Suspicious Tea (1)

The reunion between Kate and Ms. Catherine Millie didn’t unfold as dramatically as one might have imagined.

To be fair, Kate had already somewhat suspected that her grandmother was a werewolf.

Honestly, if you go to your grandmother’s room and find no grandmother but a lone wolf instead, that’s pretty much the first conclusion you’d jump to. From the moment her grandmother disappeared leaving only her clothes behind, it was practically a blatant hint for Kate to start suspecting.

When asked why she had explained it to Ethan and me as if she hadn’t considered that possibility at all, her answer was this:

“…If Grandma didn’t tell me, I thought there must be a reason. So I just pretended the idea that she might be a werewolf never crossed my mind… S-sorry for lying, unnie, and handsome oppa…”

“……”

It wasn’t like I could interrogate a child asking why she’d do something so unnecessary to confuse people, so I had no choice but to let it slide.

Well, it all worked out in the end, so it didn’t really matter. And if we’re being technical, my mistake of accidentally turning Ms. Catherine Millie into her wolf form was what started the whole conflict anyway.

In any case, looking at just the outcome, Ms. Catherine Millie had been considerate of Kate’s feelings in her own way, and Kate had tried to respect Ms. Catherine Millie’s wishes in her own way-that’s how things had unfolded.

I briefly imagined a scenario of a rebellious granddaughter and her flustered werewolf grandmother, but thankfully, nothing like that happened.

Anyway, the day after Kate and Ms. Catherine Millie had their dramatic reunion…

Ethan and I headed back to the mountain shop called “Scent of the Wolf” first thing in the morning to meet Ms. Catherine Millie again.

It wasn’t like we were on a date or anything-Ms. Catherine Millie had mentioned yesterday that she wanted to repay us in some way.

Plus, I’d heard yesterday that the item I wanted to buy was sold at Ms. Catherine Millie’s shop.

-Creak.

“Welcome~. Miss Lillith, Mr. Ethan.”

“…Hello, Ms. Catherine Millie.”

“You look better than yesterday.”

As Ethan said, she definitely looked better than yesterday. Probably because she no longer had to hide her secret from her granddaughter Kate.

She still hadn’t fully returned to her human form-traces of her werewolf nature remained on her face. Like the ears on top of her head, or the tail behind her.

The gray fur that had been on her face and hands had mostly disappeared, though.

“You still haven’t fully returned to your original form?”

“I did return to human form this morning, but since I don’t have to hide from Kate anymore, I shifted back a little. Most of my customers prefer me like this, you see.”

“…Pardon?”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that. It wasn’t an area I particularly wanted to delve into anyway.

“Oh, it’s unnie and handsome oppa!”

“…Kate?”

“……”

Meanwhile, Kate, who had been sitting at a table in the shop, immediately ran over and shamelessly threw herself into Ethan’s arms the moment she saw us.

Watching a nine-year-old brazenly cling to Ethan like this, exploiting her status as a child, felt… oddly unsettling. A kid this young already being so forward…

“Hmm, so you ended up bringing Kate to the shop after all?”

“Since I don’t have to hide being a werewolf anymore, there’s no need to leave her home alone. I always felt bad making her stay home by herself every day-if I’d known it would turn out like this, I would’ve told her sooner.”

“So this shop wasn’t just a place to hide from Kate-you’ve been running it normally all along.”

“That’s right. If it were just me, I could’ve managed without a shop like this, but raising two people requires a steady income.”

“But… do you really get customers in a shop this deep in the mountains?”

“Surprisingly, I have quite a few regulars. And as I mentioned earlier, many customers like me in this form, so the day after a full moon tends to get pretty busy.”

Again, I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that. No matter how I thought about it, this was way outside my comfort zone.

Ears and a tail were barely within acceptable limits, but fur on the face was a bit much.

…And why hasn’t that brat let go of Ethan yet?

“Kate, come here. Don’t bother the guests like that.”

“Yes, Grandma~!”

“……”

Before I could say anything, Kate obediently detached herself from Ethan at her grandmother’s words.

Maybe she was just starved for affection. Losing her parents at a young age and living alone with her grandmother for three years-it made sense she’d crave attention.

For some reason, I suddenly felt ashamed for feeling jealous of a child. Not that I was actually jealous, but still.

Embarrassed, I glanced around the shop and noticed rows of potion bottles and colorful liquids in display cases.

I’d vaguely known from yesterday when we stopped by on our way down the mountain, but now it was clear-Ms. Catherine Millie’s shop was indeed a perfume store.

‘At first, I thought “Scent of the Wolf” was that kind of shop.’

Her profession involved using a werewolf’s keen sense of smell to blend fragrances and create perfumes. In modern terms, she’d be a perfumer.

Given the shop’s location, you’d think only those in the know would visit (though it seemed more like people came for other reasons), but in this world, perfumes were a luxury item.

With this being a medieval fantasy setting, selling just ten bottles a month would be enough to live comfortably. If her ten fans visited just once a month, that’d be enough to raise a child.

…And now that she no longer had to hide being a werewolf, her sales might even increase.

Normally, a niche place like a perfume shop wouldn’t be somewhere Ethan and I would visit, but this time was an exception.

We were preparing to leave for the Witch’s Forest tomorrow, and the only thing left to get was insect-repellent perfume. I really wanted to get this before we left, so I had no choice.

Insect-repellent perfume wasn’t something you could easily find in general stores or potion shops unless they were quite large.

Of course, the Imperial Capital was a big city, so there were probably two or three general stores or potion shops that sold it, but the number of shops that didn’t carry it was just as vast.

Not having to go around asking every store, “Do you have insect-repellent perfume?” was already a big win. At least a perfume shop wouldn’t not sell insect-repellent perfume.

“Here you go, Miss Lillith.”

“Huh?”

“This is a gift from me and Kate. No matter how it happened, it’s thanks to your help that I was able to confess the truth to Kate.”

“Ah, thank you…”

I briefly considered refusing, but coming back to this shop in the first place would’ve made that seem disingenuous.

Politely declining once would’ve felt oddly hypocritical, so I just accepted it.

Given that she was old enough to be called “Grandma,” she might be much older than she looked. Refusing a gift from an elder would be more impolite.

“It’s a special tea infused with unique fragrances. Make sure to drink it with your lover when you’re alone.”

“…U-uh, Ethan and I aren’t lovers or anything…”

“You call each other by nicknames but aren’t lovers? Then what are you? Engaged?”

“N-no, definitely not engaged…”

“And I never asked if that handsome young man over there was your lover, did I? Yet his name immediately came up-doesn’t that mean you have feelings for him?”

“……”

“It’s fine, take it. It might help improve your relationship.”

“…Okay, thank you.”

If anything, our relationship wasn’t particularly bad to begin with-it wasn’t about improving it.

If anything, I wondered if we shouldn’t get any closer than we already were. If we went beyond what we were now, I wasn’t sure I could handle it.

But since I’d already accepted the gift, there was no point in returning it now. Whether I’d actually drink it with Ethan was another matter.

“What kind of special fragrance is it?”

“Hmm… Let’s say it’s a fragrance that helps lovers confess their true feelings more openly?”

“……”

“Just so you know, it doesn’t work well on someone who doesn’t have feelings for you, so I don’t recommend using it to cheat.”

“…I-I don’t cheat!”

“Yes, I didn’t think you would, Miss Lillith.”

“……”

Wondering if Ethan had overheard our conversation, I glanced back and saw him staring at me, his face flushed.

It wasn’t like I’d answered out of unwavering loyalty to him. Ethan was the only exception when it came to dating men-other guys were never even an option, so I’d reacted sharply to the word “cheating.”

Of course, explaining this wouldn’t make Ethan understand, so I left the misunderstanding as it was.

…Let’s just do what we came here for and leave. I didn’t come back to this shop to chat and receive gifts.

“…Do you sell insect-repellent perfume, by any chance?”

“Of course. It’s a perfume shop-we definitely have it. How many do you need, Miss Lillith?”

“Two… no, three would be good.”

After purchasing the insect-repellent perfume-the final item needed for our trip to the Witch’s Forest-I quickly left the shop.

‘Make sure to drink it with your lover when you’re alone.’

…With Ms. Catherine Millie’s meaningful gift held close to my chest.