In this Chaotic World, I Am Doing Fine - Chapter 4

When Liam regained consciousness, he was scolded harshly by Duke Wade.

It was because he had only been disgraced without achieving what he wanted, thanks to Acelia’s passionate performance.

“What on earth are you doing out there! A grown man getting beaten up by a skinny princess. Are you slacking off in your knight training? I didn’t even ask for much, just to humor the princess a bit, and you cause this mess!”

“……”

Even though the stitched wound was throbbing with pain, Liam had to listen to the Duke’s nagging without a peep.

The lax attitude he had shown in front of Acelia was nowhere to be seen.

He was a typical person who was strong to the weak and weak to the strong.

“You fool. Refrain from going out for a while and reflect on your actions. I can’t even hold my head up high because of the shame.”

“But Father, I was the one who got hit. I, the heir to the Wade Duchy, ended up like this, but what punishment did the Princess receive?”

“She received no punishment at all! Since you brought it up, let me ask you. What were you trying to do to the Princess?”

“……Pardon? What do you mean by ‘trying to do’?”

Liam was bewildered.

In his mind, he hadn’t done anything that could be considered ‘trying to do’ something.

Seeing his son’s clueless expression, the Duke clicked his tongue.

“No matter how lightly you regard her, she’s still the Emperor’s daughter. She’s still an imperial family member under the Emperor’s protection.”

“……”

“Don’t do anything that could get you in trouble until she becomes a member of our family. Do you know how hard it was to arrange this engagement? And now you’re trying to ruin it.”

No, I didn’t do anything at all.

Liam, not understanding the situation, just felt wronged.

Turning away from his fuming son, the Duke coldly reprimanded him with a displeased face.

“Keep your dalliances in moderation. You’re only picking up bad habits.”

“……!”

Duke Wade knew that Liam was cheating on the Princess.

But he only warned him because he believed that it was natural for a man to do so, and the Princess was merely a tool for the Duchy’s advancement.

Left alone, Liam’s face turned red as he panted angrily and started throwing things.

“What did I do wrong!”

“Eek, Young Master!”

Crash! Clang!

The frightened servants tried their best to stop Liam.

After venting his anger on objects for a while, Liam suddenly opened the wardrobe and put on whatever clothes he could grab.

Then, with bandages still wrapped around his head, he left the mansion.

“Young Master, where are you going?”

“Mind your own business!”

Father told him to reflect, not to stay indoors.

The place Liam hurried to in his carriage was a cozy cafe away from the city center.

Ding-a-ling, as Liam entered with the sound of the bell, the owner silently guided him to a private room.

“Ensia!”

A beautiful woman with purple hair and pink eyes, who was drinking tea, smiled warmly when she saw Liam.

***

Even after receiving treatment from the High Priest, there was no significant change in the status window.

[▶Poison(???)
— Makes the body weak and sometimes causes coughing up blood, nausea, chills, fever, etc.]

‘What? They made it sound so impressive, but all it did was settle my nausea?’

Acelia, who had hoped for a miracle cure, felt disappointed.

Well, such luck wouldn’t come to her.

If it had, she wouldn’t have fallen into this soap opera world in the first place.

Knock knock.

“You called for me, Your Highness.”

“Nanny.”

The nanny flinched when Acelia greeted her with a bright smile.

The Princess, who had suddenly changed one day, didn’t easily let anyone get close to her.

Not even to her, who had served since Acelia was a baby.

It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt, but seeing Acelia smile like sunshine made the nanny feel emotional, thinking ‘This is indeed Her Highness.’

Acelia guided her to a seat.

“Sit down. I called you to have tea together.”

“Yes. I’ll prepare it.”

“No. I invited you, so I’ll do it.”

Acelia pondered over the hot water and tea leaves she had prepared in advance through a maid.

She pretended to be relaxed, but since she’s used to tea bags, she didn’t know how to brew tea.

‘I guess this should do it, right?’

Acelia dumped the tea leaves into the teapot and poured hot water over them.

Seeing the fragrant aroma and color seeping out, it seemed she hadn’t done it wrong.

Today, Acelia planned to take the first step in finding the culprit who had poisoned her.

For that, she needed someone she could trust.

‘Honestly, using this method is unfair to the nanny.’

Acelia wanted something definite.

In a world where she couldn’t trust anyone, she needed someone who would be on her side no matter what crisis came.

Even if it would be cruel to the nanny who had served the Princess since childhood, she couldn’t help but test her.

That’s why she chose this method.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I’m happy to spend time with you like this.”

Acelia, with the steaming teacup in front of her, met the nanny’s eyes and smiled gently.

“I put poison in your tea.”

“……!”

It was the ‘I put poison in your black tea’ meme that once swept social media.

The original was from a scene in a drama where poison was put in alcohol, but at some point, it changed to black tea and became widely used.

Acelia, with the kindest face possible, urged the nanny in a whisper.

“Drink it.”

“Princess…! If I have offended you in any way, please tell me.”

“I said drink it, Nanny.”

The nanny stood up abruptly and knelt down.

But Acelia was merciless.

The nanny trembled like an aspen leaf as she faced Acelia’s cold eyes, despite her smile.

A moment later, with a solemn expression, she stood up.

“I… have been happy to serve you all this time. May you be in good health.”

The nanny, prostrating herself before the Princess, gulped down her share of tea.

But nothing happened.

‘Of course. How could I possibly get poison?’

Just as Acelia was inwardly moved by the nanny’s loyalty.

“Nanny, that’s enough now……”

“Ugh!”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?!”

“Bitter……”

The nanny grimaced as if she had really drunk poisoned tea, then shook her head in a panic.

“Ah, no. It was just a tea with a deep flavor.”

“……You don’t have to try to cover it up, Nanny.”

At that moment, Acelia made a vow.

Never to brew tea herself again.

Acelia gestured to the nanny who was watching her nervously, holding her head.

“Anyway, sit down. I’m sorry, Nanny. Since I have no memories, I had to test you like this.”

“It’s alright. What happened?”

“I’ve been poisoned.”

“……What?! What despicable person would…! Are you alright?”

The nanny was so angry that it moved Acelia, and she worried about her.

“I’m fine. I just feel nauseous sometimes, get chills, and have a fever.”

And I cough up blood too, though I haven’t experienced it yet.

“I’ll call the imperial physician right away.”

“What can I expect from someone who couldn’t even notice that I was poisoned?”

“That quack… I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Nanny.”

Fortunately, the nanny didn’t ask how she knew she was poisoned.

“Should we call the priest?”

“Would that be okay? We need a proper reason. I don’t want to let anyone know I’ve been poisoned as long as the culprit hasn’t been identified.”

“But……”

“It’s okay. It’s not a poison that will kill me right away.”

Acelia glanced at the status window she had called up.

[▶The Last Leaf(D-97)
—If you don’t resolve the ‘Poison(???)’ within 97 days, you will contract an incurable disease and die!]

Right. It’s not a poison that will kill me right away. I’ll die in 97 days.

“We need to find the culprit.”

“Yes. Can you do that discreetly for me?”

“Is that why you tested me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need. Your Highness did what you had to do. This nanny would have gladly drunk the tea even if it really was poisoned.”

‘How can a person be like this?’

Acelia wore an ambiguous expression.

She realized how little she knew about the people of this world.

From that day on, the nanny discreetly narrowed down the list of suspects.

“Roa Bell. The maid in charge of serving Your Highness’s tea. I heard her family is in dire straits due to massive debt. Wendy Sorbet. A maid working in the kitchen. She’s not originally from our palace but was in charge of the separate palace. Peter Madlen. The head servant who has been going out late at night frequently lately.”

“So many suspects…… Dig deeper into their backgrounds.”

However, in the end, Acelia couldn’t catch the culprit who had poisoned her.

This was because the maid named Roa Bell suddenly took her own life.

So this matter had to be shelved, leaving only suspicions.

‘There’s no way that maid acted alone. The culprit will appear again. I’ll definitely catch them then.’

Acelia clenched her fists.

On her wrist shone a bracelet imbued with holy power that the nanny had procured for her.

It’s just a stopgap measure, but they say it will neutralize the poison or something.

But after just a few days, as the <Sickly> trait and <Poison> took effect, Acelia fell ill.

‘Damn! This wretched body. Why did the roulette give me such a body? Couldn’t it have given me a slightly better one?’

If she kept being bedridden like this, she might have to face the ‘D-day’ without being able to do anything.

While receiving the nanny’s devoted care, Acelia gritted her teeth.

‘Once I get out of this bed, I’m going to build up my strength first!’