Chapter 55

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***

The debutante was over.

In one way or another, we had successfully achieved our goal of making my face known in the social world.

But this was not the time to be satisfied. Because next week was the wedding.

“What are you going to do?”

“What?”

Devan was drinking tea in the hall leisurely.

With less than a week left until the wedding, to be precise, we had to break into the temple to meet Cordelia and find a clue, but he seemed overly relaxed.

“The wedding!”

“Sit down for now.”

He gestured with his chin to the other side of the table. It seemed that I was the only one nervous.

“When you took the qualification exam, you said you fell asleep without knowing it. That’s what the temple did, so we can….”

“Sit down first.”

Devan interrupted me and pointed to the other side again.

I stared at him, stopped talking, and sat down.

“I told you before. I have a guess.”

Devan handed the teacup in front of me.

Only then did I notice that there were too many teacups on the table. At least it was more than enough for two people.

“… … What is all this?” (Evelyn)

“It’s for you.”( Devan)

“Me?” (Evelyn)

“The royal family of this country.” (Devan)

Devan clenched his chin and began to speak.

“Since birth, I have been poisoned little by little. That created tolerance. It’s not surprising, though.” (Devan)

I looked down at the teacup.

The tea leaves in the teacup looked similar in color and scent to usual, but when he talked about poison, I was somewhat reluctant.

“I wasn’t treated like royalty, but my butler is a competent custodian, and he is good with most poison.” (Devan)

“So….? Are you saying all this is poison?” (Evelyn)

“On the day of the exam, the only special thing Astrilla and I did at the temple was drinking tea. After that, other people who were married at the temple also testified that they drank the same tea.” (Devan )

“Then you can just refuse the tea.” (Evelyn)

“Then they’ll be suspicious. Drink the tea, but don’t give them the effect they want. That’s the best thing.” (Devan)

I hesitated and looked down at the teacup.

“…… So you want me to drink this?” (Evelyn)

“It’s kind of forcing you to sleep. It’s not life-threatening.” (Devan)

Devan shrugged.

I didn’t have any faith. Since he was a human, there may be a mistake somewhere.

“Today is a test. Take a sip from the one on the left and watch the progress for an hour.” (Devan)

From the left?

I took a closer look, the amount of tea leaves in the leftmost teacup was significantly less, and the rightmost teacup contained the most.

It seemed that he was planning to feed me from the lightest poison concentration.

“If an adverse reaction occurs, stop there. After I figure out the appropriate amount, I will gradually increase the amount starting tomorrow.” (Devan)

“…wouldn’t it have been better if we started a little earlier? We only have a week left……” (Evelyn)

“I did some research on this tea, and they said that if you drink it for more than 10 days, side effects may remain. However, it is difficult to build tolerance if you start too late, so I just decided that a week would be the most appropriate.”(Devan)

“Are you sure a week is okay…..?” (Evelyn)

“Don’t worry. I’ll try not to kill you.” (Devan)

The corners of Devan’s lips drew a beautiful arc. It was like the sweetest death threat in the world.

“Am I the only one who will drink it? Not you?” (Evelyn)

“Because I’m already resistant to it. Why, are you scared that I’ll kill you?” (Devan)

“…”

I smiled stiffly.

As if it was nothing, the old butler, who was standing politely, poured the tea into several teacups one after another.

I slowly lifted the teacup on the far left of the table. My mouth was dry.

“And one more thing, I have to tell you.” (Devan)

“What is it?” (Evelyn)

After taking a sip of tea, I replied with a frown at the strange taste.

It didn’t matter if Devan really said that, or whether I had all my nerves on the poison.

“Remember what I said last time?” (Devan)

“Last time?” (Evelyn)

“When I showed you the drawing.”(Devan)

I picked up the second cup, took a sip, and immediately put it down in disgust. When did he show the drawing? What did he say then?

“But in this case……”

Devan suddenly opened his mouth, then stopped talking again.

“What’s wrong? What were you trying to say?”

“… … … No, I just want the meal to cool down.”

I rolled my eyes.

Obviously, at the time, Devan was about to say something but didn’t continue.

I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I also thought that if I had a chance someday, I would have to ask.

“That’s the story, right? In this case………” (Evelyn)

“Yes. The temple’s security is usually poor. We don’t want our information leaked, so we don’t hire mercenaries, and it’s not difficult to subdue a priest.” (Devan)

“Okay. But what’s different in this case? Why?”  (Evelyn)

I frowned as I thought I knew the reason.

The butler handed me the third teacup.

“When we came to the capital, monsters appeared. Those monsters were an exception that was made because of you.” (Devan)

“… … … Are you saying that there will be another exception because of me?” (Evelyn)

“This wedding is an opportunity for us to approach the temple, but it is also an opportunity for the temple to hold onto you.” (Devan)

He blinked at the third teacup as if to urge me to drink it.

I picked up the teacup, barely soothing my stomach, which had started to sting a little earlier.

As soon as I took a sip, the bitter and strange taste filled my taste buds.

A chance for the temple to seize me.

“That…”

I wanted to give him an answer, but I couldn’t think properly. It wasn’t easy.

My tongue was hardened, my pronunciation could not be done properly, and my body was limp.

Tuk- I dropped my arms weakly on the table. Because of that, the teacups that collided with each other made an unpleasant sound.

The old butler quickly and skillfully removed all the teacups from the table. As the table emptied, I staggered and rubbed my forehead. My eyes were blurry. Is this from the poison?

“I guess that’s it.”

The old butler looked at Devan and said.

“Yeah, that’s all for today.” (Devan)

My eyelids were heavy.

Through my blurred vision, Devan’s bored smile was visible.

***

Inside the dusty training ground, there were many soldiers wielding swords on straw bales.

Their trainer, Karen Webow, frowned in the scorching sun overhead.

“Hey, Karen!”

Then he heard a voice calling him from afar. It was Pelos Kibeon, who was waving his hand.

“Pelos….? Like this three hundred more times.”

After issuing a cruel order, Karen left the training ground.

‘Why did he come here?’

As Karen approached with an audible murmur, Pelos held up the wine he was holding in one hand.

“Karen!”

“What the hell is going on here?”

Karen looked at Pelos’s pure white uniform and wine alternately. It was really an unsuitable combination.

“I haven’t been able to greet you properly.”

After Karen followed Devan to the capital, he (Karen) and Pelos had already met and talked a few times.

“What do you mean…?”

“If we didn’t have wine, is that called a greeting?”

Pelos took out a large piece of cloth from his pocket, put it down on the floor, and sat down as if it was natural.

“So, you’re going to drink wine here?”

“You won’t be able to leave the training ground for a long time anyway. Wouldn’t this be good for each other?”

Karen looked at Pelos with a puzzled expression as Pelos opened the cork.

“Oh, I didn’t bring a glass, so you’ll have to drink it from the bottle.”

“If the Grand Duke finds out about this…”

“Grand Duke!”

Pong— The cork popped out with a refreshing sound.

“Karen, now you can call him ‘Devan’ when he’s not here.”

“Hey, I’m different from you. Do you know how many years I’ve been with the Grand Duke? It means that I can’t call his name comfortably like you. And you’re the weird one who still calls me by my first name even after I got the title.”

“Yes, yes. That’s enough. Sit down.”

Pelos took the bottle of wine and took a sip.

“It is clear that you are suffering in the scorching sun, so I kept it specially cold.”

He then handed the wine to Karen, who was still standing tall. With a hesitant expression, Karen looked at the wine and the soldiers still in training alternately.

“Come on, Karen. Aren’t you going to have fun?”

Pelos’ eyes sharpened. Karen finally shook his head and sat down next to him.

It was a routine training, so it was fortunate that he wasn’t wearing heavy armor.

“So, what are we going to talk about?”

Karen asked, gulping down the wine. As Pelos said, it was cold enough to make his backbone frown.

“Hey, do you know what Devan and Lady Evelyn are doing?”

“What are they doing? Well… . All I know is that the Lady has lifted His Highness’s curse and now the two of them are getting married. So, they’re getting ready to get married. What else is going on?”

“You’ve become a really boring guy in the blink of an eye, Karen.”

“What?”

Karen’s face darkened at Pelos’s demeanor, which was constantly scratching his nerves.

“I mean, Devan is choosing a robe.”  (Pelos)

“What? Devan?”

As if he had forgotten honorifics, Karen shouted out Devan’s name.

“Yes, he’s choosing a wedding attire!” (Pelos)