CH 3

“Ian! Come here for a moment.”

“Gasp.”

Maid Lisa approached coachman Ian quickly from a distance. Ian, guessing what was happening, hurriedly changed his direction but was soon caught.

“Ian. What on earth happened to Miss?”

“I’ve already explained everything to Miss.”

“If you did, would Miss have sent me to you? Just tell me the truth!”

“Oh, come on, this guy!”

In the end, Ian succumbed to Lisa’s persistent demand.

“……The Grand Duke made Miss faint.”

Lisa blinked at Ian’s words and then hit his shoulder with her hand. Although it was a light hit, Ian flinched because it stung.

“What kind of nonsense is that! He made someone who was already feverish and collapsed faint?”

Ian, clutching his shoulder, shouted in frustration.

“It’s true, it’s true! Gosh……. If you weren’t going to believe me, why did you even ask?”

“But why would the Grand Duke do that to Miss……!”

“Well……. Because Miss couldn’t sleep deeply and was groaning, or because she kept crying, he must have thought she was having a nightmare and put her into a deep sleep…….”

Lisa, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“The Grand Duke? For the lady? Not because he thought she would cause more trouble when she woke up?”

A moment of silence passed between the two, who knew the usual personalities of the Grand Duke and Delia well. After thinking deeply, Ian replied.

“I don’t think so.”

“Poor Miss.”

Lisa shook her head.

“That’s why I always told her to behave calmly……!”

“It’s not like that, I’m telling you.”

Despite Ian’s words, Lisa, clutching the back of her neck, spoke as if she couldn’t understand.

“The lady, who loses her mind whenever she sees the Grand Duke, and the Grand Duke, who coldly rejects her, are both too much.”

“That’s true.”

Nodding in agreement, Lisa sent Ian off and headed to the lab where Delia was, feeling troubled.

“What?”

Delia’s eyes widened at the story Lisa told her.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, well……. The Grand Duke made you faint, Miss…….”

Knowing how much Delia liked the Grand Duke, Lisa felt sorry and trailed off. Explaining in detail to Delia, who asked again, Lisa watched her carefully, worried she might be hurt.

“Just forget about it. The Grand Duke is just like that…….”

However, Delia, finding something amusing, giggled to herself and soon burst into laughter, holding her belly. Then, grabbing Lisa’s shoulder, she shook her excitedly.

“Ah, really! Isn’t Kaiel so cute? That’s exactly like him.”

Lisa, who was shaken by Delia, worried about her strange state. At some point, she didn’t even bother to hide and openly called the Grand Duke by his name.

I hope she hasn’t gone crazy…….

Lisa patted Delia’s back warmly.

“Miss, for today, just go to bed…….”

“Yes! I was planning to sleep early anyway. I’ve finished all the preparations needed for the research. From tomorrow, I need to work hard!”

Lisa tilted her head.

“Work hard……?”

“With energy!”

The next morning, from the crack of dawn, Delia started gathering materials needed to develop the antidote, moving back and forth between the lab and the library. The books about poisons to kill Kaiel had long been set aside.

Having raised the plausibility score to the 50s, she didn’t have to worry about penalties for a while.

‘What do I know?’

Delia recalled.

The information she wrote about lapocia in the novel included the scent, appearance, regions where it was cultivated, and the types and locations of herbs needed for detoxification.

How to combine the herbs and the method to prepare the antidote required actual research.

Fortunately, since she studied herbal medicine, developing the antidote was feasible as long as she had various books and materials from this world.

“Miss, please stop running around……!”

“Lisa, you came just in time. Help me!”

Caught off guard, Lisa followed her around, helping her. Eventually exhausted, Lisa put the heavy stack of books on the lab floor with a thud.

“Miss, can you really read all these books?”

Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, Lisa put her hands on her waist and caught her breath.

“Of course!”

Delia, who had carried as many books as Lisa, dusted her hands off and spoke nonchalantly.

“I can read all these in a week.”

For someone who prepared for the college entrance exam in Korea and even entered medical school, this was nothing. The basic knowledge she learned in college would also be helpful.

“Lisa, you can rest now. Thanks for your help.”

After sending the panting Lisa off, Delia rolled up her sleeves lightly. She tied up her hair, which fell forward and blocked her view, and she picked up one of the piled-up books.

“Let’s do this.”

After that, Delia stayed holed up in the lab for a week. Except for eating the meals Lisa brought or sleeping, she hardly moved.

Her intense focus was so suffocating that Lisa could only hover around the lab, unable to enter for fear of disturbing her.

One day, seeing the Grand Duke passing by the lab, Lisa hesitated before approaching him.

“Your Grace.”

He, who was about to stride past with his long legs, stopped at the servant’s voice calling him. When he turned his head silently, Lisa bowed and spoke.

“Please, stop Miss…….”

“Unripe Apple?”

“……Pardon?”

Intrigued by the servant’s earnest plea, the Grand Duke turned around.

“What should I stop?”

“Miss has been stuck with books for a week. I’m worried she might collapse from overwork…….”

When he blinked his cold eyes down at her, Lisa quickly added.

“If you could just go and give her a word of encouragement…… Miss would be very happy.”

The Grand Duke looked silently at the lab. After staring at it for a moment, he spoke.

“Alright.”

Feeling proud of herself for doing something for Delia, Lisa bowed to the Grand Duke and quickly disappeared.

Kaiel headed straight to the lab.

He had already heard the stories circulating among the servants in the castle. Strangely, the servants had an unusual amount of interest and affection for the new researcher. Whether it was because of her striking crimson hair or her flamboyant presence flying around the castle, he couldn’t tell.

The rumor that she was engrossed in research, barely eating or sleeping, was unexpected. He thought she was just like a dog nose who kept talking nonsense, but she seemed to be better than that.

Quietly opening the lab door, he stepped in and closed it silently. His eyes captured Delia, who was reading without noticing his presence.

Her head barely peeked out from the mountain of books on the desk, looking like she would soon be buried in them.

‘She said it had to be her, and now she’s overworking her tiny brain.’

He seemed to have no intention of making his presence known until she noticed him and just stood there quietly watching her. The silence was only broken by the occasional sound of Delia turning pages. It continued until Delia suddenly pinched her nose and sprang up from her seat.

“Ah……!”

Standing up, she checked her hand that had pinched her nose and started looking around hurriedly. It seemed difficult to find what she wanted among the piled-up books.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

Startled by the sudden voice, she let out a short scream. Seeing Kaiel holding a handkerchief, Delia’s face brightened.

“Kaiel!”

Seeing the handkerchief in his hand, Delia quickly ran over.

“Since when have you been here? You should have called me if you came!”

After seeing him, it seemed the red, vivid liquid flowing from her nose was no longer a concern.

“I didn’t expect you to come because you’re busy…….”

She laughed sheepishly, but when the red blood trickled down her hand and dripped onto the floor, Delia quickly stepped back from Kaiel. She also checked if any blood had fallen on his shoes.

Sure enough, there was blood on the tip of his shoe.

“Oh no.”

“Clean it.”

Handing her the handkerchief, Kaiel frowned at the sight of her nose and mouth covered in blood.

“You look like you’ve been resurrected from the dead.”

At that moment, her face disappeared from his view as she crouched down. He quickly stepped back with one foot.

Delia, who was about to wipe his shoe, looked up at him.

“Why? It’s on here. I’m trying to clean it, why are you stepping back?”

Taking a few more steps back to distance himself from her, he spoke in a low, firm voice.

“Stand up.”

Having no choice, Delia stood up and stared blankly at him. Her bewildered green eyes, contrasting with the red blood, were fixed on him.

Kaiel let out a low sigh and roughly snatched the handkerchief from her hand.

“I meant to wipe that scary face of yours.”

Then he began to wipe the blood off Delia’s face with his own hands. Delia’s face turned bright red, surprised by his touch.

However, perhaps unable to control his strength, his touch was extremely rough and harsh. Delia grimaced at the friction of the handkerchief rubbing against her face.

“Why.”

He asked, removing the handkerchief.

“It hurts!”

Delia grabbed his wrist with both hands and brought it back to her face.

“Gently, gently. Come on! Wipe it again.”

She hoped he might listen to her this time, but he coldly brushed her hands away and started wiping her face with the same force as before.