"What do I do now? Should I ask someone about the herb shop? But would anyone even know-?"
My panic did not calm down even after breakfast and I kept thinking about how I got scammed out of my money.
Just when I made a decision to do something, there was a knock on my door and then the bell rang. I went out to check who it was.
"Excuse me, but does this shop belong to someone named Cyrus Malcolm? I have a delivery for him…"
The person asked and I immediately headed toward him.
"Yes, that's right. I am the shopkeeper. What can I help you with?"
I asked the delivery person, trying my best not to sound panicked or hopeful. The man outside gave me a look before he pointed toward his wagon.
"This delivery is for you. We came yesterday as well, but no one was home so we had to return empty handed. Please sign here to show that you have received your delivery."
I suddenly felt foolish for doubting the duchess and the shopkeeper. My mind also reminded me that this was not the present times where people were fearless about scam.
A duchess was a well-respected figure and trying to scam her was akin to a death sentence. Especially one that was not even human, but a fae.
"Alright. I got your signature. Me and my boys will help you take it all inside. Please point us in the direction we need to head toward."
The delivery man told me and I pointed them inside and told them where to keep my stuff. They also helped me move some heavy stuff around and I was thankful.
But when I offered them tea, they declined since they had other deliveries to make.
I got to work once I had all the materials. They needed to be grinded and mixed for the medicine.
Soft music from the music box filled the air around the shop as I worked. No customer came to visit me during early hours and by rush hour, the shop was packed.
Once again, I had a decent sale and soon came time for me to close the store. But I kept it open because I was waiting for a special customer to come visit me.
It did not take long for the bell to chime and the officer I was waiting for entered with the bag I had been waiting for.
"Shopkeeper, I hope I am not too late to visit you. There was a small case I had to resolve on my way here."
Officer Henry had finally returned and he had brought the meat of the divine goat with him…or so I assumed.
He also placed a book on the table in front of me and looked almost mournful to be parting with it.
"Did you enjoy the book, officer? If so, then I can look for more books with similar content for you."
I told the officer and he suddenly looked away with a startled expression on his face.
"N-No, it's fine. Books like these are too precious. I cannot ask the shopkeeper to try and find them for my sake….but if you do come across any, please do let me know."
The officer told me as I took the book back from him.
I had no idea that the officer would be such a big fan of cliché romances that teenage girls in my time enjoyed.
'Or maybe there is another reason behind it-'
I quickly shushed the part of my mind that tried to speak up and just put the book back in the shelf.
"Hmm, is this the meat of the divine goat? I will go and store it for now. I also have the medicine for the yellow fever all ready."
I told the officer and he nodded back to show me that he understood. Once he was all settled in, I went in to take the medicine I had mixed and gave it to him.
"Do let me know if you need more. Also, if you have any plans to export the medicine to other regions, I might be able to help."
I told the officer and he looked startled to hear my words.
"Export the medicine…hmm, how did I not think about it? Truly, if we can transport this medicine outside, it would be a huge help to people all over. I will talk to others and see what they have to say about it."
The officer looked like he was seeing a new light and I could somewhat understand why.
Trade was a huge part of the modern world, but we also had a lot of ways to make it fast and smooth.
Current times were just too unpredictable for trade and only necessities must be something worth trading.
"Alright, do let me know."
I told the officer and brought out tea.
"By the way, shopkeeper, have you noticed anything suspicious happening around the town? There have been many complaints of people hearing weird noises in the middle of the night. I went to check that a while back as well."
Officer Henry asked and I controlled my shock to not spill out the tea I was drinking.
"Oh-! Is that so… I have not experienced something like that myself yet, but I will keep an eye out for things."
I told the officer as I calmed myself down. This situation was beginning to look more and more like a horror movie sub-plot.
And I was not too fond of horror movies. In fact, I hated horror movies with a passion because I was too weak-willed.
The officer left not too long after and I locked my door. My body felt tired but my mind refused to fall asleep.
What the officer had told me regarding the weird noises and complaints kept swimming in my mind and they kept me awake.
"Fuck-! Maybe I should take a pill and go to sleep that way. At least I would-"
Knock.
The loud noise startled me and I clutched my heart to slow it down. Someone was trying to break my door or enter… that was what I felt.
I grabbed a heavy book and decided to head down to check, but I felt too afraid to open the door and get jumped.
"Who's there?"
I asked, now terrified. But my voice came out strong and I finally unlocked the door to hit the person on the other side.
The female body went down and lost consciousness and I looked around. But except the injured woman (who was unconscious due to me), I could not find anyone.
'Fucking hell-! Did I kill someone-? What do I do now? Ugh, I should take her inside first and check up on her-'
I pulled the woman into my shop in the dead of the night and put her to bed. She was injured, so I took care of her wound first. It almost looked like a bullet wound but I could not see a bullet anywhere.
Once the wound was clean and taken care of, I decided to bind her up as well and leave her alone. I would deal with her in the morning… or something.