Chapter 4
After my first plan failed miserably, I got back to work.
I had boldly declared a strike, yet not a single person acknowledged it.
Instead, people kept showing up with more work for me, leaving me mentally exhausted as I struggled to deal with them all.
And the one person who should have reacted—the Tower Master—remained strangely silent.
“Some strike. At this rate, there’s no way I’m getting fired.”
I decided to change my strategy.
What could I possibly do to make the Tower Master react?
How could I make him so furious that he’d want to fire me on the spot?
As I pondered, my eyes wandered around the room until I suddenly remembered something I’d found while organizing the storage room.
“Cilantro…!”
I had been so surprised to discover that cilantro existed in this world that I’d paid special attention to it, so I remembered exactly where it was stored.
Good. Time to put Plan B into action.
I jumped to my feet, headed to the storage room, and gathered every last bit of cilantro that remained.
Then I entered the potion laboratory, placed the herbs on the worktable, and opened Serphine’s recipe book.
It contained every potion recipe Serphine had ever developed.
After flipping through the pages, I finally found what I was looking for.
“…This is it!”
Sleeping Potion Recipe
- 10 Retus leaves
- 20 cups of water
- 3 drops of deadly spider venom
- 2 spoonfuls of honey
…
Warning: If the heat is too high, the texture becomes sticky. Always simmer over low heat.
This sleeping potion was one Serphine had specially formulated for the Tower Master.
He suffered from terrible insomnia.
It was so severe that every night he had to drink a sleeping potion and practically pass out before he could fall asleep.
“Was this ever mentioned in the original novel?”
Ever since possessing this body, I’d realized how much information the original story had omitted.
The Tower Master, in particular, was wrapped in mystery, so there were even more missing details about him.
“Well… I guess it just wasn’t important.”
After all, the role of a second male lead was usually to fall for the heroine without much explanation and become her devoted supporter.
“…I’d better focus on what I’m doing.”
Normally, the potion had a thick, syrupy texture and a sweet yet sharply pungent smell.
But the Tower Master, whose senses were extraordinarily sensitive, hated it and refused to drink it.
“Seriously? It’s not like he’s a kid who hates taking medicine.”
If it were me, I’d simply tell him, Then don’t take it.
But diligent and kind Serphine had come up with another solution.
After endless research, she’d transformed the sleeping potion into something as colorless, odorless, and tasteless as water.
Unfortunately, that bland version wasn’t what I needed.
The more unpleasant it was for the Tower Master to drink, the better.
“All right. Time to do some calculations.”
Since cilantro was an ordinary plant rather than a magical herb, it should add a strong aroma without drastically altering the potion’s properties.
“If I just threw in random ingredients, something disastrous could happen.”
Potion-making wasn’t like fairy tales where you tossed random ingredients into a cauldron and magically created something.
Precise measurements and exact timing were absolutely essential.
If she had to compare it to something, it was more like cooking.
Taking all the ingredients into account, I calculated the maximum amount of cilantro I could safely add.
“Ugh… what a smell.”
The moment I tossed in a generous handful, an overwhelmingly sharp aroma immediately filled the room.
As I stirred the mixture carefully so everything blended evenly, the laboratory door opened.
“Good morning, Lady Serphine.”
It was Shilla.
In the end, I’d given in to her tearful pleading and agreed to make only a few particularly difficult potions. She had come to collect them.
After placing the completed potions onto a tray, she carefully set another stack of production requests on my desk.
“She brought me another mountain of work…”
Having almost given up resisting, I simply focused on my potion.
“Lady Serphine, what are you making?”
Shilla stopped just before leaving and sniffed the air.
“This? Roakin’s sleeping potion.”
“…Why does a sleeping potion smell like this?”
“I added a new ingredient.”
“Hmm…”
She looked puzzled for a moment before losing interest and walking away.
It really was convenient that most mages weren’t particularly interested in other people’s business.
No lengthy explanations required.
After stirring the cauldron exactly thirty minutes, as the recipe instructed, I finally extinguished the flame and clasped my hands together.
“Please… let Roakin get so angry after drinking this that he fires me.”
The final ingredient in the sleeping potion was a heartfelt wish.
Feeling triumphant, I headed to the Tower Master’s room and held out a cup of the sleeping potion.
“You said you needed your sleeping potion.”
Looking exhausted, Roakin accepted the cup while rubbing his temple.
He absentmindedly lifted it toward his lips—
Then paused.
“…Was the smell too obvious?”
One eyebrow arched slightly, as if he’d noticed something suspicious.
What if all my hard work goes to waste because he refuses to drink it?
I worried inwardly.
But instead, Roakin looked straight into my eyes and deliberately drank the entire cup in one long gulp.
Watching his Adam’s apple move smoothly, I began feeling uneasy.
“What? Why is he drinking it so easily?”
Maybe the cilantro flavor hadn’t hit him yet.
Heart pounding, I waited for him to frown.
“The taste has changed.”
Yes!
“I adjusted the formula… What do you think?”
I watched expectantly, hoping he’d explode in anger.
Instead, after setting down the empty cup, he answered calmly,
“It’s not bad.”
He paused.
“It’s pleasantly fragrant. I like it.”
…Fragrant?
His unexpected review made the polite smile frozen on my face twitch.
“That’s impossible…”
The potion’s effect was so strong that I’d only dared taste the tiniest drop on my fingertip.
It had definitely been enough to make anyone grimace.
“I’m… glad you like it.”
For a brief moment, it almost looked like a mocking smile crossed Roakin’s face.
“That’ll be all.”
“…Rest well.”
Carrying back the perfectly empty cup, I returned to the secretary’s office in a daze.
Still unable to believe it, I cautiously uncorked the potion bottle and sniffed.
“Ugh…”
The piercing smell was exactly the same.
“Does he just have weird taste? How is this fragrant?!”
Then I remembered reading something.
There had been research showing that whether cilantro smelled like disgusting soap depended on a specific gene.
“Does Roakin just… not have that gene?”
Judging from his completely indifferent reaction, my second plan had failed just as thoroughly.
I drew another X across the previous day on the calendar and sank into despair.
Only ten empty squares remained.
“…I’m doomed.”
The Founding Festival was now only ten days away.
“I don’t have any more time to waste.”
The Empress’s commission would arrive soon.
I couldn’t keep going back and forth like this forever.
Even if I was afraid of how Roakin would react, I had to tell him clearly.
“Today’s the day. I’ll settle this once and for all.”
Strike while the iron was hot.
I immediately rushed to the top floor of the Magic Tower.
After catching my breath, I knocked and waited.
But the tightly shut door showed no sign of opening.
“…Where did he go?”
As someone who knew the Tower Master’s schedule better than anyone, I was certain Roakin hadn’t left the tower.
Sensing something strange, I cracked the door open and peeked inside.
“What? He’s in there.”
I could see a head of black hair sticking out above the back of a chair.
Did he decide to ignore people completely now?
“If you’re inside, why aren’t you answering?”
Completely baffled, I walked toward him.
“Roa—”
I stopped myself.
No wonder there’d been no answer.
He was asleep.
Roakin’s eyes were peacefully closed beneath the shadows of his long eyelashes.
“I came all the way up here…”
All the strength drained from my body.
But I couldn’t bring myself to wake someone who had finally managed to fall asleep after struggling with insomnia and relying on sleeping potions.
Besides, knowing how sensitive he was about sleep, I felt a little guilty for trying to sabotage what was practically his lifeline.
“Sigh… not today either.”
Feeling resentful, I glared at the sleeping Roakin.
When he was quietly asleep, his bad temper no longer overshadowed his looks.
A smooth forehead.
A perfectly straight nose.
Red lips.
Simply flawless.
Maybe it was because he was the male lead, but even while sleeping, his clear features gave him an almost ethereal beauty.
“But what’s the point of being ridiculously handsome?!”
I secretly pretended to flick him on the forehead before turning to leave.
Just then, a faint, sleepy voice stopped me.
“…Serphine?”
“Oh… you’re awake?”
I hurriedly hid my hand behind my back as though nothing had happened.
My heart pounded, worried he’d caught me.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he had.
“What brings you here? I don’t remember calling for you.”
Straightening himself in his chair, Roakin rubbed his face as though trying to shake off the last traces of sleep.
After taking a deep breath, I pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down.
“I… have something important to tell you.”
I’d come here fully determined, but the memory of my resignation letter bursting into flames last time kept flashing through my mind, making it difficult to speak.
As I fidgeted with the velvet cushion while searching for the right words, Roakin tilted his head.
“What could possibly be so important?”
“You already know what I’m going to say. I want to quit—”
“Just in case.”
Roakin cut me off before I could finish.
“If you’re about to tell me you’re quitting again…”
Before he could continue—
Bang!
The enormous entrance doors burst open with a deafening roar.
Startled, I instinctively covered my ears.
“The exit is that way.”
With cold, sunken eyes, Roakin pointed toward the open doorway.
“That lunatic!”
Just because he was my boss, did he think he could do whatever he wanted?
Just because he was the Tower Master?
How much longer was I supposed to put up with this absurdity?
Still covering my ears, my eyes remained fixed on his hand.
The rings on his long, pale fingers glittered intensely.
The magic stones embedded in them were cracked, as though on the verge of shattering.
Just by looking at them, I could tell how desperately he was suppressing his anger.
“Why on earth is he getting this angry?!
