Chapter 147: Black or Red?

"Don’t act all secretive with me, boy," Yennefer said in an almost pleading tone as Max came to pick up the herbs he’d asked for before she dropped him off to meet Grace.

"Just tell me the truth. Did you really make those potions you gave her?"

Max simply gave her a smile.

"So, you like black or red?"

"What?"

Yennefer stared at him with a confused, slightly weirded-out expression. "The colors. Black or red?" Max asked, casually scrolling through his phone.

Yennefer stared at him, her expression becoming increasingly strange. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I’m buying lingerie for you," Max said matter-of-factly, as though he were discussing potion ingredients. "You’ll wear it when you come watch me make those potions." "What do you think of this one?" he asked, showing her the lingerie on his screen. "And tell me your size."

Yennefer glanced at the phone with an increasingly annoyed expression. She pushed Max’s hand away from her and frowned at him.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Just tell me if you can really make A-grade potions."

Max didn’t seem bothered by her irritation at all. He simply pulled his hand back and continued scrolling through different pieces of lingerie on his phone as though she’d said nothing unusual.

"Well, if you wanna find out, tell me your size..."

Yennefer’s eyebrows twitched.

"Do you seriously have to buy a new one?" she asked, clearly losing patience. "I’m already wearing a perfectly nice one..."

Max finally looked up from his phone, his expression still carrying that shameless little smirk.

Max looked at her for a second, remembering the grey lace panties she’d been wearing that morning. He gave a small nod.

"That’ll work..."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket before casually adding, "Since Zerena’s away for the day, we can go to the lab. I can show you whether I really made those potions or not."

Yennefer immediately narrowed her eyes.

She had already made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t let Max do anything perverted to her. At least not today.

He’d already fondled her thighs earlier and seen her panties. And now he was asking her to come to his home while he was alone and stay there in her underwear.

’There’s no way this bastard is just going to be satisfied with me staying in my underwear...’

*’*"Fine..." Yennefer said, a little louder than before. Then she quickly changed the subject. "Alife, did you pack the herbs from the list I gave you earlier?"

A few moments later, Alife appeared from the back room, looking absolutely exhausted. He was carrying a large bag filled with the herbs Yennefer had asked him to prepare.

"Here you go..."

He placed the bag on the counter and gave Max a tired nod before turning toward his grandmother.

"Grandma, can I take a half day today?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "I’m exhausted from practicing those runes all night."

"If you’re tired, go rest in the back. You can even sleep for a while if you need to. Just don’t leave the store—I have to step out for a bit," Yennefer said as she came around from behind the counter.

She pointed toward the back of the shop. "Let the workers handle things while you get some rest. Just make sure someone keeps an eye on the place."

She paused, then gave him a stern look.

"And Alife, don’t wander off. I don’t want another worker stealing things while I’m gone."

At that, Alife’s expression immediately turned a little guilty.

Yennefer noticed but simply waved Max toward the door. "Come on."

"Of course I do. Who do you think packs all those things, Alife?" Yennefer replied sarcastically. "That boy only works in the store. His job is basically taking out what’s already been packed and relaying my orders to the workers."

Max nodded. That didn’t sound like much work at all.

But then he remembered how Alife always seemed exhausted and wondered if Yennefer was working the poor guy to the bone.

"But I’ve never seen them. Where do you keep them? In the basement?" Max asked, suddenly looking suspicious.

Then his expression turned shocked.

"Don’t tell me you have a sweatshop down there?"

"Nothing like that..." Yennefer said, waving her hand dismissively as she opened the car door.

"I own the entire building. The store is only a small part of it. Most of the workers actually work on the upper floors..."

Max looked back at the building.

It was four stories tall.

He’d always assumed the upper floors were completely empty. He’d never seen anyone going in or out, after all.

But now that he looked more carefully, he could make out a few faint silhouettes moving behind the windows.

*’Wait... she’s been hiding an entire workforce up there this whole time?’*

For a moment, Max seriously wondered what the hell Yennefer was making those people do.

*’Grinding herbs twelve hours a day? Sorting leaves by size? Maybe she’s got them chanting mana formulas while they work...’*

His imagination was already getting ridiculous.

Then again, when he actually thought about it, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Herbs needed proper storage, and many of them had to be processed before they could be sold. Some needed to be dried, others ground into powder, and some probably required more specialized preparation.

So, yeah...

Maybe Yennefer wasn’t secretly running a sweatshop after all.

Not paying it any more mind, Max climbed into the front seat again.

The moment he settled down, his hand naturally came to rest on Yennefer’s thigh. He began fondling it casually, without even sparing her a glance.

"How’d you get so rich?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious. "You’re from the same generation as my grandmother, and you became a mage around the same time. How come she was so poor while you’re this rich?"

"I don’t know. Ask that old bitch yourself," Yennefer replied with a playful smirk. "And it’s not like she’s poor anymore. With a grandson who’s a potion maker and that mysterious teacher of yours who somehow taught you potion making, who knows what kind of treasure she managed to seduce out of you two..."

She gave him an amused sideways glance.

"At this rate, it won’t be long before your grandmother starts bathing in mana water."

"People actually bathe in mana water?" Max asked, looking genuinely shocked.

It wasn’t even because of the cost. The mana density alone was what surprised him. He was certain that bathing in something that concentrated had to come with some kind of side effect.

"Of course they do. It can make you feel decades younger, even if you only do it once a year..." Yennefer replied casually.

Then her eyes dropped toward Max’s hand as it slowly gathered the edge of her skirt, creeping farther up her thigh.

"Can’t you wait a little?" she asked, giving him an annoyed look. "It’s not like you’re only taking me to your place to watch you make potions, right?"

Under that tone, the old Max would have immediately pulled his hand away.

Hell, the old Max probably wouldn’t have dared put his hand on her thigh in the first place. He’d been far too worried about being labeled a pervert.

The funny part was that he actually was a pervert.

He just didn’t want anyone pointing it out.

That had been the old Max, though.

Now, he didn’t care about being called a pervert anymore—at least not in front of women he’d already seen naked or had intimate experiences with.

"I don’t wanna..." he muttered, as if dismissing the whole thing.

Yennefer simply squeezed his hand a little tighter before changing the subject.

"So, it turns out that mafia milf is way more desperate for those potions than we thought?"

"Oh? How so?" Yennefer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don’t know the reason, but I might be able to get her to send me some nudes—or at least a few erotic photos—in the coming days. I’ll show you if she does..." Max said casually, returning to scrolling through his phone while keeping one hand on her thigh.

The mention of nudes immediately reminded Yennefer that she’d been sending him a few almost every day since he’d asked her for them.

She hadn’t sent anything last night though and max has complained about that yet.

The photos she’d been sending were usually limited to pictures of her breasts from different angles or her butt while still wearing her panties. She had never sent Max a completely nude picture of herself.

And honestly, she was starting to worry that it was only a matter of time before he asked for one.

The thought made her uncomfortable enough that she briefly looked away, her fingers tightening slightly around the steering wheel.

She knew Max.

If she gave him something, he’d eventually want a little more. Then a little more after that. His demands had a habit of slowly getting worse, and she wasn’t sure where he’d eventually draw the line.

She hesitated for a moment before finally asking,

"Speaking of those nudes... can I stop sending you more now?"

She glanced at him, already expecting an annoying answer.

"You’ve already seen enough, haven’t you? And you’ve seen me naked in real life too..."