Felitz, belatedly grasping the situation, asked with a bewildered expression as if I had eaten something inedible.

“Don’t tell me you drank that? Something you made yourself? The doctor strongly advised you to be careful with your health!”

“What’s wrong with drinking something I made myself!”

“No, how can anything you make be medicine for human consumption?”

“I’m a pharmacist! A pharmacist who makes medicine!”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Felitz replied in an insincere voice.

Annoyed by his attitude, I glared at him with wide eyes, which finally made him flinch and watch my mood.

“What on earth went wrong?”

It was strange. I’m sure I made it correctly.

“It’s like I’m cursed to make poison every time I try to make medicine…”

“It’s not a curse, it’s just that your skills are terri— Eek! N-no! You must be cursed, sister! You’re under a terrible curse!”

Felitz, who had been muttering to himself, quickly changed his words when he saw my glaring eyes.

“That makes me feel even worse!”

I shouted angrily.

‘This won’t do, the Foundation Day celebration is just around the corner.’

I flipped through the pharmacology textbook again, my eyes blazing, trying to find out where I went wrong.

***

Niel hummed a tune while stroking the flower basket placed on the table.

It was something he had recently purchased from her.

He wanted to keep it in his bedroom, but due to his pollen allergy, the head servant strongly objected, so they compromised by decorating the audience chamber with it.

“Will it be alright, Lord Niel?”

Tenes, who had come in disguise to avoid people’s eyes, asked in a concerned voice.

“What will be?”

“That woman can only make poisons. It’s obvious she’ll make poison instead of skin medication this time too.”

Tenes explained heatedly to Niel, who was calmly fiddling with the flower basket.

“I told you before! If you drink the cold medicine she makes, your limbs go numb; if you drink her stomach medicine, your organs twist and you vomit blood; if you use her skin medication, your whole body breaks out in a rash!”

“Isn’t that exactly what I want?”

Niel finally turned to Tenes with a grin.

“If anything, I hope she makes a really potent poison. To annihilate the Clarence duchy.”

Niel’s voice was remarkably cheerful as he answered.

“What? Wasn’t the request for the young lady’s debutante ball?”

Niel clicked his tongue at the surprised Tenes.

“I told you it was time to take down the Duke. I just changed the target from the Duke to the young lady.”

From the beginning, he had needed poison for his plan to take down the Duke and had encountered her while visiting Tenes’s office.

“T-then wouldn’t it be more certain to target the Duke as originally planned?”

When Tenes cautiously asked, Niel gently narrowed his eyes.

“Whenever I think of another man laying eyes on her, I start to feel like crap.”

A subtle killing intent glimmered in that gentle eye smile.

“Feel like cr— Gasp! I, I have never laid eyes on that woman!”

Tenes quickly waved both hands in denial.

“But more importantly, that… Jella Irene was excited thinking it was a wholesome and legal request…”

“Skin medication isn’t illegal, Tenes.”

“……”

“If she unintentionally makes poison due to lack of skill, it can’t be helped. We could call it an unfortunate accident.”

Tenes wondered if this could really be called unintentional but didn’t voice his thoughts.

Instead, he asked something else.

“Jella Irene has never done anything like this before… What if she gets caught infiltrating the Duke’s household in disguise? Won’t it be troublesome if the job fails?”

Niel stared blankly at the fidgeting Tenes.

“You seem very interested in her?”

“Eek! N-no! Not at all!”

Although Tenes strongly denied it, fortunately, Niel’s attention quickly left him.

Niel smirked as he thought of her.

“Well. The woman I knew never failed at anything.”

She was a woman who could perfectly disguise herself better than anyone.

She was a woman who never made even a small mistake in deceiving everyone by becoming the most vicious villain in the world.

There was no way such a woman would fail at merely infiltrating a Duke’s household as a maid.

“I have never seen her fail at anything.”

Suddenly, Niel’s eyes deepened.

“Even her own death…”

Jella Shunaibel, a woman who knew no failure. Didn’t she achieve the most perfect ending in the world, even in her own death?

However, that perfection became the most terrible misfortune for him.

***

Finally, the day of the Foundation Day celebration arrived.

Niel, who was essentially the main character of today’s event, was very busy from the morning.

By the time he finished all the ceremonial events stretching from the Grand Hall of the Imperial Palace, where his coronation had been held when he ascended to the throne, to the square in the capital’s streets, the afternoon had already passed.

On this day, two of the three seats prepared for the three heroes at the event remained empty throughout.

They were the seats of Yupheon Arne and Cail Aleret.

Invitations had been sent, but neither of them had shown up even well into the afternoon.

‘It’s better this way.’

Niel thought indifferently as he loosened his stifling cravat.

‘If I were to face them, I’d surely want to kill them both.’

The three heroes of Alpenhayer stopped the tyranny of the Shunaibel Imperial family and created a new world.

Niel Alpenhayer, Yupheon Arne, Cail Aleret.

Although they were revered together as heroes by the people, the three actually didn’t get along well.

It was natural.

They didn’t get along even when Jella was alive.

Niel disliked Yupheon, who treated her casually, claiming to be Jella’s only friend.

And… he disliked Cail Aleret even more.

Her servant was taken in by her after she rescued him from being sold into slavery long ago.

The white knight of the lowest status came to guard the woman of the highest status.

Yet, the noble hero of the people who betrayed her grace, killed her, and ended her life.

‘If it weren’t for him, she…’

Niel thought, his eyes hardening.

If it weren’t for him, Jella wouldn’t have died so futilely.

“Your Majesty.”

Niel snapped back to reality at the servant’s call.

The cravat he had been loosening was crumpled in his hand.

“I will assist you in changing clothes.”

“Alright.”

Niel nodded his head neatly, pretending to be nonchalant.

Having tidied up his attire, he set off towards the ballroom.

Although balls were scheduled every night for a week starting today, Niel planned to make only a brief appearance on this first day.

‘The Clarence young lady is having her debutante ball today, right?’

Niel’s eyes slightly furrowed as he quietly headed towards the ballroom.

Having a debutante ball during the Foundation Day celebration was a privilege given only to the founding contributor families.

Duke Clarence had been a loyal supporter of Alpenhayer since the previous generation.

Thus, he had been Niel’s confidant even before Niel ascended to the throne, was the deputy commander of the rebel forces when Niel raised the rebellion, and after the revolution’s success, became the head of the empire’s highest noble family as a founding contributor in name and reality.

“If Your Majesty would grant her the first dance, it would be the greatest honor for Emily.”

Niel was well aware of the hidden intention behind those words.

He also knew that many of the nobles were already pushing for the Clarence young lady to be the future Empress.

Since he doesn’t attend such occasions, they deliberately set the debutante ball on the Foundation Day celebration to request the first dance.

Knowing that he would have no proper reason to refuse.

It wouldn’t be difficult to dance with the young lady, but it would increase people’s whispers.

The Duke of Clarence’s subtle move was irritating.

‘It’s about time to prune some branches.’

Niel thought, his expression turning cold.

Anyway, the Clarence young lady wouldn’t be able to appear here today. By now, she should be bedridden after consuming the poison she made.

Niel had now entered the ballroom.

The knights guarding the door bowed to him, and the musicians blew their trumpets.

It was when Niel was moving with his usual graceful and perfect motions amidst the admiring gazes of the people.

“We behold the brightest and greatest sun of the Empire.”

Duke Clarence, standing in the front row, bowed to him.

Then he immediately introduced his daughter.

“This is my daughter, Your Majesty.”

“We behold the brightest and greatest sun of the Empire. I am Emily Clarence of the Clarence family.”

Niel’s expression hardened at the sight of Emily Clarence shyly greeting him.

‘What’s going on?’

This was different from the plan.

The Clarence young lady, who should have been bedridden after taking the medicine she made, had appeared here.

Moreover, her skin was gleaming smoothly, looking in very good condition.

Could it be that she had failed?

Niel clenched and unclenched his fist inside his sleeve, hiding his bewildered state.

‘There’s no way she would fail at mere undercover infiltration…’

Suddenly, an ominous thought occurred to him.

‘Could it be that I mistook someone else for her…? No, but surely…’

At this moment, Niel’s eyes caught sight of Jella standing against a wall in one corner.

The moment Niel thought their eyes met.

Jella grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

As if to say,

‘Got the 3 million gold ready?’

…with a bright smile, her eyes crinkling.