Wine and Poison – Chapter 15 – Between Mentor and Apprentice

Author: Nikss

The Nymph smiles sweetly.

Their innocent appearance becomes even more radiant. Normally, nymphs are moody and wary.

But when they find a human they like, they often sneak up on them and seduce them, and this nymph seemed to like him.

Lancion was no stranger to this, and the sweet, fruity scent he emanated was beautiful to nymphs. The nymph exuded curiosity about him with every fiber of her being.

A little seduction from him and she’d be all over him, unlike anyone else.

The nymph leaned a little closer. Their chests were almost touching. She smelled of wood, bittersweet, and ancient.

‘Scylla smelled darker, more herbal.’

An intense scent, slightly tangy, like the poisons she handled.

She’s probably immersed in her work by now, not caring if he comes or not. She might find some dry jerky to chew on if she’s hungry.

“A mountain man smells sweet.”

Its crimson lips curled, almost touching Lancion’s chin. Lancion stood still, his hands hanging limply.

Her cool hand stroked his neck, and, as if entranced by the scent of the wine that permeated every inch of his body, she stared at him with burning eyes.

Seducing him with her blatant gaze. Lancion stared down at her solemnly, the corners of his mouth curling up.

“I like your scent, too.”

The nymph’s eyes widened at the sweet voice that tickled her ears.

His face was plain, but his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Instantly mesmerized, she parted her lips slightly.

A moist tongue peeked out from between them.

“You can smell me… more… closer.”

The nymph pressed her chest closer. At this rate, she wouldn’t resist if he leaned down and kissed her— or rather, she was inclined to.

Lancion pretended to be oblivious to her wishes, running his fingers through the fine strands of her hair.

His eyes were more languid and dazed than usual, even with Thyrsus’s poison, and that made the nymph even more anxious.

“You look bored, hiker.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. You’re bored, and you’re looking for entertainment, aren’t you?”

The Nymph’s hand touched the corner of Lancion’s eye with a confident glint.

For the briefest of moments, Lancion’s eyes flicked open.

A hint of arsenic flashed through him, ‘How many humans had she toyed with like this?’

For a young nymph, she was quite confident in her charms. He smirked, hiding his pensive gaze for a moment.

“Let me entertain you.”

“I tend to get bored easily, if you don’t mind, but it’s not easy to keep me entertained.”

Lancion looked down his nose at the nymph. His gaze was too transcendent for a human, too arrogant for a human, but the nymph found it all the more fascinating. She nodded her head vigorously.

He smiled, extended his hand, and took hers.

The ingredients he had gathered for Scylla fell to the dirt.

The churning waves were still rough. It showed no sign of abating. Lancion lowered his gaze and licked his lips lightly with his tongue.

He needed stimulation.

💫

Pitter-patter—

Twigs and leaves crunched underfoot with each blunt step.

Following closely behind was Thyrsus. Lancion walked up the increasingly rugged mountain path with a grim expression of annoyance on his face.

His hands and feet, once numbed by Thyrsus’s venom, were no longer limp.

The tree nymphs had massaged him into a sweat.

As soon as his limbs were back to normal, Lancion used the pleasure-seeking nymph as a slave to massage his hands and feet.

He found the touch sufficiently intoxicating that he abandoned the panting nymph and headed for his hut.

It would have been different if the nymph had distracted him, but she hadn’t helped.

His heart still pounded with an unpleasant sensation, and it only grew more impatient with each passing moment.

Although he knew Scylla was probably immersed in her work, he still wondered what she was doing.

I clicked my tongue, realizing that I was hoping she would be a little curious, since I had never been away for this long.

My nose caught the herbal scent of Scylla. The nymph’s woody scent faded quickly to nothing, and I wondered if I had imprinted her body scent on my brain.

It was only when the hut began to come into view that Lancion realized he had nothing in his hand.

“Ah.”

The short sigh was tinged with thick annoyance.

If Scylla asked him why he was so late, he’d explain that he’d been searching for ingredients, but that would be wrong.

Of course, that’s probably what she’d want to know.

If she still didn’t want to get too close to him, she probably wouldn’t ask even if she was curious.

He didn’t have many ingredients stored at the house, and a poor diet would cut his usefulness to Scylla in half, maybe even more.

Near the cottage, Lancion stepped onto a path filled with fantasia and froze at the shadows on the path.

Seeing him, Scylla frowned, “Why are you so late?”

Lancion’s dark eyes caught the image of an old man, stooped and hunched, running at a brisk pace.

“Master?”

Scylla crossed her arms and repeated, “I asked why you’re so late.”

Lancion froze at the fierce golden eyes. The gaze downward was eerie.

Why was she looking at him at this time of day, in front of the hut, in this position, with this expression on her face?

“Master, isn’t it time to work? You’re supposed to be testing your refined tea… Nero’s poison today…”

“Yes. That’s what we were supposed to do, if it weren’t for you not returning for hours without a word.”

“…”

“Where the hell have you been?”

Zeus’s majestic gaze didn’t hide his annoyance, but under Scylla’s piercing gaze, he couldn’t help himself.

“We ran out of food here, so I went to get some ingredients.”

“I know, and I know you get up earlier than I do. But you’ve never been this late before, and it’s long past lunchtime.”

“Are you hungry?”

Scylla asked, making a wistful frown, “Do you think I’m just a pig waiting for you to feed me?”

“Oh…”

Lancion couldn’t hide his uncharacteristic embarrassment.

As he looked at her, his face was actively heating up. Still, he hesitantly stared at her. He couldn’t look away.

Scylla examined him suspiciously., “Are you sick? Is that why you’re late?”

“Oh, well. I got the ingredients, but something happened on the way and I lost them all, so I didn’t bring anything.”

“What, that’s why you’re late?”

Scylla’s voice grew a little more plaintive, and so did her eyes.

It was Lancion’s least favorite kind of reaction, having been the recipient of scornful glances from the kin of Hera and Thebes, but strangely enough, it didn’t anger him.

He merely closed his mouth in a blank stare.

“If you don’t think you can do it, you should return as soon as you can. What’s the use of wandering around in the mountains this long?”

“But Master likes my cooking, and as his disciple, I can’t let you go hungry, can I?”

Having regained a bit of his normal self, Lancion said cheerfully. But his heart was still racing. Scylla clicked her tongue.

“Stupid, a few meals won’t kill me, no big deal. It’s more that you worry me.”

Lancion’s eyes bulged.

“You’re worried, about me?”

As if the word had been spoken without meaning to, Scylla stiffened. Her tone quickly turned blunt, and she spun quickly.

“There are many who have stumbled and died on this mountain, and you’ve seen the skeletons I have.”

“…”

“Don’t go too far. Don’t let what happened today happen again.”

Lancion watched Scylla’s back as she moved away, one step, two steps, and as she did, he followed her, one step, two steps.

“You were worried about me.”

He muttered softly, “You were worried about me.”

The realization in his voice was strange.

Even with his eyes open, he sees the image of Scylla rushing to him as soon as she spots him.

‘It’s clear on my retina. The way her face lit up when she saw me, the look of relief on her face, over and over again.’

The assumption that she wouldn’t care when I returned was shattered. The sensation was exhilarating.

“Don’t be silly.”

He smirked at her insistent snort.

Storming off to catch up with Scylla, he put a hand on her shoulder and got a slap on the back of the hand for what the hell he was doing, but his smile only deepened.

It wasn’t just a twitch of a smile, but a full-blown grin.

He opened his palm wide and squeezed Scylla’s shoulder. Her shoulder was cold.

As if the cold air of Mount Cithaeron had settled on her shoulders alone. She must have been waiting for him for some time.

The chill clung to his chest, and Lancion’s heart stiffened. Cold on her shoulder, hot in his heart.

So much emotion.

Thorny on the outside, but soft and delicate on the inside, and he wanted to explore it, to taste it, to hold it.

“Master, since your student is late, I’ll make you a more delicious dish than usual as an apology.”

“You said you didn’t have any ingredients. Just eat what you have.”

“That’s not fair. As your cook, my pride won’t allow it.”

“Don’t exaggerate. I’ve always eaten roughly.”

“Not as long as I’m around. I’ll get you something proper, even if it means diving into the lake.”

“And you’re not coming here hurt, are you? If you keep bothering me, I’ll kick you out.”