There had been no warning whatsoever.

It was just another sweltering summer’s day. I had never even imagined in my wildest dreams that I was terminally ill.

I had always felt weak in the summer. In Bestia, where I lived, the season stretched on endlessly. The air wasn’t heavy with humidity, but the sun was merciless.

Already naturally frail, I collapsed from heatstroke every year. So I thought that day was no different; I had simply fallen ill from the heat again.

Then, all at once, the sky lost its color.

It was as if I had suddenly become color-blind: the clear, vibrant blue had vanished in an instant, and I was gripped by fear.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, but nothing had changed.

The world had drained to a dull, ashen grey and started spinning around me.

“My lady!”

The last thing I remembered was Becky, who had accompanied me on my outing, calling out to me in alarm.

Thud.

My body felt heavy and painful, as if it had collapsed in on itself.

***

When I opened my eyes again, a familiar canopy came into view. Clean white fabric, embroidered with golden thread.

The lavish golden daffodils were the crest of the House of Reynard.

“I feel… dizzy.”

I was clearly lying in bed, yet everything around me spun, as if I were standing on a disk that wouldn’t stop turning.

“M-My lady is awake!”

Becky’s voice reached me. She sounded on the verge of tears, and unease crept in. Becky was not someone who cried so easily.

“Lady Edenber.”

A man who appeared to be a physician rose from where he had been seated, as if he had been waiting for me to awaken, and approached me quietly.

Because of the suffocating silence and Becky’s quiet sobbing, I couldn’t shake off the unease.

“Is it heatstroke?”

“…No.”

“Then dehydration?”

“It isn’t.”

The physician hesitated, his lips parting as if to speak, and irritation rose within me.

I hadn’t been sick before. I collapsed from heatstroke sometimes, but that had always been the case.

“Will you just tell me? This is frustrating.”

I hadn’t meant to snap. But the anxiety made my words come out sharp without me realizing it.

“Lady Edenber. You have contracted Libitina Disease.”

“What is that?”

I frowned at the unfamiliar name.

“Well…”

He hesitated again. The longer he delayed, the more impatient I became, as if I were about to suffocate.

“Quickly.”

“It is a disease where the body gradually stiffens. Eventually… even the heart stops.”

It felt like a bell rang loudly in my head as I asked again,

“What?”

“This illness exists only in the north… so how it appeared here…”

“What do you mean?”

A ringing filled my ears. I could hear the words, but none of their meaning reached me.

Was it something serious? But why me? I hadn’t even been sick.

“Why would I…”

“Libitina Disease develops three and a half years after being bitten by a Libitina viper—forty-two months, to be exact. Have you ever been bitten by a snake three and a half years ago? Or perhaps ingested snake venom…”

“That’s impossible…”

“When the venom is first consumed, the victim falls into a deep sleep for three days. Does nothing come to mind?”

Three years ago, four years ago—throughout my entire life, I had never been bitten by a snake.

I shook my head and asked the physician, my voice growing urgent.

“Is there no cure?”

“There is. However, the antidote to Libitina venom is a secret technique passed down only within the House of Sigmund…”

“…Ha.”

The House of Sigmund had long been sworn enemies of the House of Reynard—the very family I was engaged to. And Sigmund’s domain lay in the far north, the complete opposite of Reynard’s southern territory.

“What about the symptoms? How fast does the body stiffen?”

“…Since the symptoms have already manifested, your heart will harden within a year.”

The words struck like a bolt from the blue, and my heart dropped.

Yet, for something so devastating, no tears came.

It didn’t feel real.

How could I possibly believe that I—who had been healthy until yesterday—only had one year left to live?

“One year… so short…”

“Would it not be best to inform His Grace?”

“Is there nothing that can be done here?”

“…No.”

At my question, the physician lowered his head.

At that, everything seemed to collapse beneath my feet, as if the ground had given way.

Who did this? Why?

What had I done to deserve being poisoned?

Was I hated so much that someone would give me poison that would only take effect three and a half years later?

Three and a half years ago… that was when I became engaged to the Duke of Reynard.

“I’ve never… been asleep for three days.”

Nothing came to mind. If it wasn’t during the engagement ceremony, then when?

“Are you certain… that I’ve been poisoned with Libitina venom?”

“Yes. Do you see the mark on your left arm?”

On my left arm, there was a pattern shaped like a Möbius strip. At a glance, it almost resembled an hourglass.

“When that mark completely disappears, your heart will stop.”

“Haha.”

It still didn’t feel real.

To someone who had nothing to laugh about, being told I was terminally ill—it was almost absurd enough to make me laugh.

My vision blurred for a moment, then cleared just as quickly.

“My lady…”

Becky clasped my hand tightly, as if trying to reassure me. But there was no way I could feel at ease.

“Is there no way to delay it?”

“There isn’t. The symptoms have already appeared.”

“I see.”

Duke Reynard was my fiancé, if only in name. No matter how little he loved me…

I suddenly thought of Blake Evan Reynard. He was cold and distant. He was never one for conversation. The only clear memory I had of him was seeing him in his office, head bent over his desk, completely absorbed in his work.

Perhaps if he found out that I was in danger, his expression might change, if only slightly.

After all, we had been engaged for nearly four years, despite how much he disliked me.

If it was a matter of life and death, surely he would help?

He might even be able to secure the antidote from the House of Sigmund.

If that were the case, maybe my life wouldn’t be over just yet.

“I’ll tell Blake myself, so don’t worry about it.”

“My lady…”

At Becky’s quiet sobbing, I found myself calming down.

It felt as though she was more worried about me than I was.

Not realizing just how foolish my thoughts truly were.