"This lady is recognised as the best perfumer in the capital... (munch) Therefore, it's indeed suitable for the prince to seek her out for potion making... (munch), Hello Miss (munch), the prince is here to see you... (munch)".
"Ah, Lucia, how about choosing between eating and talking?" I gave Lucia, who was busily munching a rabbit leg while conversing with a young woman, an advice through a wry smile. Once Lucia calmed down, she brazenly go hand in hand with me on the path, accepting everyone's bow along the way. I waved back with a bitter smile at the people bowing to us, displaying an approachable demeanour.
Next, I noticed Lucia's attention was drawn to a roadside shop. It appeared to be a pub, diffusing the tempting aroma of barbecued meat. I told Lucia she could go buy the food, only to see Lucia comeback cheerfully with a roasted rabbit leg and a beer...
What about mine?! Where's my share?!
"It's improper for a prince like yourself to eat such food in public!"
So, is that your excuse for munching while talking to others?!
Perhaps realising her rudeness, Lucia apologetically nods at the lady and took to the side, raising her newly-acquired beer...
So you chose to eat after all!
With a bitter smile, I stepped in front of this Miss. Dressed unlike ordinary Elf ladies in a gray robes, she covered every part of her body tightly, with a black shawl draped over her shoulders to cover her neck. She used a silk veil to cover her mouth and nose, also wearing thin black gloves.
We were currently in a nearly botanical garden-like greenhouse. As soon as we stepped in, we were greeted with damp heat and the mixed scent of flowers. Upon expressing my need for a skilled perfumer, Lucia brought me here. Just as expected, all sorts of flowers were planted inside the greenhouse. And in a corner, we found the person we sought.
This wasn't an ordinary greenhouse, the walkway lay in the middle with each side serving as a small courtyard filled with a variety of flowers, some exuded humidity, some were cool, some had rain falling, while others had snow descending. As I crossed the walkway to reach her, it felt like going through all the seasons.
When she turned to me, her rare crimson eyes tightened a bit. She then smiled, removed her veil, revealing her gloves, underneath which laid a skin so white it seemed almost pale, yet with lips as red as blood. She looked at me, bowed, said with respect: "It's an honour to meet your esteemed self, my prince. May I ask the reason for your visit?"
"Well, nothing serious, just hoping you could help me create a perfume to attract earth dragons. To my knowledge, the leading earth dragons will roll in special flower beds so their bodies emit a scent that attracts other earth dragons. That's the reason for my visit, hoping you could produce such a liquid."
She chuckled gently, "No problem, Your Highness. In reality, what attracts earth dragons isn't the scent of flowers, but rather the odour that the mixture of the earth dragon's bodily secretions with the juice of flowers emit. A suitable product would come out by combining these two substances."
"Is it difficult to come by?"
"No, it's quite simple. Especially nowadays." She took out a small bottle and handed it to me with a smile, "This is the secretion of the earth dragon king. Before trade channels opened with humans, this small bottle here could make queens come begging to me, but now its price is slightly more than the beer that our lady here is holding. Humans are indeed mystical creatures, existing for only hundreds of years but capable of harvesting what we hadn't achieved, and the blood is quite delightful to consume."
Laughing, she licked her lips right in front of me, behind those lips was a pair of sharp teeth emitting chilling vibes. Taken aback, I asked in surprise, "Are you, a vampire?!"
Ah, in this world is she considered a vampire? I wasn't sure, I just blurted it out...
"Kind of, if the prince would prefer to call me that, I don't mind. We are merely a bunch of cursed Elves, seduced by power, drunk in blood. After being executed nearly to the point of extinction, we would’ve gone extinct if not for the queen’s mercy in granting us residential territory and blood to consume. Even though the blood of livestock is filthy and smells rotten, we cannot waste the blood and the queen’s goodwill. We don’t have any particular strengths as a race apart from sensitive senses of smell and taste, for instance, the moment you walked in, I felt an urge…." After a chuckle, she watched me, sniffed, and said, “What I didn’t expect, however, was for you, the prince, to be exuding the scent of human blood, and behind your headscarf, there must be human ears too, ah…”.
A dagger was laid across her neck. Lucia, who had originally been indulging in food and drink, was now before her, knife in hand. Lucia stared into her eyes, nudged the dagger forward, and said, "You know too much, miss. We are just here to get something we need from you. But if you know more than you should, we'll have to replace you and make sure you never say a word."
"Lucia!"
I laid a hand on her shoulder. The lady laughed, raised her hands and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. Like me, you both have secrets you don't want to be revealed. Just like I veil my fangs with a scarf, you veil your ears with a turban, we are all the same. Why would I betray someone like me, especially if it's a future king."
Lucia glanced at me, I nodded, and she sheathed her knife and returned behind me, reaching again for her unfinished food. I gave a bitter smile and said, "I apologize for the shock. I hope you don't mind, but I would request you not to speak of my affairs."
"I know, I know. To the Elves, your mixed heritage is unacceptable enough, let alone being the offspring of a Human, the race that once slaughtered Elves. Frankly, I hadn't been paying attention to your mixed blood. You were born from your mother, the crystallization of the old king and queen. I just cannot understand why you would be of mixed heritage."
She laughed and touched her throat, then turned and picked a few flowers to pound in a mortar with a splash of water. I watched her pick the flowers with interest and picked one up - it was a simple little yellow flower, much like a dandelion. I put it to my nose and inhaled its scent - it was tiny, yet gave off a very pungent fragrance.
I've smelled this scent before, but where?
No, it couldn't have been in the past - I hardly smelled flowers when I was alive, and I don't believe that flowers from this world could thrive in ours. It must definitely be a scent I smelled here, where I haven't been for long. Where could it have been?
Elves love plants, so ever since I arrived, I've always been surrounded by flowers. Whether it's the wildflowers from the palace lawn or the abundant blossoms in the back garden; whether it's the potted plants on windowsills as I walk the streets or the bunch of flowers by my bed - my surroundings abound with flowers. How could I take note of such a tiny one?
I can't remember, but even if I did, it wouldn't mean anything. Even if I could remember, I don't have that dragon extract, whatever it is. It seems that the Humans have captured the Earth Dragon King and are farming it just for this extract. I have no idea what this liquid does, but it might be of help to me.
I watched as the vampire lady expertly processed the flowers, filtering it till only a sticky juice was left, and then added an extract. Honestly, it felt odd watching a vampire handle flowers, but it must be my mother's doing. As Lucia said, my mother brings together the dispersed Elf tribes and provides them with equal freedom and rights.
It must be this tolerance and fairness that allowed the Elves to flourish, right? However, it seems that the Elves are particularly concerned with purity of bloodline. They do not reject other branches of the Elf race, just other races, like Humans.
But if I was born from my mother, then surely, I must also be an Elf. The Queen of Humans has her own imperial line, How could a queen have an illegitimate child? There's this saying about the endless possibilities of love, so could it be that a man from the Human race, as magnificent as my brother, may have pushed two queens together?
Why would the queen come after me? Since I was born from my mother, I'm naturally her flesh and blood. Does surrogacy happen in this world? Isn't it a bit much to expect an Elf queen to be a surrogate mother?
I feel like unearthing my backstory would unravel a plot more dramatic than my entire life. Trying to comprehend the happenings of this world with conventional thinking is proving futile...no matter how much I've pondered, I can't understand the baffling events that must have occurred prior to my birth.
A sharp fragrance suddenly exploded into the air, knocking me out of my thoughts. I looked towards the workbench where the vampire lady was shaking the mixed liquid. The two mixed liquids didn’t have a fantastic color - it was quite disappointing as it was colorless and transparent. But the this pungent scent was indeed coming from that little bottle.Lucia came over, apparently finished eating... She looked at the small bottle and said, "Is this the liquid you're talking about? It smells awful."
"Can you consider me for once? As someone with a much keener sense of smell than you all, this odour is really bothering me." The Miss turned and squinted her eyes at me, then took off her veil to take in deep breaths. Her face clearly showed that the smell was painfully unpleasant to her.
"Cough, cough...t here, Your Highness. This is the item you requested. Handle it with care and avoid pouring it out. If it spills, it would attract all the land dragons in the vicinity of the royal capital, and aren't there a group of land dragons cavorting near the royal capital right now?"
She laughed, corked the bottle, and handed it to me. Then, with a smile, she said, "Seeing you ask for this, I can guess the outcome of your last expedition. Don't worry, Your Highness. There's no shame in surviving from a pack of land dragons. They indeed aren't something an ordinary conscripted soldier can handle."
It's quite awkward; in fact, I also perished…
"They aren’t ordinary conscripts! They are all sons of noble families! All of them set out with the intention to follow you, Your Highness. We all know them, and I won’t allow you to insult them!!"
Lucia rarely shouted like that.
I paused, patted her head, and said, "Yes, the purpose of my visit this time is to find the pack of land dragons again. I plan to exterminate them using a new method to avenge my soldiers."
The Miss blinked and laughed, "No wonder you are the prince, always charismatic wherever you go. I believe that your request to produce this thing is part of your plan. I won't pry into your plans, but I do wish you success. If you would accept the blessings from the god of a fallen race..."
She bowed. I thanked her awkwardly and then said, “Thank you, we will be on our way now. Oh yes… the compensation… How much compensation do you think is fair?”
She looked up at me, shrugged and said, “If you want to talk about compensation, haven't I already mentioned that? The extract is only slightly more expensive than alcohol and this flower is so common, it's not rare at all. The only rare thing is probably my craftsmanship. But my life and existence now are gifts from the queen. How could I charge when the queen's son comes to seek my assistance? As I've said at the beginning, being able to help you is my greatest honor. Please go back directly, I wish for the queen's health. Maybe she has forgotten the grace she gave us, but we will never forget her fairness, kindness, and benevolence. Prince, may God bless you."
“Well, thank you. Please accept my gratitude. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye.”
“Safe travels, Your Highness.”
She bowed, I turned around and said, “Let’s go, Lucia.”
"Ah, wait a minute, your highness... No, you can wait for me at the door... I also want to buy some perfume before I go back, it should be quick, please wait for me."
Lucia, who was behind me, suddenly turned around and vigorously pushed and persuaded me to the door before closing it. I was taken aback and looked back at her, but she just gave me an apologetic smile and closed the door. I sighed helplessly, turned around, and waited for her by the door.
It's not unreasonable for a girl to want a bottle of perfume, is it...
