After enjoying the spring breeze for a moment, Iren slowly opened her eyes.

“Jane.”

“Yes, Madam! What is it?”

“Once you’re done tidying up, could you prepare some tea? My throat is dry after concentrating for so long.”

“Of course. Would you like me to bake some cookies or simple bread as well?”

“That would be nice. And… if you could also find out some news about the Duke. But don’t overdo it.”

“Don’t worry. I know a few friendly knights. I’ll ask them.”

Jane put the table back in its original place and packed the pharmaceutical tools into a basket and set it out on the balcony. As if by magic, the room was tidy again.

“It seems the smell of the herbs has mostly gone, so I’ll close the window.”

Jane locked the window and left the bedroom. The room was too quiet after she left.

Iren got up from the bed and unclenched her hand. Inside the glass bottle, a dark green liquid, almost black, swirled.

The liquid with its ominous color was a diluted poison made from the same ingredients that Lahart had ingested.

Iren drank the medicine without hesitation. She had given Jane tasks to do because she needed time to test the antidote. She couldn’t give Lahart an untested antidote.

Even if it meant her body would be ruined. Never again.

As soon as it went down her throat, pain assaulted her. Iren poured the antidote into her mouth with trembling hands.

It was the medicine she had been researching, the one where she had added powdered irelaide flowers.

Her blood surged up with every breath. She covered her mouth with both hands and endured it. Unlike the laboratory, there was nothing here to clean up if she vomited blood.

As if her bones were freezing, she felt alternating chills and a dizzying fever tormented her. But she endured it again and again.

I wonder if this is what death feels like. Whenever fear crept in, Iren thought of Lahart. It was a long-standing habit that had continued since the days she was locked in the attic at her father’s command.

The Lahart she thought of while testing the antidote always changed. Lahart from her childhood, Lahart around the time of their engagement, and…

“If you take this hand, you will become my wife. That’s the only way for you to live.”

“Take it.”

The Lahart who appeared as a savior at the execution ground.

“……Ah.”

Iren suddenly returned to reality. It didn’t hurt. She felt as if the pain had been cleanly washed away.

She straightened her body that had been curled up on the floor, and it didn’t feel bad at all. On the contrary, it felt rather refreshing.

‘Did the antidote… work?’

It was still too early to be sure. Yet, her heart pounded fiercely. It was definitely not the aftereffects of the poison or the antidote.

It was a reaction utterly different from the countless antidotes she had made and discarded before. She could tell precisely because it was her own body.

Iren clutched at her fiercely beating heart with one hand.

It felt like an infinitely distant hope. She boasted to Lahart, but in truth, she was exhausted. The last month he gave as a deadline was rapidly approaching, and here she was, trapped without being able to conduct proper research.

But the irelaide flowers had not betrayed her expectations. It was ironic that a flower sharing her name would bloom with hope.

“……This is not the time.”

If Lahart found out, everything would be for naught. Iren picked up the rolling bottle and tucked it deep into a drawer.

Lahart wouldn’t care to look there, so she could have Jane dispose of it tomorrow morning.

Still feeling uneasy, she sprayed some perfume from the drawer. It was a fragrance she had used a few times under Jane’s insistence, but since Lahart had no reaction to it, she had nearly discarded it.

Just then, the door rattled. It was probably Jane, but just in case, she straightened her appearance and sat on the bed.

A moment later, along with the outside air, a heavy and refreshing scent wafted in.

“……You’re here?”

“Did I come to a place where I shouldn’t be?”

“Of course not. There’s no place in this castle where the Duke can’t go to.”

Lahart stood silently in front of Iren. Iren looked down. It had become a habit not to meet Lahart’s eyes unless there was a special reason.

“You were looking for me, so I thought something was up.”

“Me?”

“Your loyal maid was asking around about my whereabouts.”

Iren bit her lip slightly. She should have stopped Jane from asking the knights. She had been too preoccupied with the thought of testing the antidote.

Lahart’s hand lifted Iren’s chin that was filled with self-blaming. Then, he turned it left and right, carefully yet indifferently, as if he were inspecting a fragile item.

Iren preferred it this way. When he touched her with tender hands, it made her harbor unnecessary hopes.

But Lahart did not let her go. Instead, he bent down and buried his face in her neck.

The flustered Iren grabbed his arm. Lahart took no notice and inhaled deeply. When she felt his breath on her skin, Iren bit her lower lip hard.

“Duke……”

“Did you put on perfume?”

“What? Yes.”

“I really hate strong scents.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I won’t spray it again next time.”

“You didn’t know?”

Ha. Lahart let out a small, incredulous laugh. Iren replied in a shrunken voice, her shoulders tensed.

“It’s true. When I sprayed it before, you didn’t say anything, so I didn’t know you disliked it.”

“I also didn’t say I liked it.”

“That is… Yes. You didn’t.”

“Right. Next time, saying you don’t know as an excuse won’t work.”

Lahart shifted his body. His shadow covered her. Iren rubbed the spot where Lahart’s head touched her. It was ticklish and hot.

“Why would you, who has no places to go or people to meet, spray perfume?”

Iren hurriedly lifted her head. Lahart was looking around the bedroom with cold eyes.

What if he finds out about the antidote? I need to do something.

But before Iren could speak, Lahart spoke first.

“It seems you have something you want to hide so badly that you’d even spray a perfume you don’t like.”

His sharp slate-colored gaze turned towards the balcony. Iren quickly got up and hugged his neck. It was because she couldn’t think of any other way to divert his attention.

Lahart narrowed his eyes and then wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Are you seducing me?”

“…Yes. I sprayed the perfume hoping that you would like it.”

“Iren.”

Lahart brought his forehead close to hers. Iren had no choice but to meet his gaze.

The shimmering navy-blue pupils were hauntingly beautiful with silver and slate colors flickering within them.

“What did I tell you, what do you do when you lie?”

“…To look the other in the eye.”

“You’re still clumsy at it.”

Iren did not back down. No, she couldn’t. She tightened her arms around his neck and lifted her feet.

Her nose touched his prominent one. They were so close that their breaths mingled on each other’s faces.

“But it’s not bad.”

Their lips overlapped just like that. Iren closed her eyes.

She never thought she could deceive Lahart forever.

Just until the antidote was complete. If that was too much to ask, then she just desperately hoped she could deceive him until his anger subsided.

* * *

A few days later, the new butler and head maid candidates that Lahart had mentioned came to see Iren.

Iren was flustered, caught off guard while she was busily making an antidote from the flowers. She couldn’t put away the tools since she was in the middle of making it. Welcoming the two people in such a state would also be inappropriate.

‘Lahart said he personally chose these people. They’ll surely report that I’ve set up a laboratory in the bedroom.’

Even if they didn’t report to him, it was their first meeting. She couldn’t show them a suspicious sight of making drugs right from their first encounter.

While she pondered what to do, a welcome voice came from beyond the door.

“If it pleases you, Madam, we will wait in the drawing room. You can take your time to prepare.”

“……The drawing room? Is that alright?”

“The Duke has instructed us to do as you wish.”

It probably didn’t mean she could do whatever she truly wanted. But for the first time in a while, she had been permitted to go out. There was no reason to refuse.

“Let’s go to the drawing room. Could you wait just a moment?”

“Do not mind us, Madam.”

With Jane’s help, Iren quickly finished preparing.

The corridor seemed unusually spacious and magnificent, likely because it had been so long since she had stepped out of the bedroom.

Iren walked a bit slower than usual. Even though she knew two people were waiting, she wanted to breathe in the outside air a little longer.

After entering the drawing room, two people standing upright with proper posture came into view. Before their eyes even met Iren’s, they bowed politely.

“Good day, Madam. I am the butler candidate, Robben. It is a great honor to meet you.”

“I am the head maid candidate, Marianne. I greet you, Madam.”

It was a greeting she never received from the previous butler and head maid. As soon as Iren took her seat, Robben and Marianne sat down in front of her. Robben knelt on one knee, and Marianne kept her legs together so that her dress wouldn’t spread out.

Iren said in surprise,

“Please stand up, both of you. There’s no need for such formalities with me.”

“It is our duty to kneel before the one who will be our master.”

“Please retract your command for us to stand.”

The resolve of the two was remarkable. They had an air about them that felt more like knights than candidates for butler and head maid.

Despite her repeated requests, Robben and Marianne did not budge. In the end, Iren had to concede.

“I am well aware of my position. Everything in this castle, and indeed all of Sirencia, belongs to the Duke. The master you ought to serve is also the Duke. So, there’s no need for you to fuss over me too much. Taking care of me with just Jane here is enough. Please prioritize the Duke.”

“……”

“If there is one thing I wish for… it’s that you don’t guard against me too much. I have no intention of harming the Duke. I sincerely hope that he recovers his health even for a day sooner. The Duke… Yes. He saved me. It is because of him that I have been able to be here until now.”

She dared not say the word love. Because love is too much to ask for.