Na-Isekai Ako
Chapter 18: Katherine’s Vanilla: Now with a Hint of Existential Crisis

Chapter 18: Katherine’s Vanilla: Now with a Hint of Existential Crisis

Katherine flopped onto her bed with a satisfied sigh. Today had been productive. As soon as she arrived home, she set to work making vanilla extract using Aethervan. She wasn’t an expert, but vanilla wasn’t complicated. Split the pods, toss them into a jar, pour in alcohol—voilà! Now all she had to do was seal it and wait.

Well, technically, she was supposed to wait for months. But tomorrow, her magic stickers would arrive, and they’d do the work of six months in mere minutes.

She grinned, rolling onto her side. "Magic is amazing."

She had also wanted to prepare cassava for an upcoming recipe but quickly realized she lacked the right tools. Instead, she sketched out a design and sent it to Zamir, hoping he could craft something workable.

Making a café in this world is way harder than I expected, she thought, stretching her arms above her head. It wasn’t the cooking that was exhausting—it was the sheer amount of things she had to create from scratch. Ingredients were different. Tools were different. Even common knowledge about food was different.

"I have to do everything myself," she muttered, dramatically flinging an arm over her face. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a spark of pride. Despite the setbacks, she was making it work.

"I’m really excited!"

She hugged her pillow, kicking her feet slightly before pausing, her thoughts shifting to something more puzzling.

Why had the magician from the tower suddenly taken an interest in her? He had called for her personally, despite them only briefly crossing paths at the market.

Was it really just curiosity?

"He reminds me of Adolfo..." she mused, furrowing her brows. But something about Maestro Eldritch felt off. Adolfo had the commanding presence of a noble—intimidating yet refined, exuding an aura of restrained danger. Eldritch, however, felt eerie, as if the air around him was subtly distorted.

"He’s scary," she admitted, hugging her pillow tighter. "I got goosebumps just talking to him."

And yet, despite that, he had listened to her ideas without mockery. He hadn’t dismissed her suggestions, nor had he treated her like a clueless noble girl playing around with business.

Perhaps he wasn’t as terrifying as he seemed.

She exhaled, her expression softening. Both men carried an air of mystery and danger, but neither had felt outright hostile. More like... intriguing.

"And they’re both handsome, too," she mumbled absentmindedly before blinking at her own words.

Wait.

She turned onto her stomach, frowning slightly.

I don’t remember Adolfo having a brother in the novel...

The novel Florante and Laura had always felt like a typical fairytale to her. The worldbuilding had been shallow, the characters straightforward, and the story lacked the intricate details she was used to in modern books. Since it was structured as a song, it never delved deep into side plots or character histories.

Could it be... that there were things about this world that the novel had never covered?

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, exhaustion crept in, and her eyelids grew heavy.

Katherine yawned, nuzzling into her pillow.

"Maybe I’m just overthinking things," she mumbled sleepily. "Still... wouldn’t hurt to be careful."

And with that final thought, she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

***

The next morning, a package arrived for Katherine, along with a neatly folded letter.

---

Dear Customer,

The green stickers age items to three months, and the blue ones to six months. I have prepared twenty of each. I look forward to your continued business.

—E.

P.S. Effective for up to one gallon or three kilos.

---

She read over the note again and chuckled. He wants me to keep spending money on him, huh?

She couldn’t help but be impressed by Maestro Eldritch’s thoroughness. He had even specified the maximum capacity the stickers could handle.

"Well, if it’s worth the money, why not?" she reasoned. The Maestro was quite the businessman.

Eager to test them, Katherine fetched one of her vanilla jars and carefully opened the box of stickers.

"These are high quality," she noted, admiring the craftsmanship. The Maestro had followed her request precisely—the stickers were attached to a separate backing paper, ensuring their adhesive remained intact until use. The magic circles etched onto them were intricate and beautifully designed.

"Whoa, I didn’t know magic circles could be this pretty! Did The Maestro sketch these himself, or does he moonlight as a calligrapher?"

She flipped through an earlier letter, only to groan dramatically.

"Ugh, even his handwriting is better than mine. That’s just unfair."

Brimming with excitement, she peeled off a blue sticker and pressed it onto the jar. The moment it made contact, the symbol pulsed with light, glowing like starlight against the glass.

She watched, entranced, as the pale liquid inside darkened, swirling into a deep amber—the rich hue of perfectly aged vanilla extract. The glow slowly faded, and the sticker’s intricate design shifted, morphing into the delicate Sampaguita logo she had sketched before The Maestro.

Katherine’s breath hitched.

"That’s incredible!"

she gasped, eyes wide with delight. Then, after a beat, she narrowed her gaze at the jar.

"Wait... is this real vanilla now, or did I just ruin it?!"

Grabbing a teaspoon, she hesitantly tasted a drop.

"Oooh! It’s real REAL vanilla!" she squealed in delight. "I think I might cry."

Wasting no time, she retrieved all her jars and applied the remaining stickers, marveling at how they worked even on the larger containers. In just minutes, she had an entire stock of properly aged vanilla extract.

Feeling grateful, she decided to send a small jar as a gift to Maestro Eldritch. She wrapped a red ribbon around it, placed it in a box, and penned a brief note.

---

Dear Maestro Eld,

The magic stickers work perfectly! You are amazing, and I am very happy with our transaction.

I hope you like sweets—this is a sample of what I’ve been working on. You can mix it in coffee, tea, or desserts.

Looking forward to our next transaction.

Sincerely,Katherine

---

She paused. Was it safe to send the package directly to the tower? She had been told to keep their dealings discreet... but everyone already knew she had visited. Maybe if she avoided addressing it too obviously?

Then she glanced at the return address on the package.

"Maybe I should just send it back to where this came from."

She wrote simply:

To E, From Katherine.

Satisfied, she called for Philemon to handle the delivery.

***

Meanwhile, in a moving carriage—

"Young Master, aren’t you leaving for Athens a bit too soon? And why a carriage? We could’ve taken a portal," Roiselin grumbled, adjusting Adolfo’s seat.

Adolfo paid him no mind.

Roiselin had been by his side since childhood—a page-turned-companion after Adolfo’s father had adopted him from a distant branch of nobility. They had attended school together, and despite not being bound by duty, Roiselin had willingly followed Adolfo, even through his suspension in Athens.

He was the one person Adolfo could trust with his life. Not just because of loyalty, but because Roiselin had proven it time and time again.

But at this moment, Adolfo’s focus was entirely on the letter in his hands.

The magic stickers work perfectly! You are amazing, and I am very happy with our transaction.

Unconsciously, a small smile tugged at his lips.

Roiselin, of course, noticed immediately. "That letter’s gonna melt if you keep staring at it like that."

Adolfo shot him a glare, but Roiselin, ever the persistent nuisance, only grinned in response.

"I will throw you out of this carriage," Adolfo warned, voice low and edged with irritation.

Roiselin chuckled. "Why so shy? You could’ve asked Lady Katherine out before leaving Albania. You’re both nobles—you could even ask for her hand in marriage."

Adolfo’s glare darkened. "Roi. Go sit with the driver."

"Why?" Roiselin whined, not taking the hint.

Adolfo rapped his knuckles against the carriage wall. "Stop."

The carriage slowed.

Roiselin groaned as if he’d just been sentenced to exile. "You’re serious?"

"Out."

With a dramatic huff, Roiselin hopped down from the carriage. "You’re just embarrassed!" he muttered under his breath.

Adolfo heard him but let it slide. The man always had something to say.

Now, in the welcome quiet of the carriage, he finally opened the small box Katherine had sent. A rich, warm aroma filled the space almost instantly.

Vanilla.

It was a scent that stirred something in him, though he couldn’t quite place what. He dipped his pinky into the liquid and tasted it. Sweet, smooth, refined—just as he had expected from Katherine.

A rare flicker of intrigue crossed his face, a brief crack in his usual cold composure. He turned his gaze toward the window, watching the rolling hills and distant mountains blur past. But his mind was elsewhere.

"It will be quite some time before I see Miss Katherine again..." he mused, the words feeling heavier than they should.

Katherine was unlike anyone he had encountered. Sharp-witted, intelligent, unexpectedly bold. There was something about her that unsettled him—something he couldn’t quite define.

For a fleeting moment, he entertained Roiselin’s suggestion. What if he sought her company? What if he pursued something more? She was intriguing, and perhaps... useful.

But just as quickly as the thought came, he dismissed it.

"She is only a niece of the marchioness," he reminded himself, the words heavy with finality. "No title. No inheritance."

Katherine held no tangible value to him or his ambitions. She wasn’t a piece to move on the board of his grand plans—not like the powerful families or alliances he was carefully constructing. Marrying into nobility was a strategic endeavor, one that required wealth, influence, and leverage. Katherine had none of those.

And yet...

His gaze drifted to the jar, its amber liquid glistening in the dim light. A sigh escaped his lips, a sound of frustration and resignation that even he couldn’t fully understand.

"Why does it matter?" he muttered under his breath.

He set the jar aside, willing himself to think of more pressing matters. But the image of Katherine—her bright green eyes, her sharp tongue, her unshakable confidence—lingered. No matter how much he tried to push it away, the thought of her crept back into his mind, stubborn and persistent.

She was nothing more than an anomaly.

An anomaly he couldn’t seem to ignore.