He let go slowly, waiting until she had found her footing. It was teasing in the way a predator toys with fragile prey before releasing it.

But then,

the easy smile on Grand Duke Evander’s face twisted.

“Ngh……”

He grimaced and let out a suppressed groan. The migraine had returned. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to endure the pain.

Ringing in his ears, a pounding head. Grand Duke Evander closed his eyes against the terrible agony. Seeing this, Alicia reminded herself of her purpose for tonight.

There’s no time to waste……

If left any longer, the poisoning could progress beyond what the antidote could address. Alicia collected herself and spoke first.

“Your headache is severe.”

“……Don’t concern yourself.”

“I can’t do that. We’re in the same boat now. Come closer.”

“I said I don’t need it.”

“What if I told you I have an antidote?”

Grand Duke Evander’s bloodshot eyes locked onto Alicia.

“Neither priests with sacred holy power nor physicians renowned for their skill could cure this. So how could you possibly……”

“Are you curious about the treatment, or do you need the antidote?”

Alicia cut him off and held up a small vial.

“……”

Grand Duke Evander studied her for a moment, then his eyes went cold.

A piercing gaze.

The eyes of a beast that had cut down countless enemies on the battlefield and torn monsters apart.

“If this is a lie, you had better be prepared.”

Even at the chilling warning, Alicia’s eyes did not waver. Grand Duke Evander watched her a moment longer, then snatched the vial from her hand.

He drank it down in one go.

Gulp. Gulp.

The liquid that spilled at the corner of his mouth ran down his throat, and he wiped it away with the back of his hand. He emptied the entire vial, but the headache did not ease in the slightest.

“It was a lie after all. Apologize now and I’ll let it go.”

A cold warning delivered with a hand at her throat.

But Alicia did not look away.

“I never lied. It simply takes a little time for the medicine to take effect.”

Perhaps her bold answer displeased him.

“Ah!”

Grand Duke Evander lifted her and threw her roughly down onto the bed. He was on top of her in an instant, looking down.

“Then I’m relieved. We have plenty of time to wait for it to work.”

“Just a moment ago you said it wasn’t the time yet……”

He seized both her hands as she pushed against him and pinned them above her head.

“Thoughts have a way of changing.”

Was it the terrible headache.

Or the effects of the poison.

Evander’s hands, bloodshot eyes and all, were rough and urgent as they worked at the ties of her dress.

The dress was pulled away roughly, and the pale skin beneath was revealed. Paler than the moonlight pressing through the gap in the curtains, it trembled faintly.

Evander ignored her reaction and looked at the wrist he was holding.

A wrist so slender it seemed it would snap under pressure.

The urge to leave a mark on that white skin surged through him.

Crunch.

He pressed his back teeth together slowly.

He wanted to bite something else, but forced himself to hold back.

Each time the half-removed fabric grazed her skin, a strange sensation sent hot desire surging through him.

His gaze and his actions are driven by nothing but instinct.

And then, in that moment,

“……”

His bloodshot eyes wavered.

An overwhelming drowsiness bore down on him, and Grand Duke Evander’s eyelids grew heavy. He tried to fight it, but consciousness slipped away.

Slowly.

His body tilted to one side, and Alicia reached out in a rush to catch him. Her quick action spared him from tumbling off the bed entirely.

“Haa…… the antidote has finally started working.”

Alicia let out a flushed breath and pressed her hand to the sleeping Grand Duke’s forehead. The fever that had been burning like fire had subsided.

It worked, thank goodness.

It was not a complete cure, but it was now clear that it had an effect on both the pain and the poison.

She carefully pushed his solid frame to the side, and the sleeping man’s face came into view.

The man who had always looked at her with the cold eyes of a beast was sleeping with an expression of complete peace.

To think this man had a face like this……

The Lord of Blood.

It was a face hard to believe belonged to the Grand Duke recorded in history as a murderous madman.

If there had been no Emperor,

if there had been no Helena, perhaps this might have been his face for a lifetime.

She found herself wondering what he might have looked like, had he lived without those wounds.

But she shook her head and pushed the thought away.

‘Useless curiosity is the last thing I need. We are nothing more than invaluable tools to each other.’

She pressed her lips together and sat up.

From the tangle of feelings inside her, she drew out only the desire for revenge and held it close.

In the deepening night, the only sound was the careful breathing of two people.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The next morning.

Grand Duke Evander slowly opened his eyes and took stock of himself.

The headache was gone. The fever that had felt like it was burning his head away had vanished too. Waking with a clear head for the first time in a long while, he sat up in bed and looked slowly around.

“You’re awake?”

Alicia, already dressed and groomed, offered a morning greeting.

“Remarkable. A headache that neither priests nor the principality’s finest physicians could cure, resolved in one go.”

He could not even remember the last time he had woken without discomfort. Alicia listened to his words of reluctant admiration and spoke.

“You didn’t trust me.”

“Trust is hard to speak of when we still know so little about each other.”

“I told you clearly that we are in the same boat.”

“Sharing a direction doesn’t mean we share the same destination.”

Evander’s cold words cut straight to the heart of what Alicia had been thinking.

“For trust to form between us, there are things that need to be answered.”

He was asking how she had known about his symptoms and the antidote. Depending on her answer, she could invite even greater suspicion.

‘If I reveal that I know the future, I could be mistaken for a witch and executed.’

More than anything, the trust she needed to build with him going forward could be shattered.

Alicia steadied herself and answered.

“I reviewed the reports from the priests who examined you, and there was nothing physically wrong. So I thought it had to be one of two things. A curse, or a poison not yet widely known.”

Grand Duke Evander’s eyes narrowed at her reasoning.

“So it was poison. And that’s why you called it an antidote.”

Alicia nodded.

“That’s right. The headaches, the confusion, and the recurring memory loss all pointed to deliberate poisoning.”

She did not name who had intended it. But both Grand Duke Evander and Alicia knew perfectly well.

“She really is the spitting image of the Emperor.”

“But you need not worry any further. As long as you have the antidote, the same poison cannot harm you.”

“In other words, you’re telling me to pretend I haven’t noticed.”

Grand Duke Evander read the intent behind her words precisely. He was not simply a ruler with strength in battle.

Alicia gave a small, careful nod.

“It will waste the other side’s time, and at the same time become a decisive blow at the critical moment.”

“I see. Then I’ll leave that matter to you going forward.”

“Thank you.”

“Though naturally a question comes to mind. How do you know so much about medicine?”

Grand Duke Evander’s question was sharp.

Alicia took a moment to collect her thoughts and answered quietly.

“I’ve had a deep interest in medicine since I was young. I always wanted to know what was harmful and what was beneficial. Knowledge of poisons came naturally from there.”

“Unexpected. I assumed you cared only for luxury and indulgence.”

Alicia gave a wry smile.

“Rumors are always distorted.”

“Yes, that I know better than anyone. In any case, I’m glad. Your abilities will be of great use to me.”

Grand Duke Evander nodded slowly and continued.

“Good. One more thing.”

His gaze turned to Alicia. More precisely, he was looking directly into her red eyes.

“I intend to visit your bedchamber every night from now on. And naturally, we will sleep together.”

“……”

Alicia’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected statement. Grand Duke Evander continued in a firm tone, to prevent any unnecessary misunderstanding.

“Because someone will be made very uneasy by it.”

Oh……

Alicia felt a small surge of admiration inwardly. She knew all too well who the “someone” he was referring to was.

“That is a good idea.”

Before she realized it, a small smile had begun to spread at the corners of Alicia’s lips.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Early morning in the western annex garden.

Helena savored the quiet dawn air over a cup of tea.

Then she noticed Blair hurrying toward her.

“What brings you here in such a rush at this hour?”

Blair gave a brief bow and opened her mouth carefully.

“It seems His Highness the Grand Duke and Her Highness spent the wedding night together.”