The struggle to uncover the identity of my secret admirer continued throughout the day. Although I focused on my lectures, my eyes occassionally wandered towards the notes of nearby students. So far, no one's handwriting resembled that of the letter.
I looked again at the writing to see if I overlooked any minor details or find any clues that could indicate the identity of the sender. Nothing. There were not even any traces of magic on the paper or ink.
I needed help, but I had to wisely choose who I allowed to see the note. After the freak out episode Ace and Deuce had over me wearing a skirt, I deemed them as unworthy candidates for the mystery. Azul and the Leech twins knew anything and everything about everybody, but I would save them as a last resort.
While I walked through the cafeteria, I spotted the perfect pair of individuals.
I sat in front of the Pomefiore Dorm Leader and Vice-Dorm Leader, "I need some help from the both of you."
"Bonjour, Reine de Sorciere!" Rook greeted with a smile, "How may we be of service to you on this lovely day?"
"I need you to help me hunt someone down."
Vil nearly choked on his drink, "Why would you want to do that?!"
I explained the situation with the secret admirer letter, "This has been bugging me since this morning. I'd love some help from il cacciatore d'amore, please?"
"Certainly. Let me take a look," Rook moved aside his lunch for me to place the letter in between him and Vil. The brows from the two student's furrowed as they read each line. At last, the hunter spoke, "My sincerest apologies, but I don't recognize this handwriting. Vil, what about you?"
The Dorm Leader shook his head, "I'm afraid not."
"Is there anyone you suspect to have written this letter, Cassie?" Rook asked.
I shrugged, "I'm stumped. I don't know who could've written this."
Initially, I suspected Malleus of being the writer of the letter. After I read it several more times, I decided to rule him out as a suspect. The way each sentence was phrased did not match with the manner in which the he usually spoke. Not to mention, I found Sebek in the corridor on my way to class and asked him to examine the letter. He confirmed the handwriting wasn't that of the Crown Prince of the Valley of Thorns.
I was a little disappointed, yet it only made me more determined to find the culprit.
A student behind me tapped me on the shoulder, "E-excuse me, Cassie?
"Yes?" I turned to face him. I recognized him as Fletcher Oceanus, a second year student from Octavinelle and the head chef of Mostro Lounge. Every time I greeted him at work, he always replied in a voice softer than a whisper and avoided eye contact.
He handed me a vanilla cupcake frosted with pink icing and decorated with a red heart, "I...wanted to wish you a happy Valentine's Day. You also look really pretty today."
"Thank you," I said with a smile, accepting the dessert. I bit into it and was met with an overwhelming sweetness and a floral trace.
"Do you like it?" Fletcher's aquamarine eyes shone with excitement.
I wiped a corner of my lip with a napkin, "Can I make one suggestion for next time?"
"What is it?"
"Go easy on the primroses. The love potion is really overpowering the chocolate," I grinned at him, "What's the matter? Can't handle some constructive criticism?"
All color drained from his face and he nervously ran his hand through his black hair, "I...what're you-I don't know what you're talking about. There's no love potion in there. I'm telling the truth, Cassandra."
"Pensi che io sia stupida? If you're going to lie to me, at least make it convincing. You could've concealed the taste of the primroses if you'd use less of them or also something equally of a strong flavor. Like, some popular choices could be-"
Before I could finish, Fletcher bolted down the cafeteria.
"Cassie...you've made a love potion before," Vil presumed.
I nodded, "It was a mistake I'll never make again."
"What happened?"
"It's not something I'd like to discuss, if you don't mind."
While I learned about potionology, I tried my hand at making a love potion. Although I hid it along with some of my other concoctions, my idiotic twin brother found it and thought to use it for himself. He intended to target a girl he had a crush on at school for a rather long time. He had tried to use his "charms," but she would only play hard to get. Though I warned him of the dangers of improperly administering the potion, it seemed my words went inside one of my brother's ears and out the other. He ended up using three times the safe dosage amount on the girl.
Yet, she did not fall in love with my brother.
As expected, Cassiano threw his usual temper tantrum and blamed me for making an ineffective potion. What he was unaware of was the girl whom he intended to use the potion on already had a boyfriend.
His stupidity continued when he threw the glass bottle in the forest. A few days later, he attracted the attention of a local bear, who refused to leave my brother alone. My dad was able to neutralize the effects of the love potion, but then blamed me for giving my brother access to it.
I argued that Cassiano should be the one to be punished for using the wrong dose and not properly disposing of the potion. Naturally, pappa took my brother's side and used all of my potionology books as fuel for a barbecue that evening.
"Your bother was clearly the one at fault," Vil said. "It's also such a tragedy your father burned all of your books."
"Joke's on my father because I memorized every single one of those recipes," I rose from my seat, "Anyways, thank you for sparing a few moments of your lunch to chat with me."
"Cassandra, will you be alright?" Rook asked me, worried. "Maybe we should take you to the nurse?"
"Don't worry about me. The only thing that potion will do to me is give me rose breath for the rest of the day."
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"So, did you solve the mystery of your secret admirer?" Grim asked after I arrived back the dorm.
"Unfortunately, no."
After my shift at Mostro Lounge, I asked Azul and the Leech twins to take a look at the letter, in private, of course. After they finished teasing about me having a secret admirer, they took the task seriously. Like Vil and Rook, they did not recognize the person's handwriting. Since the letter also did not have any traces of magic, there was no way to use a tracking spell.
I fixed my hair into a messy bun and put on my apron, "I've run out of options on what to do. As much as I hate to say it, I'm calling it quits on this secret admirer business."
"This is unlike you Cassie," Grim settled himself on the counter, "You normally won't stop until you solve something."
I ran out of options towards methods I could use to identify the writer of the letter. If I figured out several schemes and was at the epicenter of numerous overblot incidents, why was one little love note proving to be such a pain in the behind?
"Well, this is something small and insignificant to stress over," I began to take out the ingredients to prepare dinner, "I don't know what I feel worse about, the fact I couldn't crack this case or that I couldn't give this 'secret admirer' my own answer."
"That's okay, I forgive you."
"I just-wait, what?" I then realized, "You wrote this?!"
Grim chuckled as he nodded, "I admire you, Cassie. Being your familiar has been the greatest thing that's happened to me and I hope we can be together for a long time!"
I scooped him up in my arms and hugged him, "We'll be together for a long time, I promise you that," I took another look at the letter, "How did you manage to write so neatly?"
The first and last time I had him write a note for me, it looked like chicken scratch.
He nervously chuckled, "Well, I had some help and-," A knock at the front door cut him off.
As I walked down the hallway, I called out, "Who is it?"
Through the door, a recognizable voice answered, "Hopefully someone you will be pleased to see."
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Learn Italian with Cassie:
Il cacciatore d'amore- hunter of love
Pensi che io sia stupida?- do you think I'm stupid?