IBMOT Chapter 58

Chapter 58

 

Meanwhile, having returned to her bedroom to avoid the attendants, Princess Anna was breathless and had to pant for a while to catch her breath.

She found it irritating that her breathing had become so ragged from merely walking a little faster. To calm her frustration, she thought she needed to feel some cool air.

As she opened the window and let the refreshing breeze in, something suddenly struck her.

“Ah…!”

Frustration? 

How long had it been since she last felt an emotion like that? 

Until now, she had expressed neither likes nor dislikes, her mind clouded and dulled.

No, she hadn’t even been able to feel emotions. In other words, not just her body—but even her spirit—had been so suppressed that it couldn’t register proper emotions.

But just now, she had distinctly felt a sharp annoyance, and even anxiety. Her eyes widened as she looked around her bedroom.

She occasionally wore perfume, so the mental haze hadn’t been caused by the toxins in the fragrance. In that case, something in this room must have changed.

Something that had jolted her out of her daze in an instant…

She began to search the room thoroughly, as if trying to uncover a hidden clue.

“They’re gone… they’re all gone…?”

Princess Anna, who had loved scents since childhood, always kept dried incense sticks at her bedside. She sometimes lit them, using them like the scented candles popular across the sea.

For that reason, she had arranged for a particular merchant group to deliver the products exclusively for years. But now, even the unused incense sticks, along with the ones by her bedside, had completely vanished.

A chill ran down her spine. Did this mean that what happened yesterday wasn’t the beginning?

Maybe… someone had been secretly working toward her death for a long time.

Feeling as though the ground beneath her feet had vanished, Anna slumped down onto the bed. She didn’t know how to interpret this situation—or how to resolve it.

Slap!

She gave her cheek a quick smack to collect herself.

For now, she decided to keep her newfound awareness hidden. Perhaps the incense had been removed as a precaution, to avoid drawing suspicion.

Even if it was mostly out of fear of exposure, Anna didn’t plan to make a scene just yet. If this was truly someone’s malicious scheme, then she would need to quietly lay a trap they couldn’t escape from.

She smoothed out the frown from her brow and put on a vacant expression. Then she shut the windows and drew the curtains. Just like that, she returned to being the quiet, listless princess.

 

***

 

Erina boarded the carriage with the triplets. Dylan and Mitzu followed behind them.

“You’re coming too, Mitzu?”

“What, am I not allowed?”

“No, it’s fine…”

Considering that Mitzu had been the culprit behind the pudding fiasco that morning, it was hard for Erina to look at him kindly.

Still, she maintained a calm expression and shook her head.

In any case, she’d managed to save the puddings meant for the princess, and that was good enough.

Last night, Dylan had confirmed through Hael and Mitzu that there had been some sort of secret deal between the emperor and Darien. They hadn’t been able to find concrete evidence, nor did they know exactly what new scheme might be brewing.

Today’s visit to the palace was also part of the investigation, to uncover both the evidence and the plot.

It felt like a mystery game where the culprit was already known but the details still needed unraveling.

Even so, he didn’t want the conclusion to be too anticlimactic. He’d gather the pieces slowly and build the perfect picture.

As the distant palace came into view, Dylan’s blue eyes gleamed.

Erina, completely unaware of Dylan and Mitzu’s intense inner thoughts, passed the time in the carriage singing with the children.

Lately, the triplets had been obsessed with a musical book that played songs when opened. It was another purchase from Meian Bookstore, and it contained themed songs they could choose and listen to.

Their favorite was ‘A Day in the Life of the Great Hero.’ It was a song modeled after a hero’s adventures, and once they sang it, they were so energized that Erina could barely keep up with them.

After about five rounds of the hero song, the carriage finally arrived at the palace.

Since they were visiting the princess’s private residence, it was separate from the place where the Harrison family had previously held their banquet.

“W-welcome.”

Standing at the entrance were Princess Anna and the attendants who served her, lined up to greet them.

“Hello! Are you feeling any better?”

As soon as Erina stepped down from the carriage and saw the princess, she looked at her with concern.

The princess’s complexion was no different from the day before, and her voice lacked strength.

Erina had heard that the palace also had the jewel herb, so she wondered if the poisoning symptoms had simply been too severe. But the attendants looked too calm for that to be the case, so Erina decided not to say anything more.

“I-I’m fine. T-today, the weather is n-nice, so I prepared tea i-in the central courtyard. I-is that okay…?”

“Oh, yes! Of course!”

Erina glanced up at the sky, which was covered in clouds. Wasn’t this the kind of day people usually called gloomy?

Still, instead of commenting on that, she figured maybe the princess simply considered this good weather by her own standards.

“What?! Anyone can see the weather is totally crappy. What’s so good about this?”

Of course, there was someone who couldn’t just keep those thoughts to himself… it was Mitzu, as everyone expected.

His red eyes darted about as he bluntly said,

“There’s not a single ray of sunlight. Does Her Highness have a head issue or something?”

Everyone, including Erina, stared at Mitzu in shock.

“W-well, when I see sunlight… my s-skin reacts poorly… s-so, I p-prefer days like t-this…”

Despite Mitzu’s rude remark, Princess Anna calmly explained her condition without any hint of offense.

“Oh, really? I see. Got it. Let’s go!”

“Y-yes. The courtyard is t-this way, so p-please, f-follow me…”

And just like that, the situation was resolved. Erina couldn’t help but wonder—could it be that the princess and Mitzu actually got along well?

But it was a question she had no way of answering.

 

***

 

“Is this…the j-jewel herb?”

“Yes! Since you already took it in antidote form, this is probably your first time seeing the actual flower, right? The roots and flowers are used to make it. I prepared everything in advance to make it easier to use. But extracting the antidote properties from it… that part is beyond my ability…”

Erina looked disappointed. If only she could use magic, she would’ve been able to make a complete antidote. But for that, she had to rely on someone from the palace.

Even so, the princess was deeply grateful just to have received the jewel herb directly.

“Well, if it’s extracting the detoxifying compounds, I can do that. Would you like my help?”

Up until now, Dylan had remained silent aside from the greetings. But now, he stepped forward, smiling as he picked up the carefully prepared jewel herb.

Erina looked at Dylan with surprise, then quickly remembered the perfume he had created and nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness. You can trust Dylan with it. I’m sure he’ll extract every last drop of detoxifying essence! Every! Last! Drop!”

As she spoke, Erina mimed pinching her fingers to emphasize the point. The kids next to her copied her gestures and chanted, “Squeeze! Squeeze!” loudly like a song.

The princess gave a quiet, deflating laugh at the sight of the triplets, then turned her head toward Dylan.

“Th-then, D-Duke Harrison… p-please, take care of it.”

“Yes, of course.”

Just as Dylan responded and took hold of the jewel herb…

“Ohh! I gotta go take care of some business! Your Highness! Where’s the bathroom?!”

“Huh…?”

“This way! I’ll guide you!”

Mitzu shouted loudly, clutching his stomach. While everyone’s attention was drawn to him, Dylan began extracting the detoxifying properties from the jewel herb—and at the same time, infused it with a part of his energy.

From now on, some of what the princess saw and heard would be transmitted to Dylan.

“Ew! Mitzu is a poop-head!!”

“That’s what you get for being greedy earlier!”

“So gross…!”

The triplets teased Mitzu one after another while Mitzu snorted at them with a huff.

“Whatever, just tell me where it is. You’re not thinking I’m gonna get lost trying to find a bathroom, are you?”

“N-not at all! We’re just worried something might happen if you wander off alone…”

A small scuffle broke out between Mitzu, who wanted to go alone, and the attendants, who insisted on going with him. The one who intervened was Princess Anna.

“I-it’s okay. I-i-it would be un-uncomfortable to have s-someone follow…”

“See? I’m a very independent guy. If someone’s next to me, I can’t… you know, do my thing. Now just tell me where it is already!”

“H-hmph. Then I’ll have to explain it verbally. The closest bathroom is through the west gate of the annex, then down the stairs at the far right, go half a level down, and after two left turns, it’s the third door you see.”

“Jeez, are you serious?”

Mitzu made a face like he was already exhausted and began his long quest to find the royal bathroom.