CH 14

Hurrying through the hallways, the palace knight stopped in front of a massive golden door.

“His Majesty is waiting inside. I will be on standby outside.”

“Thank you for guiding me.”

Then I bowed to the knight who led me here and went inside.

I recognized a familiar face the moment I stepped foot in the Emperor’s spacious bedroom. It was the Emperor, who was anxiously watching the Crown Prince, who was lying in bed.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

When I curtsied to him, the Emperor peeled away his gaze from the Crown Prince to look at me. The Emperor’s hair, which had always been slicked back in authority, was completely disheveled.

“Lady Aren Serkia, heal my son quickly now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The look in the Emperor’s unfocused eyes seemed incredibly desperate. So I hurriedly approached the Crown Prince on the bed.

From how pale the Crown Prince looked, it seemed like the poison had already spread throughout his body. I folded the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing and began to check his pulse.

“…it’s certainly poison.”

The blood and poison were mixed together inside his body. And as expected, the toxins had already spread to his entire body. So the Crown Prince must be in great pain right now. I concentrated on identifying the poison in his body.

It was an odorless and colorless poison.

I knew all the contents of the book that Cassadin stole, ‘Plants of the North,’ and what he had concocted was from one of the recipes in the book.

The poison was a deadly one made from mixing the Venomous Butterfly plant, which only grew in the North, with jadestone. Had I been just a little late, the poison would have made him bedridden for the rest of his life.

Just how deep was Cassadin’s grudge for having committed such a deed?

‘Cassadin. You really are crazy.’

“Excuse me for a moment.”

After asking the Emperor for permission, I took off the outerwear that the Crown Prince was wearing. When I unbuttoned his shirt, the Crown Prince’s toned and muscular body came into view.

I placed my hands on his chest and concentrated all of my energy on them. Soon, a pure light started to emit from my hands. Then that light enveloped the Crown Prince’s body and was absorbed into it.

As soon as the last bit of light was sucked into his body, the Crown Prince’s expression looked considerably relieved. Life flowed back into his pale face, and his irregular breathing returned to a stable one.

“It’s done, Your Majesty.”

Though my head was spinning from consuming so much mental energy, I tried not to show it as I spoke.

“I have removed all of the poison from his body. His Highness will be alright now.”

Upon hearing that, the light returned to the Emperor’s eyes. He rubbed his chest, breathing out a sigh of relief. In both the past and present, his love for his son was the same. Even the Emperor was a normal father when facing his beloved child.

Then the Emperor nodded at me with a satisfied expression,

“Thank you. It’s fortunate that you were here.”

“I just did what had to be done, Your Majesty.”

I took my hands off the Crown Prince’s chest and straightened out his clothes. But I paused for a moment at the Emperor’s next words.

“To dare orchestrate such a thing on Leon’s birthday. I don’t know who did it, but they clearly want to meet an early death.”

“…it seems that way, Your Majesty.”

I spoke as nonchalantly as possible. If things continued this way, then it really might be revealed that Cassadin was the culprit.

So I racked my brain to figure out how to save him. The only way to ensure Cassadin wouldn’t be suspected as the culprit was to divert attention to someone else.

“In recognition of your aid, I will grant whatever wish you want. Is there anything you need? It can be anything you name.”

Fortunately, it seemed the Emperor didn’t consider ‘me’ the culprit. Who would think that the person who healed his son would be the culprit? It’s fortunate that I’m a healer. I could use the Emperor’s trust to my advantage.

I bowed to the Emperor and answered,

“It’s alright, Your Majesty.”

“Huh. Do you really not want anything?”

The Emperor wanted to bestow something on me in return.

“Our family has already received so much from Your Majesty, and we are already eternally honored that Your Majesty looks kindly upon us.”

Hearing my answer, a pleasant smile appeared on the Emperor’s mouth. Realizing that the Emperor was now in a good mood, I opened my mouth.

“Your Majesty, if I may dare speak up, I have discovered something strange while treating His Highness.”

“What do you mean? Tell me.”

“Well…”

I deliberately trailed off. Then I glanced at the Emperor with a hesitant face, pretending to debate whether I should tell him or not. The Emperor nodded his head, urging me to continue quickly.

“It’s alright, go ahead.”

“I have figured out the composition of the poison that had spread through His Highness’s body.”

“What’s the composition?”

“The main ingredient is a powder made from grinding the Venomous Butterfly plant, which only grows in the North. The Venomous Butterfly plant is highly poisonous and can be identified by its smell, but that smell disappears when combined with jadestone powder.”

The Emperor’s lips parted slightly at my explanation, and his mature eyes trembled faintly.

“Did you just say the North?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Currently, the person in control of the northern territories of the Seville Empire is none other than Grand Duke Damian Keane Daeus.

And despite the situation in this state, he hadn’t shown his face once. That’s because he was supposed to arrive late at night today.

“Is that really true? A plant that grows only in the North.”

“Your Majesty, would I dare to tell a lie in such a situation?”

“Goodness, how can that be…?”

Then the Emperor furrowed his brows and massaged his forehead. With a sigh mixed with resignation, he closed his eyes.

Claiming that he had no interest in the throne, the Emperor’s brother ruled over the Northern territories and passed away several years ago. Damian was the only child that the deceased Emperor’s brother had left. Since this meant that Damian was now posing a threat to the throne, his internal state would now be in chaos.

I hadn’t named the culprit, but the Emperor would now be suspecting Damian. All I had to do was plant the seed of doubt, and it would sprout on its own.

It looked like I was manipulating them, but I knew what Damian was thinking inside better than the Emperor. And it was true that he was aiming for the throne. I thought back to the Damian from my past life.

It was not long after we got engaged that Damian, who always came home late at night, came home, especially late that day.

‘Aren.’

I stayed up to wait until he arrived, then opened the door at the sound of his voice. I was shocked to find Damian falling into my arms as soon as I opened the door. Blood was splattered all over his clothes, and there was a wound on his side that was still bleeding.

Upon seeing Damian struggle to smile at me with shallow breaths, I hurriedly unbuttoned his clothes and healed his wounds.

‘Who did this to you?’

And Damian just answered my concerns as if it weren’t a big deal.

‘There was a little problem at the palace.’

He didn’t elaborate, but it was certain that he was injured in a fight against someone in the imperial palace.

I wondered why he suddenly went to the imperial palace when it was so far away. Did the imperial family have a reason to harm him without explanation?

Despite such questions, my past self trusted everything Damian said.

But not anymore. I intended to make him pay for everything he had done. Since I’ve planted the seed of suspicion now, the Emperor will continue to be cautious with Damian even if he manages to escape the accusation of attempting to poison the Crown Prince.

In that sense, I was deeply grateful to Cassadin.

What a lovely younger brother he was. His revenge also came back as a blessing to me, but he would never know this truth in his dreams.

“My duties have been completed, so I will now take my leave, Your Majesty.”

I bowed to the Emperor and was about to leave if it hadn’t been for the Emperor’s voice calling back to me.

“Lady Aren Serkia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“There is a favor I wish to ask.”

“Yes?”

“Would you stay here with my son until he recovers?”

I blinked rapidly at the unexpected request. The Crown Prince and I had no point of contact. Unlike the Emperor, the Crown Prince never had a critical wound in his previous life, so the only few times I’ve seen him were from afar.

‘But it’s not like I can disobey the Emperor’s command either. I might arouse suspicion if I’m not careful.’

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

“…I’m truly grateful.”

Satisfied with my answer, the Emperor walked towards the door.

“I will entrust my son to you.”

After saying that, he was about to open the door and leave. Wasn’t he trusting me a bit too much here? Don’t tell me he actually selected me as a candidate for Crown Princess, like the rumors say, right?

I swallowed hard and dared to ask the Emperor,

“Your Majesty, where are you headed to?”

“I can’t just keep the nobles who came for the banquet locked up in the hall. I will take responsibility for what I have caused.”

His response washed away the uneasiness that was continuing to grow inside of my mind. The nobles in the hall no longer had to go through questioning, which meant the Emperor thought Damian was the suspect.

And the Emperor, who smiled contentedly at me up to the final moment, closed the door and left.

When the door closed, I was now completely alone with the Crown Prince. He was breathing softly in his sleep with a peaceful expression on his face.

But while looking at the Prince, I was absorbed in other thoughts.

They were thoughts about what Cassadin could be doing right now. If he had done something else again, and when the Crown Prince was going to wake up.

“Hmm…”

The Crown Prince let out a soft sound, turning his body. Then I asked him,

“Your Highness, have you woken up?”

“…”

He must just have been sleep-talking as he changed his position, but his eyes remained closed. Massaging my temples, I let out a deep sigh.

‘Goodness, gracious.’

Just then, I realized that one of the buttons on the Crown Prince’s uniform wasn’t properly fastened. It was the button I couldn’t manage to fasten because I was talking about the culprit with the Emperor. All of the other buttons were fastened, but it just happened to be the one at his collarbone that was left open.

‘What should I do? Should I just leave it?’

Though it was for treatment, it was my doing. The Crown Prince was asleep anyway, so it wouldn’t matter much, right? Thinking that, I reached out to button up the remaining part of the Crown Prince’s uniform.

That’s when the Crown Prince slowly opened his eyes. And his sleepy, golden eyes met in the air with mine.