The man who was perfectly unpleasant as always was none other than Niel Alpenhay…

“Wh-what? What’s wrong with your face? And why are your eyes like that!”

I cried out in shock when I saw his face.

As if corroded by poison, the right side of his face painfully revealed raw flesh, and his green eyes, once praised as beautiful as jewels, were clouded over with a whitish haze.

“As you can see, I’m injured. There was an assassination attempt on a royal family member.”

Niel said with a subtle smile.

“So I came to ask Jella for medicine.”

I was infuriated by how calmly he spoke, as if he were merely seeking medicine for a mild cold.

“You should find a doctor, not me! Or at least the prime minister!”

“Unfortunately, they all said they couldn’t fix it.”

“Then you should go to the Pope! Yupheon Arne is in this city right now!”

“Hmm…”

Niel made a troubled expression.

“Why?”

“I feel like if I entrust it to him, even my perfectly fine other half of the face might get damaged.”

“….”

My mouth closed obediently at those words.

I remembered Yupheon trying to hunt down Niel at the hunting grounds yesterday.

The thought crossed my mind that if entrusted to Yupheon, perhaps not just his face but his life might be in danger, but I didn’t bother mentioning it aloud.

“Please, Miss Jella. The facial scars don’t matter much, but it’s inconvenient that I can’t see out of my right eye.”

“No, I mean, why would you bring such an important request to me…”

“Because Miss Jella is the most excellent apothecary in Yetrisha.”

Niel said with a bright smile.

“Me?”

“Didn’t you perfectly fulfill the request I entrusted to you last time?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“That’s why I wanted to ask Miss Jella.”

I nodded with a heavy sigh.

“I can’t promise anything. But if it doesn’t work, let’s go find the Pope. If you’re worried about going alone, I’ll go with you.”

At those words, Niel’s smile deepened.

“Let me take a look at the wound.”

I approached Niel, held his face, and examined the scar while turning it this way and that.

Up close, the condition was even more serious.

“How on earth did this happen?”

Regardless of my personal feelings toward him, seeing his handsome face injured made me feel a bit sad.

But there was no answer.

Puzzled, I took my eyes off the wound and looked at him, only to find him wearing an uncharacteristically dumbfounded expression.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty?”

“…Ah.”

Niel seemed to suddenly come to his senses and let out a short exclamation, then answered softly with his eyes curved as usual.

“I apologize. I was momentarily distracted…”

However, he couldn’t finish his sentence and his voice trailed off. I could hear him swallowing as his prominent Adam’s apple moved.

“You’re… too close, Miss Jella.”

Only then did I realize that the distance between him and me was excessively close.

Close enough for our noses to brush and our breaths to intertwine.

“Eek!”

I quickly backed away in surprise and exclaimed.

“Th-that was just a normal procedure to check the wound!”

“….”

“S-so don’t get any strange ideas…!”

“….”

“Why is your face turning red?!”

“…I apologize.”

He barely answered with a choked voice.

As he covered his face with one hand and turned away…

‘Why, why is it getting even redder!’

At that moment, not only his face but even his earlobes and nape were red.

Seeing this unexpected side of him, someone who rarely shows emotional fluctuations, made me feel my own face flushing as well.

‘Anyone would think he’s never even held hands with a woman. When he’s probably done all sorts of things with Yuria.’

Feeling awkward in the suddenly strange atmosphere, I cleared my throat and said hurriedly, trying to send him away quickly.

“For now, please go back, and I’ll contact you again when the medicine is ready.”

I waved my hand dismissively, urging him to leave, but he regained his composure and grabbed me.

“Wait a moment, Miss Jella.”

“…?”

“I have more to say.”

A bad feeling crossed my mind.

‘I have something I must tell you…’

‘I wanted to tell you.’

I remembered the voices of the two men who had persistently said they had something to tell me since Yuria appeared yesterday.

“Is it something you absolutely must say?”

Feeling somehow like I wanted to avoid it, I awkwardly raised the corners of my mouth.

“There’s something I must explain to you.”

“Wait.”

I urgently stopped his words without realizing it.

“Perhaps, Yuria… no, it’s probably not the case, but just in case, I’m asking.”

I carefully added, glancing at his expression.

“Do you dislike her?”

At my question, Niel’s eyes widened, and then he affirmed in a plain voice.

“Yes, I dislike her.”

“….”

“To the point of wanting to kill her.”

…Well, maybe.

Just. Yes, he could simply dislike her.

Come to think of it, even if they were once passionately in love, there could be many reasons to dislike someone now.

Well, as long as the reason isn’t because of me…

‘If it’s not because of me, why would he come to me specifically to talk about it!’

I screamed internally, hiding my desire to tear my hair out.

Don’t ask for the reason; just send him away.

I firmly resolved and opened my mouth.

‘Ah, yes. I see. I understand. Then please leave now, dear customer.’

“Because Yuria slandered me?”

Ah, a mistake.

My inner thoughts and what I meant to say came out reversed.

My mouth had made a mistake it couldn’t hold back.

“…How did you know?”

Niel asked, unable to hide his surprise this time.

‘Because I’ve already heard the same thing twice.’

I looked at him with gloomy eyes, unable to answer.

‘I think all three of them have found me out somehow, what should I do?’

I don’t know how they figured it out, but it’s certain they’ve discovered that I am Jella Shunaibel.

‘No, since when?’

I recalled my first meeting with Niel.

Remembering how he had persistently approached me, hiding his identity and requesting a commission, gave me an ominous feeling.

‘Surely… not from the beginning?’

A bead of cold sweat trickled down.

I don’t understand why they keep explaining to me that they don’t like Yuria…

But since it’s come to this, I have no choice. I’ll have to pretend I don’t realize they’ve discovered my identity.

Just as I firmly resolved and was about to truly send him away this time, Cail, who had been quietly observing my conversation with Niel all along, suddenly interjected.

“That man is lying, Jella.”

He put his hand to my ear and deliberately spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

“That man was Yuria’s lover. Didn’t you see it yesterday? How that man was trying to take Yuria to the imperial palace.”

To this, Niel immediately refuted, raising one eyebrow.

“That’s slander, Miss Jella. That man is the one who barged in yesterday in front of everyone, trying to take Yuria away.”

“I’m different from him. I was only trying to take that woman who slandered you away to get revenge for you.”

Niel and Cail glared fiercely at each other.

Their tense confrontation somehow gave me a headache.

“Alright. I understand how much you both love Yuria, so stop fighting.”

“Wait, Jella. Love? How could such a terrible…!”

“This is unfair, Miss Jella. I was just trying to…!”

“Ah, I get it. So whether you love her to death or feel betrayed enough to want to die because of how much you loved her, that’s none of my business.”

Cail and Niel protested with aggrieved voices, but I immediately cut them off and pushed them away.

“I’ll finish the medicine by tomorrow and come to the imperial palace.”

“…I’ll be waiting.”

Niel still looked like he hadn’t shaken off his sense of injustice, but he left after promising to meet tomorrow.

Cail watched Niel leave with a subtly dissatisfied expression.

Glancing at his body, I was relieved to see that he didn’t seem to have any signs of a cold.

“You should go too.”

“Do I have to leave as well?”

“What, are you planning to live here?”

When I retorted sarcastically, his eyes sparkled as he asked.

“Can I?”

“No.”

Of course not. After my flat refusal, he made a dejected face and asked.

“Why not?”

“First of all, this isn’t my house, it’s a space where our organization members stay together, and you’re an outsider…”

“Ah.”

As I rambled on with explanations, he let out a short exclamation and nodded.

“I understand, Jella.”

Cail withdrew surprisingly easily.

No, I thought he had withdrawn easily.

***

The next morning.

When I came down to the second floor, I rubbed my tired eyes after being absorbed in making medicine for Niel until late at night.

“Good morning, Jella.”

I discovered Cail among the members of the criminal organization.

“What? Why are you here?”

“From today, I’ll be working here.”

Cail answered with a satisfied smile, then tilted his head and asked.

“Ah, should I call you ‘big sister’ here?”