I Would Rather Be a Rogue [BL]
Chapter 56: Gossip Time

Chapter 56: Gossip Time

Hearing Brielle’s offer, Felix shifted in his seat.

Did he want to know more about the witch? Of course he did! To begin with, Remi had been watching him all this time, and already knew a lot of his secrets, even though Felix didn’t exactly share them with him himself, so it was only fair that he learned a bit on his own when he had a chance, right? It was the mermaid who wanted to tell him, and Remi didn’t have to find out about it, so...

The mermaid’s smile widened, as she took the expression on the Omega’s face as a ’yes’.

"Hmm, where should I start..." She leaned back in her seat, thinking for a moment. "Oh! Would you like to hear about the first time he tried to hit on someone?"

"Hit... on someone?" Felix repeated stupidly, staring at Brielle.

"Yes. Or enchant them, to be precise." Brielle tilted her head, twirling a strand of her black dyed hair around her finger, her lips curved up in a wicked smile. "He didn’t have any further intention, just practicing his spells, but he was taking it very seriously. He dressed up in the best clothes he had found in the clothing banks, and tried to chat the girl up first... It wasn’t going bad, thanks to his foxy charm..."

"...And then?"

"And then he cast the spell. Except that he messed up completely, and instead of an alluring rose-scented romantic enchantment, his spell ended up smelling like black liquorice. Which wouldn’t be bad on its own, but the properties were also different! Instead of flushing deeply and trying to cling closer to him, the girl turned around on the spot, and fled as if she were on fire! Ever since then, she started avoiding him, even long after the spell lost all its effect, while he started avoiding liquorice!"

"So, if you want to ever get back at him, you can give him liquorice sweets, or light up a liquorice-scented candle," she advised.

"Hmm." Felix only hummed lightly in response. Have any liquorice scent in his home? No, Felix wasn’t a masochist! He had no interest in torturing himself just to annoy Remi. He wasn’t... too fond of the liquorice himself, as the scent bore some resemblance to anise...

And anise was the scent of Jared’s pheromones. Felix’s most hated scent. Or perhaps the second most hated after his father? It was hard to tell.

Either way, there was something else he was curious about. "So this so-called romantic enchantment smells like roses, right? What other scents of spells do you know?"

"Oh, it’s not like that. You won’t be able to figure out anything by the scent. It was only when he was an inexperienced witch that he used different scents to support his spells, now he just uses the scent of his pheromones, jasmine that is, as his signature scent. Unless he wants an enchantment to smell some specific way."

"Oh." Felix paused, hesitating for a moment, but in the end, he couldn’t help but ask, "Then how do I tell if I’m under the spell?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?" Brielle squinted her eyes, smiling knowingly.

"Uh, it’s just that I’ve been exposed to a lot of jasmine smoke when I visited the witch’s house..."

As well as a lot of jasmine fragrance back at home. In his bed, in particular.

"And did you notice any changes in your behavior since the visit..."

"Well... I mean... That is..." Felix’s cheeks flushed.

Yes, he did. But was it really something he could blame on the spell? He threw a furtive glance at Brielle...

Only to see that the mermaid was barely holding back her laugh. And now that she was caught, she just let it all out.

"Don’t worry," she said through her chuckling. "If you can question yourself, then you’re not enchanted. A person under a spell can never suspect there is anything off with their behavior."

"...Oh." Felix only muttered in response. Should he be happy about it? Sure, it was good that the witch didn’t put him under any spells without his consent, but if it was a spell that was making him so distracted and bothered, then it could have been easily canceled...

"Well, anyway, who is that girl? Does she still live in Silverfall?" he asked, trying to shift the topic away from himself.

"Who? The liquorice girl?" Brielle lifted her brows. "Oh, she was not from Silverfall. That was before we arrived here."

"...We? You came here together?"

"Hmm. Yes."

"So you’re close, then?" Felix played with the empty cup in his hands. He didn’t even realize when he finished drinking all the tea. "May I ask how you first met?"

"How we first met, hmm." Brielle’s smile faltered. "I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that."

"...Oh." Felix pressed his lips. It only made him want to know it more... But in the end, Brielle wasn’t required to tell him anything... He was just an acquaintance at best, and it concerned not only Remi, but also Brielle herself. Meanwhile, he hasn’t shared a single thing about himself, not even his real name. Not that the mermaid ever asked, but...

"What I can tell you though, is that the witch is extremely ticklish!" Brielle said, interrupting the silence that fell in the room. "Especially on his paws when he’s in his fox form. And under his chin as well. If you ever want to chase him away, just tickle him softly, and he should leave you alone for a while, until he thinks it’s safe!"

Hmm. It wasn’t something Felix expected to hear, but it could be useful. Maybe it would stop Remi from clinging to him so much in bed, so that the Omega would be able to fall asleep in peace once again? At least until he got used to the fact that his cute ’pet’ was actually a tall, handsome hunk.

He chatted with Brielle for a while longer, after which the mermaid gave him a ride back home, inviting him to come over again. She had plenty more stories about the witch’s past to share, after all!