Haji raised his hand to check his wristwatch, then looked at the sky.
"Strange. Could it be broken?" Haji muttered, lowering his hand.
He was still standing amid ruins. At least someone had cleared the weeds at the previous place, but this one was covered in vines, as if no one had visited in years.
Just as Haji was about to head back, he suddenly heard children laughing behind him—the sort of laughter children had in horror films. The hairs all over his body stood on end.
"Is a haunted house supposed to be haunted too?" he said fearfully. He did not dare investigate and quickened his pace back, only to hear two people talking before he had taken more than a couple of steps.
"Is this it?" a girl asked.
"That's right, this is it," said a voice whose gender he could not make out. "Put it in the food or drink of the person you love, and they'll fall in love with you."
"I'll pay half upfront..."
"I don't accept bargaining. This potion isn't permanent. It'll wear off after a while, and then you'll have to buy more from me," said the genderless voice. "Pay up."
Haji heard the heavy clink of metal, followed shortly by footsteps. He quickly ducked into a corner and saw someone in a black hooded robe emerge from another corner.
"Are you sure you want to use it?" another girl asked nervously. "Don't forget what happened to Madame de Montespan."
"I'm not planning to become queen," said the girl who had spoken earlier. "And besides, I don't like short men."
Haji thought for a long time but could not remember who Madame de Montespan was, nor who the short man she meant was.
"Everyone at the palace says she and Athénaïs joined the