The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 6 (Light Novel)

you hate me so much?” he asked, his face now less like a wild dog and more like a puppy. Love, hate—some people wanted the world to be so black and white. Why wouldn’t he give her the choice of a gray area?

“I suppose I don’t hate you as such,” she said. She might even think of him favorably. Certainly, she regarded this noble more positively than she had back when they’d first met.

Jinshi pursed his lips, not very pleased with this evasive answer. Maybe he was hoping she would come right out and say she loved him, but quite frankly, Maomao wasn’t at a point where she could bring those words to her lips. The best she could manage was that she wasn’t without a certain affection for him.

Jinshi first heard this story when he was more than ten years old, after Gaoshun had seen him teasing Basen for trying to keep his distance from the ladies-in-waiting.

“Women are such fragile creatures,” Basen said. “I think it’s too soon for me.”

What could Jinshi say to that? There was nothing. Instead, he held out his cup, silently asking for more juice.

I’m not certain I can control my strength—but may I hit you?”

He didn’t want to relinquish the sensation that still lingered on his lips.

“Chou-u? No idea. Probably with Ukyou or Sazen.”

“Hm. There’s something I’d like him to draw for me.”

“Porno?”

Meimei grinned and gave Maomao an affectionate pinch of the cheek.

“Chou-u? No idea. Probably with Ukyou or Sazen.”

“Hm. There’s something I’d like him to draw for me.”

“Porno?”

Meimei grinned and gave Maomao an affectionate pinch of the cheek.

Lahan and Rikuson carried the freak to the couch with looks of exasperation.

“Maybe I was lucky I only have sons,” Lahan’s father said with a droll smile.

Lahan and Rikuson carried the freak to the couch with looks of exasperation.

“Maybe I was lucky I only have sons,” Lahan’s father said with a droll smile.

So eventually, every gaze in the room settled on Maomao. She frowned mightily, but she was cornered.

She gave a sniff and made a face of exaggerated disgust. “You stink. You smell like a feral dog who’s been out in the rain,” she said.

The strategist brought his own sleeve to his nose and sniffed. Then he looked at Lahan’s father. “Where’s the bath?”

“Take a right out of this room and it’s at the end of the hall. I’ll ask the servants to get it ready for you right away.”

“Yes, please. Right away,” the strategist said, and left the room.

“And don’t forget to brush your teeth,” Maomao called after him. (One for the road.) If they were lucky, they wouldn’t see him for at least an hour.

“I guess it’s tough, having a daughter,” Lahan’s father commented sadly.

By Basen’s age, his father Gaoshun had already had three children. To think that a man so clearly, ahem, active among women should have a son like this...