Chapter 29

“He gave you this?”

“Yes. Every single day.”

Doha deliberately omitted when she had started receiving the pills.

She wanted him to assume she had been taking them for a long time—long enough that her erratic behavior over the past two years could be explained by them.

That everything Bunny had done—all the bizarre, reckless stunts—was because of this drug.

“He said it would help improve my memory. Because I kept forgetting things and making mistakes, he told me if I took these, it would get better… so I kept taking them.”

Mid-sentence, Doha lowered her shoulders, her face clouding with helplessness. Her voice fell into a soft, exhausted murmur.

“But no matter how much I took, it didn’t seem to help. If anything… I feel clearer when I secretly don’t take them…”

“……”

“Can you tell Viscount Liden for me? That I don’t need them anymore?”

For a long moment, Angelus remained frozen, as still as an ice sculpture.

Then, at last, he spoke.

“…There’s no such thing as a drug that improves memory.”

Doha slowly lifted her head.

Angelus’s face—

—was deathly pale, drained of all color, like that of a corpse.

* * *

All of the pills Doha had collected were handed over to the physicians for analysis.

The results revealed that the drug was a hypnotic agent—in simple terms, a substance used for brainwashing.

It was a highly dangerous drug, inherently prone to abuse, and was strictly prohibited under imperial law.

“If someone takes this, they lose the ability to make rational judgments.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.”

“…Pardon?”

“If you knew, then why the hell are you only explaining this after the girl collapsed?”

Salvador stepped forward aggressively, looking ready to grab the physician by the collar.

“Gah—!”

But before he could reach him, Angelus extended an arm, blocking his approach.

“…What happens next?”

With both boys’ piercing gazes locked onto him, the physician could do nothing but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

“If a person repeatedly hears the same words while under the influence of this drug… they will believe them completely or act accordingly.”

“Even if those words go completely against their own thoughts or beliefs?”

“Yes. No matter how irrational the demand, they will obey. And once they regain their senses… they will likely experience overwhelming guilt.”

At that moment, fragmented images of Bunny’s contradictory behavior flashed through Angelus’s mind.

Bunny, stealing Ophelia’s belongings and displaying them openly in her room.

Bunny, begging desperately to be allowed outside the castle.

Bunny, stealing and slaughtering the stable keeper’s rabbits for blood rituals.

Bunny, frequenting the library and quietly reading all night long.

Bunny, drenched in blood, sobbing as she pleaded to have her fate swapped with Ophelia’s.

Bunny, suddenly acting normal when her lessons stopped—only to relapse into erratic behavior as soon as Viscount Liden returned.

Had it been the same person all along?

Then—

“…And?”

Angelus’s deep blue eyes darkened as he slowly blinked.

The physician hesitated, then cautiously asked,

“How long has she been taking this?”

“If the drug isn’t addictive, a month or two of use won’t cause severe long-term effects. But if it’s been years…”

Salvador, who had barely been holding himself together, bared his teeth like a leashed hunting hound.

“Hey. You ever hear about what happens to people who drag out their sentences?”

Panicked, the physician blurted out the rest.

“The original personality and the indoctrinated thoughts begin to conflict, causing the person’s mind to break apart. In extreme cases, it can lead to madness—or even death.”

Both boys’ faces hardened at the same time.

* * *

The situation had spiraled out of control.

And Viscount Liden was nothing if not perceptive.

Sensing that something was wrong, he vanished without a trace.

Hah. Like that’ll do him any good.

Doha highly doubted that Liden would manage to escape unscathed.

She saw no need to concern herself with him and chose to remain a bystander.

But she hadn’t accounted for an unexpected side effect.

Both of Kredel’s young lords had now taken turns shadowing her wherever she went.

Tap, tap, tap—

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

“…What?”

Doha shot Salvador a long, silent stare, and in response, he arched a brow, smirking lazily.

He was tapping his foot incessantly against the marble floor, bouncing his leg like an agitated washing machine.

“If you keep that up, the entire hallway’s going to fly away.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?”

Salvador frowned at the utterly bizarre phrase.

Doha didn’t even look up from her book as she suddenly grabbed his thigh and pressed down hard.

“Stop shaking your leg.”

“……”

“It looks undignified.”

She released him without hesitation.

Salvador gaped at her, momentarily speechless.

“…Did you just lecture me like some grumpy old man?”

Hearing such a stiff, proper remark from someone a whole head shorter than him was beyond absurd.

But Doha had already gone back to reading, as if he no longer existed.

I swear to God, I’m gonna—

Salvador raised a fist, ready to knock her on the head, but stopped himself.

She was too small and scrawny—there was nothing to hit.

Just wait until you grow a little… just a little…

He glowered daggers at the side of her face, his fiery gaze practically stabbing into her.

He never even realized that his leg had stayed perfectly still exactly where she had pressed it down.

“I asked you to stop minding my business.”

“Who wants to mind your business? If some scumbag is willing to drug a kid, you’re obviously their next target—”

“You could just assign a knight to guard me.”

“Pft, I’m stronger than them.”

“……”

“I am, though.”

“…Sure.”

“You don’t believe me?”

Would you believe that?

Doha decided she wouldn’t indulge him any further and turned back to her book.

Just then—

“My Lady! There you are.”

Angelus’s aide approached quickly.

“The First Young Master requests your presence.”

“I’m coming.”

Doha had been meeting with a physician daily—a checkup disguised as counseling to monitor any lingering effects of the drug.

But since she had never actually taken it, her condition was completely normal.

The physician had even called it a miracle.

Still, they insisted on continued monitoring, just in case.

It was annoying, but Doha complied—she needed to avoid suspicion.

“I’ll escort her.”

A knight stepped forward. He was the youngest among Salvador’s guards.

Salvador crossed his legs and waved them off dismissively.

Doha glanced at him as she passed, then casually remarked,

“You know, if you keep sitting like that…”

“…Now what? What’s going to fly away this time?”

“You’ll twist your pelvis.”

“……”

She left without another word.

“…Tsk.”

Salvador clicked his tongue, running a hand through his hair—

Then, quietly, uncrossed his legs.

* * *

The familiar path suddenly changed midway.

The medical ward was underground, yes, but they were heading in the opposite direction.

As they walked through the dim, empty corridors, Doha finally asked,

“…Where are we going?”

“The physician is waiting in a different room.”

“I see.”

Doha nodded.

Just then—

Her bracelet slipped from her wrist and fell to the ground.

Crack.

“Ah!”

When she accidentally stepped on it, the red gemstone shattered into pieces.

“Oh no…”

She crouched down, staring at the broken fragments with a distressed expression.

At the same time, the knight and the aide exchanged glances.

“Mmmpfh—!”

The knight suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth.

Dragging her forward, he pressed a protruding brick along the wall.

With a grinding sound, a portion of the wall rotated open, revealing a hidden passage.

Doha was hauled through the dark corridor and shoved into a damp, moldy room.

“…Looks like you succeeded.”

Inside, Viscount Liden was waiting.

His appearance was haggard, almost ghostlike.

“Give it to her. Once she takes it, it’s over.”

He pulled a small vial from his coat.

Inside, the liquid shimmered an ominous green.

“Curious?”

When Doha didn’t react, simply staring him down, he chuckled darkly.

“It’s poison. And only I know where the antidote is.”

I expected him to make a last-ditch move, but…

He was far more unhinged than she had imagined.

“Quite the gamble, isn’t it? Once she’s poisoned, the Kredel family will be forced to obey me like loyal dogs.”

If Doha succumbed to the poison, there was no telling what would happen to Ophelia’s curse.

Kredel would bend to his every demand in desperation.

“…You lunatic.”

“Shut up! And whose fault do you think this is?!”

Liden exploded in rage.

Doha suddenly rose to her feet.

As he stormed toward her, she spoke.

“You.”

“…What?”

Completely unfazed, she met his eyes.

“It’s you. You did this to yourself.”

Viscount Liden had the mindset of a self-made entrepreneur.

He had ambition, a keen sense for timing, and enough foresight to grasp opportunities.

But he was doomed to fail.

His warped morality, cruelty, lack of patience, and violent nature would always lead to his own downfall.

He was a man destined for a brief reign.

She had known it from the start.

That’s why she had tested him.

She had provoked him, knowing full well he lacked the restraint to change his own fate.

“You ended up like this because you have no humanity.”

You’re worse than an animal.

Doha openly clicked her tongue, her eyes filled with contempt.

Liden’s already bloodshot eyes flared with fury.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

He lunged forward—

But before he could even touch her,

A hand grabbed her and yanked her back.

She looked up.

Angelus.

At the same time—

Thud. Thud.

Two bodies collapsed behind them.

The aide and the knight.

Before Doha could turn her head—

A calloused hand covered her eyes.

“You really have no sense of self-preservation.”

The sharp scent of blood filled the air.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

A familiar, lazy drawl.

“I’m stronger.”