Today, the side effects I’ve been dreading finally happened. I felt dizzy; my senses were fading, and I felt like I was going to throw up.
I desperately tried to go to the bathroom, but I couldn’t even stand up because my sense of balance was gone.
“……kuck.”
I ended up, once again, vomiting blood onto the floor. Hemion was deeply concerned, but surprisingly, after vomiting, I felt much lighter.
‘Is it really so refreshing?’
I felt good because it seemed like I was steadily getting better. If things continued like this, I thought I could be completely cured within a month or two.
‘It felt suspiciously comfortable. Canceling all my morning appointments was a good decision.’
If I hadn’t, I might have coughed up blood while working outside, causing another misunderstanding.
Just when I thought it was going to be a quiet day, Julion showed up.
“It’s me, Rohiriel.”
Since I hadn’t completely cleaned up the bloodstains, I hastily tidied up with Hemion.
Then I slipped into bed, covering myself as if nothing had happened. I thought I’d done a good job of hiding it, but when Julion walked in, he looked worried.
“Do you have a fever?”
He put his hand on my forehead, checking for a fever and secretly trying to keep me out of the office.
‘Lately, he seems increasingly sensitive to my health.’
Of course, I understand that he is worried as he keeps seeing me unwell, but I felt perplexed about what to do when I’m actually fine.
While I was thinking about it, Ares, who had gone to take Yeffa to Liliana’s estate, returned.
“Ares Wolfgang reporting back after completing the mission!”
Thanks to that, I could shift the conversation.
With gratitude, I smiled widely and said,
“Sir Ares, thank you for your hard work.”
“Oh, it was nothing. By the way, what Your Highness mentioned is true. It’s truly amazing…”
“Did you leave traces?”
“Of course. I tried to hide them, but I was not skilled enough to hide everything! I left perfect traces.”
While listening to Ares’s detailed report, Julion continued to wear an uncomfortable expression, like someone chewing on bitter thoughts.
In the end, I decided to bring up something that might pique his interest.
“Oh, Julion, I have something for you.”
I discreetly left the bed and went to the desk.
Ignoring Julion’s disapproving gaze, I opened a drawer, took out a stack of documents, and handed them to him.
‘I was going to give it to him anyway.’
After quickly checking the contents, I handed it to Julion. He didn’t take it and asked with a puzzled look,
“What is this?”
“It’s information about Liliana.”
“What’s this for?”
The first piece of information I gave Julion when we first met was mostly about Roxis.
Now that Julion seemed to trust me to some extent and the time to confront Liliana was approaching, giving him this information seemed appropriate.
“Why? You need it. We agreed on that.”
“But there’s still time left, isn’t there?”
He was referring to the fact that I was originally supposed to give the rest of the information to him once our contract was up. But that was then, and things are a little different now.
‘Getting prepared early is better.’
Looking at the situation, it was clear that Liliana and Roxis would soon clash. If he waited until then to gather information, it would be too late.
“Time is not something to waste. Every day is precious.”
I have been researching rare plants, creating the Emperor’s medicine, fulfilling my duties as the crown princess, and, on top of that, meticulously preparing each strand of Cassian’s leash.
I was so busy preparing thoroughly to handle any unforeseen events that even sleeping felt like a luxury.
But Julion frowned, his eyebrows drawn together as if he didn’t like my answer.
“You still have plenty of time ahead. I assure you.”
His last words were a little off. I cocked my head and said,
“What are you talking about? There’s really not much time left. We never know what might happen next.”
“Rohiriel, you are so…”
“Come on, take it; my arm is going to fall off.”
Even though it was agreed in our contract that I would provide the information later, I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way when I wanted to give it first.
I shook the documents at Julion, and eventually he reluctantly took them with a heavily creased face.
“Alright, for now.”
“For now? What does that mean? Anyway, remember the contents well. Things might get busy soon.”
Without saying anything, Julion tightly sealed his lips. Looking down, Julion’s eyes were restlessly moving.
‘Why is he like that?’
Lately, Julion often spoke in ways that were hard to understand.
While contemplating whether to ask him more about why he was behaving that way, Ares suddenly spoke up in a powerful voice.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I will protect the princess with all my might!”
As I turned around, I noticed that Ares, too, was looking at me with a serious expression—worry filled his crimson eyes and his eyebrows were furrowed.
As my curiosity deepened, Julion, who seemingly had no intention of resolving it, sighed softly and turned away.
“I will be going, then, and I hope you will please…… take care of your own body first.”
With a slam, the door closed, and Julion disappeared completely from view. Looking at the spot where he had just been standing, I muttered in frustration,
“I’m taking good care of myself…”
That’s why I was putting much more effort into making apherium medicine than anything else. Of course, I had to admit that the healing process may cause some misunderstanding.
‘Once I’m all better, my symptoms will disappear.’
Even if he didn’t want to believe I wasn’t sick, he would have to accept it when everything was fully fine.
Until now, I hadn’t taken Julion’s misunderstandings too seriously, thinking the issue would naturally resolve itself soon.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Upon his arrival at his office, Julion was greeted by Pailson, who was clutching a stack of papers.
“Your Highness, why are you only coming now?”
“I wasn’t just idling around.”
“Never mind. Anyway, there’s an urgent matter you must resolve today.”
Julion sighed as he received the report handed over by Pailson.
“I see it has something to do with the Palace Infirmary.”
“Yes, that’s why I’ve also summoned the assistant chief physician and Dr. Barmid.”
Right after Pailson finished speaking, they heard a knock, and the two palace physicians entered.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“You look as dignified as usual today, Your Highness.”
The assistant chief physician added unnecessary words, creating an additional wrinkle on Julion’s forehead. Seeing Julion’s hardened expression, the assistant chief physician awkwardly lowered his gaze.
Julion skimmed through the report and asked,
“Are they requesting to send more physicians to the Mormic territory?”
“Yes, Your Highness. The two physicians who were sent earlier were suffering from some sort of illness and were unable to perform their duties properly.”
“……That’s troubling. Could it be some kind of epidemic?”
“It seems so. Being at the southernmost point, the environment is unfamiliar to those who only lived in the capital.”
Normally, the chief physician would handle matters like sending physicians, so Julion thought that he should reconsider appointing a new chief physician.
“How many physicians do we have left?”
“Nine in total, Your Highness.”
“Do you have any recommendations for replacements?”
“Yes, about that…”
The discussion continued for a while.
Julion, who wasn’t familiar with the palace’s medical affairs, found it difficult to make decisions without listening closely to the details.
“……Good. I’ll send those two, then, along with a few knights from the south.”
Julion picked up his pen and quickly filled out the knights’ appointments.
After a rough conclusion, the two physicians left the office, and Pailson handed over another set of documents.
“Now, the second agenda. This is…”
Thus, two hours passed just looking at the documents.
Finally, Pailson left the office with the documents he had processed.
“Sigh…”
Julion stretched, rubbing his tired eyes.
He wanted to move.
As he stood up, he glanced at the documents about Liliana that he had set aside.
[Time is not something to waste. Every day is precious.]
At the same time, he remembered the smirk on Rohiriel’s face as she handed it to him.
Despite likely being tired, she tried not to show it, drawing a smile on her lips to reassure him.
Everything vividly played in Julion’s mind.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Just thinking about Rohiriel made him angry. Simultaneously, a heavy feeling engulfed him, making it impossible to stay still. Julion suppressed the emotions boiling up again and unfolded the documents.
These were the papers that Rohiriel had requested that he read.
It contained various pieces of information about Liliana.
Hobbies and preferences, estimated amount of wealth, the size of held influence, commonly used hiding places, and financial repositories…
As Julion smoothly read through the documents, his golden eyes suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
‘This is…!’
