“Teacher, today’s breakfast is braised chicken with potatoes.”
“I see.”
“Are you uncomfortable talking casually to me?”
“No.”
“Then why does it seem to me that you are.”
“I’m just not used to it. Don’t worry about it.”
But I did worry about it. His formal address felt awkward. Considering his cold and indifferent face, it suited him just fine. I nibbled at the food. Braised chicken with potatoes definitely was delicious. But I missed rice. It wasn’t easy to obtain rice in this place. It had to be imported from the east. It wasn’t even available in Sharatan. But it was sold at Acrab food stores but the price was preposterously high.
If I grow rice, won’t I be the richest person in this place? I pondered whether Acrab had the right terrain and climate for growing rice. It wasn’t really a bad idea. I needed to research on it further.
“Teacher, what are you going to do today?”
Kaichen raised an eyebrow. “What are you going to do?”
“I asked you first.” He didn’t respond. “Well, I’m going to see the patients,” I answered while avoiding Kaichen’s gaze. He stared at me as though I had said something stupid. He ate in silence.
“Let’s go together,” he said, after a while.
“You don’t have to…”
I lowered my gaze as Kaichen looked at me with those intense eyes. I didn’t know what was happening. He used to be so indifferent to everything. I narrowed my eyes and glanced at him. He looked fine, as usual. He looked like the same person but something was different.
Is he just worried after I became his disciple? Is that why he never had a disciple before? Were the teachers supposed to solve their disciple’s problems? But I didn’t think there was anything else left to research. I thought the research was done since he knows about what happened to me and why.
“Then, Teacher, I will wash up and come down.” In the end, we decided to go around the city together and visit the patients to take a look. I certainly needed his help. He was the only one knowledgeable enough to determine the component of the poison in their bodies and create an antidote. Besides, if he is with me, it will be easier for me to face them.
I went up to my room and headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and tried to calm myself. My heart was pounding and my face was flushed. I didn’t know why I felt this way. I ate with Kaichen as usual and took my medicine. What had changed?
The hair in front of my face was long and messy and bothered my eyes. I grabbed scissors out of the drawer and leaned close to the mirror.
“Well, this body does have pretty eyes, might as well take advantage of it.” Appearance was a weapon; it always had been. I was finally putting on some weight as well.
Dalia had such pretty eyes. It would have made anyone fall in love with her. She could have been a celebrity in another world. In the past, she had given up on taking care of herself. But her body was recovering now. I decided to cut the hair in front to reveal more of her eyes.
I went for bangs. I snipped and leveled the hair so that my bangs sat a little over my eyebrows. I smiled, satisfied. I felt refreshed. The slanting eyes were striking. Dark, almost black eyes on pale white skin. A petite nose and luscious lips that were now tinted red which used to be colorless and pale before.
Dalia had a mole under her right eye which gave her a different charm. It seemed to change her image. With her slanted eyes, she looked regal and upfront. But when she smiled, the mole complimented her face and made her appear soft and charming. Her dark hair fell down her shoulders.
“It’s me. I look good!” I may not be the most beautiful woman in the Empire even with Dalia’s charms but I felt that this was enough for me to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
I straightened my shoulders and took a deep breath. I finished taking a shower while humming to myself. When I applied the scented oil on my body, I could smell the cool, woody scent that lingered in the whole house.
“Um, this is nice.”
When I went straight into the dressing room, I found Dalia’s gorgeous dresses lined up in the wardrobe. I didn’t want to see them at all. As I left Acrab in a hurry before, I forgot to sell them. So, they still hung there, lifeless. The dresses made me think about Dalia and how much she must have loved her dresses. She must have loved to dress up in such regal attires.
I supposed she really was desperate seeing how she must have gone from wearing those dresses and being regal to being a miserable drunkard. The people of Acrab remembered the old, beautiful Dalia. I felt sorrier for her and them.
I skimmed through the dressing room. I had done this a thousand times before. I pulled out dark brown pants and a beige shirt. I didn’t really hate skirts but wearing huge dresses wasn’t really my thing. Besides, Dalia seemed to love dresses with fancy frills. I didn’t. Sorry, I was not going to wear frills.
