I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 168 - Side Story 7

My mind was swirling.

 

And the old man in front of me, the village chief…

 

He lost his next-door cousin because of the Duke, and suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life because of the Grand Duke, my biological grandfather.

 

Of course, the Grand Duke didn’t start the war.

 

My conscience was pricked.

 

The village chief looked exhausted and rambled on.

 

“In fact, I think the people who lived here must have gotten tired of me stirring up trouble every night.”

 

“Grandpa…”

 

“So when a big shot came along to buy the place, I thought it was the right thing to do and sold it.”

 

That’s why he didn’t resent me when I told him I was the landlord. And he even tried to invite us over because he was worried about us.

 

‘This is bad. I have a weakness for good people.’

 

The village chief asked whether he knew what I was thinking.

 

“Young lady, do you know why I came to live in such a remote village?”

 

“How did you come to live here?”

 

“To avoid being called up for service when the war erupts again.”

 

“What? But Grandpa…”

 

“I know. Now I’m old and sick, and they won’t take me, but I still have that fear in my heart, and it keeps me from leaving this town.”

 

“You’ve been traumatized.”

 

“It is. If I could, I’d erase the memory of it. It’s a pain in the neck.”

 

Ugh!

 

The more I listened to him, the more my chest tightened.

 

Finally, with a small sigh, I gave him a prescription for what he needed right now, knowing that he would have to think about it slowly tomorrow.

 

“I’ll give you some herbs that are good for sleeping. If you fall asleep soundly, you won’t have any dreams today.”

 

💍 

 

“What makes you think that, Leen?”

 

Carson wrapped an arm around my shoulders as I sat on the couch.

 

I’d been sitting on the couch waiting for him to make me breakfast, and before I knew it, he’d finished cooking.

 

I pushed my thoughts away and drew a smile to my lips.

 

“I’m thinking.” 

 

“Yeah, you’re thinking about the old man, aren’t you?”

 

But Carson seemed already convinced. He seemed to think that my timeless omens would not be triggered here.

 

“…Yes.”

 

Fortunately, knowing me well enough to recognize this, Carson didn’t seem to mind and asked for my opinion.

 

“What do you want to do with Leen?”

 

“Since he wants to erase his memories of that time, I think the best thing we can do would be to make them disappear.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

A thought flashed through my mind as I leaned into Carson.

 

“Come to think of it, Caon, don’t you have a spell that erases memories?”

 

“Yes, but it has side effects, and if done incorrectly, it can cause insanity.”

 

“…Really?”

 

I suppose there’s a reason why it’s forbidden in the tower.

 

Anyway, I noticed that he didn’t mention the part about it being banned by the Magic Tower…

 

It seems that if I wanted to, he would have cast magic without hesitation. I don’t know if I should thank him for this or ask him why he didn’t stop me.

 

At that moment, Carson, who had been pondering something earlier, spoke up.

 

“Leen, there’s a poisonous herb that grows in this area that causes memory impairment.”

 

“…A poisonous plant?”

 

“Yep. Leen, why don’t you use your alchemy to concoct a memory-erasing pill?”

 

I blinked rapidly in embarrassment. It wasn’t because his suggestion was ridiculous or outlandish.

 

On the contrary, it seemed like it might not be as difficult as I thought, especially if I used alchemy.

 

The part that surprised me was…

 

“Caon, how do you know such things?”

 

Carson smirked and nuzzled his face into the nape of my neck. His lips tickled against mine.

 

“It’s all forest around Garir Abser, and I thought you might be interested in herbs, so I’ve been studying up on them.”

 

‘…How adorable is this?’

 

As if spending time with me and enjoying our honeymoon weren’t enough, he knew I’d be interested in herbs, so he studied them beforehand.

 

What kind of husband could there be in the world?

 

I jumped to my feet, irresistibly flattered, and grabbed Carson’s face, bombarding him with kisses.

 

“You are the best husband ever, Caon.”

 

By now, I could get used to it.

 

Carson blushed for a long time, wondering what could be so good.

 

The look on his face suddenly reminded me of how I felt. I stroke his cheek gently.

 

“By any chance, last night we just cuddled up and slept because we were both tired from Grandpa’s stuff, so what about now?”

 

“…I need to eat breakfast, Leen.”

 

At my enticement, he squeezed his eyes shut and let out a low sigh. It was remarkable patience.

 

But I’d already seen it. I saw the lust in Carson’s eyes when we met. I tugged at him unexpectedly, pulling him over to the couch.

 

Shudder—

 

Carson was still blinking on the couch when I pulled him down. I seized the opportunity and jumped on top of him.

 

To his surprise, Carson’s face instantly flushed red.

 

“Le, Leen. This position…”

 

“I’ll have you for breakfast.”

 

I curled up like a cat.

 

“It’s a shame we’re newlyweds, isn’t it?”

 

💍 

 

During my stay in Garir Abser, I spent half my days with Carson and the other half making medicine for Grandpa.

 

I decided to take advantage of my free time to do both.

 

Normally, I would have focused on my research, but being a newlywed and loving Carson, I couldn’t do that.

 

So, after a little over two weeks in town.

 

“It’s done!”

 

The memory-erasing potion went faster than I expected.

 

It bothered me that I hadn’t done any clinical trials yet, but it was perfect in theory.

 

A spell that erases memories cuts through them, and if done incorrectly, could cause mental disturbances.

 

But the potion I made, using a poisonous herb that grows in the area, was much safer, as it overlaid something on the memory so it couldn’t be seen.

 

In other words, it’s not a memory-erasing potion, but rather a memory-sealing potion.

 

“I’m sure I could make a potion to get the memories back, given enough time…”

 

The downside of the potion would be that it doesn’t allow one to specify how many memories to cover.

 

This means that there’s no way to know how many years of memory a person might lose.

 

It’s clear that the more medication one takes, the larger the range, so I thought it would be a good idea to start him on a small dose and see how much memory he loses.

 

Of course, this part of the process would be fully explained to Grandpa.

 

“Well. Before we do that, do you think we should do something about this horrible appearance?”

 

I squinted out of the corner of my eye and looked at the concoction in the triangular bisque.

 

A purple liquid was bubbling inside the triangular bisque.

 

It looked as if I could take a taste of it and in less than a minute, my life would be painfully altered.

 

No wonder he thought I was trying to poison him.

 

Then I remembered the pumpkin that Carson had bought the other day to make pumpkin porridge.

 

It was still sitting in the kitchen, but Carson had just gotten back from the grocery store when another idea came to mind.

 

“Let’s make a pumpkin pie and put it in it.”

 

I got up from my seat, remembering my late father’s recipe for pumpkin pie.

 

It had been a while, and it was time to put my skills to work.

 

💍 

 

After explaining to the village chief and getting his consent, I went home to get the pumpkin pie I had made earlier.

 

I opened the door with a smile on my face when I sensed a familiar voice inside.

 

“Caon, you’re back already?”

 

“What are you, are you the one who brought me here?”

 

“Caon…?”

 

Carson’s brow furrowed as he glared at me, who had just entered the house.

 

He looked out of sorts, and my gaze instinctively went to the pumpkin pie on the table.

 

There, three slices of the pumpkin pie that I had spiked with the memory-loss potion for Grandpa were missing.

 

“Oh…”

 

My head spun as I realized the simplicity of the situation.

 

I don’t know what to do with this stupid husband of mine. 

 

He must have come home from the grocery store, seen the pumpkin pie on the table, thought, ‘Leen made it for me…?’ and grabbed it.

 

At this point, I couldn’t say that it was my fault.

 

Swallowing a deep sigh, I suddenly had an amusing thought.

 

Carson had said before that he had fallen in love with me at first sight. He also said that he never stopped loving me, not even for a moment.

 

I could make a potion to restore his memories if I had the time.

 

If there’s no avoiding it, enjoy it. The water was spilled anyway.

 

I decided to try to seduce him, as opposed to the way Carson had pursued me in the Academy.

 

‘Ah. First things first!’

 

I quickly drew up fake tears, remembering all the sad things that had happened.

 

“What do you mean, Caon? You don’t remember me? Looking at me with those fierce eyes scares me…”

 

Carson’s eyes rippled as I shook my shoulders and sobbed.