out of me."
"Did you go to a healer?"
"In a farming village? No way," Leena laughed softly. "The older village women—the aunties who lived down the lane—came over when they heard me crying. They took one look, handed me a rough stack of linen rags, and said, 'Congratulations, little elf girl, you're becoming a woman. It happens every month. Wash your own cloths in cold water and don't touch the sour milk or it'll curdle.' That was my entire medical briefing."
My eyes widened in sympathy. "That's it?! They didn't help you with the pain?"
"Nope. Back then, people treated it like a chore you just had to endure in silence," Leena explained. "They told me to drink bitter nettle tea and stay out of the fields. For 4 days straight, I had terrible nausea. Every time I smelled cooking meat or warm bread, my stomach flipped and I threw up in the wooden washbasin. I had zero appetite for two whole days."
"Why did you throw up?"
"Hormonal shock," Leena said, gesturing vaguely. "Your body gets flooded with new signals and your digestive tract gets completely irritated. And to make it worse, my sugar cravings were insane. I sat in the corner of my room crying because I desperately wanted a honey bun, but we were broke and didn't have any honey."
"What did Rigel do?" I asked curiously.
Leena smiled, though there was a soft, tender pity in her green eyes.
"Poor Rigel," Leena sighed affectionately. "He was older, and he didn't know anything about female biology. He saw me crying, panicked completely, and thought I had been poisoned by poisonous fruits. He ran two miles to the apothecary and spent his last 4 copper coins buying a jar of pungent dragon-pepper ointment because the label said 'relieves muscle soreness'."
I gasped. "Dragon-pepper ointment?!"
"Yes!" Leena laughed out loud. "He brought it to my room, blushing like a ripe tomato, handed me the jar, and said, 'Rub this on your forehead, Leena, it will fight the poison!' It burned my skin so bad I threw a wooden shoe at him! He was genuinely trying to be supportive, but he had zero clue what was actually happening. In the end, I just had to curl up in a cold blanket and suffer through it alone until the 4 days passed."
She looked at me, her green eyes dancing with playful amusement.
"So you can imagine my shock when I walk into your room today and find Kaiser acting like a master physician, washing your laundry, serving warm honeyed porridge, and tucking you into lavender blankets. That is why I called it princess treatment, Elfie!"
"It's not like that..." I muttered, burying my burning face into the plush pillow. "Kai is just... really practical. He likes solving problems."
Leena raised an eyebrow, a teasing smirk curling her lips.
"Practical? Elfie, let me ask you five simple questions. Answer them honestly."
I peeked over the top of the pillow, blinking curiously. "Questions about what?"
"About your 'practical' Kaiser," Leena said, holding up one finger. "First question: When you were feeling sick and nauseous earlier, what if you had accidentally thrown up all over the fresh blanket and the hot porridge he spent 40 minutes cooking for you? What would he do?"
I stopped.
I closed my eyes, picturing the exact scenario.
If I threw up...
I saw Kai's calm, steady face in my head.
He wouldn't yell. He wouldn't sigh in annoyance or make a disgusted face. He would immediately pull my hair back, place a cool wet cloth against my neck, wipe my mouth, clean the floorboards without a single word of complaint, and then sit beside me, stroking my head and saying: 'It's okay, Elfie. Rest for an hour, and I'll brew a lighter broth once your stomach settles.'
I opened my eyes and looked at Leena.
"He would clean it up immediately," I answered softly. "He'd wipe my face, give me cool water, and tell me it's okay. Then he'd wait for my stomach to calm down and make me fresh food."
Leena stared at me, shaking her head in disbelief. "A boy with that kind of unconditional patience doesn't exist, Elfie. But let's continue. Second question: When your stomach was cramping so hard you couldn't stand, did he ever tell you to 'just bear with it' or that 'it's just a normal thing you have to deal with'?"
"Never," I replied instantly. "He explained why the muscles were contracting, guided my breathing, and used his own hands to massage the tension away so I wouldn't feel scared."
Leena held up a third finger. "Third question: When he saw the blood on your bedsheets this morning—did you see even a bit of hesitation, disgust, or awkwardness in his eyes?"
I gripped the blanket tightly, my throat tightening as the memory of his warm embrace rushed back.
"No," I whispered. "He didn't hesitate at all. He just stepped forward, hugged me, and told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world... and that nothing could ever make him disgusted by me."
Leena let out a long, quiet breath, her playful expression slowly melting into genuine, profound awe.
"4th question," Leena continued softly, holding up a fourth finger. "When you asked for medicine to make the pain stop—knowing that standard painkillers carry side effects—what did he do?"
"He refused to give me commercial medicine because it would hurt my stomach..." I said, my voice trembling slightly. "Just so my body stays completely safe."
Leena lowered her hand slowly onto her lap. She looked into my eyes, her voice dropping into a quiet, serious tone.
"And the fifth question, Elfie..." Leena paused, searching my face. "How far would Kaiser go... just to keep you safe and relieve your pain?"
I opened my mouth to answer.
The words died in my throat.
How far would he go?
A sudden rush of disjointed, overwhelming memories flashed behind my eyelids—the cold, dark rooms of the orphanage when we were little... the nights I had high fevers and woke up to find him sitting upright in the wooden chair, holding a damp cloth to my forehead until dawn... the time I had cried because I was lonely, and he had carved a wooden star pendant with his bare hands until his fingers bled... the way he was the only one that celebrated my birthday... the quiet, terrifying vow he made in the dead of night: 'I'll always be by your side and protect you, Elfie. Always.'
I sat on the bed in complete, frozen silence.
I couldn't answer the 5th question.
Because deep in my heart, I knew the terrifying truth: There was no limit. There was no boundary he wouldn't cross, no law he wouldn't break, and no fire he wouldn't walk through if it meant protecting me.
Leena watched the shifting emotions in my wide blue eyes, letting out a soft, empathetic sigh.
"You don't have an answer, do you?" Leena murmured.
"I..." I sniffled, looking down at my hands. "I don't know..."
"Elfie," Leena said gently, leaning forward and placing a warm hand over mine. "What you have with Kaiser... it isn't normal. In the best possible way. I've known nobles, knights, scholars, and village couples. No boy—no grown man—treats a girl with that level of absolute, selfless devotion unless she is the entire center of his universe."
"Is it... really that rare?" I whispered, my heart aching with a strange, heavy warmth.
"It doesn't exist anywhere else," Leena stated with complete honesty. "Most people love conditionally. They care when it's convenient, when it's easy, or when they want something in return. But Kaiser carries your burdens as if they were his own responsibility. He takes all the dirty work, all the exhaustion, all the judgment, and leaves all the comfort for you."
I sat in silence, her words sinking deep into my chest like hot embers.
He carries my burdens as if they were his own...
We talked for another hour, moving on to lighter topics—gossiping about Instructor Aisha's frantic lectures, laughing about Axel's absurd delusions, and discussing Leena's favorite wind-skating techniques.
But beneath my laughter, my mind couldn't escape Leena's fifth question.
Have I been taking him for granted?
Ever since we were little, Kai was always just 'there'. He cooked for me, protected me, held my hand, and wiped my tears. I grew up thinking that was just how Kai was... but he isn't like that with anyone else. He is cold to the world, calculating with strangers, and ruthless with enemies. He only softens for me.
While I lie here in this warm, clean bed, he is out in the dusty city, finding medicine for me.
A hollow, guilty ache settled in my chest, making my eyes water.
Ding-dong.
The brass chime of the dormitory doorbell rang sharply through the quiet room.
I sat up straight, checking the small wooden clock on my nightstand.
5:45 PM.
He's back.
Leena stood up from her chair and walked over to the entrance, pulling the door open.
Kai and Axel were standing in the hallway. Axel was practically covered in dried river mud from the waist down, his trench coat askew, while Kai looked exhausted—his dark hoodie dusted with fine soot and his sleeves rolled up.
The moment Axel saw me sitting in the bed, his dark eyes went wide with theatrical relief.
"Buttercup!" Axel gasped, clutching his chest with both hands. "You're alive! The Dark Wolf has traversed murky swamps and conquered silver giants to secure your salvation!"
I blinked, a bewildered, amused smile breaking across my face. "Buttercup...? Axel, why are you covered in mud?"
"A warrior does not fear the earth!" Axel declared boldly, puffing out his chest. "I slid down an entire ravine for you!"
Leena crossed her arms, looking between the two of them with an amused, suspicious smirk.
"Well, boys," Leena asked, tapping her foot, "did you manage to buy the medicine?"
"Yes," Kai answered smoothly, pulling a small, corked crystal vial filled with glowing amber syrup from his inner pocket. "We bought the highest quality botanical formulation available in the central district."
Axel's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline, his mouth opening in immediate shock. "Wait, bought?! Boss, we literally scrounged in the tra—"
Before Axel could finish the syllable, Kai's right hand shot out with terrifying speed, clamping firmly over Axel's mouth and muffling his words into a series of frantic, panicked squeaks.
"Axel was just saying that we had a very productive conversation with the merchant," Kai stated with complete, unblinking calm. He turned his gaze to Leena.
"Thank you for keeping her company, Leena. Axel was just about to leave to take a long, thorough bath."
He dragged Axel backward by the collar into the hallway, releasing his mouth with a warning glare.
"Go to your room, Axel," Kai whispered in a tone that brooked zero argument. "Before I remember how much copper you owe me."
"Fine, fine! Wait OWE YOU?!? YOU OWE ME!" Axel squeaked, turning around and sprinting down the carpeted hallway.
Kai stepped back into the room and closed the door, setting the amber vial on the small wooden table. He walked over to the sink, turning on the brass faucet to wash the soot from his face and forearms.
Leena walked over to the table, picking up the small crystal vial and holding it up to the lamplight.
The glass had no paper pharmacy label, no stamped apothecary seal, and no price tag—just a clean, glowing amber syrup that shimmered with flawless clarity.
"Hey, Kaiser..." Leena called out, her voice narrowing with curiosity. "Where's the official packaging? What pharmacy sells hand-corked crystal vials with no labels?"
Kai froze for a split second by the sink, water dripping from his chin, before turning off the tap and reaching for a dry towel.
"The... uh, the head pharmacist runs a bespoke, small-batch apothecary," Kai replied without missing a single beat, drying his neck. "He dispenses direct concentrates to avoid commercial packaging taxes. It saves 15 percent on merchant tariffs."
Leena stared at him, her green eyes squinting in deep, unconvinced skepticism.
I looked past Leena, watching Kai dry his hands.
My breath caught in my throat.
His palms were red, raw, and covered in tiny, jagged scratches. Across his left knuckles were distinct, angry pink burn marks from scalding steam, and his fingertips were stained with dark yellow botanical tannins.
His hands...
Why are they like that...
A sharp, burning lump rose in my throat, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. I gripped the blanket tightly, desperate to keep from crying in front of them.
Kai walked over to the table, picked up the amber vial and a small silver spoon, and poured a clear glass of fresh water.
He approached the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress beside me.
"Time to take your medicine, Elfie," Kai said gently. He unstoppered the cork, carefully pouring a small, golden spoonful of the syrup, and held it up to my lips. "Open up."
I opened my mouth, letting the syrup glide over my tongue, and swallowed it with a sip of water.
The taste was surprisingly sweet—smooth, with rich notes of honey, delicate almond blossoms, and a soothing hint of warm anise. It didn't burn.
It didn't taste bitter at all.
Kai watched me attentively. "How does it taste?"
"It's... really tasty," I murmured softly, looking into his light blue eyes. "It tastes like sweet tea. I don't feel dizzy or sleepy at all."
Leena stepped closer, staring at the spoon. "What kind of medicine is that, anyway? I've never seen a menstrual painkiller that looks like liquid honey. The ones the village healers make are black, thick, and taste like boiled swamp mud."
"It's an ancient... nomadic formulation," Kai improvised deadpan, setting the glass on the nightstand. "An artisan specialty from the southern vales. They use cold-pressed nectar to mask the herbal extracts."
Leena raised both of her eyebrows so high they nearly touched her bangs. "A bespoke southern nomadic artisan formulation sold in an alleyway by a tax-evading pharmacist?"
"Precisely," Kai said with absolute, unyielding seriousness. "A rare commercial find."
Leena let out a quiet scoff, shaking her head with an amused smirk. She looked down at me, giving me a knowing, conspiratorial wink.
"Right. A very rare find indeed." Leena slung her satchel over her shoulder, walking toward the door. "Well, since the 'master physician' is back to handle the patient, I'll take my leave. Rest well, Elfie. Don't let him lecture you on economics too much."
"Thank you, Leena," I smiled softly.
"See you tomorrow, Leena," Kai added, giving her a polite nod.
"Bye, Kaiser! Good luck with your 'princess'!" Leena laughed, stepping out and pulling the door shut behind her.
Once we were alone, Kai immediately moved around the room with quiet efficiency. He drew the heavy blackout curtains across the window, shutting out the fading dusk light, and turned down the overhead lantern until only a warm, dim amber glow filled the space.
He walked back to the bed and tucked the soft blanket securely around my waist.
I didn't move. I just lay there in my pink sweater, clutching the edge of the sheets, staring up at him in the quiet twilight.
Kai noticed my stillness. He sat on the edge of the mattress, leaning in closer, his brow furrowing slightly.
"What's wrong, Elfie?" he asked, his voice low and tender. "Is the cramp still hurting?"
"No..." I whispered, my voice trembling faintly. "Nothing is wrong."
Kai looked at me for a second, then smiled. He reached out and gave my head a few gentle, rhythmic pats, his fingers smoothing my bangs.
"Be a good girl and close your eyes," Kai whispered softly. "Take a nap. By the time you wake up, I'll have a proper warm dinner ready for you."
I nodded obediently, pulling the blanket up to my chin.
He stood up, stepping quietly over to the kitchen counter to begin preparing dinner.
I closed my eyes in the dark, listening to the soft, rhythmic sounds of his movements—the clink of a ceramic pot, the gentle hiss of the spirit-burner, the steady tread of his boots on the floorboards.
A quiet current of thoughts began to swirl inside my mind, unspooling like a melody I had carried in my chest for years without ever speaking it out loud.
Stealing his way inside my quiet heart...
A gentle shadow watching from the start.
Quietly, softly, he lingers in the light...
Drifting through my thoughts into the night.
Oh, where do I begin...
Oh, where did he begin...
My breathing slowed, the warm syrup soothing every muscle in my abdomen until the heavy, iron knots completely melted away.
He knows everything, yet keeps his secrets sealed...
Why won't a single spoken word be revealed?
Will he ever confess what he hides away?
Will he meet me halfway one day?
Oh, where do I begin...
Oh, what is he holding in...
Surrounded by the scent of his cedarwood and the steady hum of his presence, the darkness gently carried me away into sleep.
---
I woke up around 7:30 PM.
The room was warm, filled with the mouth-watering aroma of roasted root vegetables, soft shredded chicken, and warm garlic broth.
The dull, wrenching pain that had plagued me for two days was completely, miraculously gone. My stomach felt light. My lower back felt completely normal. It was as if the cramps had never existed at all.
Kai noticed me stirring and immediately came over with a warm ceramic bowl.
He sat on the chair beside the bed, blowing gently on each spoonful of savory broth, patiently feeding me every single bite just like he did this morning.
I chewed slowly, staring at his calm face under the dim lantern light.
He stays so quiet, barely says a thing...
Yet I can hear the rumors that the silence brings.
"How is the pain?" Kai asked, wiping a drop of broth from my bottom lip with a clean napkin. "Did the cramps return while you were sleeping?"
"No..." I murmured, looking down at my hands. "I don't feel any pain at all, Kai. It feels like magic."
Kai's eyes curved into a soft, satisfied smile. "Good. The medicine is functioning as intended."
What happens in the quiet when our worlds collide...
The moment that his gaze meets mine, nowhere left to hide?
Oh, this quiet spark...
Oh, burning in the dark...
After dinner, Kai cleaned the bowls, wiped the counter, brought me fresh water, and checked the temperature of my forehead.
Time slipped by in quiet, peaceful domesticity.
By 9:00 PM, the dormitory building had gone completely quiet. Kai adjusted my pillows, set a glass of water on my nightstand, and reached for the hem of the blanket to tuck me in for the night.
"You should get a full night's rest now, Elfie," Kai said softly. "Tomorrow we have to go to class."
I didn't answer.
I lay on my side, pulling my knees up toward my chest, staring at the empty space on the mattress beside me.
Inside my head, the song wouldn't stop.
If he'd only listen close and let his guard come down...
The language of the heart isn't so hard to sound.
It's simple, really, if he'd only see:
Without him near, the day is hollow ground...
And empty is the night wrapping all around.
Love found its way... it took me away.
He stays so quiet, barely says a thing...
Yet my heart hears everything he doesn't say.
And then, like a cold wave crashing over a fragile sandcastle.
It started as a tiny, suffocating whisper in the back of my mind.
Why is he doing all this for me?
I'm not a princess. I'm just Elfie. An orphan girl who was thrown away... a girl who clings to him, who whines when her stomach hurts, who makes messes, who gets angry and cries over dropped apples...
Leena said no boy treats a girl like this. She said it doesn't exist anywhere else.
What if... what if this is all temporary?
What if one day he wakes up and realizes that taking care of me is just a burden? What if he gets tired of cleaning my messes, tired of burning his hands to buy medicine, tired of holding me when I'm scared? What if he finds someone smarter, someone who doesn't cry, someone like a real princess who has royal power and doesn't need to be saved?!
What happens to me when he leaves?
Without him, I have nothing. The world is too cold, too large, too empty.
My life... is meaningless.
The thought tightened around my throat like an iron noose, squeezing the air completely out of my lungs.
A sharp, helpless sob ripped from my chest.
I pulled the lavender blanket all the way over my head, curling into a tight, trembling ball beneath the covers, clutching my sweater as hot, uncontrollable tears flooded down my face.
Kai stopped dead in his tracks.
"Elfie?"
The blanket rustled as he quickly knelt beside the mattress, his voice laced with immediate, sharp alarm.
"Elfie, what's wrong?" he asked, his hands urgently finding the edges of the blanket. "Did the cramps return? Is the pain spiking again?"
"Elfie, talk to me," Kai urged, his voice dropping all of its calm detachment, filled with raw, desperate concern. "Pull the blanket down and look at me. If you're hurting, tell me where it is. I'll find a way to stop it. I'll make a stronger tea, I'll find a better remedy—I will fix it no matter what. And if it's not physical pain... if something else is wrong... just tell me. I'll do whatever you need, Elfie. Please, talk to me."
Hearing his desperate pleas—hearing him promise to fix everything for me, even when I was acting completely irrational—shattered the last barrier in my chest.
I couldn't hold it in anymore.
I threw the blanket back, lunged forward, and threw both arms around his neck, burying my face against his collarbone as I sobbed uncontrollably, soaking his dark shirt with hot tears.
Kai caught me instantly, his arms wrapping securely around my waist and back, pulling me tight against his warm chest. He sat on the edge of the mattress, resting his chin gently against the top of my head, one hand rubbing circles into my trembling back.
"I've got you," he whispered softly, his chest vibrating against my cheek. "I'm right here. Take a breath, Elfie. What happened?"
"Kai..." I choked out between ragged gasps, clutching the fabric of his hoodie with white knuckles. "Are you... are you going to leave me?"
Kai went completely rigid.
For a long moment, the room was silent except for the sound of my ragged sniffling. He pulled back slightly, looking down into my tear-stained face with utter, bewildered confusion.
"What?" he asked, his brow furrowing deeply. "Leave you? Where on earth did you get that idea?"
"Because I'm useless!" I sobbed, the words tumbling out in a frantic, broken rush. "I always get sick, I always whine, and I make you do everything for me! You cook for me, you wash my sheets, you spend all your time fixing my problems... and I'm just an orphan girl who doesn't have anything! Leena told me no one in the world treats someone like this... and what if you get tired of me?! What if you wake up one day and realize I'm too much trouble?!"
"Elfie, stop," Kai said, his voice firm yet infinitely gentle.
"You're going to leave!" I cried harder, gripping his shoulders desperately as if he might turn to dust in my hands. "Everyone leaves! When people get tired, they just walk away! What if you meet a real princess who doesn't cry, or someone who can fight without needing to be saved, and you realize I'm just holding you back?! You'll say you need space... and then you won't come back!"
"Look at me, Elfie."
He reached up, cupping both of my cheeks with his warm palms, forcing me to look directly into his clear, steady blue eyes.
There was no annoyance in his gaze. No frustration, no mockery, and no pity. Just that vast, unbreakable ocean of quiet certainty that had protected me my entire life.
"I am never going to leave you," Kai stated, pronouncing every single word with absolute, unshakable weight. "Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ten years from now. You could scream at me, you could throw things, you could make a mess of the entire world, and I would still be standing right in front of you."
"B-But why...?" I sniffled, fresh tears spilling over his thumbs. "Why do you do all of this for me?!"
"Because taking care of you isn't a chore, Elfie," he answered softly, wiping the wet tracks from my cheeks. "It's what I want to do. You are not a burden. You have never been a burden. Taking care of you is the most natural thing in my life."
I looked down at his hands resting against my face.
My eyes locked onto his scraped knuckles, the raw, blistered skin, and the reddish burn marks. My heart twisted with acute, suffocating pain.
"Then what happened to your hands?!" I demanded, my voice cracking as I pulled his wrists down, holding his battered palms between mine. "You lied to Leena! You told her you bought the medicine from an artisan shop... but your hands are all burned and cut! Did you get hurt because of me?!"
Kai flinched slightly, averting his eyes. "It was just a minor mishap in an alleyway, Elfie. A loose pipe."
"Don't lie to me!" I shouted through my tears, clutching his fingers tightly. "Tell me the truth, Kai! Tell me what you did, or I'll never stop crying! I know you didn't just buy it!"
Kai stared at my tear-streaked face for several seconds, realizing he couldn't dodge it. He let out a long, defeated sigh, his shoulders relaxing.
"The commercial painkillers in the clinic were garbage," Kai admitted quietly. "They were too harsh for your stomach and carried dangerous side effects. The doctor refused to offer anything safe... so Axel and I gathered raw plants from around the city, built an extraction setup from metal scrap in an old foundry, and made the medicine ourselves."
He looked down at his scraped palms, offering a faint, self-deprecating smile to downplay the effort.
"The boiler pressure spiked during the seventh attempt and a bit of steam caught my hand. That's all. It was an engineering oversight. But the medicine worked, didn't it? Your cramps are gone."
The air left my chest in a sharp gasp.
He built a whole machine in an abandoned foundry...
He got burned by boiling steam... just so my stomach wouldn't hurt.
The sheer, monumental weight of what he had done washed over me like a tidal wave. It made me dizzy. It made my chest ache so fiercely I could barely breathe.
"You idiot..." I whispered, fresh tears cascading down my cheeks. "You big idiot..."
I closed my eyes, drawing on the warmth inside my chest.
A soft, luminous golden glow erupted from my palms, wrapping around his battered hands. Gentle celestial mana seeped into his skin, soothing the raw redness, knitting the jagged scrapes closed, and erasing the angry steam burns until his skin was completely smooth and whole once more.
Kai watched the light fade, flexing his healed fingers with a quiet, appreciative nod.
"Thank you, Elfie."
I didn't let go of his hands. I pulled them close against my chest, staring at him with fierce, wide eyes.
"Promise me," I pleaded, my voice trembling with desperate vulnerability. "Promise you will never, ever leave me behind. Even if I'm annoying. Even if I cry. Even if I'm just a little girl."
Kai's lips curved into a warm, teasing smile. He reached out and gently bopped the tip of my nose with his index finger.
"You are a little girl," he chuckled softly.
"I am!" I declared shamelessly, wiping my nose on my sleeve and leaning my forehead against his chest. "I am your little girl! So you have to take care of me forever!"
Kai let out a soft laugh, wrapping his arms around me once more, his hand gently stroking the back of my hair until the last tremors left my body.
"I promise," he whispered into my hair. "I'll take care of my little girl. My dear princess."
A wave of profound, blissful relief washed over me.
My heart slowed, beating in steady, synchronized rhythm against his chest.
As I lay in his arms, the memory of Leena's fifth question echoed in the quiet corners of my mind.
How far would Kaiser go for you?
He went into the dirt. He fought with fire and iron. He burned his own skin just to spare me an hour of pain.
A dark, sweet possessiveness bloomed deep inside my soul, taking root and wrapping tightly around every thought, every breath, every heartbeat.
He belongs to me.
The world can have its academies, its exams, and its royal princesses. None of them understand him. None of them know the warmth he hides behind that cold mask.
Only me.
I will never let anyone take him. If the world tries to pull him away from me... I'll tear the sky apart before I let him go.
I looked up at him through my lashes, my fingers tightening on his hoodie.
"Kai?"
"Hmm?"
"You're sleeping here tonight," I demanded softly, my voice leaving zero room for negotiation. "Right next to me. Don't go back to your room."
Kai looked down at me, blinking in mild surprise. "Elfie, your fever is gone and the cramps are cured. You don't need supervision anymore."
"I don't care," I pouted, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and burying my face into his ribs like an immovable anchor. "My heart still hurts from crying. If you leave, I won't be able to sleep at all. Hold me."
Kai looked at me for a long moment, a helpless, affectionate sigh escaping his lips.
"Alright," he conceded gently. "Just for tonight."
He kicked off his boots, climbed onto the mattress beside me, and pulled the warm lavender blanket over both of us.
The moment his arm wrapped around my waist, I pressed my entire body flush against his side, resting my head securely over his beating heart, breathing in the comforting scent of cedarwood.
This is where I belong.
In the quiet darkness of the room, with his hand gently resting on my back, I finally closed my eyes, smiling peacefully as sleep carried me into sweet, undisturbed dreams.