/
The three of them wandered around various stores for a while and decided to sit down at a nearby cafe to rest.
As soon as Derek sat down, he collapsed on the table.
Derek looked around and glanced up at Merria.
Merria smiled softly at his kitten-like gaze and ruffled his soft hair.
“Derek, do you have anything you want?”
“I don’t know. I thought I could find one if I looked around.”
He was the young master of the Lawrence family, who ran several essential businesses, so he didn’t lack anything.
Now that he’s grown to a certain extent, he wasn’t particularly interested in toys.
The sun was setting while the two were lost in thought because they didn’t find anything they liked when they went out for that purpose.
“I need to go back soon.” Merria muttered while staring at the sky.
“Should I call the carriage?” Gwen then said to Merria.
“Hmm…”
Meria looked at Derek’s expression instead of her answer.
Derek’s eyes were filled with regret.
She smiled softly and asked Derek.
“Would you like to try one last thing?”
“Yes!”
Derek suddenly jumped up, nodding with his petal-like hair fluttering and answered.
A sign appeared in Merria’s gaze as she was looking for a suitable place to go.
Merria muttered when she found a store located in an alleyway inside the roadside.
“A magic shop?”
Upon hearing Merria’s words, Derek swung and turned his head.
“A magic shop in a remote place..! Saturn said that, but wizards don’t like to be in front of people, so strong wizards live hiding in places like that!”
Derek’s soft pink eyes became as fresh as a tree in a forest that rained after a drought.
Saturn was Derek’s best friend who appears frequently in Derek’s lips when he talks.
Lilith once told me that he wears round rimless glasses and always carries a book thicker than his body.
‘She said he was interested in this kind of thing.’
Wizards were given special treatment from an early age, and there were many with eccentric personalities.
In addition, it was not strange to say that there was at least one master of seclusion in such a novel.
Merria nodded with a stern expression on her face.
“Well, it might not be wrong at all…”
“Sister. Let’s go over there!”
Derek urged her like a puppy in front of a snack.
Merria readily agreed.
When Derek ran out first, Merria called Gwen.
“It looks like we’ll be done soon anyway, so would you like to bring the carriage over here? I’ll be waiting for you in the store.”
Merria whispered, glancing at Derek’s figure. Most of the magic shops were located on the main street.
Therefore, the places inside these alleys were likely to sell toys with lower magic or false items if they were not
‘It seems like it would be bad to buy a present today, so I was thinking of going back to the mansion for the last time.’ (Merria)
Gwen nodded immediately, perhaps thinking the same thing as Merria.
“Alright.”
After sending Gwen, Merria called Derek ahead.
“Derek, let’s go together.”
“Oh, yes! I got it.”
Derek, who had made a sudden stop, grabbed Merria’s hand and pulled her.
Clang~
At the sound of the bell that was clearer than expected, Merria felt strange.
‘I thought there would be an unusual sound.’
When I looked around, the interior looked like a normal store.
“Excuse me?”
Even though the two of them were completely inside, the store was still quiet.
After leaving Derek, who was excitedly looking around the store, Merria approached a place that seemed like a counter.
Inside, only traces of people were left, and no signs of others were felt.
‘I’m just going to take a look somehow.’
Merria slowly glanced around the shop again.
On the shelf, magical items that looked more authentic than expected were stacked on top of each other.
Upon closer inspection, there were a lot of interesting things that weren’t useful.
Some of them were absurd enough and confusing whether it was a joke or not.
[A pot that changes depending on the owner’s mood/ Flowers bloom when you say nice things]
[Transparent eye patch that completely covers the eyes (disposable) / Recommended for people with insomnia.]
[A potion that changes the color of your eyes randomly / A must-have item for a masquerade!]
Soon, Merria’s gaze stopped in one place.
‘A beautiful woman?’
[Popularity potion! A potion that makes you look like a beauty for an hour]
It was when Merria was curious about a potion she had never heard of, and tried to read the description below.
“You’d better not buy it.”
A soft voice of a man came from behind.
Merria, who was even more startled because she didn’t hear the bell of the door when it opened.
She quickly turned around and looked for Derek and made sure he was safe.
Derek was obsessed with the weird frog dolls piled up in one corner.
Merria sighed a little, and looked back to the other side where she heard the voice.
There stood a man dressed in a deep robe.
It was suspicious that he did not move on the spot on the subject that people might be surprised.
A clear vigilance appeared in Merria’s eyes.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have sent Gwen first.’ (Merria)
If I had known that I would be in the same room with such a suspicious person, I wouldn’t have come to this store.
Sensing her sharp gaze, the man took off the robe’s hat with an embarrassed gesture.
“It’s me. Lady.”
The wine-colored hair that was exposed under the hat gently covered his forehead.
Merria’s eyes widened as she looked at his face.
“Oh!”
Deston’s lips twitched slightly as he blinked.
“I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this.” (Deston)
“Yes… That’s right.”
Merria nodded awkwardly.
“…”
At the interrupted conversation, Merria bit her lips for nothing after being wary earlier.
Then, when she remembered a question she couldn’t ask before, Merria lightly fiddled with her fingers.
“You haven’t told me your name yet.” (Merria)
“Are you finally asking that?” (Deston)
Deston suddenly burst into laughter at Merria’s question.
Merria, embarrassed by his reaction, softly laughed. Deston reached out his hand as if he were asking for a dance.
Merria creaked awkwardly and soon reached out to him.
Deston kissed the back of her hand lightly.
Merria’s fingertips flinched at the sudden kiss.
“My name is Deston.”
Merria thought that his name was somewhat familiar.
“Deston? Deston… Deston.”
“Yes. Merria.”
Deston straightened up his bent upper body, not letting go of her hand.
After confirming the pattern on his robe, Merria spoke.
“Are you, by any chance, the wizard in charge of me?”
“Yes.” Deston answered with a smile.
Merria frowned and pulled out her hand from his grasp.
“If I didn’t ask for your name, you wouldn’t tell me until the end, right?” (Merria)
As she asked, with her eyes wide open, Deston innocently tilted his head.
“I don’t know…”
Somehow, Merria couldn’t erase the feeling that things went as Deston intended.
Merria shrugged and turned around.
It was to see the potion that had previously caught her interest.
The glass bottle, where the golden liquid fluttered, was so fascinating that time went by just by looking at it.
Merria, who was staring intently at the potion, slowly reached out for it.
But Merria couldn’t get her hands on the glass bottle.
When she came closer to it, Deston was the first to pick up the potion.
Merria slowly turned her head to look at him.
“What’s that?”
Deston smiled kindly at the question that clearly revealed it’s absurdity.
“It’s best not to buy this.”
In response to the same answer as before, Merria raised an eyebrow.
‘There was only one left, did he tell me not to buy it for me to actually buy it?’
She didn’t really want anything, so she decided to be a little generous.
Merria made a puzzle face and nodded.
After checking her permission, Deston opened the lid of the potion.
Merria’s gaze moved along with his gesture.
Deston tilted the bottle and poured the potion on the floor.
“What..!’
Merria, who was about to say ‘what’s going on,’ shuts up like a speechless person.
The potion, which had been shining in brilliant gold, quickly turned into an unpleasant green color and burst into bubbles.
Later, the subtle smell made her frown.
When I looked at Deston without hiding my displeasure, he only shrugged.
“The owner of this place has a very bad temper and sometimes plays pranks like this. I’ve been through this before.” (Deston)
Merria stared at the floor with a sullen face.
‘Surely, he really has a proper personality.’
While I was very grateful to Deston for helping me avoid the madman, I couldn’t wait to leave this store.
She strode over and stood in front of the counter.
She then rummaged through her pockets in rough gestures, pulled out one of her silver coins and tossed it on the counter.
It was Deston who poured out the potion, but it seemed too conscientious to ask the person who helped her to pay.
Because it was also the potion she picked up in the first place.
As a result, Merria, who finished all the business, turned.
“Oh.”
Suddenly, Merria let out a small scream.
When I looked at the sting, there was blood at the tip of my finger.
I might have scratched my finger against a sharp ornament.
Merria bit her lips and wrapped her finger, Deston was surprised and Derek quickly ran to her.
“Sister. Why?”
“Are you okay?”
Deston takes out his handkerchief and wraps it around her finger.
“Even if it’s urgent…”
Blood quickly came out as if the wound was deeper than expected.
Merria frowned seeing the handkerchief dyed in red.
“Blood… It’s not an important handkerchief, was it?”
“It’s okay.”
At Merria’s question, Deston replied with a smile.
Merria sighed softly and pressed the handkerchief.
“Oh. It stopped now.”
After a while, Merria pulled out the handkerchief, and held out her finger so that the two could see it.
When the blood stopped, she meant for them to stop worrying, but Deston still looked worried.
“But you’d better get treatment.”
Deston naturally took the handkerchief and continued.
Merria took Derek’s hand and nodded.
“I guess so.”
“Come on, let’s go home. I’ll get some medicine.” Derek spoke to Merria with tearful eyes.
Merria smiled at him, admiring her cousin.
“Thank you. Oh, could I throw away that handkerchief and give you another one next time?”
Merria, who was about to leave, said to Deston.
He smiled mischievously, nodding.
“If you do, I’ll be happy to receive it.”
“Then…”
Merria made a light bow and headed towards the door.
Just in time, Gwen with the carriage, arrived.
After Merria and Derek had completely disappeared, they felt their presence in the space behind the checkout counter.
“Deston.”
Deston responded with a smile to the disapproving voice.
A woman dressed in a black robe tilted her head at the sly appearance.
“You spilled my potion, and you’re so fearless.”
“People often refer to me as a ‘fun nerd’.” Deston answered shrugging.
As the woman’s momentum rose, Deston quickly held out what he was holding in his hand.
It was an ornament stained with Merria’s blood and the handkerchief.
“But if you see this, you’ll be relieved.”
The woman’s azalea-colored eyes gleamed.