Dead-End Villainess Who Makes Medicine

“Your Highness, here is the report I mentioned last time.”

 

Pailson placed a thick folder in front of Julion.

However, Julion remained motionless, with a pen still gripped in one hand.

 

“Your Highness?”

 

Pailson inclined his head slightly and called out to him again, but he remained silent.

His gaze, angled downward, was so vague that it was unclear whether he was looking at the documents or into the void.

For some reason, even his usually tightly closed lips were slightly parted.

He looked almost possessed, his mind entirely elsewhere.

Pailson’s eyebrows rose, and wrinkles formed on his brow.

 

“Your Highness, what on earth is the matter this time?”

 

Still no answer.

This silence could only be described as ominous.

Pailson sighed softly, then spoke slowly.

 

“Her Highness is about—”

 

Before he could finish his sentence, merely mentioning ‘Her Highness’ caused Julion’s shoulders to tremble slightly.

In an instant, life returned to his vacant gaze, and he met Pailson’s eyes.

 

“Is there something wrong with Rohiriel?”

 

Julion abruptly stood up, as if about to spring into action right away.

In his haste, he knocked over the desk, causing the documents Pailson had meticulously prepared to be crumpled mercilessly.

He frowned as he looked back and forth between Julion and the papers.

 

“I’m sure Her Highness will be pleased to know you’re idling like this. Yes?”

“Is that so? I see. I’m glad to hear Rohiriel likes it.”

“Oh my goodness.”

 

It was clearly a sarcastic remark.

However, Julion burst into laughter, as if he had understood it perfectly.

He patted Pailson’s shoulder again and flashed a pleased smile.

Pailson’s expression only soured further in this incomprehensible situation.

 

“I think perhaps… taking a little break might be good.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Pailson. Take a break yourself. Then I’ll excuse myself for a bit.”

 

Why on earth was he talking about “excusing himself” in his own office, in front of his own adjutant? This wasn’t some noble gathering or party.

Julion bid Pailson farewell with a friendly smile and picked up his coat. The way he hummed a tune was decidedly odd, if not out of place.

Before sighing and leaving the room, Pailson watched Julion briefly.

 

“Oh, you’re leaving already?”

 

Freck asked with a puzzled expression outside the door.

Usually, Pailson would be buried in his office for hours, deeply engrossed in his work.

After a quick glance at the closed office door, Pailson whispered quietly to Freck.

 

“His Highness seems rather strange. Is something the matter?”

“By strange, you mean what…….”

“It’s hard to explain… It’s like, his mind seems somewhere else entirely, and…”

 

Pailson’s eyes darkened with genuine concern.

He confirmed once more that the door was closed, then spoke in an even lower voice.

 

“And fundamentally… he’s laughing at a moment where he should be angry.”

 

The coronation is just around the corner, and yet the main protagonist is in such a strange state.

Pailson was perplexed about what to do.

However, despite Pailson’s serious concerns, Freck seemed to feel no particular sense of urgency.

In fact, after hearing the whole story, Freck even cracked a slight smile.

 

“Don’t worry, Sir Pailson. His highness is perfectly normal.”

“No, sir, you haven’t seen His Highness’s current state. It’s really odd.”

“Haven’t seen it? I’ve been watching him giggle non-stop since last night.”

“What do you mean? Since last night?”

 

Freck seemed to know something.

He leaned in to whisper to the puzzled Pailson. That is, until the door to the office opened.

 

“Freck, let’s go for a walk.”

 

Julion confidently stepped out of the office.

He quickly turned around, ignoring Pailson completely, but Freck hurriedly followed and shouted.

 

“Your Highness, you’ve got your coat on inside out!”

 

Left alone in front of the office, Pailson was deeply troubled.

He wondered if the next Emperor of Sertizan was truly losing his mind—a concern he could never share with anyone.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

“Your Highness, this seems rather…”

 

Hemion swallowed hard as she looked at the vials in front of her.

Purple smoke billowed inside the test tubes.

As soon as she noticed the smoke intensifying, she picked up one of the test tubes.

 

“Yeah, that seems about right.”

 

It contained the powdered medicine that Chersoniet had been carrying.

At first, we thought it was poison and conducted various tests for toxic reactions.

However, nothing was detected, so we conducted a detailed examination and found out it’s a sensory enhancer.

 

“It amplifies sensations.”

 

For one to two hours, it makes everything that touches the body feel extremely intense.

In addition, this drug appeared to include some emotional amplification.

 

“Why would the princess of Razia have something like this?”

 

Hemion shook her head and tapped the vial that still contained the powder.

 

“Be careful. You don’t want the lid to come off.”

“Oh, yeah!”

 

In fact, I had just recently discovered that this substance works by dispersing into the air.

I proceeded with the examination with Hemion alone, and neither of us had any abnormal reactions.

 

‘Julion seemed perfectly fine yesterday, too.’

 

I wasn’t without suspicion.

There are some herbal candies that we’ve made as snacks, designed to help detoxify the body, calm the nerves, and provide nutrition for the palace staff.

I, Hemion, Zenid, and the rest of the palace people eat it at least three or four times a day.

And I gave Julion a box of them to take whenever he felt tired.

 

“Whoever made it, it’s poor medicine.”

 

To think that a simple nutritional candy could have prevented this.

There was no reaction, even in the poison tests.

 

“Anyway, good work, Hemion.”

“Oh, it was nothing! I enjoyed… I mean, it was great to be able to work with you!”

 

Hemion seemed to perceive working with me as playing.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, and I stood up from my seat.

 

“Well, you go ahead and clean up. I’ll go see Julion.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

 

I headed out of the palace, leaving behind the cheerful Hemion.

The sun was still high in the sky.

I asked Zenid, who was quietly following behind me.

 

“Is Julion in his office right now?”

“Yes, I believe he doesn’t have any outside appointments.”

 

The wind mixed with the fragrant scent of flowers.

Before I knew it, we were passing by the garden.

 

‘…Ah.’

 

For a moment, yesterday’s events flashed through my mind.

Julion and I in the garden under the moonlight…….

 

“Your Highness?”

 

Apparently, I had stopped walking without realizing it, so Zenid called out to me curiously.

I suddenly felt my whole body getting warm and took a deep breath.

I could vividly sense the blood rushing through my veins.

 

“Oh, no. It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

 

With my temperature rising, I fanned myself and resumed walking.

Just thinking about yesterday’s events triggered strange physical reactions in my body, which I had carefully pushed aside.

If I saw Julion’s face, those memories would surely resurface even more vividly—it was troublesome.

 

“Your Highness, are you feeling hot?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. It’s a bit warm. I guess the weather’s warming up. Zenid, are you feeling hot too? I wonder why the wind feels so warm.”

 

It was true. The blowing wind indeed felt warm to the touch.

Carrying the scent of flowers, it felt even more like spring.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew again, ruffling my hair.

 

“Look at this; the wind is hot… Ah-choo!”

 

There was a moment of silence.

Zenid stared at me, then gently adjusted the shawl I had been wearing.

 

“Yes, it does feel quite hot.”

 

I couldn’t bring myself to look at Zenid’s face and turned my gaze in the opposite direction.

And then our eyes locked.

Those golden eyes, looking back at me.

 

“…Julion?”

 

Julion was approaching from the opposite direction.

He, too, seemed surprised to see me, his eyes widening.

 

“Rohiriel, are you taking a walk in this cold weather?”

“No, not a walk, but…”

 

Julion, who had subtly approached me, took my hand with a concerned look in his eyes.

It was a natural gesture, as fluid as water flowing, but my attention was completely fixated on his hand.

 

‘You always hold my hand.’

 

I don’t know why it feels unusually warm today.

I gently withdrew my hand that he held and glanced at Julion.

 

“I was on my way to see Julion.”

“Oh? …Ah.”

 

Julion’s expression changed vividly.

At first, he seemed slightly happy, smiling shyly, but when he saw the bandage on my hand, his face stiffened.

Knowing exactly what he was thinking made me chuckle involuntarily.

 

“The test results are in, I see.”

“Yes. As expected, it’s not particularly good.”

“Is it poison?”

 

His voice was low and cold.

I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.

 

“I wouldn’t call it poison. To be precise, it’s a sensory amplifier that makes even the slightest touch feel sensitive.”

“Sensory amplifier… But I had absolutely no issues yesterday.”

“That’s why, Julion. Are you still eating those candies I gave you last time?”

“Of course. I’ve been having three every day, consistently. They were almost running out, and I was hoping to get more… Is there a connection?”

 

As expected, it was just as I anticipated.

I nodded and answered.

 

“Thanks to that, neither you nor I seemed affected. Princess Chersoniet must have been through a lot.”

“…Ah, I see.”

 

Julion’s hand skillfully drew lines on the parchment.

Following that, his low, pleasant laughter reached my ears.

 

“In the end, it’s thanks to you again this time.”

 

Julion’s soft voice whispered in my ear.

Before I knew it, my hand was once again in Julion’s hands.

As I saw his golden eyes staring down at me, I felt my body heat up again.

I gently pushed Julion away and turned my gaze towards the distant mountains.

 

“S-so, what should we do now? Should we formally file a complaint to Razia?”

“Rohiriel.”

“I have no intention of getting involved politically, but still, since they attempted to use a drug on you, we can’t just overlook it lightly. This is clearly an international issue.”

“Of course, but before that…”

 

Despite pushing Julion away, his voice inexplicably became closer.

I swallowed nervously and glanced up at Julion.

His golden eyes were fixed solely on me.

 

“I think you have something to tell me.”

𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊