CH 68

“What?”

It’s a poison that’s not widely known…… Would it be dangerous if you didn’t vomit right away?”

As Celia replied, Phil gritted his teeth and his eyes widened.

“Don’t lie to me! I saw you drinking too……Ughhh……”

A sudden urge to throw up startled Phil as he was about to approach her to grab her by the neck. He couldn’t help himself and puked it out because he remembered Celia’s warnings about how dangerous it would be if he didn’t vomit.

Vomit was dripping on the carpet. She had to wait for him to spit out a piece of the divine beast’s heart, but she couldn’t wait any longer.

‘It’s now or never!’

Celia, who ran with a whiff, hit Phil in the head with a candlestick. Pak! Phil, who had been struck in the head with a bang, was knocked to the side.

Just in case, Celia smacked his head again. A banging noise was made this time, but Phil didn’t move at all.

‘Are you dead?’

It was a big deal if he was dead, but it was even worse if he awoke. After quickly scanning the area, Celia grabbed a curtain string from the window and bed curtains and quickly tied Phil’s hands and feet.

She forced her face close to Phil’s vomit, but luckily his hands were untouched. His feet were clean, too, so Celia could tie him up without a fuss.

She pushed him aside to see what he thought was leftover food mixed with gastric acid.

“Looks like you had eaten a lot.”

Fortunately, he vomited out a piece of the divine beast’s heart. Celia turned Phil’s head back, then shoved the sheet into Phil’s mouth. She feared he would suffocate, but it would be a big deal if he woke up and shouted.

‘If you die, you deserve it!’

At the very least, she would have had time until morning.  Meanwhile, Celia hoped Leonis would come looking for her or discover a hidden passage.

Celia brought a bottle of wine and poured it over a piece of the Divine Heart. She didn’t want to take it as it was if it was contaminated with Phil’s gastric acid.

Celia rubbed the piece of heart that had been washed out of the gastric acid on the sheet in Phil’s mouth and placed it inside the ring, a magic tool.

“……Your face is annoying.”

Even in the original, Phil had a narcissistic view of himself. He thought he was a very handsome since his attractiveness was above ordinary man.

Celia put the rest of the sheet over his face, hiding Phil’s face. She got up and looked back at the wall.

‘The secret passage……’

The walls of the Imperial Palace were carved with hundreds of carvings of vines and flowers. Most of them were roses, so it was challenging to guess the secret from the outside.

‘This should be the one.’

Celia was frustrated when she saw the sculptures and flowers on the wall. At the very least, the secret passage’s entrance didn’t appear evident in this room. She’ll have to go somewhere else after that……

Celia glanced at Phil, who was unconscious and covered by a sheet. She wanted to kick him in the stomach but refrained out of fear that it might wake him awake.

With the curtains drawn back, Celia approached the window and peered outside.

There wasn’t much light coming in through the window. This room was one of the few with a view of the garden, which the structure was built to encircle the Second Imperial Palace.

Celia wondered what to do if the windows were blocked from opening just like the doors, but thankfully the window could be opened and closed.

She flung open the window and peered outside, and she didn’t see any knights standing on the guard. Although it was a fair way to the garden, this place seemed to be on the third floor, as Celia had surmised.

‘I’m strong, but jumping from the third floor is crazy.’

Celia opened the window wide and looked out the window. Fortunately, there were enough decorations on the walls to step on.

‘Let’s go for it.’

She took off the slippers the maids had given her and tucked them into the waistband of her gown.

✦ ✦ ✦

Nicole received a message from Nile and instantly turned the carriage around. Prince Giel would still be at Count Larsson’s mansion since they hadn’t yet left the city.

There was not enough time to join the Cardian family, who stayed in the capital. Nicole and the others had previously received a warning from Zeppel.

“Madame is important for the future Empire.”

The Duke was said to be a necessary figure in establishing a new empire. Such a man could not stand by and let others fall before starting a proper fight.

‘If there’s a secret was told to Prince Giel……’

There’s only one thing.

It must have been a secret about his obsession with Vivian Carta. They had investigated his obsession with Vivian in several ways. It was determined that it could be used in the future at the negotiating table with the Duke of Carta.

‘I don’t need to tell him everything right now.’

The gatekeeper did not seem to notice that they had returned because no family crest was engraved on the outside of the carriage.

Count Larsson’s gatekeeper let them in quickly. Even though it was late at night, the banquet was still in full swing. Even after being informed that something had gone wrong, Count Larsson could not kick the guests out of the banquet hall.

It was because he had gathered the nobles of the high-ranking noble families to invite Prince Giel. Count Larson had risen early because he couldn’t see any further due to his dissatisfaction with the alcohol they consumed at the party.

Nicole looked around the banquet hall again. He wondered whether Giel would return to the banquet hall and relapse into drinking if he did.

‘Looks like he’s still in that room.’

Nicole, who hurried along with the baron, entered the hallway where the room was located. Unlike the last time, the door was open. Even the servants and maids seemed to have left the room.

Even if he wanted to vent his anger on Prince Giel, he couldn’t do anything because the prince was his opponent. At the very least, it appeared that all of the servants had been dismissed.

The door was closed. They were slowly opening the door and peering inside. Giel was snoring and sleeping, as they could see.

Giel was a skilled swordsman who didn’t bother with his escort since he was so confident of himself.

The fact that two of his three attendants were from the Imperial Knights also had to have played a role.

Nicole saw Giel sleeping and whispered something to the Baron. As the Baron was out, Nicole was changing out of his clothes.

After a while, the baron returned with his servant. Nicole had the baron and servant remove Giel’s clothes while he changed into the clothes he had packed.

The two wore Nicole’s clothes to Giel. It was possible because Nicole and Giel had similar physiques.

Nicole and the Baron then strapped Giel to the servant’s back.

No one will recognize Giel easily because he has changed clothes. This is because Giel has a duller hair colour than the other two princes. His dark brown hair may have been well-trimmed, but it was a typical hair colour that could be seen anywhere.

“…….Can I take him like this?”

“I’ll send it to you safely.”

Nicole glanced at Giel and said. This was a word interwoven with the Baron. So Giel can hear them.

Giel may have been inebriated when drinking with Nicole in the room that Count Larsson had brought him into, but he was a skilled swordsman. He was simply inferior to Leonis, their master.

Giel is still only pretending to be asleep; he isn’t actually sleeping.

The baron went first and looked down the hallway, followed by Nicole. Finally, the servant was sweating profusely and came out carrying the Giel.

Nicole took the lead and ordered the count’s servant to fetch their carriages and coaches. Because it was already late, the count and his servants moved slowly.

The baron was tall and cleverly covered Giel from the servant’s gaze. As if not interested, the count’s attendant brought Nicole’s carriage.

When the carriage arrived in front of the mansion, the baron opened the carriage door quickly. The servant placed Giel in the carriage while not revealing his face.

Nicole climbed into the carriage, and the baron followed. As the carriage’s door closed, Nicole and Baron carefully leaned Giel in the best position of the carriage.

“……Can we leave?”

From the carriage seat, a voice could be heard. Nicole nodded to a familiar voice. The coachman pushed the horse to leave when the baron told him to.

“Giddy up!”

The carriage began to rattle and move. Nicole peeked out the window to see Count Larsson was quickly moving away.

Giel was still pretending to be asleep. Nicole exchanged glances with the Baron.

Now it was time to start playing.