71: See You Soon, Shortie

See You Soon, Shortie

Imbert and Rafal were waiting outside of the King's study  along with other knights of the Order of Thistle.  When their liege appeared in their sight, though the Crown Prince looked calm on the outside, his closest knights could see through his mask.  0

Imbert immediately spoke, "Rafal has good news for you, Your Highness."

Arlan didn't stop walking in the hallway. He didn't even turn to look at them. 

Imbert continued, "It is about that young boy we came across in Jerusha."

The hallway that was echoing with footsteps suddenly turned quiet as Arlan immediately stopped in his tracks, causing the knights behind him to stop as well.

Guessing his liege's mood, Rafal was quick to report. "Orian the Herbalist, I saw that boy Orian here in Karlin yesterday"

'So that scent…I was not wrong.' Arlan resumed walking. "Weren't you supposed to be on vacation, Rafal?"

"I decided to come back to inform you on this, Your Highness," Rafal replied. 

"Where is that boy?" Arlan asked when they finally reached the horses waiting outside the building. 

"I have sent my people to find out his whereabouts. I expect to receive their report by the end of the day."

Arlan mounted his horse. "You will be granted a longer vacation."

The knights understood the news had made their liege happy, his sullen mood massively improved.

With a light smile on his lips, Arlan urged his horse to a trot. 

'See you soon, Shortie.'

-----

As soon as the sun rose, Oriana went to the more upscale part of the market where nobles frequent, and there, she finally found the herbal shop owned by Cenric's apprentice. 

'Nature's Apothecary'

The reason why she could not find it was because the name of the shop was not 'Waye's Herb Store', and the real name of the person she was seeking for was Wayndell, not Waye. Waye was his childhood moniker, and only his master and close confidantes called him that. 

When Cenric told Oriana about 'Waye's herb store, a small business in the capital', it was him casually mentioning it, playing down his apprentice's real achievement. Nature's Apothecary was in fact one of the three largest apothecaries within Karlin.

"Is Mister Waye here?" she asked one of the workers inside the shop. The worker led her towards a man in his late twenties who was instructing servants on the side. 

"Master, this is the boy who came to find you yesterday," the worker informed the man.

"Yes? How can I help you, boy?" the man asked as he looked at her. 

"Nice meeting you, Mister Waye. I am Orian. I met Master Cenric two years ago and worked for him as a helper for some time."

Hearing the master's name, Waye cheered up. "Oh you know my master. He travels a lot but does not easily let strangers help him prepare medicine. You must have great potential."

"Yes, there was a plague in our region back then, and he was treating the affected villages by himself. I assisted him to treat my fellow villagers. During that time, he happened to mention something about you…"

"Come inside. I'd like to hear more about my master."

Oriana was happy to be welcomed by Waye. The man led her to another room where they receive important customers or bulk purchases, and a servant came in to bring them freshly brewed tea.

She gladly told him how she learned the art of herbal healing from Cenric for more than a month. 

"If he mentioned me to you, then Master must have really liked you," Waye commented after listening to her. "Perhaps, if you agreed to follow him, he would have accepted you as a student as well. There are currently two of us undergoing apprenticeship. I have been with Master for almost eight years, but learning is limitless. Master is too amazing and I feel like there is still plenty to learn from him."

"I wanted to ask if Master Cenric is in the capital. I wanted to learn more from him."

"You came at the right time, boy," Waye said. "Master sent me a letter saying he will soon come to Karlin."

"Really?" Her eyes widened up with shock. "When?"

"Maybe in a week or so? Master has been in the Kingdom of Abetha for the past few months. In fact, I was supposed to stay together with him for his entire stay but personal circumstances forced me to return to Griven on my own."

"That's great news! I will wait for him here in the capital. Will he be staying here in your shop? Where will he treat his patient?," She looked at the small adjacent room where Waye treated patients. "There?"

"No, not here. Master is coming to Karlin due to a special invitation and he won't be treating ordinary people…he…" The man stopped. "Apologies, I can't tell you."

Oriana realized that Cenric must have been commissioned to treat a sick person with a sensitive identity, maybe a powerful noble with many enemies.

"But how will I get to meet him? It's really important. Maybe I can meet him before he sees this special patient?"

"I'm afraid it's not possible. Only thing I can tell you is that he will be staying in the palace."

"P-Palace?"

Oriana was dumbstruck. Why would the palace people hire a roaming apothecary when they have the best healers in the land as royal physicians?

"How long will he be staying in the palace? Can I arrange to meet Master Cenric as soon as his work is done?"

"I am not sure about the details, but I'm afraid it would take several weeks at the very least. I can let Master know you wish to meet him, but perhaps you will have to wait for about a month."

Oriana shook her head. "There is an urgent matter I wish to consult with him so…"

Waye understood. "If you wish to meet him as soon as possible, you will have to go to the royal palace and get permission to meet him."

She was in a great dilemma.

'Grandpa warned me all my life to stay away from royalty. Coming to the capital was already letting him down. Am I going to break another promise?'

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