“So we should probably send them away before it gets worse.”

Yerin concludes with a sidelong glance at a visibly exasperated Yewon, who had dark circles under her eyes as she tried to slide away from an increasingly clingy SinB.

Eunha raised an eyebrow, seemingly unperturbed. Then again, her problems weren’t half as bad as the temple maiden’s, considering she currently had someone else running interference. Said someone was currently making life difficult for Yuju, who honestly wanted nothing more than to make Eunha happy, which didn’t actually bother Eunha too much, all things considered. 

“Can we switch???” Yewon complained out of desperation, shoving a scroll in SinB’s face as her reading was interrupted for the fifth time that hour. The acolyte glanced over at Yuju, who was currently making flower crowns at Eunha’s suggestion and looking quite at peace while at it, despite a scowling Sojung hovering between her and Eunha. 

The tall herald had appeared at their doorstep a couple days ago, bearing messages from the Duke, much to Eunha’s displeasure. The tiny heiress did not want to be reminded of her arranged marriage, and while she understood that it wasn’t actually Sojung’s fault, she couldn’t help but be somewhat prickly towards the messenger every time he (fool that Eunha was, she never noticed Sojung’s real gender) tried to speak kindly of the Duke.

“How is it that they’re so different?” Yewon huffed, reaching to refill her cup of tea. “I’ve never been more relieved that our windows are barred, because this one,” she jabbed a finger at SinB, “would totally have climbed in at night.”

“You look like you didn’t sleep well,” Eunha stifled a giggle. Despite Yuju also being smitten with her thanks to the effects of the potion, the young swordswoman was a lot more obedient in comparison, and had only parked herself outside Eunha’s door at night to make sure no one disturbed her. Eunha had never had a better night’s sleep, with two self appointed sentinels standing guard outside her door (the other obviously being Sojung, who didn’t trust Yuju one bit, clearly). Honestly, if Sojung hadn’t been so insistent on making a case for the duke, Eunha would have liked “him” a lot more.

“No, because she started singing to get my attention when she couldn’t get in.” Yewon sighed, turning away from SinB’s puppy dog face. She was flattered by the attention, but knew it couldn’t be trusted thanks to its chemically inspired origins. 

“It is rather interesting how they’re reacting so differently to the same potion, to be honest…” Yerin rested her chin on a hand, letting her gaze drift from the shameless SinB to the loyally protective Yuju. “You don’t happen to have a place to lock them up for the time being, do you?”

That was directed at Yewon, who shook her head.

“We don’t have proper secure cells; this is a temple, not a prison.” She made a face. “It seems wrong to chain them even if we had the tools though, it’s not really their fault they’re like this right now.”

“I could make some arrangements,” Sojung suggested darkly from the side, eyes narrowing when Yuju scampered happily over to Eunha, presenting her newly made flower crown. Eunha pointedly ‘hmphed’ at Sojung’s suggestion, smiling brightly instead at Yuju as she allowed the taller girl to place the flower crown on her head. Yerin did not miss the scowl that crossed the tall messenger’s face, and raised an eyebrow. Clearly, someone was not happy that the Duke’s interests were being infringed on, or could it be something else?

“We’re not locking anyone up!” Eunha patted Yuju on the head like the girl was a giant puppy, before shooting a pointed glare at Sojung, who immediately plastered on a neutral face as if nothing had happened. The heiress looked over at the visibly exhausted Yewon, a thoughtful frown on her face.

“I mean, we could distract them…” Yuju had been very receptive to Eunha’s requests ever since the potion, eager for her approval. Yerin nodded, having also come to the same conclusions. The two cousins exchanged a glance, silent agreement in their eyes.

“SinB, how much do you like Yewon?” Yerin turned to ask the lovestruck idiot clinging to an exasperated Yewon. SinB straightened, a serious expression on her face.

“More than anything.” 

“What would you do for her then?” Yerin prompted, opening up the conversation the way she wanted it to. SinB cocked her head.

“Anything to make her happy and safe.” 

Yerin raised an eyebrow at Yewon, who, despite knowing that all this was chemically induced, had a suspicious flush on her cheeks at the unexpectedly serious confession. Yerin made a small ‘hmm’ing sound, tapping on her chin thoughtfully.

“Look at Yewon, SinB. She doesn’t look well at all, does she?” 

That was not quite a lie. Due to the lack of restful sleep, Yewon looked more than a little haggard, her complexion paler than usual. SinB frowned, worry creasing her forehead.

“You should rest, I can carry you back to bed!” 

Yewon almost facepalmed at the suggestion, and Yerin hurried on before SinB actually carried that out. One does not mess with the love potion’d. 

“I hear there’s a special medicinal herb that only blooms in the hour before sunrise, up in the mountains behind the temple. Yewon’s not feeling well, and that herb could make her feel better…”

“I’LL GO GET IT!” SinB sprang to her feet, determination shining in her eyes. The young adventurer looked down seriously at the surprised Yewon.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back as fast as I can.” SinB glanced at the rest.

“Make sure she gets some rest, and if anything happens to her…” A low growl. “I’ll make sure you regret it.”

“Of course! Off with you now.” Yerin made a small shoo-ing gesture with her hands, and SinB ran out of the garden where they were all seated like a whirlwind in motion. 

Everyone stared at the nonplussed Yerin, who only smiled back innocently.

“What? It worked.”

Sojung was the first to react, looking impressed. Taking a half step forward, she blurted out.

“Are you interested in working for m--I mean, the Duke?”

“Hands off my cousin,” Eunha snapped irritably, folding her arms. She didn’t like the idea of the Duke pushing his way into her life like he had the right to take over everything. Sojung had been very courteous and thoughtful towards her all this time, and she was quite inclined to like the handsome (that much she could admit) young ‘man’, but she wasn’t going to back down any time the messenger even so much as mentioned the Duke.

As if on cue, Yuju stepped up, fully prepared to fight Sojung if Eunha said so. Sojung narrowed her eyes, wondering if it was unsporting to duel an injured person. Yerin tutted disapprovingly.

“Now cousin, don’t be rude…” Yerin eyed Sojung speculatively, and the tall herald inclined her head, as if confirming that her work proposal was valid and not just a passing comment. 

Yerin quirked her lips; this could be interesting. Eunha might be resistant to the marriage, but short of her taking vows at the Temple, it was a done deal by all deeds. The marriage would happen, regardless of anything they could do, short of a scandal. 

Her eyes shifted slightly, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Eunha did seem to enjoy this Sojung’s company...when the herald wasn’t talking about his liege. Perhaps she could push things along? Sojung did seem like quite a gentleman, and was easy on the eyes to boot. Either way, Eunha really wasn’t losing out. 

“Actually, Eunha,” Yerin began slowly. “Didn’t you mention last night that you really miss the snacks sold by that old couple at the lakeside town we passed by on our way here?”

Food was always an excellent distraction for Eunha, and Yerin knew it. Her cute button of a cousin’s eyes lit up at the mention, and Yerin hid a grin.

“Since you’re staying at the temple for now, why not send Yuju to go fetch you some? I’m sure she’ll be happy to help.” Yuju perked up at the mention of her name, glancing over at Eunha to see if that was really what she wanted. Eunha looked strongly tempted by the suggestion.

“But...would she know where to go?” The tiny heiress worried. Yerin coughed diffidently.

“You’re the only one that has to stay here, Eunha. I can go anywhere I want, I could bring her there. Would have needed an anyway if I was planning to travel.” 

Yerin sounded very reasonable, as if her suggestion was solely based on her concern for Eunha’s wellbeing (by satisfying her craving for snacks). Sojung quirked an eyebrow, impressed by what Yerin was doing. The duke-in-disguise was no fool, and was well aware of the implications. She would owe her future cousin-in-law a huge favor if this panned out.

“It’s got to be at least a week’s travel by carriage though…” Eunha fretted, biting her lower lip. Yuju turned to her, an earnest look on her face.

“Should be faster if we went on horseback. I’ll be happy to get you what you want if it would please you, my lady.”

It didn’t take much for Eunha to cave. She really did miss those snacks. Yerin hid a smile of triumph, motioning for Yuju to follow her. As they passed Sojung, Yerin winked at her, and Sojung nodded in return. This was a really devious woman, and she was glad that things worked out in her favour this time.

Behind them, Yewon took another sip of her tea, shaking her head. Dear, sweet Eunha was too naive for her own good. Oh well, at least she got some peace out of this whole deal. Vaguely, she hoped that SinB would be safe out there. The hotheaded fool might have been getting on her last nerve in the past couple of days, but she wouldn’t wish harm on her anyway.

It shouldn’t take longer than a week or two for the potion to wear off, and after the fool’s errand that they sent those two off on, they would hopefully be back to normal by the time they got back. Yewon eyed Eunha and Sojung out of the corner of her eye, the tiny heiress bossily ordering the longsuffering herald around as if she had all the right in the world. This could prove to be...interesting.

At least she wouldn’t be short on entertainment while the others were away. Yewon nibbled on a scone. It was nice having company her age. She had missed the liveliness and chatter all this time, a lot more than she had thought she would. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as the messenger continued speaking patiently to the huffy heiress, smile half hidden behind her teacup at the sight.

Definitely interesting...