“If you’d like, I can also make a different remedy that’s good for wounds.”

Grand Duke Evander’s expression hardened in an instant.

“Do I look that weak to you?”

“That’s not what I meant……”

“Never mind. Let’s just sleep in our own rooms tonight.”

“……Pardon?”

Evander left the bedchamber quickly, as though angry.

Click. Left alone in the large bedchamber was Alicia, standing there without the faintest idea what had just happened.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Late at night.

Alicia came out of the bath and sank into thought.

‘That fever was intense.’

The heat from Grand Duke Evander’s palm that had touched her forehead in the carriage had been genuinely burning.

A fever means the poisoning symptoms could be flaring up again.

Alarmed, she had taken his hand and hurried back to the bedchamber to give him the medicine.

‘But why was he angry?’

Alicia tilted her head, picturing Grand Duke Evander’s back as he walked away in what seemed like anger. From her perspective, having worried about Evander’s health in all sincerity, it was a reaction she could not understand.

“What on earth was he thinking?”

She retraced his actions but could not figure it out.

She briefly wondered if he had mistaken it for an invitation to bed, but that did not seem right either.

Grand Duke Evander would never think something like that.

The two of them were bound by a strict contract and nothing more. What they wanted from each other was not physical but each other’s role. That was precisely why Alicia had been more worried about Grand Duke Evander’s condition than anything else.

‘But my own body is in poor shape today too.’

The constant tension and strain.

On top of that, she had not slept a wink the night before while making the antidote, and her body had already reached its limit.

As she made her way toward the bed and stumbled, Rina rushed over and steadied her.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“Yes. Just a little tired.”

Despite her answer, Alicia threw her heavy body onto the bed. The moment she made contact, all the exhaustion hit her at once.

Her eyelids, heavy as lead, slowly fell shut. Her mind grew as drowsy as her body, like sinking into warm seawater.

The conversation with Grand Duke Evander drifted back to her.

‘There must be a sea at the end of that river.’

‘There probably is.’

‘Have you seen it?’

‘Seen what?’

‘The sea.’

An old dream she had forgotten also surfaced naturally.

The Belonia Principality, with the Kingdom of Gades to the west, the Empire to the east, and the endless threat of monsters pressing in from the North. Seeing the sea had always been too great a luxury for her.

And when she had finally unified the continent, she had spent so much of her life wasting away from the poison.

‘Can I go in this life……’

She smiled a bittersweet smile, holding onto a hazy hope.

She closed her eyes, watching the moonlight press through the gap in the curtains.

Splash. Splash.

She thought she could hear the sound of waves from somewhere.

Walking along a white sandy shore, the sound of blue waves breaking. That was the peace she had truly wanted.

A dream more precious than any jewel.

That dream carried her into a deep sleep.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Late at night, in the western annex.

Helena could not sleep even as the night wore on. It was because of two reports that had arrived a short while ago.

The first was news that Grand Duke Evander and Alicia had returned after completing the nuptial mass.

“They have each retired to their own bedchambers, apparently.”

The fact that they had not shared a room was, from Helena’s perspective, at least welcome news.

The other was a report sent by Bishop Armonius of the Taron Temple.

“It seems Grand Duchess Alicia refused to make an offering at today’s nuptial mass.”

“Is that so?”

“She used that money to give grain to the people, apparently.”

Helena smiled.

“She’s trying to win the hearts of the people? Not a bad approach. Fine. Anything else?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

Helena’s eyes narrowed.

“Strange.”

By all expectations, reports about Grand Duke Evander should have been the main concern. He should clearly have been suffering from terrible headaches and frequent episodes of confusion, yet it was hard to believe he had come through the nuptial mass without incident.

‘I confirmed the poison’s effects myself. There is no room for failure……’

Above all, the fact that it was a poison gathered from the Forest of Monsters meant that neither its symptoms nor its treatment were known. That was the most significant factor.

‘I need to verify this.’

It was something that had to be addressed, as it could cause serious disruption to her long-term plans.

Fortunately, Helena had the authority and power to create such an opportunity whenever she wished.

“Blair, arrange a dinner for the two of them.”

Blair asked back with a hint of surprise.

“A dinner, you say?”

“Yes. I was not able to offer a proper congratulation at the wedding, so I thought to make a good occasion of it.”

“……”

Blair hesitated briefly at Helena’s unexpected plan. Then,

“Here, this is the list of ministers to invite along.”

Blair slowly nodded as she reviewed the list Helena handed her.

Every one of them was a person of power within the principality.

Blair’s expression settled as she grasped the significance.

“Yes, understood.”

“Oh, and send a gift along as well.”

“A gift, you say……”

“Did I not hear that she is fond of beautiful clothes and jewels?”

The authority to gift expensive jewels even amid the principality’s difficult circumstances. That authority belonged to the red seal on her finger.

The Blood Rose Seal.

A seal set with a jewel in the shape of a red rose, it was a symbol of the power to command every aspect of the domain’s affairs.

“Understood. I will prepare it at once.”

Click. Blair left, and Helena slowly lifted her teacup and sank into thought.

This dinner invitation was not for the simple purpose of socializing.

It’s a chance to check on Grand Duke Evander’s condition, and at the same time confirm what the Grand Duchess is scheming.

She slowly rose and moved to the window.

Beyond the steaming teacup, she looked out over the principality’s domain.

A great imperial palace at the far end of the cold earth.

Her gaze, fixed on a goal not yet visible, was colder and sharper than the winter wind.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The next morning.

A faint chill lingered in the dining room in the early dawn.

“Did you sleep?”

“Yes, I slept well. Did Your Highness rest?”

“Well enough.”

Despite his answer, Grand Duke Evander’s complexion was poor. He looked visibly tired, like someone who had not slept well.

Could it be the headache?

Unable to hold back any longer, Alicia asked.

“Did you take the medicine?”

“I did.”

“You don’t have a headache?”

Grand Duke Evander shook his head.

“The antidote you gave me seems to work very well.”

A short, flat answer.

The atmosphere made it impossible to continue, and Alicia asked nothing more.

A cold morning meal.

Brief exchanges of words here and there were all that passed between them.

The awkwardness from the previous night still lingered.

The conversation in the carriage was going well enough……

The atmosphere had grown sharply colder since the night before.

Alicia pressed her lips together at his reaction, which she could not make sense of.

No. Maybe this is more natural.

Yesterday had simply been an unusually easy atmosphere. For two people brought together for revenge, this kind of distance was actually more fitting.

But the more she tried not to notice, the more his poor complexion caught her eye.

Then,

“Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

Lieutenant Derick came looking for Grand Duke Evander early in the morning.

“What is it at this hour?”

After greeting both Grand Duke Evander and Alicia respectfully, Lieutenant Derick carefully stated his reason for coming.

“An invitation to dinner from Lady Helena has arrived.”

At the name Helena, Evander’s expression stiffened in an instant.

“A dinner, out of nowhere?”

“It is in honor of Your Highness’s marriage. The date is two days from now.”

“Tell her it is unnecessary. I have no time to waste at a meaningless dinner gathering.”

Lieutenant Derick continued quietly, as though he had anticipated the reaction.

“However, it is also a gathering of ministers who have not met in some time, and refusing could stir up needless noise. It was arranged personally by the Grand Ducal heir’s consort, so it is not easy to decline.”

Grand Duke Evander’s brow furrowed deeply at the unwelcome invitation.

But that was not the only bad news.

Click. The door opened urgently and a soldier rushed in. Derick stepped over, received a whispered report, and the soldier left.

“What is it now?”

“Early this morning, demonic beasts appeared on the northwestern front, apparently.”

Grand Duke Evander’s eyes narrowed.