#91

Cersia pretended not to notice and feigned ignorance.

“Mother?”

Zerakiel lightly tapped her nose and replied,

“Father hasn’t sent any word yet.”

“Oh.”

Cersia belatedly realized Zerakiel’s intention and made an ‘aha’ expression.

In truth, she had also been wondering why Zakari had yet to send any word.

Enough time had passed for news to have reached Jabis Castle, yet there had been no response.

Unless something urgent had happened, the reaction was far too slow.

If she was curious, then Rachel would be even more anxious about Zakari’s whereabouts.

So, if they suggested that Rachel go to Jabis Castle under this pretense, she would gladly take the opportunity.

Cersia nodded obediently.

“Then it makes sense for Mother to go.”

“Right?”

“You’re actually thinking about your parents for once?”

Surprised by Zerakiel’s uncharacteristic consideration, she blinked at him.

He responded,

“It seemed like something you wanted.”

“Huh?”

“You want me to get along with my parents, don’t you?”

“Got me.”

She had thought he hadn’t noticed at all since he always acted so indifferent. As Cersia blinked in surprise, Zerakiel added,

“That’s the only reason. No other meaning.”

Then he playfully ruffled her hair.

Cersia instinctively widened her eyes. At that moment, Zerakiel turned to Ella and asked,

“By the way, I think you left out the most important part.”

“Huh?”

“You haven’t told us who was carrying this yet.”

“That’s…”

“Assassination attempts like this are common in Jabis. The fact that it succeeded means it was an inside job. Am I right?”

Ella nodded immediately at his sharp insight.

“Yes. It was done by a member of a family very close to Jabis.”

“A member of a close family…”

Zerakiel lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

From the moment he received that envelope, he was certain it was the work of an insider.

If it weren’t, approaching his father without suspicion would have been nearly impossible.

There were only a few families with unrestricted access to his father. Among them, only one dealt with medicine.

“Could it be Orban?”

At Zerakiel’s sharp question, Ella swallowed hard. She hadn’t expected him to pinpoint the family’s name so quickly.

After a brief pause, Ella closed her eyes tightly and answered.

“Yes.”

“Are you saying the culprit was a member of the Orban family?”

Cersia, who had been silently listening, was so shocked that she jumped into the conversation.

Orban was the only family that knew about the Flower of Frenzy and one of Jabis’s sworn allies.

It was even more shocking because the Orban family, above all others, understood how ruthlessly Jabis dealt with traitors.

Besides, hadn’t Duke Orban worked tirelessly to cure Zakari’s hereditary illness?

Had it all just been an act?

As doubt naturally began to creep in, Cersia’s voice became more urgent.

“It’s not Duke Orban, is it?”

“It’s not him. But the entire family might be involved—that’s something Jabis will have to uncover later.”

Well, it wasn’t as if Ella could know all the intricate details. At the very least, the person who had possessed the drug wasn’t the Duke himself. That was a small relief—otherwise, it would have been truly horrifying.

Cersia, somewhat reassured, pressed for more information.

“Then who exactly did you get it from?”

“They called him Victor Orban.”

“Victor Orban?”

As soon as Zerakiel heard the familiar name, he let out a low scoff. His expression turned ice-cold, an eerie chill emanating from him.

Victor Orban was the man set to become his personal physician.

And yet, that very man had attempted to drive his father into a frenzy.

Which meant… he himself could have been a target at some point.

An enemy lurking within was a grave matter—one that could never be ignored.

Victor had spent years wandering outside under the pretense of securing an antidote in Duke Orban’s place. In that time, someone had clearly approached him and turned him.

For him to go so far as to commit treason, the offer must have been extremely tempting.

But it was a foolish gamble—one that showed complete ignorance of Jabis’s ruthlessness.

Zerakiel’s gaze grew even colder.

“There’s nothing more precious than one’s life. How foolish.”

He muttered icily, the corners of his lips curling into a twisted smirk. Then, with a sharp crack, he twisted his neck from side to side, exuding an utterly terrifying aura.

It looked as if he was moments away from tearing Victor Orban apart.

The very air felt suffocating, and Ella instinctively turned to Cersia, silently pleading for her to intervene—only to be utterly startled.

Cersia’s expression was just as murderous as Zerakiel’s.

Ella involuntarily took a step back.

“Lady C-Cersia?”

Why was she this angry?

Ella hesitated, unable to find the right moment to interject, as Cersia’s expression twisted even further in fury. Then, with a chilling smile, she clenched her fists tightly.

“So you’re saying that bastard is the root of all this?”

Her reaction was somehow even more extreme than Zerakiel’s. Before anyone could be further shocked by the ominous atmosphere, Cersia exploded.

“That rotten bastard, I swear I’ll—!”

With a huff, she looked as if she was about to storm straight to Jabis Castle that instant.

Fearing the commotion would spread to Hebel, Ella instinctively grabbed hold of Cersia’s waist.

“Please calm down, Lady Cersia!”

But restraining her proved to be far more difficult than expected.

“Let go of me!”

‘Where on earth is all this strength coming from?!’

Ella squeezed her eyes shut and used all her might to hold Cersia back, sweat beading across her body.

She had thought she only needed to calm Zerakiel down—but that was a grave miscalculation.

The one truly rampaging at this moment wasn’t Zerakiel.

It was Cersia.

All Ella could do now was focus all her strength on keeping her from breaking free.

* * *

The moment I heard the culprit’s name from Ella, I couldn’t contain my rage.

Victor Orban was the one who had driven Zakari into a frenzy?!

It was such an unexpected revelation that it left me utterly shocked.

Of all people—Victor Orban?

In the original story, he had been Zerakiel’s personal physician.

Zerakiel had unknowingly kept an enemy by his side, laughing and chatting without a care in the world.

The only silver lining was that in the original, Zerakiel had never allowed anyone too close to him.

After Zakari’s death, he had become completely twisted, rejecting even Orban’s treatments.

I had always thought it was impressive how Victor continuously tried to approach him despite that…

But now, realizing that it was all an effort to push Zerakiel into a frenzy—!

The revelation was infuriating.

Could it be that Victor was also responsible for Zerakiel’s growing madness in the original story?

That thought alone made my blood boil.

“Agh, let go! Are you telling me I’m going through all this hell because of that bastard?!”

When it came to Zerakiel, logic always took a backseat to emotion.

I couldn’t even blame him for being reckless when I was acting the same way.

“P-Please calm down…!”

Ella’s panicked voice rang out as she clung to my waist with all her might.

But I had already lost control.

I clenched my teeth and jabbed a finger at the air furiously.

“Just thinking about what I went through that day—!”

Honestly, I had genuinely thought I might die trying to stop Zakari.

I had barely made it out alive.

And to find out that all of it was Victor’s doing?

If we hadn’t come to Hebel, I might have kept that bastard by my side, never realizing the danger.

The mere thought sent chills down my spine.

It was possible—I could have been taken out without ever knowing what hit me.

At that moment, Taby’s bracelet suddenly shimmered, transmitting a message only I could hear.

—That’s strange.

The unexpected murmur snapped me out of my rage, and I blinked.

Taby continued.

—That kid… Have I met her before?

 

 

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