Realizing this, Delia reflexively grabbed whatever she could get her hands on. She thought it would be his collar or arm, but what met her fingertips was none other than his hard Adam’s apple. Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Delia quickly withdrew her hand.

“I didn’t know you were going to strangle me.”

Kaiel looked down at Delia quietly. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but Delia was in no state to notice. 

“How did it feel?”

Delia lifted her head at the unexpected question. Her sharp demeanor had crumbled in an instant. 

“What do you mean?”

“How did it feel to push me?”

What was there to say?

She had pushed him quite hard, but he hadn’t budged an inch, leading her to grab his Adam’s apple. If he had even slightly stumbled back or wavered, she wouldn’t have ended up clutching his throat. 

Delia exclaimed in frustration,

“Are you making fun of me right now? How did it feel? You know I pushed you and you didn’t move, so why even ask?”

But as she spoke, Delia suddenly realized something and froze.

He wouldn’t budge even if she pushed him.

What about her previous attempts?

He wouldn’t drink the poison.

He was fine even after being stabbed.

What he was trying to say was probably something like this:

‘Attack me as much as you want. I’m fine with it.’

“…….”

Delia fixed her gaze on the ground and asked,

“When did you figure it out?”

Kaiel replied calmly,

“Four times. You confessed that you were going to kill me.”

Though inwardly surprised, Delia remained silent and listened to him without betraying her emotions. 

“When you collapsed in the carriage, when you fell asleep in my office, when you experimented with the lapocia, and during the two days you were bedridden a few days ago.”

‘That many times?’

Wasn’t that practically a declaration of war at this point?

Delia asked in a resentful voice,

“Then why did you leave me alone?”

If he had known back when she collapsed in the carriage, it meant Kaiel had been aware of her objective from almost the very beginning. Why hadn’t he gotten rid of her sooner?

“You’ve silenced everyone who posed a threat to you. Why not me…….”

Then, Kaiel’s expression shifted subtly. After a moment of contemplation, he said,

“Because you’re not a threat.”

“What?”

Delia was taken aback. It wasn’t even a matter of hurt pride anymore.

He kept her by his side, knowing full well that she intended to kill him, just because she wasn’t a threat?

‘What, so all those assassins were threats, and I’m different?’

There had to be more to it than that. As expected, Kaiel seemed about to elaborate—

“And……”

However, for some reason, Kaiel hesitated and then closed his mouth. As if he had a hunch but wasn’t entirely sure. Kaiel brushed back his wet hair, wiping away the rainwater that streamed down his face.

“And what?”

He stared into Delia’s eyes for a long moment before giving a deflating answer. 

“I don’t know either.”

Delia was rendered speechless.

She had vaguely expected him to know beforehand, so that was fine. But…

‘You’ve been aware of everything and still kept me around, and you don’t even know why?’

Who else would know if he didn’t!

At that moment, Delia’s vision suddenly shot upwards. Kaiel had taken advantage of her distraction and swiftly lifted her into his arms. 

A wave of warmth spread through her cold, damp clothes as their bodies pressed together. Perhaps because of the rain, their skin felt even closer, clinging to each other.

Delia clutched Kaiel’s sleeve and shook him vigorously.

“Put me down! I told you I’m not going with you!”

“Let’s at least go inside. We’ll both catch colds at this rate.”

‘Colds, he says! As if I’ve ever had one in my life!’

Kaiel carried her into the room and didn’t put her down until he reached the bathroom and placed her inside the bathtub. 

“Wash up.”

Too drained to argue any further, Delia decided to obey him. As she fumbled with her wet clothes, she looked back at him. 

“Are you going to join me?”

In the past, he would have been flustered and backed away, but Kaiel just stood there, showing no reaction. Delia felt awkward and muttered,

“If you don’t leave, I’ll… I’ll dunk you in the water.”

“Go ahead.”

“I could make you slip on the soap.”

“Do as you please.”

“……Get out!”

After finally kicking Kaiel out, Delia finished her bath in the warm water. The hot water seemed to clear her head.

At first, she had been shocked that Kaiel hadn’t perceived her numerous attempts on his life as actual threats. 

But in hindsight, it was only natural. 

She knew better than anyone that Kaiel had risen to the position of commander after surviving brutal and perilous battlefields.

Her insignificant attacks couldn’t possibly faze someone like him.

Preoccupied with the sole objective of killing him, she had overlooked such an obvious fact.

‘Kaiel is strong.’

Indeed, her efforts were far from sufficient to pose a genuine threat to him.

‘There’s no point in overthinking things when I need to utilize every method at my disposal.’

With three failed assassination attempts, all that remained for Delia was a mix of stubbornness and anxiety. She didn’t know how long these feelings would last, but they certainly wouldn’t last forever.

Therefore, she had to kill him now, by any means necessary.

If she hesitated any longer and her lingering affection for him resurfaced, there would be no turning back.

* * *

From the next day onwards, the imperial villa of the Sheriton Imperial Palace was in a state of chaos for several days. This was because a fierce training regimen had begun between the Grand Duke and Delia. 

Though disguised as ‘training’ in the Grand Duke’s words, it was anything but ordinary. Their peculiar exchanges consisted of petty and underhanded attacks met with indifferent and unwavering defense. 

The servants who witnessed this spectacle all clicked their tongues and said,

“This is bad! Someone’s going to end up dead!”

One afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky, Niol visited the villa to deliver some news to Delia. He found her rushing somewhere, carrying a flowerpot. 

“Delia!”

“Oh, Your Highness?”

Delia was startled by his sudden appearance and greeting, looking around nervously. 

Niol followed her gaze and scanned their surroundings, his expression puzzled. 

“Is something wrong?”

“No?”

She answered immediately. Niol chuckled and started walking in the direction she had been heading. Delia looked flustered but soon followed him. After a while, Niol glanced at her and spoke. 

“You may have already heard. One of the servants went to Her Majesty the Empress and confessed. He admitted that he was the one who sent the gift to Lady Rant. It seems he had no idea there would be poison in the spices.”

Delia nodded slowly. Her curiosity was satisfied.

“That’s a relief. Thank you for telling me.”

It seemed the servant had done as she instructed.

Oh, right. Niol clapped his hands together lightly, drawing her attention. 

“Aren’t you curious why Lord Tranade visited the Empress’s Palace that day?”

“Y-yes? Ah…… Lord Tranade, right. Lord Tranade.”

Of course, she was curious. It had bothered her that Kaiel had appeared at the Empress’s Palace. She also wondered if he had figured out who was behind the lapocia poisoning incident.

However, talking about Kaiel in their current situation was a bit awkward. She tightened her grip on the flowerpot, but Niol, oblivious, continued.

“It seems the rumors about you being the culprit originated from the Empress’s Palace. He probably went there to silence them.”

It seemed Kaiel was still unaware that the Empress was behind it all.

“Aha, I see.”

Delia responded out of courtesy but couldn’t focus on the conversation. Niol, perhaps sensing it was due to the topic, quickly changed the subject to something lighter. 

“What’s with the flowerpot?”

However, Delia’s pupils quivered at the utterly ordinary question.

“Th-this? This is… a flowerpot! A flowerpot!”

Niol’s eyebrows twitched. A look of bewilderment crossed his face for a moment before he quickly composed himself and played along. 

“Ah, a flowerpot!”

It seemed this topic wasn’t suitable either. 

He swiftly changed the subject once more, this time from flowerpots. He exuded a strange determination to find an appropriate topic no matter what.

“Your earlobes are red. Did a bug bite you last night? That’s strange. It’s not the kind of weather for bugs to be out and about.” 

However, unbeknownst to him, Delia’s face turned crimson at the change of topic.

“…….”

Even a child would be able to tell that the mark wasn’t from a bug bite if they looked closely enough. It was clearly different! There was no way Niol didn’t know that. 

He, too, must have realized the true nature of the red mark as he spoke. The moment the words “not the kind of weather” left his mouth, he let out a small “Ah” as if in realization.

He frowned deeply. 

“It seems you were bitten by something far worse than a bug.”

Though his lips were still curved into a smile, a strange displeasure seeped into his tone. Niol spoke in a serious voice.

“Next time, run away before you get bitten, Delia. If possible, it’s also good to hit them like this, with your palm.”

He spoke as if he knew exactly who this ‘something far worse’ was. 

Since this bug talk wasn’t a suitable topic either, Delia decided to bring up the main point first.

“Your Highness, I have a favor to ask.”

Niol listened quietly to her, his eyes curving into a gentle smile.

“That’s perfect. I also have a favor to ask of you, Delia.” 

* * *