CH 67

‘You pervert bastard!’

He wanted to do it in several ways, but she had to pretend to wash up first. Celia checked to make sure the bathroom door could be shut from the inside.

As expected, it was a frame that could not be locked inside.

Celia was in distress as she approached the bathroom door with caution.

“Are you preparing for a shower, Duchess?”

Celia furrowed her brows when she heard the maid’s voice outside.

“Ri-Right!”

“Please take your clothes off the door. Or we will go in.”

Celia quickly removed her clothes at the behest of the maid. She hated stripping down her underwear in a place like this, but she had no choice.

Celia pushed open the bathroom door slightly and slid her clothes out through the gap. The maids shut the door again after meticulously checking Celia’s clothes.

Celia pondered for a moment before entering the bathtub and washing her body. She wished Leonis would come at the right time, but she knew reality wasn’t like a novel or a movie.

‘Divine Power……I have to use it.’

She didn’t have the confidence to confront multiple people at once, but she wasn’t sure whether it could just be one Phil.

But what if things don’t go exactly as planned?

Just the thought of that made her nape hair stand upright. Celia fidgeted with the small ring of thread on her finger, trying to come up with another way.

There were two rings on Celia’s hand. The first was a contraceptive ring, while the second was a ring that contained a magical pouch within the jewel.

Inside the magic pocket was a piece of the Divine Beast’s heart from Princess Amelia, and…….

‘Penina Powder!’

Celia’s face, which had been engulfed in trouble, had changed. She carried it with the divine beast’s heart because she thought she might be able to use it someday.

She concluded that she could make advantage of this.

✦ ✦ ✦

“Duchess, the time is up. Are you wearing all of the clothes?”

Celia felt like swearing at the question. Celia has dressed in her straps underwear and a chest cover at the request of the maid. She was nothing more than naked after she wore a see-through negligee over it.

She hastily put on a silk robe, but she would die of embarrassment. If anyone other than Leonis saw her wearing this, he wanted to kill everyone who saw it.

‘Even if it’s not me, Leon will get rid of it.’

“……I’m wearing it.”

As Celia spoke nervously, the maids opened the door uninvitedly. They scrutinized Celia’s body and looked at the empty chest of drawers.

“I’ll take you to your room right away.”

Celia grew agitated when she watched the servants bending their heads in politeness.  They seemed to believe that if Celia was favored by the prince, she may become the Second Imperial Palace’s concubine.

Many noble girls have found themselves in the same situation.

Celia followed the maids out of the bathroom, her face cold the entire time.  Even with the waist straps of her silk gown tucked up, she felt uncomfortable just wearing it.

The massage bed and partition were there, but she didn’t think it was for anyone else, then the maids escorted Celia to the corridor.

There was a guard and two escort knights in the hallway. They hurriedly averted their eyes as they caught Celia’s bitter look.

She couldn’t tell which part of the second imperial palace she was in because of the wide corridor. Celia took a look around, hoping to find a way out.

The sun had set and the day had become completely dark. It was obvious that getting to the imperial palace in the capital from the teleportation magic circle post took a long time.

With an anxious expression on her face, Celia looked out the hallway window.

The place was high. She assumed this room would be on the third or higher floor.  The escort glanced at Celia to see if she was wary of throwing her body out of her window.

It seemed that she had finally reached the destination. Seeing that they had come, the servant opened the door to the inner chamber. Celia’s attention was focused on Phil’s presence.

‘He is not yet come?’

The servant opened the door to the bedroom while passing through the room furnished like a living room. Celia bit her lower lip when she spotted the large bed in the bedroom.

“Please wait in this room.”

One of the maids said so as she followed them through the living room to the front of the bedroom. Celia’s face became pale as she looked around the room.

It was more than just a bed. A huge table in front of the sofa was set up with alcohol and light snacks.  Celia entered the room, clenching her lips.

Tak.

The door had been shut. Celia checked again to see whether the door could be locked from the inside, but she was still unable to lock the door.

“Leon……”

Fear and anxiety made her fingers tremble. Celia rushed over to the table. She reached for the bottle, but she was full.

Celia hastily opened the cap of the bottle and poured it into the bottle of wine. She was scared and ended up pouring more alcohol than normal.

Celia put the bottle back on the table and took out a pouch of Penina powder from the ring.

‘Hurry……hurry!’

As the powder was poured into the bottle, it floated to the surface as a lump rather than melting like flour. Before putting it into a glass, Celia shook and turned white.

She then melted it with her fingers in the glass and poured it back into the bottle.

A brown liquid that had become murky with powder was slowly mixing inside. Celia shook the bottle gently before closing it again, she became anxious after doing it.

Then she noticed alcohol and liquid mixed at a point.

‘Huk!’

Celia hurriedly put down the wine as someone reached the door. Phil entered the room with a menacing grin as the door burst open.

Outside the door, she saw a servant who had followed him all the way here. Phil smirked, not taking his eyes off Celia.

“I am going to have fun here with the Duchess…… Do not disturb me unless His Majesty has called me.”

“I understand, Your Highness.”

The servant dropped his head and walked away without even looking at Celia. As he closed the bedroom door, Phil grinned proudly at Celia.

“You are finally in my arms, Celia.”

Celia looked around to see if she could find something that could be used as a weapon. Vases and candlesticks, mermaid-shaped ornaments… and so on.

‘I don’t have to be afraid. Although I am not physically stronger than Leon…… I am strong enough! So……’

In the original story, Phil knew that his swordsmanship skills were terrible. So she expected that his gymnastics would be nothing.

“Hey, you have some bruises on your beautiful face. I promise I won’t be harsh on you if you hug me gently. It’s a different story if you like it.”

“Why are you doing this? I am already married. If my husband, Duke Cardian, finds out, the prince will be in big trouble.”

Phil showed no sign of embarrassment after Celia’s words. Celia, on the other hand, stepped aside as he approached.

“You’re too scared. I’m not such a bad guy either. Even if you have retaliated in that way to my invitation.”

Phil was certain he had Celia completely in his grasp. He seemed to have a lot of leeways as if he’d decided he could ravage her at will and no one would notice.

‘It’s a good thing for me.’

Please, I hoped Phil would make his wrong decision at this time. That was the only way I could survive. Celia wanted to survive, so she made excuses. In order not to offend Phil.

“That……The Duke saw the letter that came to me first, so I couldn’t help it.”

“I suppose so. That monster…… I can’t help but feel jealous because he has a beautiful woman like you in his arms.”

The Countess was sent to frighten Celia by the 3rd Empress, but she died before she could return to her own home. In the end, Phil had no idea what was going on within the Duke of Cardian’s mansion.

Phil approached the sofa table, reached for a wine bottle on the shelf, and unscrewed the stopper. When he looked down at the glass he was about to pour into, he noticed traces of use on one of them.

‘Hmm…’

He poured both glasses and handed Celia the filled cup. Thinking she wouldn’t drink it if it was poisoned.

“Drink this. If you don’t want me to get angry.”

Phil said as he held out the glass. Celia felt nervous about approaching him.

“Over there…… Place it in a drawer. Then I’ll drink it.”

Celia quivered as she spoke, and Phil smiled and set the glass down on the chest of drawers next to the sofa. And with a leisurely pace, he took three steps back.

“Is this okay? Celia Cardian?”

“…… Yes.”

Celia carefully approached the drawer and took a glass of wine. Celia returned Phil’s stare and took a step back behind him.

Phil was looking at Celia with a piercing gaze.

‘……What’s in this drink?’

Celia had been given medication from the start, just as she had sprinkled Penina Powder on the wine. Celia took a deep breath.

According to the original story, Lily inherited divine power and thus had some drug resistance. She claimed that the goddess had given her more power than Celia, allowing her to tolerate medications better.

‘At least I won’t die right away.’

As Celia raised her glass to her mouth and took a sip, Phil seemed to be satisfied just by looking at it. Then he also took a sip from his glass and placed it in his mouth.

“Let’s call it a celebration cup of our night.”

Phil drank the alcohol with one gulp. The traces of alcohol on the glass were found not to have been drugged, but Celia drank that because of tension.

Celia dropped the glass when Phil, who had placed it down, approached. The glass did not shatter as it rolled across the thick carpet.

“Sta-Stay away!”

Celia screamed as she took the candlestick from the closet above. Phil grinned as Celia held the candlestick in her hand.

“Celia……Have you ever hit someone? It is not suitable for a soft-hearted woman like you.”

Celia extinguished the candle in the candlestick, her face set to hear all of his laughs.

It was difficult to wield the candle properly when it was ignited. As she tipped the candle over and spilled the wax on the floor, Phil’s expression hardened.

“Don’t provoke me, Celia. I don’t want to mess with your pretty face……”

Phil was furious, but he felt a suffocation in his chest and he glanced at Celia.

He suspected Celia had poisoned him when he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his chest.

‘Did that girl drink too?’

It was only one sip, but Celia drank first. He has never heard of a poison that reacts so quickly. 

‘No, I just feel a little stuffy.’

The probability was small, he felt a sensation similar to vomiting. He was feeling a little queasy……

“What you think is right. I poisoned it.”