The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 39: Alchemy lab: A gift

Chapter 39: Alchemy lab: A gift

Giving back the mug, she smiled. "May I be rude and ask for some more?"

He frowned. "This is potent, Luna Reneira!"

Luna Reneira! So he was truly testing her. Just a little while ago he just referred to her as his Lady. She smiled serenely. "I’m not going to drink it. I’m going to make a gift for Your Highness. After testing this beer, I realized I could use it."

The Faun immediately grabbed the jar and dropped it into Calisa’s hands. "Be useful and carry it for our Luna."

Our Luna? She couldn’t deny that it filled her heart with joy.

"How can I repay this?"

He paused for a while. "Remember my name and come to me whenever you need my help!"

Ren was momentarily dumbfounded but quickly came to her senses. "What is your name?"

"The Beard Faun." And that was when Ren realized how long his braided beard was, adorned with rings and greased with lavender oil to keep it safe from bugs while smelling so good.

"Alright, Beard Faun, it was my pleasure to meet you. Now, I will excuse myself. I appreciate the beer, it tasted very good to me."

He bowed deeper this time as they left. Gloria giggled and nudged Arkilla’s elbow. "What did I tell you?"

Ren narrowed her eyes, knowing that Gloria was intentionally gathering people around her. "I wonder who told Arkilla that Rail was going to be my shadow. Do you have any idea, Gloria?"

Gloria shook her head in denial, and Calisa snorted. "Even if you deny it, I can say you did."

Ren laughed at the two, who shot each other glares. "Don’t worry, I won’t punish you."

~*~

Inside the lab, Ren was stunned for a long while, reading the topics above each shelf. She didn’t know half of those elements and ingredients. Healer Rigo was a great scholar indeed. He explained to her that some of the vials contained dangerous solutions for humans and warned her against touching them with bare hands.

Ren gave him a list of what she needed, and he prepared them quickly. Calisa, eager to know what she was going to do, helped her distill alcohol from the perfectly kneaded beer. They filled a vial with the lucid liquid, and immediately, Ren tied her hands with the rest of the ingredients, mashing and mixing them.

"What is this one? It smells so good," Calisa asked, his eyes glimmering with curiosity.

"It is sandalwood fragments. I’ll have to distill this one too."

Calisa nodded and saw Her Highness sweating. "Let me do it. I’d like to help more."

Ren smiled and stepped away, giving him the stone masher and going to bring the small pot near the shelf. She asked Gloria to help her prepare it for distillation and to make a paste with cornstarch to seal the pot’s edge with it.

After two hours of hard work, Ren eventually poured the cooled cologne into a clean vial and smelled it.

"Wow, what is this for?" Calisa asked as the soothing aroma wafted in the lab and pleased his nerves.

Ren took the vial close to the candlelight and sighed in relief. This one was the best fragrance she had ever made, and she owed it to that well-kneaded beer.

"It is a cologne for His Highness. I realized that he had been using its powder to..." She blushed. What the hell was she saying? She should not be telling them he washed his body with sandalwood powder.

"He likes it." She wrapped it up, immediately changing the subject. "You learned it and can make cologne with every scent you like."

"I will, I will!" he agreed excitedly as the door groaned and Healer Rigo walked inside.

"I see you are done, my lady."

"Yes, I was blessed to have six extra hands. And I see it is already dark."

The healer nodded and informed her, "We have a guest who wants to enjoy dinner with you."

Ren tilted her head. That couldn’t be her husband because she couldn’t hear him in her mind, despite constantly trying to link her words regarding where he was. Could it be Agara? Her heart skipped a beat.

With doubt edging her voice, she asked, "Is that Agara?"

The healer beamed and nodded. "I sent him to his chamber. You can visit him at dinner."

Ren let out a deep breath, unsure whether to be happy or scared. He hadn’t accepted her yet.

~*~

After changing her dress, Ren hurried to the terrace where a table was set for Agara and her. She had so many questions and wasn’t sure how to start. Holding her necklace, she squeezed it in her palm. "Help me, Mother. I need you." She used to repeat this as a mantra, and it always worked like an enchantment.

Her outrageous heartbeat soothed.

Agara was standing at the edge of the terrace, looking at the starry sky.

"You are here, Princess Reneira?" Ren approached and stood next to him.

"I was worried you refused to become my master!"

He chuckled. His pale skin shone in the darkness, and that blood-red hair was outstanding. This time, he was wearing a majestic black attire with silver floral needlework.

His eyes shifted to meet Ren’s but instantly froze as the first thing that came into his view was the familiar shining necklace. Pulling himself back together, his surprised expression softened. "You are wearing the Gar necklace."

Ren’s eyes drifted to her necklace. "Everyone has been mentioning my necklace lately. It seems this jewel has a story that I don’t know."

"You don’t know that it is a Fae jewel?"

She shrugged. "His Highness told me it is. He was as shocked as you, and now I’m the one amazed. My necklace has a name, a Fae name, for sure!"

She was dying to know more, but it was rude to push her guest into something that might be personal.

"Gar means illuminator. The person who gave you this must find you precious. Every name that has ’Gar’ in it means blessed with light."

She tilted her head. "Like your name?"

He nodded. "May I ask who the person was?"

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