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It was a busy evening for the genius chief alchemist of the Knights of Favonius, Albedo, and his soft-spoken assistant, Sucrose.
The two had been conducting separate experiments which they started earlier that afternoon. Although they were working on separate things, Albedo insisted that Sucrose should stay at the same laboratory as him. Knowing her, she would be too hyper-focused on her experiment to care about other things, causing her to be a bit reckless.
He wanted to be there in case anything bad happens to her but she told him earlier that she's working on a secret experiment that she would present to him soon.
Albedo could only wonder what that experiment was. He noticed that it was getting late so he stopped working on his experiment and decided to check on her.
“Hmm, she should have finished her experiments by now. I wonder what is up with her lately. Did she find something that piqued her interests, perhaps?” Albedo muttered to himself as he made his way to her room.
He tried knocking on the wooden door, but was only met with a flustered voice.
“M-Mister Albedo, please wait for a moment! I’m currently- Hgyaaah!”
“Sucrose? Are you alright?” He worrily asked her.
“I’m fine, Mister Albedo! It’s nothing that I can't handle, I swear!” She shakily replied. Yet not even a second after she said that, a loud explosion was heard.
KABOOM! A large cloud of dust filled the hallways of the Knights’ Headquarters, accompanied by an overly sweet fragrance.
The chief alchemist was met by the sight of his assistant with even messier hair than usual, crooked glasses, and dirtied clothes, trying to hide her face from embarrassment.
“O-Oh no! Mister Albedo, please don’t look!
“Hah...Why does nothing ever go the way I want it to be?” Sucrose looked at her failed experiment with tears nearly welling up in her eyes.
“To be honest, this isn’t what I wanted it to be. I really wanted to surprise you with something sweet, but I was only able to make this… Apologies, Mister Albedo. I didn’t expect for the genetically modified sweet flower to react violently with this vial of glaze lily nectar...,” Disappointed with her failure, she could not bear to look at him in his eyes.
Albedo walks towards her and sees what she had been working on. Scattered all over the room were different-sized shards of sweet candy. He picked up a bite-sized shard and looked at it, deep in thought.
“Hmm, it has a beautiful shade of yellow- similar to your eyes. And it has a gentle sweet smell too.”
Sucrose blushed from the sudden compliment. As if taking advantage of her embarrassment, he puts the shard of candy in his mouth.
“Mister Albedo! You shouldn’t have done that! What if it has some unexpected side effects on your body?” She exclaimed. “Please, we should have at least tested it if it was fit for human consumption."
“Sweet. This shard of candy is sweet. Yet not exceedingly so. And hmm, this is quite interesting. After it gently melts, it leaves behind a refreshing aftertaste that is similar yet different to mint. Kind of like a gentle breeze carrying with it the relaxing aroma of sweet flowers.”
“I would like to have a taste of this candy again in the future. Would you be willing to make another batch of these some time soon?"
"O-of course, Mister Albedo! I shall gladly grant your request. I'll be more careful not to cause a mess next time!"
"I appreciate that very much. After all, I am deeply interested in anything sweet- like sucrose."
His ocean eyes met with her honey-colored ones.
"...Perhaps that interest may even be classified as love."
Sucrose was at a loss for words. Her thoughts were spinning as she reflected upon what her mentor had just said. Was he referring to her name or the compound? Perhaps she was simply overthinking it. Even then, she felt heat rising up to her cheeks. The color of a ripe tomato was enveloping her whole face.
“I- I gotta go! Mister Albedo, I’ll be back here tomorrow morning to continue my experiments!” She said, as she frantically tried to run away from him. Albedo could only stare in surprise as she hastily climbed down the stairs and went outside the headquarters.
“Sucrose… Her name perfectly fits her. Shy and reserved, yet at times, sweet and loving. Like a gentle breeze, her presence alone somehow puts me at ease, despite how flustered she is most of the time. Ha, if only these days could last forever.” He says to himself, as he opened the windows of her lab.
He looks at the starry sky, hoping that he could see the moon. The full moon’s faint light gently lit up the surroundings.
“Hah...I wonder. If soil could be said as the basis of all life, and chalk be the one by which primordial life is molded- then this feeling in my chest right now, is it not the thing that keeps everything alive?” He mused, indulging himself in the lingering aftertaste of Sucrose’s candy.
ALTERNATE ENDING
“Sucrose… Her name perfectly fits her. Shy and reserved, yet at times, sweet and loving. Like a gentle breeze, her presence alone somehow puts me at ease, despite how flustered she is most of the time. Ha, if only these days could last forever.” He says to himself, as he opened the windows of the lab.
He looks at the starry sky, hoping that he could see the moon. Unfortunately, the moon was nowhere in sight.
“Alas, no matter how much I want to reciprocate your feelings for me, I don’t think I can do that right now. After all, this thing inside me- there is a high probability that it could break loose anytime soon. Like the ancient city of Khaenri’ah, if ever I am to lose control of this thing inside me, I would probably end up destroying everything. Should it come to that, will you be there to stop me, Traveller? Will you keep her safe for me, no matter what happens?”