Meanwhile, Delia planned to enjoy some peace and quiet now that the aftermath of her failed assassination attempt had subsided. 

As she brushed Delia’s long hair, the maid told her about what had happened while she was ill. 

“His Highness the Crown Prince and Her Highness the Princess have been taking turns visiting you. Oh my, they’re both so beautiful…! It’s breathtaking every time I see them.”

“What about Kaiel?”

“As expected, the Grand Duke is always on your mind, Miss. The Grand Duke has gone to Tranade for a few days. It seems something came up…. He left shortly after you collapsed.”

Delia’s eyes fluttered open at the maid’s words. If there was a problem in Tranade at this point in time, it must have something to do with lapocia.

She may have solved Lady Rant’s problem, but that incident was just the beginning of a much bigger problem that lapocia was about to cause.

‘Well, it’s about time lapocia started spreading to Tranade.’

Seeing her serious expression, the maid, thinking that Delia was sad that the Grand Duke was gone, changed the subject.

“Speaking of His Highness, the Crown Prince, it seems like he’s been visiting more often now that the Grand Duke is away. Oh, look at the time….”

Knock, knock.

It was then that someone knocked on the quiet door. The maid’s eyes sparkled as she began to bustle around.

“He’s here, he’s here! Miss, quickly, fix your clothes! Straighten your back, push out your chest!”

“Who is it?” 

Delia asked as the maid hurriedly fixed her hair.

“Who else could it be? His Highness the Crown Prince, of course…!”

The maid, who had quickly made Delia look presentable, straightened her own clothes and rushed to the door.

“I’ll get it.” 

The maid whispered softly as she gently opened the door. Her actions were so natural that it was as if Niol had been visiting so often while Delia was ill that she had become accustomed to it.

Perhaps it was because the Crown Prince wasn’t as busy as he seemed.

Niol walked in. He always had a smile on his face, but he seemed strangely stern when he wasn’t around Delia.

“Leave them on the table. This goes by the window……”

Niol was handing a handful of something to the maid when his eyes met Delia’s, and his face lit up.

“Delia!”

“Your Highness.”

Niol rushed towards Delia, who smiled brightly, and instinctively opened his arms to hug her, but stopped himself just in time. 

“Oh, dear.”

Niol clasped his hands together awkwardly and chuckled. Still, he seemed to be in a good mood. 

“I’m sorry. I was just so happy to see you…. Are you feeling alright?”

Delia giggled at his adorable behavior and nodded.

“Yes, Your Highness. What brings you here?”

Niol hesitated for a moment before nodding towards the flower pot on the windowsill.

“That. Ashlene prepared it herself for you. And that,” 

Niol pointed to the basket of snacks on the table.

“That’s from Dr. Lambert.”

“Why did you bring all of this yourself?”

“Well, I just felt like it. And this. This is from me.”

Niol pointed at himself as if to show her and smiled brightly before adding, 

“I missed you, Delia.”

There he went again.

Ever since Kaiel’s absence, Niol had begun to shower Delia with attention. 

Listening to him, she wondered if there was any woman who could resist him when he said such things with that face.

Perhaps that was why. Niol’s words had a certain weight to them that made them difficult to brush off lightly, and Delia said with an awkward expression, “Your Highness, please refrain from saying such things.”

Niol didn’t reply but stared intently at Delia for a while. 

Her white cheeks were tinged with a peachy blush. And her beautiful auburn hair flowed beside them.

Unable to tear his gaze away, Delia cautiously moved to the window and spoke, 

“I heard that the Grand Duke had to leave for Tranade because something came up. May I ask what happened?”

At the mention of Kaiel, Niol’s expression turned serious. Of course, he still wore a pleasant smile.

“Well, I was going to tell you as soon as you woke up. It seems lapocia is causing trouble in Tranade this time. Lord Tranade seemed quite upset…. Surely it wasn’t because he had to leave you behind, was it?” 

Thanks to Niol’s lighthearted tone, which prevented the atmosphere from becoming too heavy, Delia was able to laugh and reply, 

“I doubt it.”

With that, Delia fell into thought. 

Tranade was home to the long trade route that connected the eastern Floren Empire to the central Sheriton Empire. That was why, no matter how strictly Kaiel regulated imports to stop lapocia, it was no use. 

As long as Floren’s goods continued to flow into Sheriton, there was no way to stop lapocia from being smuggled into Tranade through the trade route.

Eventually, lapocia, having penetrated Tranade despite the strict control, began to slowly seep into the population.

Niol’s words just now confirmed that this was the exact point in the original story.

Then all that was left was what happened next.

Since she had failed to kill Kaiel, the second major event of the original story would soon follow.

‘To prevent the problems caused by lapocia, Kaiel will propose a negotiation with Niol.’

In the original story, the negotiation fell apart due to the deepening discord between Kaiel and Niol, but this time, it had to succeed.

Because Kaiel’s actions after the negotiation’s failure were truly outrageous.

As the damage caused by lapocia intensified, Kaiel went beyond just closing off the trade routes connecting Floren and Sheriton—he utterly destroyed them.

Thanks to that, the once bustling trade routes were instantly transformed into ruins, dealing a significant blow to Floren’s national finances.

The lapocia traffickers were all slaughtered by Kaiel, and rumors began to spread about his ruthless methods.

She could have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear, letting the story unfold on its own, but having already become deeply entangled in this world, she didn’t want to.

More than anything, she didn’t want to leave Kaiel to his ruthless and cruel fate.

‘As soon as Kaiel returns, the negotiation will take place. Niol will have to accept Kaiel’s proposal……’

Fortunately, Lady Rant hadn’t died, and thanks to that, Kaiel hadn’t killed the Empress, so at least his relationship with Niol wasn’t at its worst. She should be grateful for that.

Though it would only be a matter of time before Kaiel found out that the Empress was behind it all and harbored ill intentions towards her.

First, she was curious about Niol’s thoughts.

“Your Highness.”

While Delia was lost in thought, Niol had been quietly watching her face, waiting. When she finally called his name, he answered with a pleasant tone.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Do you hate the Grand Duke very much?”

Niol’s eyes widened at the sudden question. It was a rather impolite question, one that could easily offend him, but instead of getting upset, Niol pondered for a moment and then wore a wistful expression.

“If I answer that, I think you’ll hate mem Delia. Hmm……”

Seeing him gauging her reaction with such concern, Delia hurriedly waved her hand.

“No, no. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! I’m sorry for the uncomfortable question. Please don’t worry about it too much.”

When she thought about it, it was a question that didn’t even need to be asked. Delia knew very well how Niol felt about Kaiel.

However, Niol shook his head.

“Still, I want to tell you everything. You’re right, the Duke and I aren’t on the best of terms. I think we got along for a while when we were younger…… but it’s all a blur now.”

It was a story she already knew.

She had felt it before, but Niol truly seemed incapable of lying to her face.

Seeing Niol so honestly laying bare his true feelings, Delia wondered if she had been too suspicious of him all this time.

Perhaps there were things even she, the author, didn’t know.

As he spoke, observing her expression, Niol’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Delia. Did I make things very awkward for you when the three of us were together? Now that I think about it, I think I might have……”

“Oh my, you knew?”

“Huh?”

Seeing Niol’s momentarily bewildered expression, Delia burst into laughter.

“I’m just kidding, Your Highness. Thank you for telling me.”

It wasn’t that it hadn’t been awkward, but thanks to those moments, her plausibility score had increased, so it was all for the best.

As Delia smiled gently, Niol finally returned to his usual easygoing demeanor.

“You’re welcome. Ah, come to think of it, I’m grateful to Lord Tranade for something.”

This was news to Delia’s ears. Just as she was about to ask what he meant, Niol spoke first.

“It’s a secret.”

Looking at his bright smile, Delia didn’t pry further. She simply gazed into those blue eyes and smiled back.

Even those blue eyes, which now seemed unreadable, held a strange appeal.

It was a relief. She would be seeing those blue eyes much more often in the future. Perhaps even more than those blue-gray eyes that had once stirred her heart so.

‘Because I made a promise with Niol.’

After asking Niol for a favor back in the annex’s hallway, Delia had accepted a request from him in return.

It was a promise that, if Kaiel were to find out, would make him sharpen his knives and raise a rebellion.

As Delia pondered the contents of their promise, she felt a persistent gaze and looked up.

Their eyes met, and instead of his usual nonchalant teasing, Niol spoke in a deliberately low voice.

“As expected, a promise with just you isn’t enough, Delia. I should still ask for permission, shouldn’t I?”

“Huh?”

It wasn’t until two days later, at the council meeting held after Kaiel’s return, that Delia fully grasped the meaning of his words.

“I want to appoint Miss Averbit as imperial physician. What do you think, Lord Tranade?”

Delia had a hunch.

Was this his way of asking for permission?!

Kaiel’s expression instantly hardened into an icy mask.

A chilling voice uttered a single word.

“What?”