I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 53: Work-Appropriate

Chapter 53: Work-Appropriate

The room was dark, with no windows, lit only with a few candles, and further dimmed by the swirling purple smoke. It greatly reduced the visibility, even for someone like Felix, a werewolf, whose night vision was great. In the midst of it all, the witch, dressed in black clothes, seemed to almost blend in with the surroundings at times...

But even the darkness couldn’t conceal who the witch truly was.

And that most certainly wasn’t a ’she’.

It didn’t even seem like the witch’s intention to present as a woman. They were wearing a dress, a rather pretty one, and very ’witchy’... But it was way too small. At least around the torso. Too tight to tie it properly, which left the chest completely exposed.

Not that Felix complained. The witch most certainly had... a figure worth showing off. Felix had to mentally scold himself to finally avert his eyes from the well-developed pecs. His gaze slid over the perfect dip of the collarbones, the broad, muscular shoulders, the strong neck with a prominent Adam’s apple, the chiseled jawline with the five o’clock shadow, framed by the long, straight, silky ginger hair falling softly on both sides, until finally ending on the shapely red lips that were curved in a seductive, self-confident smirk...

The rest of the face couldn’t be seen, hidden in the shadow of the wide brim of the witch’s tall, spiky hat. But, if Felix had to guess, he’d say the witch must have had piercing blue eyes.

"Please, take a seat," the witch gestured at the empty chair with their (or his?) hand. In a deep, masculine, enchanting voice that sent shivers down Felix’s spine. Before he knew it, he had already walked over, and taken a seat, facing the witch.

"Now, what brings you to my humble abode today?"

"Hmm." Felix pressed his lips, hesitating a bit. Although the witch had been nothing but helpful to him, it was still risky to test their boundaries... In the end, though, his curiosity won. "First of all, can I ask you a question?"

"...That depends."

"How should I refer to you? He? She? They?"

"Ho. I must say, I am a bit surprised..." The witch leaned further over the table, intertwining their hands. "You might be the first person to ever ask me that."

Of course. Because any normal person would be afraid to anger the witch, lest they might get cursed!

"However, if you want to know, it’s fine with me, that’s not a secret. As you might have been able to notice, I am a man. Thus, ’he’ would suit me the best."

Encouraged by the friendly tone, Felix became a bit bolder. "May I ask why you are wearing a dress then? Is this your personal preference, or...?"

The witch’s smile widened slightly, only to vanish as he let out a sigh a second later. "Well, I’m at work now! Naturally, I need to wear the appropriate attire. It’s just how my work uniform looks like, there’s nothing I can do about that."

Felix lifted his brows. Was there any policy regarding how the witches should dress? He highly doubted it! But, that’s probably what Brielle meant when she mentioned how the witch cared about the appearances, and about the odd sense of humor. If Felix were to guess... The witch did it on purpose, to rile people up and watch their confused and consternated expressions.

However, he wasn’t going to let himself be strung along, so he simply asked, "And there wasn’t a male version?"

"No, not really," the witch shrugged his shoulders with defeat. "I’m a witch, after all, and a witch is supposed to be a female sorcerer! How many witches do you know who are male?"

To be fair, the witch had a point. When Felix had first of him, he also naturally assumed it was a woman, even though he picked up on Eden’s weird tone when the Omega referred to the witch as ’she’. But that didn’t stop him from saying,

"Actually, all the witches I know are men."

"...Really?" The witch seemed taken aback. "How many witches do you know, then?"

"So far one."

"...One?" The corners of the witch’s lips twitched, as he struggled to suppress the smile. "I’m your first? I’m honored!"

There was something highly inappropriate in his voice as he said it, but Felix ignored it, even though a slight flush tainted his cheeks.

"Well then, how can I help you today?" the witch repeated his earlier question.

"Ah, right." Felix took a deep breath, calming himself down - why was he feeling so fuzzy, anyway? Was that caused by the mist swirling around? - and straightened his back. "First of all, I would like to thank you for the tonics. They’re amazing! I haven’t felt that great in months!"

The witch smiled widely, nodding his head. "Of course."

"Yes, so. I was wondering, would it be possible to get some sort of balm that could help with the stretch marks?"

"Ah? Already? I was thinking of preparing one for you after your pup is born."

Huh. So the witch had already thought about it? Felix actually didn’t, since no marks had appeared yet. He only came up with it after thinking for a while, since he needed to prepare an excuse to seek out the witch!

Still, he quickly recovered from his surprise, and pointed out, "Isn’t prevention better than a cure?"

"...Indeed it is. Then, if that is your request, I will prepare a balm for you soon. The mermaid Brielle will then deliver it to you..."

"Eh? Why can’t I personally pick it up? Is it that you dislike me, so you don’t want to see me again?"

"Of course not. It’s just that... I’m worried it might be difficult for us to meet, as I’m not always available..."

Felix barely stopped himself from scoffing. As if the witch couldn’t just show up in front of him, as he did with Eden!

He didn’t complain out loud, though, and instead proposed, "It won’t be a problem if we agree on the time beforehand! How about... In two weeks, around the same time as today?"

The witch’s smile faltered. "In two weeks... That might be difficult..."

So the witch avoided the full moon. Noted.

"How about three weeks, then?"

"Three weeks... Should be okay."

"Alright, then." Felix nodded his head with a smile, and slowly stood up. "Thank you very much, that will be all for today."

"...Ah." Just as he was about to get out of the door, he paused, and turned around, his eyes focusing on the witch again. "By the way, I really like your scent."

"Ah... Yes? Thank you-"

"It reminds me of my pet fox."

The witch’s shoulders flinched. "Ah, is that so?"

"Yes," Felix nodded. "You smell very much alike... Identical, almost."

"Ahem, well, I’ll take it as a compliment? I like foxes very much, and I often like to play around with them, so that must be why!" the witch explained himself.

"Oh? With foxes?" Felix quirked his brow. "Not with black cats?"

The witch let out a consternated cough. "Well, yes. However, if you don’t mind, I would be thankful if you could keep it a secret... It’s not appropriate for a witch, you see!"

"...Of course." Felix smirked, and left the room without looking back.