#9. Falling Into My Trap

Lloyd frowned as he entered his assigned bedroom in the annex palace. The room was completely dark. He wondered if the servants had been lazy, failing to light the lamps beforehand. As he was about to return to the corridor to call a servant, he sensed movement from inside.

“Who’s there!”

He tensed up, thinking it might be an intruder, but then hesitated as he remembered Karina saying she would come to see him. As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he could make out the silhouette of someone standing in front of the bed.

“Karina?”

The curtains were drawn shut, blocking even the moonlight. Though he couldn’t see their face at all, it was clearly a woman’s figure. When he called out the name, he saw them flinch.

Could it really be her?

Though he had seen the message on the handkerchief, he had been half-skeptical about whether Karina would actually come to his bedroom. But it was real. His heart felt like it would burst with the fact that she had come to see him first, and they were alone together in a dark, private room.

Still, it was rather sudden. Maybe she had something to say? Thinking she might have something to tell him privately, he tried to continue the conversation. But before he could open his mouth, she took a step forward.

“Karina?”

He called out again, puzzled by her approaching without a word, but still received no answer. Could she have figured out that he had attacked Aidan and come for revenge? Having committed the deed, he couldn’t completely let his guard down.

He saw her reach out her hand in the darkness. Fortunately, there was nothing in it. While he remained alert, she stepped even closer. Just as he was about to reflexively step back, her arms wrapped around his waist. His heart seemed to drop at the fragrant scent that suddenly enveloped him.

“Karina…?”

Was he dreaming? He had imagined her embracing him like this dozens of times. But now that imagination was becoming reality.

Carefully, he raised one hand to embrace her shoulder. Her delicate shoulder trembled under his arm, perhaps she was as nervous as he was.

“May I interpret this as I wish?”

It wouldn’t be manly to back away when a woman approached this far. He felt her slightly nod within his embrace in response to his question.

Oh, God.

Thanking a deity he never usually sought, Lloyd cupped her face in the darkness. Even as he tilted his head and moved closer, she didn’t try to avoid him.

Finally, I have her.

He could no longer think of anything else in his overwhelming satisfaction. Continuing with rough kisses, he led her to the bed. Thump. After pushing her down onto the bed, Lloyd felt his head might explode from desire he could no longer control, feeling the warm touch and soft skin under his fingertips.

*

Aidan remained alone in the empty banquet hall. He had felt dizzy since the end of the meal. Even slightly turning his head made objects in his vision seem to follow slowly. Though another knight had asked if something was wrong and offered help, he declined. He couldn’t show weakness to someone who might be his opponent in tomorrow’s tournament.

But there was definitely a problem. Beyond dizziness, he now felt something surging inside him like an impulse.

Suddenly, he remembered Lloyd’s sardonic smile while drinking wine. I’ve been had. There must have been something in that wine.

If there was any fortune in this misfortune, it didn’t seem to be poison. If it had been, he would have collapsed in front of everyone already. He didn’t feel any burning pain in his organs either. He couldn’t understand what the hell they had put in it to make his body like this.

First, he needed to leave here and return to his room. There, he could contact Kai and have him bring an antidote from a physician. But to get an antidote, wouldn’t they need to know what the drug was first? He clicked his tongue looking down at the empty wine glass on the table. Having drunk it all, there was no way to check.

I’ll just have to pray I don’t die tonight.

Though he had been wary of what Lloyd might do, he never expected him to so boldly drug the wine everyone drank together at dinner. He had to admit, Lloyd’s influence reached further than he had thought.

Though he managed to stagger out of the banquet hall, he still felt dizzy enough to be nauseous. He wasn’t confident he could make it safely to his quarters like this.

“Your Highness!”

Turning his head at the familiar voice, he saw Karina watching him with a stern face.

Why was she here? Was he hallucinating? Had it been a drug with hallucinogenic components?

These thoughts passed slowly through his mind.

“Are you alright?”

Karina took another step closer. Just then, a breeze carried her sweet and fragrant scent toward him. His heart seemed to drop for a moment.

“Ah, sh*t…”

As he cursed under his breath, Karina’s eyebrows furrowed. She looked like she might lecture him about using such vulgar language again. But that wasn’t the problem right now.

“Would you please not come closer? I’m fine.”

Karina hesitated at his request. Someone who would usually close the distance first was even stepping back — it almost hurt her feelings.

“You’re not fine.”

Karina answered firmly and supported his arm despite his protests. She almost sighed when she felt him flinch at her touch.

“Did you drink the wine?”

She asked, having heard that the emperor had provided good wine to the knights. As expected, Aidan just exhaled deeply with a hardened expression. He seemed to suspect something as well.

“I think Kate Spencer put something in that wine.”

Haah. Aidan let out a hollow breath at Karina’s words.

“Looks like she’s working with Lloyd.”

“His Highness Lloyd?”

Karina couldn’t understand why Lloyd was being mentioned here. Had it not been just Kate’s personal feelings at play?

“That bastard seemed to know someone had drugged my glass.”

She frowned at his unfiltered curse, but now wasn’t the time to scold him about that.

“It’s probably an aphrodisiac.”

The person who drugged him was Kate. And if Karina’s memory was correct, Kate had spent the night in Aidan’s quarters the night before the tournament. She might have seduced him with this aphrodisiac to spend the night together.

“You shouldn’t return to your quarters.”

“Because Kate Spencer or whoever will be waiting?”

Had Aidan figured it out too? Since he knew it was an aphrodisiac, he could probably guess. When she nodded instead of answering, Aidan smirked. Though his response suggested it was no big deal, unlike usual, the corner of his mouth trembled slightly. His breathing was also becoming rougher, perhaps due to the drug.

“It doesn’t matter. If I don’t stay in my quarters tonight, I’ll lose my qualification to participate in tomorrow’s tournament.”

Aidan shook off Karina’s hand and moved forward. He was determined to return to his quarters.

“But if you go there…”

“I said it’s fine.”

Aidan cut off Karina’s words and insisted again. What made him so confident? Knowing his past life where he had spent the night with Kate, Karina felt uneasy, but she had no way to explain her concerns.

“It’s not like I’m just going to let myself be taken advantage of.”

Aidan added, exhaling a long breath as if trying to suppress his fever. Karina couldn’t understand what he meant about not being taken advantage of.

“What I mean is, that woman isn’t in my quarters. Don’t worry.”

Though he smiled to reassure Karina, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

‘On my way here, I heard from the palace physician that His Highness’s wounds were quite deep. They said his life was truly in danger this time.’

She suddenly remembered what her father had said after the attack. Even then, Aidan hadn’t shown any sign of how bad his condition was in front of her. Perhaps this was similar.

“Regardless of Kate Spencer, I can’t leave Your Highness alone in this state.”

The situation didn’t look good at all. Though she didn’t know how strong the aphrodisiac’s effects were, his breathing was becoming increasingly rough, and his face was covered in cold sweat. Aidan was struggling so much he couldn’t hide it completely.

“I’ll call someone to bring a physician right away.”

As she turned to leave, Aidan grabbed Karina’s wrist. She was startled at his touch — his hand felt like a burning coal against her wrist.

“If it’s an aphrodisiac, it’ll wear off with time anyway. Don’t make this into a bigger issue. Tonight needs to pass quietly.”

She couldn’t understand why he was being so stubborn.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about me and return to your palace.”

Karina looked up at his face, then down at her wrist in his grip.

He was definitely not normal. Not fine at all. His scorching hand told her everything about his condition.

“Let’s go to Your Highness’s quarters.”

She stepped right up to him and grabbed his arm. She felt him flinch violently, but she gripped his arm firmly to prevent him from pushing her away. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink if she left now, worried about him. Besides, despite Aidan’s confident claims, there was no telling when Kate Spencer might come looking for him. If he embraced her while under the influence of the aphrodisiac, things would become even more complicated.

“Haah…”

She heard Aidan exhale deeply.

“Don’t blame me if you regret this.”

“I’ll regret it more if I leave Your Highness alone.”

Karina made it clear she wouldn’t back down. Aidan stopped trying to dissuade her.

Until then, she hadn’t known just how dangerous an aphrodisiac could be.

*