Rebecca

Among the myriad fragrances that Rebecca offers, one stands out as truly unique, she named it "Destined One".

This scent, unlike her other products, is infused with a venom that emanates naturally from her fingertips. While the toxin concentration is not lethal, Rebecca does not shy away from warning her customers about its potential dangers. "It is dangerous," she candidly admits, "yet irresistibly captivating, crafted to ensnare the affections of your desired one. After all, love itself is a poison we readily imbibe, despite knowing its risks, isn't it?"

"If I could date Miss Rebecca, I would happily die tomorrow."

"When will that monster get out of our city?"

"I want some of her perfume. That'll definitely make my next date easier!"

Remarks about the perfumer Rebecca are decidedly polarised. The snippets of tales about her oscillate between two extremes, Rebecca, the cruellest fiend; Rebecca, the most beautiful angel.

Rebecca does not care how others view her. She only cares about two things.

First, to craft the most charming fragrance infused with love, and then sell it to infatuated individuals to help them find love.

Second, to find her destined one.

When inadvertently brushing against Rebecca's skin, you can feel a moist and slick sensation akin to rainwater. Then, a slight numbing sensation seems to spread through your hand. And yet, she simply continues to smile gently while gazing at you, almost as if she is anticipating something.

Some people think that Rebecca is a weirdo.

People shy away when they see her, and the root cause lies in mysterious rumours. She is thought to be a bewitching enchantress, capable of snatching the souls of all those who draw near.

The rumours sound unbelievable, but the missing men obsessed with Rebecca's gorgeous face seem to suggest they are true.

When you ask Rebecca about them, she always says, "They went to the Kingdom of Love."

Rebecca's body naturally secretes toxins that seep from her every pore.

It was a glorious summer day. Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, creating a mosaic of shadows on the ground. Children huddled under a large tree, forming a cautious circle, their voices intermingling in chatter and laughter.

Little Rebecca curiously edged closer to see what had captivated the children's attention. There, amidst the group, was a pearl-coloured rabbit. Unlike ordinary rabbits, it boasted a fur of pure white, a pristine hue the children had never seen in an animal.

"Can I pat it?" Rebecca asked in a quiet voice.

The other kids hesitated, making way for her. Rebecca picked up the rabbit and patted it softly. Its soft hair twinkled in the sunshine.

However, it abruptly squealed and leapt from Rebecca's grasp. The children, in shock, watched it scurry frantically before collapsing motionless on the ground, its fur losing its pristine softness.

"She killed the rabbit!"

"Yeah, she killed it! People with horns like her are dangerous. They're called 'demons' in the Empire across the sea."

"She's a... monster..."

The other children drew back in terror, leaving little Rebecca there on her own. The sunlight was blinding that day, searing her eyes. She felt as though her heart, too, was scorched, leaving a gaping hole that nothing could fill.

You stumbled upon Rebecca gently caressing a small, snowy-white, fluffy creature, a pearl rabbit. You stroked the rabbit's fur, but it remained unresponsive, limp in Rebecca's palm.

"Perhaps it too has undergone the trials laid by the god of love," Rebecca said to you animatedly. This continent is home to countless peculiar creatures, such as this pearl rabbit. It's beautiful, but saddled with a congenital heart defect, dooming it to be abandoned by its own.

What's the "Land of Love" like? Only those who have truly been there can attempt to depict it.

Those fortunate enough to have ventured this realm, however, were later found paralysed, succumbing to an unidentified toxin, silenced forever before they could reveal the true nature of the "Land of Love".

Rebecca favours little creatures that look strange and do not fit in with others.

Dark clouds devoured the last glimmers of sunlight while rain plummeted ruthlessly, mirroring Rebecca's visage eerily illuminated by lightning, a face contorted with exhilaration, the face of a predator.

Her "prey" stared with eyes wide, mouth agape in shock, mere moments ago, this mouth had been weaving the sweetest romantic tales; yet, after she shed her cloak and calmly unveiled her secrets, the very same mouth turned into a sewage pipe spewing foul words.

"You dirty liar... you disgusting monster! ...Wh, What do you want?"

"Just one last dance with you," Rebecca replied, removing her gloves with her usual radiant smile. "Consider it a parting gift. I hope you like it."

The narrow alley in the rain made a perfect ballroom. Rebecca's toes delicately grazed the puddles, and as she settled, her poison-laced hands gripped her dance partner's, inviting him on a merry waltz. The ensnared partner, immobilised and trembling, managed only a deep, hoarse, discordant moan; yet to Rebecca, it sounded like the most melodious note. Her dance grew more spirited, her steps rippling through the puddles.

A final plop marked the last raindrop's fall, echoing the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

Her dance partner had taken his final bow. Rebecca knew the poison had already spread through his limbs.

Gazing at her now lifeless partner, Rebecca concluded her lone dance in melancholy.

"Couldn't even make it through a dance... seems you weren't my destined one either," she murmured, unfurling an umbrella, vanishing into the dappled sunlight.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of Rebecca withdrawing her hand that was previously extended towards you.

On her face was an expression unfamiliar to you, not her customary radiant smile, but rather a mix of perplexity and indecision.

Rebecca's idea of a "destined one" extends beyond the mere survival of her inherent poison. She seeks someone who, deep in their soul, embraces a monster's love that is as deadly as her venom.

Rebecca had once crossed paths with someone who might be able to accept her, a fellow outlier, so to speak.

This peculiar woman, whom Rebecca vividly remembered, had skin as fiery as hot lava, yet her presence was as chilling as ice.

Rebecca didn't need to do much to win her heart. She merely bided her time, waiting for this woman to hit the lowest point in her life, and then stepped in at just the right moment. With a gesture of support and a few seemingly heartfelt sweet nothings, Rebecca managed to manipulate the stern, taciturn Imperial official into forsaking her oath to defend justice and betraying the iron discipline she had loyally upheld for decades, she helped Rebecca erase her damning evidence.

So much for Hyperborea's so-called paragon of the law, it turned out her past integrity wasn't due to an indomitable moral compass but simply because the right temptation had not appeared. With a sneer of contempt, Rebecca soon moved on to another city, dismissing the woman from her thoughts completely.

Nevertheless, during the serene silence of many nights that followed, as Rebecca meticulously crafted a perfect bottle of perfume, dabbing her venom-laced fingertips into the blend, memories of that fiery-skinned woman would resurface unbidden. She remembered her saying, "It turns out we're both monsters of the same kind." In those moments, Rebecca's hands trembled, causing the bottle filled with gentle, enticing fragrance to slip through her grasp.

"Haven't you always longed for someone who could accept you for what you really are?" Rebecca would murmur to her own reflection in the window. "So why did you leave when that person finally showed up?"

It took a long time for Rebecca to finally find the answer: A monster could never fall in love with another monster, just as a beached fish wouldn't fall for another beached fish, even if they helped each other stay hydrated. Instead, the fish would always yearn for the seabirds in the sky, hoping that one day, they might flutter their wings and carry her back to the ocean. She didn't want to be shunned as a monster, nor did she seek solace in the embrace of another monster. All she had ever longed for was to be treated as nothing more than an ordinary person.

Rebecca shared a poignant fairy tale from her homeland with you.

The tale was about a mermaid princess who fell in love with a human. To be with her beloved, she drank a poisonous potion that turned her tail into human legs. But the transformation came at a terrible price, each step she took was torture, as if she were dancing on sharp blades.

"This story is so cruel," you commented. "What happened in the end? Did the human reciprocate her sacrifice? Was all that pain really worth it?"

Rebecca smiled softly. "The ending of the story isn't what's important, nor is how the human reacted," she said, her eyes deep and mesmerising like the ocean. "What truly matters is that the mermaid princess cherished the part of herself that was brave enough to seek love."

Rebecca believes that she has found her destined one.

That was a dream in early summer.

In the dream, everything was damp and sticky, accompanied by the sun showers that Rebecca loved the most. She saw the strange creatures she had admired since childhood, but surprisingly, she was not very interested in them. Instead, her attention was drawn to a pearl-coloured rabbit without a heart.

The heartless pearl-coloured rabbit invited her to share in a "Lunch of Love", which consisted of grilled frogs, snake meat, and roasted pearl-coloured rabbit.

"You've roasted your own kind," Rebecca said as she savoured the delicious roasted rabbit.

"Because they didn't like you."

"So... that means you like me?"

The pearl-coloured rabbit remained silent, allowing Rebecca to gently wrap herself around it. The venom flowed into it tenderly, filling the void where its heart should have been.

Together, they embraced in the gentle sunny rain.

"Now, we are finally complete."