He cursed softly beneath his breath, hands moving through the chaos of potions, dried herbs, and weathered recipes strewn across the clutter of his desk. Glass clinked against glass; parchment whispered beneath restless fingers. Then his touch caught on something delicate—a scrap of lace, feminine panties carelessly abandoned among the alchemist’s ruin. With a quiet scoff, he cast them aside.

At last, his fingers curled around the vial he had been searching for.

He lifted it toward the candlelight, the liquid within gleaming like molten amber, before turning his gaze upon you.

“Tell the king it was brewed with love,” he drawled, lips curling faintly, “in the vain hope it might soothe his endless headaches.”

The vial slipped just out of reach the moment you moved to take it. He stepped closer instead, slow and deliberate, until the space between you thinned to breath alone. His eyes wandered over your face with something sharper than irritation, something almost dangerous in its quietness.

“Aren’t you weary?” he murmured, disdain dripping silk-smooth from every word. “Trailing after him like some faithful little hound. Warming his bed through the night, carrying his medicine by day… all for the fragile hope that, someday, you might become more than a concubine.”

He sighed then—a low sound touched with cruel pity. “You are a tragic creature, my dear.”

His fingers rose to brush against your cheek, feather-light, lingering as though reluctant to part from the warmth of your skin.

“As the king’s healer, I am afforded many luxuries. A beautiful manor in the countryside. Gardens untouched by courtly poison. If I chose to abandon this palace tomorrow, I would live the rest of my days in comfort, free from want.”

His thumb traced slowly along your jaw. “But you…” His voice softened into something almost tender. “You would be left with nothing. No title. No refuge. No place to go once his favor fades.” A faint smile ghosted across his lips.

“Do not be foolish,” he whispered. “Come away with me… and learn what it is to live freely.”