manga: Apothecarius Argentum Vol 1
And so begins a string of posts about semi-obscure CMX shoujo.
Argent is a Basilisk, a member of a race of assassins conditioned from birth to withstand any toxin or poison, while their skin and blood both become poisonous. The more toxic your body is to others, the whiter your hair, and Argent’s is almost pure white. As a child, Argent was purchased by the king of Beazol to be a food taster for the crown princess, Primula, with the understanding that he would be executed if he ever touched the princess. Eventually, however, poisoned food made him sick and Primula decided to help him escape so he wouldn’t be at risk for her anymore, and kissed him. This, of course, made her sick, and after he stayed behind to save her (in her defense, I should mention that they appear to be about 8 and 10 at this point in time) he was arrested. When he was about to be Executed, Primula rescued him and told him to run away and never come back, and declared that she would grow up strong and not need anyone to risk themselves for her again.
This is, like, 7-10 pages of flashback cuteness in the first chapter and a half.
Anyway, Primula grows up to be a swordswoman well able to spot attacks on her, both subtle and obvious, and Argent stays nearby in the woods, trying to protect Primula from the shows, eventually becoming an apothecary, his resistance to poisons allowing him to make medicines others can’t. When Primula (now 16 or so) learns he’s still there, she has him brought back as the Court Apothecary. Argent, despite not thinking it’s an incredibly good idea, agrees because he’s been in love since they were kids it’ll make Protecting the Princess easier. Plus, better facilities. Primula’s father, however, is happy to have him back because he had much bigger plans for a Basilisk than just being a food tester. Argent also requires (against his will) an apprentice, Soda, who is already casting them as a great and epic love in his head.
Even though Argent chose to use his unusual body to heal people, neither he nor the king has forgotten that he spent his childhood being trained as an assassin, and he’s very willing to use (and has used) those skills to protect Primula, even to kill. Primula manages to be tough and convincing as a swordwoman without being overwhelming tomboyish, or even without giving up being girly. Then you have the whole princess/commoner(actually slave) angst being complicated even further by “Oh yeah, and if we touch, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll die.” I’m not in love yet, but it’s pretty good so far. Though I can almost smell a “Primula is engaged and the future of the entire kingdom relies on her marriage” plotline.