She was hesitant to follow the stranger into the enclosed space.
Cerne felt a little regretful that she’d ditched her escort and wandered off on her own, but she couldn’t give up now.
Besides, her last resort was her status as the First Princess of the Siaz Empire.
The Empire of Siaz had gained immense wealth from trade through its ports, and for a nation, economic strength was power.
As such, no one would want to turn the Siaz Empire into an enemy.
Without showing any trace of nervousness, Cerne followed him as he pushed the door open with his body while carrying the box.
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The inside of the building was larger than it looked from the outside.
Upon entering, a strange aroma of herbs and medicines wafted through the air, a mixture of sweet, sour, sweet, and bitter.
On both sides of the long aisle, a large group of people were working on tables, preparing various medicines.
Although I was a little intimidated, the inside of the building was full of people busy manufacturing medicine.
He set down the box he was holding on the table and spoke to someone.
He must’ve been telling them about the loss of inventory due to the series of incidents earlier in the day.
After a short conversation, he opened a doorway along one side of the lab and turned to me.
“Please step into the room this way.”
His bright sky-blue eyes shone like jewels, and he held the door in a manner familiar to an escort.
Stepping inside, I was greeted by a disorganized, cluttered room.
To be fair, it was more of a lab than a room.
The desk was strewn with papers and books filled with unrecognizable text and drawings, and the bookshelves on three sides of the room were filled with thick books, herbal specimens, and vials of presumably potion samples.
There was also a white coffee table and a separate chair made of soft red velvet with armrests in front of the desk, as if someone occasionally visited.
“This doesn’t look like a place that makes just one kind of medicine.”
“It’s a laboratory that belongs to the Kingdom of Ildon.”
I turned towards him at the unexpected answer.
Closing the door behind him, he strode across the room with a stride befitting of his great height and plopped down at the desk.
He then gestured politely for me to take a seat in the guest chair across from him.
“I apologize for the delayed introduction. Please call me ‘Lee’.”
I sat down in the padded chair and opened my mouth.
“I was also late. I’m from Siaz Empire, the…”
Out of habit, the words “Cerne Siaz, First Princess of the Siaz Empire” almost escaped my mouth, so I quickly closed it.
I coughed a little to clear her throat, then opened my mouth again.
“I’m Serasian, from the Siaz Empire.”
His blue eyes bore into my face as I hastily spat out the hastily concocted name.
A few beats of silence passed between us as his silver-gold lashes fluttered a couple of times.
After a few moments of silence, Lee finally spoke.
“Seeing as you’re looking for an aphrodisiac, I assume you’re married. How would you like to be addressed?”
“I’m not married… please call me Sera.”
His neatly arched eyebrows moved subtly, perhaps because it was an unexpected answer.
“I see, Miss Sera. You said you wanted to work here, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you familiar with herbal medicine?”
“…No.”
I was stunned by his straightforward question.
“Are you knowledgeable about sex, then?”
I thought about his question for a moment, but I didn’t think I was particularly knowledgeable in that area compared to others.
“…No.”
“What was your purpose in approaching me?”
He pushed himself up from where he’d been leaning against the desk.
Was it because he had a slender but well-built body?
Even though he wore the clothes of a commoner, he stood out more than any of the noblemen’s children who wore fine silk clothes.
I lifted my gaze to meet his face as he looked down at me.
The few strands of platinum-blonde hair that cascaded down his fair skin glistened in the light.
“What do you mean, purpose?”
His tightly pressed lips and piercing eyes showed that what he was saying was no lighthearted joke.
“Are you a spy sent by the Siaz Empire?”
“A spy? Why would the Siaz Empire send a spy to the Ildon Kingdom?”
I asked, frowning at the remark that treated me like a criminal.
“Because aphrodisiacs are a lucrative business.”
“The Siaz Empire is wealthy enough, and haven’t the Siaz Empire and the Ildon Kingdom been on good terms for quite some time? Why would we break that relationship by sending a spy?”
“Miss Sera, you are friendly with the Siaz Empire.”
“That’s because I’m from the Siaz Empire.”
His hard, sharp-looking jawline twitched slightly, forming a sneer in his mouth.
“I’ll ask again, what was your purpose in approaching me?”
“If you’re referring to the crash earlier, it was an accident. If you’re asking why I followed you here, it’s for a very personal reason.”
“Are you a smuggler, then?”
“Smuggler?”
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief at the ridiculous suspicion, which was even more absurd than before.
“Why in the world would you suspect someone without any basis?”
Lee, who had been looking down at me, took a slow step in front of me and placed his hands on the armrests on either side of the chair I was sitting in.
His body was blocking my way out as if to show me that I could never escape once I was here.
“Do you have any evidence that Miss Sera is not a spy or smuggler?”
“Why on earth should I have any evidence?”
There hadn’t been any contact, but I could feel my breath slowly being knocked out of me.
At this point, I regretted not having my escort with me.
It was too late for that now, though.
“The recipe for the aphrodisiac is a closely guarded secret. Even the researchers who work here don’t know the full recipe. They only dispense their portion.”
Based on his comments, it’s safe to assume that quite a few people have approached Lee about the recipe or the drug.
“If you don’t convince me, you will get to see the Ildon Kingdom’s prison during your trip.”
It was understandable that Lee was so obsessed with my identity and so sensitive, but I couldn’t reveal that I was a princess of the Siaz Empire here.
It would only make matters worse, as I was already suspected of being a spy.
In order to get out of here safely, I decided to tell him a half-truth, minus my identity.
“I’m… going through some personal problem.”
I stared into his sky-blue eyes with a determined expression, but he didn’t even bother to respond and just gave me a cold look that told me to continue.
“So I’m…”
A lump of saliva formed in the back of my throat at the hard words. Sitting down in front of him as he blocked my way, I drummed my fingers together and spoke slowly.
“I was just looking for a way to fix my body.”
It was a small voice, filled with a desire to crawl into a rat hole, but it was enough to reach his ears.
“So you were looking for a way to fix your body, and you ended up here looking for the aphrodisiac.”
“That bump we had earlier was a complete accident.”
When I pleaded my innocence, he looked intently at me and then dropped his suspicions.
He gestured that he believed me, removing his hands from where they had been resting on either side of my chair.
“Are you anorgasmic, then?”
My face heated up at his direct question.
“That… so…”
I felt my face turn red like an overripe apple as a wave of embarrassment washed over me, belatedly realizing that I’d forgotten about the issue because I was determined to fix it somehow.
“Yes…”
I clenched my hands into fists over the hem of my white dress in response to the rising embarrassment.
Lee, on the other hand, looked as relaxed as if we were just discussing the weather.
“It’s not a good idea to try to fix anorgasmia with aphrodisiacs. You’ll have a pretty hard time if you become dependent on them. The production process is meticulous, and compared to the difficulty of making it, there are many who want it.”
“Well, then… are there other medicines that can fix anorgasmia?”
Out of desperation, I jumped up from my chair without realizing it.
With doubt removed from his face, Lee blinked his golden eyelashes and looked down at my face calmly.
His expression was serious as he rubbed his index finger over his pursed lips, as if he was thinking of an answer to my question.
“I’m sorry, but as far as I know, there isn’t one.”
I thought I’d finally found a clue as to how to fix my body.
However, my heart sank at the answer that relentlessly crushed what little hope I had left.
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