If he hadn’t known about Wot’s <Goph>, he might have thought it was a decent potion worth enhancing for better quality. But after witnessing the divine substance known as <Goph>, everything else seemed like trash. However, it seemed other doctors and pharmacists didn’t share his opinion. Especially when the cheerful and handsome man, Marquis Berto, shook a potion bottle in front of them, they seemed irresistibly drawn to him.
“Marquis Berto! Please, look this way! Samples alone aren’t enough!”
“How on earth did you develop this? Your skills are amazing.”
“Can’t you sell more of that potion?”
Marquis Berto replied with a friendly smile and easy charm. “Everyone seems to want it so much, it’s quite a predicament. I’m only selling a very limited number of potions. I’ll look into developing more in the future.”
As he walked away, the remaining doctors and pharmacists exchanged glances and let out long, sighing breaths.
“Knowing it’s sold in such small quantities makes me want it even more.”
“Come to think of it, there’s no one else quite like him, is there?”
They lowered their voices and continued to praise Marquis Berto.
“He’s so kind, and they say he’s incredibly good to his fiancée, Lady Shabel.”
“Even though he already has a fiancée, there are still many women who follow him, right? One of them, despite being a noble, is said to cling to him pathetically. What was her name again? Giselle, was it?”
Marquis Berto didn’t respond to their words, only offering a sly smile. “Haha, everyone seems a bit overexcited.”
Giyet, who was watching from a distance, clicked his tongue. Just look at that smooth-talking con artist. How can those so-called doctors be so blind? It was a lamentable situation. Yet, at the same time, curiosity sparked within him.
Everyone’s talking about Marquis Berto’s potions, but how did Wot come to know about <Goph>?
Wot, the woman who had suddenly appeared, handed over a universal antidote and then vanished without a trace. As a doctor with an insatiable curiosity, he found himself strangely intrigued by this suspicious figure.
Marquis Berto, who was smiling amiably while looking around, locked eyes with Giyet. “Oh, you there.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at him, as if recognizing someone familiar. “Could it be that we’ve met before…?”
“You’ve got the wrong person. I believe this is our first meeting.”
Normally, Giyet would have been curious about Marquis Berto’s potion, which contained a mysterious spice. Moreover, since it was a ‘healing potion’ that might prolong his grandmother’s life, his interest would have been even greater. But now, he was only curious about the remarkable substance called <Goph>, something even a genius like him had never encountered before.
Giyet quickly left, unaware that his actions had completely disregarded the ‘male lead buff.’
* * *
Meanwhile, following a major failure at the Aurum Market and a meeting with the formidable Marquis Berto, the Kalinos Senate Research Lab was in a somber state.
“Hu, huhu. I tried to sell more, but Marquis Berto has swept up all the money. Even though the effects don’t overlap, no one is interested in our <Goblin Phlegm>!”
“We’ve failed again, haven’t we?”
Hennessy let out a deep sigh. “I really wanted to show Lady Giselle something impressive.”
“Ah…”
“I wanted to reveal that I’m secretly the head of the Senate.”
That’s something I’d rather not know. After watching their drooping shoulders for a while, Giselle headed to the coffee house, where Liliv also seemed dejected.
“Um, we’re losing customers steadily.”
“The recipe’s good, everything’s fine, so why?”
“The other coffee houses have brought in Marquis Berto’s potion. It’s like they’re trying to keep us in check, refusing to sell it only to us.”
Piecing together various stories, it seemed Marquis Berto was thriving just as in the original storyline. That b*stard probably doesn’t even know I’m running this coffee house! Yet he refuses to sell just to me! That jerk!
It seemed neither the male lead’s buff nor the female lead’s debuff was going anywhere.
Leaving the coffee house, Giselle returned to the bedroom at Kalinos Mansion and let out a deep sigh. As she did, she noticed Duke Kalinos lying on the bed, his gaze cool and unyielding. She looked at him, hesitated at first, but eventually changed into her nightgown.
It’s quiet. To engage in some small talk and also address my biggest concern lately, convincing Giyet to come to the mansion, she had to say something.
“Duke, have you ever thought about how to persuade someone who doesn’t trust you?”
“I don’t think about it.”
“…”
“I just say what’s written in the books.”
Giselle covered her mouth and stifled a laugh.
Duke Kalinos tilted his head, unable to understand why Giselle was laughing.
“Ah, I’m sorry. That was just too funny… It feels like we’re getting closer, Duke, since you’re joking with me.”
…It wasn’t a joke. But Duke Kalinos didn’t deny it and continued to look at Giselle.
I’m curious. He wondered why Giselle wanted to save others, where she went at night, if she was having an affair, and who she intended to persuade. Why am I so curious about Giselle’s every move?
He recalled his brother, who had taught him about curiosity towards people.
“You know, Vientin. When you want to get close to someone, you become curious about them.”
“Brother, you’re lying! How can you be curious about a person? They’re not a research subject!”
“Yes. But when you’re curious about them, you start wanting to know them little by little. It begins with curiosity. And gradually, you give pieces of your heart to that person. You share your secrets, one by one.”
“Brother, that’s difficult.”
“Don’t worry. Someday you’ll understand. You’re smart, Vientin.”
He was starting to understand his brother’s words.
According to my brother’s words, it seems I want to form a close relationship with Giselle. That’s why he was particularly curious about who Giselle was meeting and what she had been up to lately. That curiosity often brought back the image of her in that vibrant purple dress.
Duke Kalinos, feigning nonchalance, casually asked as if speaking out of mild curiosity. “By the way, it’s strange. Who are you planning to persuade?”
“Well, yes. I need to persuade my father-in-law to keep living… Anyway, Duke, honestly, I don’t think you need to persuade anyone. With your stern expression, just say ‘do it,’ and everyone would be physically persuaded. A hundred percent success rate.”
At that moment, he spoke with an unexpected nonchalance, as if revealing a secret. “I’ve failed at persuasion just once.”
“What? How?”
“When my brother said he was going with my father on a hopeless hunt for a monster.”
“…”
“I told him not to go.”
“That…”
“I failed. It was the only failure of my life.”
Giselle looked at him with a bewildered expression. Even after sharing such a dark story, his face remained calm and detached. He looks lonely. She quietly listened to Duke Kalinos as he murmured softly.
“Anyway, thanks to my brother risking his life in battle, our people survived. He loved the people of our territory, so as the perfect heir to the duke’s family, he would have been pleased. But our family’s life became irreparable. As you can see, my father is just a shell of his former self, and my mother is tormented by the obsession that she must not be weak. And I…”
“What about you, Duke?”
“…I’ve become a madman obsessed with research.”
“Um, weren’t you always obsessed with research?”
“No. I was always a madman obsessed with research.”
What was that?
“Nothing’s changed then, has it?”
As Giselle chuckled dryly, Duke Kalinos rubbed his face with his hands and turned away. “I have a question.”
“Yes?”
His neck and earlobes were redder than usual.
“…I’ve never really gotten close to anyone before. Is this what you’re supposed to say when you’re trying to get close?”
Related Series
Comments (1)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Aí meu ❤️ ele é uma fofura 🫣