CH 14.2

“Tell me. I’ll get you anything.”

Smiling pleasantly at Duke Kyar’s determined response, Isabella handed him a paper where she had written down all the names of the herbs she needed in advance.

She was grateful that she had time to stay in bed and read many books because now she had already figured out the ten herbs she needed in the antidote.

Yes, she still needed to find other herbal ingredients, but the progress was better than expected.

If Duke Kyar could gather the remaining herbs she wanted, that would accelerate her research further.

“Please do it as soon as possible.”

He nodded without hesitation.

Then, he picked up half of the herbs Isabella asked for before revisiting her bedroom that evening.

“I have found the herbs you needed around here and got them. It will take me some time to gather the rest, but we will get it as soon as possible.”

She examined the herbs laid on the table one by one, and Isabella’s blue eyes widened in surprise.

It was much faster than she expected from Duke Kyar, who was a bit impulsive.

He usually does things once he sets his mind in the heat of the moment.

“Wow, you’re amazing.”

He smiled graciously at her compliment.

“Thanks to you, I can make an antidote faster than I promised. If you keep getting herbs that I need, I’ll finish the cure in the next three months.”

He frowned at the level of confidence she injected into her words.

“Three months?”

Did he think it’s too long?

Even if she had shortened the duration into half from the six months she promised, his reaction does not look good.

“Well, I haven’t found all the herbs I could use as the ingredients for the antidote yet, but I think it’ll take me three months. But I’ll try to shorten the period even if I have to stay up all night.”

++

She had worked for a pharmaceutical company in the past, and it was her daily routine to stay up all night studying medicine.

She could choose to sleep as much as she wanted, but now her priority was to make an antidote.

For the sake of Duke Kyar’s increasing obsession, she had to make an antidote as soon as possible.

It wasn’t just that.

She had three months left before the female protagonist Seria appeared.

She had no idea when Seria would appear, but she remembered that the original novel had started in spring.

She had to make the antidote right away so she would play no role in changing the significant moments from the original novel.

Even if she was forced to be involved in Kyle’s work, she hoped that the plot development would only get positively better and the rest of the flow would remain unchanged and work smoothly.

For no reason, she didn’t want to be a variable in shaping any of the characters’  future.

“If you don’t want to witness doctors dying, then you’d better avoid staying up all night.” His voice lowered to a severe threat, and she grasped for the proper response.

In the end, she settled and scratched her cheek.

“Okay. I’ll do my best not to overdo it. Some of the herbs I asked for are hard to get. Hopefully, these things will be available to His Majesty.”

She glanced up at Duke Kyar with a gaze full of trust, and naturally, he avoided eye contact.

“Well, I don’t know if I can get them all.”

“No, I’m sure your Highness will be able to do it.”

“Well, I’ll try.” He replied sourly without facing her.

Isabella couldn’t understand what was wrong with Duke Kyar suddenly.

**

Marc, the butler, ran toward Duke Kyar after returning from Isabella’s room.

“I think the other herbs you mentioned will be available in a week. I’ve contacted all the medicine merchants in the empire——”

“Don’t hurry up with acquiring them.”

Mark looked quite embarrassed at Duke Kyar’s shocking statement.

“What?”

“I had no other thoughts than her leaving me in my head.”

He recalled Isabella’s countenance when she promised him that she’d make the antidote within three months, and Duke Kyar scowled.

“Make sure to keep all the herbs they delivered safely, and don’t mention a single word to Isabella about it.” Duke Kyar whispered, and Marc quickly nodded in agreement.

At the words of Prince Kyard in a low voice, Marc hurriedly nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He could give Isabella anything she wanted, but somehow, he hated giving her the herbs as gently as I did.

He wanted to down the antidote to shake off this discomfort finally, but he also needed to keep her in this castle for a long time.

If he was honest with himself, the latter had evoked a stronger emotion out of him.

Just imagining Isabella leaving his side made his heart ache.

He kept getting nervous every time he saw Isabella, who became so excited when she found additional herbs for an antidote.

Even though he knew this was all because of the strange potion, he never wanted to get out of this situation and miss out on these peculiar feelings.

He didn’t know why but perhaps, he had gone insane.