IDED | Chapter 123

Episode 123

“You’ve absorbed it before? Does that mean the Duke tried to curse you as well?”

Azaid, startled, grabbed Serena’s shoulders. He had already been worried about her getting involved in something so dangerous, and now his heart pounded even harder.

Having witnessed Sebastian’s death firsthand, he was especially sensitive to anything related to curses. Serena, surprised by his reaction, blinked up at him and noticed the veins protruding on the back of his hand.

If she confirmed his suspicion, he looked ready to charge straight to the Duke without a second thought. Quickly, she grasped his hand and pulled it down, trying to calm him.

“No. It wasn’t me. I think I absorbed the curse that was originally placed on His Majesty.”

“What?”

“You remember when I said I unknowingly used magic before? Because of that, I must have unintentionally absorbed the curse the Duke had cast on His Majesty.”

“Oh… That’s a relief.”

“How is that a relief? His Majesty was nearly in danger!”

Serena scowled at him, displeased, and Azaid awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

If he admitted that he’d rather be in danger himself than see her at risk, she’d only scold him. So instead, he subtly averted his gaze and changed the subject.

“Then we need to trace back the people I’ve been in contact with. There might still be a Duke’s spy in the royal palace.”

“It could have been someone supporting Sebastian from the shadows. The fact that they were caught trying to do something with the perfume is also suspicious.”

“Do you have anyone specific in mind?”

“Not really. Too many people come to mind. Most of the palace’s medical staff were under Sebastian’s influence, after all.”

“Should we just replace them all at once? What does the palace chief physician think?”

“Are you planning to make it blatantly obvious that we’re on guard? We should use that against them and make them lower their defenses instead.”

How could someone so knowledgeable say something so naive?

Serena widened her eyes and shot back at him. Azaid chuckled aloud, finding her dedication to unraveling the case both admirable and endearing.

Overcome by affection, he cupped her cheeks and showered her with kisses. Serina flailed in protest.

“Ugh! What are you doing?!”

“As expected, my Rena is brilliant.”

Azaid grinned, still holding her cheeks. His blue eyes shone with clear adoration, making her feel unexpectedly flustered. Serena averted her gaze, grumbling.

“Then doesn’t that make you a fool? How could you entrust your life to someone like that as the palace’s chief physician?”

Recalling all the corruption Sebastian had been involved in, Serena frowned, clearly itching to give him a piece of her mind.

Azaid, however, only reacted playfully, as if even her scolding was charming.

“You’re right. I’ve basically been entrusting my life to a tiger. If it weren’t for you, I might have died long ago.”

Then, he kissed her cheek again. Serena let out a deep sigh.

‘You actually did die twice because you let your guard down.’

Not that she could say that out loud!

Serena shot him a sharp glance.

Remembering the times she had failed to protect him in her past life only strengthened her resolve—she needed to take down the Duke as soon as possible.

Azaid simply thought she was diligent and hardworking, but in truth, it was because she was terrified for his safety.

After all, Azaid had died in countless ways in her past life. This time, she would protect him no matter what.

What concerned her most was that mysterious potion the Duke had supposedly created. Something told her that it had been the very thing that led to Azaid’s early death before.

“You’re making that serious face again.”

Azeid pressed his thumb against the furrow between her brows and spoke.

“You don’t have to worry so much. Once we rescue Nocturne, I’ll make sure the Duke pays for everything he’s done.”

“…Even so…”

Serena still couldn’t shake her worries. Azaid nudged Colin’s foot lightly and confidently declared,

“Jack is an expert at making people talk. Now that the spell is gone, Colin won’t be able to keep his mouth shut. He’ll be thrilled about that.”

Hearing this, Colin shuddered. With the curse lifted, he had no excuse to remain silent.

‘Has anyone ever spoken about torture so proudly before?’

Serena let out a quiet chuckle at Azaid’s oddly boastful tone.

But truthfully, she had to admit—if anyone could make Colin talk, it would be Jack. With his bold personality, he wouldn’t rely on mere verbal threats.

“Let’s head upstairs. There’s nothing left for us here.”

Azaid took Serena’s hand and led her toward the stairs. She followed along easily and asked,

“When will we be able to get our hands on that research lab’s potion?”

“They’re planning to obtain it this weekend. You had something you wanted to check, right?”

“Yes. Please make sure to show it to me as soon as you get it.”

Serena’s insistence made Azaid nod firmly.

The reason Serena was so fixated on the lab’s potion was because of Nocturne’s condition.

The abnormal reaction in Nocturne’s mana core was eerily similar to Azaid’s symptoms from before, making her deeply uneasy.

Back then, she hadn’t thought much of it since the symptoms weren’t an exact match. But recent research findings had sent chills down her spine.

There was a chance that the potion was directly connected to Azaid’s premature death in her past life.

And she suspected that the potion, the mana supplements sold by Yungsa, and Sebastian’s perfume were all linked in some way.

Her reasoning stemmed from a particular experiment.

The perfume and mana supplement were both colorless and transparent. At first glance, they seemed unrelated to the red and blue potions Nocturne had mentioned.

But Serena wasn’t just anyone. She was a prodigy in herbal medicine and an exceptional physician.

So, she decided to conduct an unusual experiment—mixing the mysterious perfume with the mana supplement.

And the result aligned perfectly with her intuition.

Once combined, the perfume and mana supplement were no longer colorless.

Instead, they took on a distinct hue—one that immediately reminded her of the red and blue potions.

‘It turned purple.’

Everyone knew that mixing red and blue resulted in purple.

If she hadn’t physically tested it, she might never have considered the possibility.

This led Serena to form a new hypothesis—perhaps the red and blue potions were simply altered versions of the same formula, disguising poison as medicine.

And perhaps Sebastian had been secretly administering it to Azaid all along.

After all, the difference between poison and medicine often came down to the dosage.

It was entirely possible that they had manipulated the ratios to turn something deadly into something seemingly beneficial.

‘This could be a premeditated crime.’

Intentionally masking the colors and distributing them separately as a harmless perfume and mana supplement indicated clear malicious intent.

If the potion they obtained had the same composition as the perfume and mana supplement, then Serena’s hypothesis would be confirmed.

Upon exiting the underground prison, they found Leonard and Jack waiting at a table. Jack stood up and asked,

“How did it go?”

“I broke the spell. He should start talking soon. You can interrogate him however you want.”

“Ahh, finally, I can show off my skills. I was getting so frustrated waiting for this moment.”

Jack stretched his fingers and grinned widely. He looked eager to begin, and Serena couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.

“I’m counting on you, Jack. Go all out.”

Encouraged by her words, Jack clenched his fist and headed down to the underground prison.

Watching him with mild exasperation, Leonard spoke up.

“If Serena can absorb magic, we need to hurry and rescue Nocturne. Before the Duke does something irreversible.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

Azaid placed Nocturne’s note on the table, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Serena, do you remember the mark that was here before?”

“Yes. Around this spot, there was a doodle of Pie’s face… Huh?”

Serena blinked at the now blank note. Then, after a moment, she realized what had happened and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I did that.”

“You said you could restore it, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Serena quickly touched the corner of the blank note. As soon as she did, a violet light shimmered, and the drawing of Pie’s face reappeared on the paper.

“There, it’s— Huh?”

Just as she was about to return the note to Azaid, something unexpected happened.

A tiny cat paw suddenly popped out from the drawing, tapping Serena. Startled by the unexpected warmth, she let go of the note in surprise.

“Oh my—!”

Meow.

A cat’s cry came from somewhere. And before long, a familiar cat hopped out of the drawing, landing gracefully on the floor.

Jingle, jingle—.

The golden bell around the cat’s neck rang with a crisp sound.

“Wha—?!”

Leonard jumped up from his seat in shock. Serena stared blankly at the cat.

A cat had just jumped out of a drawing. And not just any cat—it was one she knew.

“Pie?”

Serena hesitantly called out. Pie flicked its tail and leaped straight into her arms.

So it really was you!

Holding Pie in a daze, Serena turned to look at Azaid.