A Minor Problem
Her fiery brown hair, usually styled in an elaborate updo, was currently hidden beneath a wide-brimmed black hat, its drooping brim obscuring most of her face. A thick black veil further concealed her features, the only glimpse of her being a sliver of pale skin and a tightly pressed upper lip.
The woman, who should be already in her forties, paced a restless circle in the center of his already small living room. Her expensive dark emerald gown, which seemed to shimmer with a subtle sheen, swished with each agitated step. It was making him uncomfortable.
Kairos didn't like to take his customers inside his house; they were only limited to his humble store. However, Miss Sarina begged for him to let her in.
Just what was this woman doing? Surely, she did not come here to pace inside his house, right?
He cast a withering glance at Alex, who was hovering awkwardly near the doorway. The boy looked as clueless as a newborn colt, his wide eyes darting between the veiled woman and Kairos. An exasperated sigh escaped Kairos' lips. These highborn women and their theatrics!
He had concoctions simmering in his lab, mushrooms waiting to be meticulously diced – far more interesting company than this display of nervous vanity.
Finally, the veiled woman stopped her pacing, her back momentarily turned towards him.
"I apologize for barging in, but please understand, I have no other choice." She sat on the wooden chair and waited for him to speak. Kairos suppressed a groan – was she going to make him pry the reason for her visit out of her with tongs? He wasn't known for his patience, and this charade was wearing thin.
Again, his eyes darted towards the worried Alex. Right. The money.
"Miss Sarina, the salve's—"
"I am not here for the salve," Sarina said, her usually calm pitch a little higher. Then, without saying anything else, she signaled her maid to leave the room. The woman in pressed white clothing nodded and left. Seeing her gone, Miss Sarina finally lifted the black hat that covered her face, revealing a face Kairos would be hard-pressed to forget.
Gone was the usual porcelain perfection associated with her social standing. In its place were grotesque signs of decay. A sickeningly red rash, mottled with patches of black, marred her once smooth skin.
"I know you would—" Miss Sarina started to tear up. Once again, she grabbed the hat and carelessly tried to cover her face, but Kairos was quick to stop her. In a swift motion, he found himself standing in front of the noble, holding her hand.
Kairos felt a flicker of morbid curiosity warring with his disgust. This wasn't a simple case of vanity-induced wrinkles. This was something far more sinister. "Poison?" he asked.
"I thought so too…" Miss Sarina said.
"Let me," Kairos said.
Poisons. Tricky little things. Fast-acting, violent deaths, or slow, insidious ones that ate at you from the inside out. This, judging by the blossoming plague on her face, fell into the latter category. A blood curse, most likely, a targeted one designed to inflict maximum humiliation before the inevitable end.
He didn't waste time with theatrics. He squeezed her wrist, his grip firm but not unkind. Focus. He needed to diagnose the curse first, then figure out a bloody antidote. Curing a curse with unknown origins was like playing darts blindfolded – you could throw everything you had at the problem and still miss the mark entirely.
"Let me see your arm," he rasped, his voice gruff but not unkind. The woman flinched again, a flicker of fear replacing the desperation in her eyes. She obliged without saying another word. After what felt like forever, Kairos let her arm go.
"It's poison," Kairos said as he walked back towards his seat. "Unfortunately, I cannot help you."
"W—what?" Miss Sarina frowned. "But the Duchess's Gala is in two days and I cannot appear like this."
Right. The Gala. This was the same Gala where Miss Sarina was planning to hand over gifts to other noblewomen.
"The physician at home already informed me that this was poison. He can heal it, but he cannot promise to do it in just two days. He said—said it was impossible," her voice shook.
Kairos watched Miss Sarina's face crumple, her carefully constructed facade dissolving into tears that stained the expensive fabric of her gown. A flicker of annoyance flickered in his eyes, quickly replaced by a grudging sigh. "Two days is not enough." Lie. His mushrooms are capable of healing it in just a few hours. But what would it get him? Pushing his abilities to such an extreme would leave him drained, and vulnerable. And for what? A fleeting moment of glory and a hefty purse?
That would have sounded good if those were the things that he wanted.
"I will give you anything," Miss Sarina said. "Money, jewels, my father could buy you a title if you wanted to. I just—please—I need anything that could make this disappear."
Kairos steepled his fingers, his gaze fixed on the swirling patterns in the worn rug beneath his feet.
"I know you made me promise not to ask for any treatment again," Miss Sarina said after a few minutes of silence. She was talking about the promise that he asked her to make, the first time they met. Should he tell her that he only helped her at that time because he was the one who caused the incident? Or that he intentionally did it to earn a few coins for the rent?
Kairos sighed inwardly. To avoid attracting attention from the churches, the Aetherblades, and other influential people, he had been living away from people, avoiding fame, wealth, and trouble. Lately, it has become more and more difficult for him to do these things because of how fast humans have evolved.
"I can give you access to the black market. My father can make you a VIP. Ah… as someone who likes potions, I am certain that you must have already heard about the upcoming auction where they would auction something that belonged to Saintess Arianna herself. They said it was a part of a potion that she used to kill the Dark Lord's people. Are you not interested? If you are, then… my father can give you a seat at the auction house. Just— I will do everything, Mr. Callahan. Just heal the poison in two days. I do not care if it is not permanent, a temporary solution is enough. Just—"
"What did you just say?" Kairos asked after wondering if he heard the right thing. Did he just hear the woman mention the Saintess's name?
"I—I will give you anything—" Miss Sarina paused, her face unreadable.
"Auction?" he asked.
"Oh, the auction…" Miss Sarina's face immediately lit up. "All of the potioneers in the south must have heard about it. I assumed that you would receive news about it too. The black market will hold a grand auction next month. This time, they informed everyone about the existence of a relic from the old times. The Conflagration Era."
Kairos lifted an eyebrow. What happened a thousand years ago had been known as the Conflagration Period. The history books these days refer to it as the time when the great conflict erupted between the once-Hokar Empire and the Tusea Dynasty.
"What is it?" he asked.
"They said it was part of a recipe or an artifact that the Saintess used herself to end the lives of many Tuseans who followed the Dark Lord," she explained, smiling as if she was already certain that Kairos would help her out. "They found someone to appraise it. Sadly, it was already too old and not many people are confident that they could find the rest of it."
Just hearing the word Dark Lord worsened Kairos's mood. Who would have thought that everyone would start referring to him as the Dark Lord after his disappearance thousands of years ago? Not him. Certainly not him!
He chose not to dwell on it any further and instead focused on the issue at hand. An artifact from Arianna?
A sigh left his lips. "One day," he said.
"P—Pardon?"
"I can heal it in one day."
Almost immediately, her beautiful brown eyes brightened. "Truly?"
"But there is a minor problem."