“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“There shouldn’t be any reason for you to not understand.”
Julion interrupted me and immediately took control again.
His gaze was so intense that I lowered my eyes.
“I don’t know. We should solve this problem first…”
“Hmmm. Is that so?”
I tried to pull my hand out of Julion’s grip, but he held it tighter.
Without warning, Julion bowed his head and pressed his lips against the back of my hand.
It was not a light, polite kiss.
It was a deep, lingering kiss, as if he was leaving a mark.
And then the events of last night began to take over my mind, disorienting me.
I froze in surprise, holding my breath.
Only then did Julion lift his head as if he were satisfied.
“Alright. Let’s move on for now.”
Julion, who seemed like a villain moments ago, now looks like a composed prince again.
However, the sparkle in his golden eyes burned even more intensely.
With a mischievous smile, Julion took my hand and started walking.
“Shall we go and solve Razia’s problem as you suggested?”
After stirring up the depths of my heart, he appeared carefree.
I had many things I wanted to say, but I felt that if I said more, I would just get caught up in Julion’s pace.
‘Was he always this cunning?’
I always thought he was more sharp, incisive, and blunt, yet he also possessed a certain tenderness. But this feels like I’ve been deceived somehow.
I answered a bit gruffly.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you think we should do?”
“Why are you asking me? It’s your decision to make.”
“You said we shouldn’t just let it slide. That’s why I’m asking for your opinion.”
“Well, that’s…”
As we walked, our joined hands brushed against my clothes.
I glanced briefly towards Julion, and our eyes met immediately. I hurriedly looked ahead and focused on walking.
Then I heard a soft chuckle coming from beside me.
“I see my wife is more shy than I thought.”
It was a pleasant voice.
It reminded me of a wolf lying down in a field to bask in the midday sun.
I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t find the right words. It didn’t seem entirely wrong.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The sound of high-heeled shoes clicking on the antique wooden furniture and white marble tiles echoed through the room for some time. Back and forth, from one end to the other.
The anxious footsteps prompted the man in the suit, seated at the table’s edge, to speak up.
“Cherry, why don’t you just sit still and think about it? If you keep pacing around, you’ll end up forgetting the plan you had…”
However, Shutkatan couldn’t finish his sentence.
Chersoniet, who had stopped walking, glared back at him with her sharp eyes.
Shutkatan lowered his head, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“I, I’m sorry. I was just worried.”
“Worried, you say, now?”
“Don’t react so sharply, Cherry. There’s got to be a way.”
Feeling that Shutkatan hadn’t fully grasped the situation, Chersoniet felt frustrated.
She bit her lower lip and sighed briefly.
“You’re the one who concocted that medicine; why are you so nonchalant about it?”
“I mixed and made the concoction myself, using various herbs. There’s no way the components could be revealed so easily, is there?”
“But it will be uncovered eventually!”
Of course, she didn’t think it would be revealed so quickly.
Chersoniet knew Shutkatan’s abilities well.
His potion-making skills were outstanding in Razia, so it would surely take time to definitively identify the medicine’s ingredients.
But the real problem lay beyond that.
Once it was revealed, there would undoubtedly be questions, and it was only a matter of time before it reached the bustling city of Razia.
‘This was something ordered by our Father, but he’ll surely discard me if it comes to light.’
The king of Razia was a father who would instead abandon his daughter than harm his country.
Whether to kill her or punish her, he would do as he pleased.
Chersoniet clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to calm her anxious heart.
‘Should I just run away? If I flee before the medicine’s ingredients are revealed…’
Chersoniet shook her head, having considered various thoughts.
She was a princess.
Though Razia wasn’t a large kingdom, she had lived her life enjoying the most precious privileges as a princess of the kingdom.
There was no way she could live as a fugitive.
The sound of her footsteps echoed loudly across the marble floor once more.
She took a few steps, sighed, then took a few more steps and vented curses towards Shutkatan.
“Shutkatan, you incompetent and useless…!”
“I did my best, too, Cherry. Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Your best? You can’t even hold a princess for a moment. Is that your best?”
“We can’t forcibly hold her. She is, after all, the Crown Princess of the Empire.”
Chersoniet wanted to scream that he should have done better, but she bit her tongue.
It was a ridiculous suggestion, even to her own ears.
She remembered last night’s sudden lovers’ quarrel in front of her.
They had been married for nearly a year, and yet the Crown Prince was acting as if he were confessing his feelings for the first time.
‘It’s unbelievable, really.’
How could he focus so intently on another woman in her presence?
Despite the crisis over the medicine, Chersoniet’s pride had crumbled completely.
She could only think that no matter how much she tried to seduce him, it was all for naught.
“How annoying.”
The sound of her nails biting into her lip joined the clicking of her footsteps.
Shutkatan sighed deeply and cautiously added more words.
“Cherry, it’s not completely hopeless. You told them it was your medicine. If we say you have to take that medicine for your illness, wouldn’t that work?”
It wasn’t an idea she hadn’t considered.
There were many risks, but was this really the best way?
If they could just cover it up with a minor incident stemming from a misunderstanding between the Crown Prince and Princess…
If this works, maybe…
‘Maybe I could even demand compensation from Sertizan.’
Thud. Chersoniet’s footsteps halted.
She no longer looked distressed.
Her red lips trembled slightly, forming a smile.
“Alright, I’ll say I feel unwell because I couldn’t take my medicine. We need to send someone immediately…”
Having finished her plan, Chersoniet was about to lie down on the bed and summon someone.
As if they were listening, a knock at the door and a maid’s voice were heard.
“Princess, Her Highness the Crown Princess is here.”
Chersoniet hardened as she tried to lie down, locking eyes with Shutkatan.
Shutkatan seemed equally flustered, hesitating to rise from his seat before finally standing up again.
Chersoniet gestured with her eyes for Shutkatan to compose himself and said,
“Tell her… to come in.”
The door clicked open, and a fair-skinned woman walked in slowly.
Was it because she wore a deep blue dress, or was it the downturned expression of Rohiriel?
She looked colder than Chersoniet had ever seen.
Chersoniet swallowed nervously and slowly rose to her feet.
“I greet Your Highness. Please forgive me for greeting you from my bed due to my poor health.”
“It’s an honor to see you again, Miss Rohiriel.”
“I see the prince is with you, too.”
After Shutkatan’s greeting, a weak cough followed.
Chersoniet breathed heavily, clutching her chest as if she were truly ill.
Watching her silently, Rohiriel approached Chersoniet’s bedside with a smile.
“Oh dear, Princess. You don’t look too well.”
“Yes, it’s because I couldn’t take my medicine.”
“Can you tell me specifically what’s wrong, so I can make you some new medicine?”
“No, just returning my medicine will solve the problem…”
“Ah, that pink powder medicine.”
Rohiriel smiled knowingly, lightly touching her chin as if pondering.
“Are you suffering from a sensory impairment?”
“…Pardon?”
“That medicine was a sensory enhancer. It doesn’t contain any poison, so I won’t press further. But I do wonder why you had a sensory enhancer with you.”
“That’s…”
Chersoniet glanced briefly at Shutkatan, standing in the corner.
He had boasted that it would take time to identify the drug’s components, but now he was visibly flustered, avoiding her gaze.
Realizing she couldn’t evade this, Chersoniet finally responded to Rohiriel, matching Rohiriel’s statements.
“Y-yes. I do suffer from sensory impairment. That’s why I really need that medicine.”
“I see, so that was the case. Alright then, I’ll return the medicine to you.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Of course. Zenid, you brought the medicine, didn’t you? Give it back to her.”
Following Rohiriel’s order, Zenid quietly retrieved the medicine bottle from her pouch.
Seeing the vial on the table, Chersoniet’s complexion visibly brightened.
However, she soon coughed and touched her head as if feeling dizzy.
“Oh… Not taking the medicine for a day has really made me feel worse. How could you even suspect me? This is really… It feels like you’re disregarding the Kingdom of Razia.”
She needed to extract more.
Chersoniet fluttered her eyelashes as if in pain, looking at Rohiriel.
The Crown Princess still had a serene smile on her face.
“I see.”
The blue eyes that met hers seemed to be rippling like waves.
Chersoniet felt a chill run down her spine, as if something enormous was about to descend upon her.
‘What kind of gaze is this…?’
Menacing?
Violent?
No, it couldn’t be described with such simple words.
It was like witnessing an inevitable natural disaster.
In the overpowering atmosphere, Chersoniet clenched her trembling hand tightly.
She couldn’t back down. She needed to receive some form of compensation, no matter how small.
But she couldn’t find the words to say.
As she struggled to speak, Rohiriel’s voice reached her ears.
“Alright. I’ll talk to Julion and make sure the compensation is satisfactory.”
Chersoniet doubted her own ears.
Could it really be this easy?
Why is everything going so smoothly?
