She pressed her hand to her heart. Though she was alone, she felt strangely tense, and lifted her head while taking deep breaths.

The marble-decorated bathroom sparkled silver in the moonlight streaming through the window. The long silver hair that had fluttered like curtains blocking her vision earlier flashed in her mind.

Blink.

Leah quickly blinked her eyes and lowered her gaze. Looking at the steaming bathwater reminded her of Helix’s worried face.

‘Leah, even medicinal baths aren’t good if you stay too long. What if you faint?’

Splash.

She stirred the water with her hand.

But it was useless. Other images kept coming to mind.

That face rushing over with an urgent expression, trampling the slave traders, then frowning while looking at her. Then coming closer and holding her trembling hand with his even more trembling hand to infuse mana.

She flipped over her submerged white hand and stared intently at her slightly pink palm.

Her palm felt strangely itchy.

“What is this, really.”

The muttered words echoed in the bathroom making Leah startle. Though no one else heard it, heat rose to her cheeks.

I must be going crazy.

She quickly rose from the tub. She felt she shouldn’t keep doing this.

“Helix is a guardian.”

Leah murmured softly aloud.

“Of course he’s kind to the weak and elderly, except villains.”

Since I’m the weakest of the weak.

And since he’s my contractor too, that’s why he treats me extra well.

Her mood sank at her own thoughts, and she roughly put on a robe without calling a maid to help.

The night air was cool when she stepped out of the bathroom. Leah stood still trying to feel that cold air while staring out the window. As her heart settled in the cold moonlight, the heat in her cheeks seemed to cool as well.

But why.

Why did she still feel so unsettled.

“Sigh……”

As she turned around with a sigh, she paused. She glimpsed a figure in the dark bedroom.

***

“…Janet?”

A different voice answered.

“My lady, your medicinal tea.”

Leah narrowed her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. An unfamiliar maid was holding a tray.

“Where’s Janet?”

“The head maid suddenly called for her so I came instead.”

It was a suspicious answer.

Though Janet was still an apprentice maid in training, Leah had ordered that only Janet should bring the medicinal tea.

“Then who sent you?”

“The head maid.”

Both the head maid and court physician knew about Janet’s assigned task.

Leah’s wariness increased.

Who was this maid, and what was this situation?

“……”

As the silence lengthened, the maid holding the tray quietly observed Leah.

For a brief moment.

After a measuring glance passed over her, the distance suddenly closed.

“Eek…!”

Before she could even scream, strong fingers grabbed her hair.

Leah couldn’t gather her thoughts. Her head was yanked back by a strength she’d never imagined possible.

“Ugh!”

Her mouth opened involuntarily from the pain.

The maid picked up the medicinal teapot with her other hand and pressed the spout to Leah’s mouth, pouring it forcefully.

“Gak! Cough!”

The poisoned tea choking her blocked her breath. Even when she tried to shake her head, the strong grip held her hair firmly without budging.

‘It was an assassin! I should have stalled for more time until someone came…!’

Leah desperately tried to hold the poison in her mouth without swallowing.

As if mocking her efforts, the assassin raised the edge of her hand.

“Swallow quickly!”

The hand edge flew toward her neck. Leah twisted her head with all her might.

Anger filled her eyes.

‘You drink it yourself!’

At that moment, flames suddenly appeared in mid-air.

The fire flew like tiny insects toward the assassin’s eyes and nose.

“Argh!”

As the assassin let go with a sudden scream, a large person lunged at them.

“Leah!”

It was Helix.

Bang! Crash!

Along with sounds of something falling, he rushed to Leah.

“Leah! Quick!”

She who was frozen like a hamster with poison tea in her cheeks opened her eyes even wider.

“Spit it out now!”

At Helix’s urgent words, Leah came to her senses.

“Puh!”

While she spat the poison on the floor, Helix quickly looked around. He grabbed a water bottle from the table while holding onto Leah.

“You need to rinse your mouth! Hurry!”

“Mmm……”

Leah just looked up at Helix. Her gaze was growing dim.

‘Did she swallow some poison in that time?’

Growing anxious, he held Leah and poured water into her mouth.

“Nngh…!”

Her cheeks, already pale, reflexively turned away remembering the assassin from earlier. Helix firmly held her mouth and tilted the water bottle. Leah trembled finely like a startled bird.

“Hic… hiccup!”

“Don’t swallow, spit it out!”

Though he urged while pressing her throat, she grew limper and limper.

He could feel her mana core working furiously to push out the poison, but it wasn’t enough. Helix gritted his teeth.

‘The mana core’s active movement is actually making the poison spread faster.’

At this rate, not only would her mana core break, but Leah’s life was in danger.

He could feel her body, growing cold from the poison starting at her fingertips, becoming gradually hotter as she went limp.

‘Her mana is clearly starting to go berserk as her body’s balance breaks down.’

Helix’s hands holding Leah tightened. He had to do something. He placed his hand on Leah’s chest which had started beating erratically.

‘With this somehow…!’

That’s when it happened.

Without any warning, a blade tip pressed against Helix’s nape.

Along with the hair-raising killing intent, a fierce voice grinding teeth was heard.

“…Are you going to move that hand?”

***

Ruyan who arrived suddenly in the middle of the night turned the villa upside down.

He had witnessed Leah collapse and even be molested right before his eyes, and after that his sister hadn’t woken up.

“The lady was in danger again?”

“Why do these things keep happening to our lady…”

Word spread quickly through the Piert villa.

The employees whispered in shock, and Knight Biden, the 2nd squad captain of the Piert knights who was supposed to protect Leah, turned ashen.

“I have no excuse.”

Knight Biden blamed himself.

He said they should have always posted guards in front of Leah’s room, but they had grown lax lately while clearing the early heavy snow and watching for monsters.

However, Ruyan felt something off about the other employees’ attitudes.

“Was that really the reason there were no guards?”

“Pardon?”

“I saw something in the nearby village recently. Leah was walking around alone with that whatever Helix fellow.”

Ruyan questioned sharply.

“There haven’t been any guards since then, right?”

“Th-that’s… since Lady Leah was always with Lord Helix… even when we assigned other guards, the two would somehow slip away…”

“So you left that suspicious guy as Leah’s guard?”

“Captain, but even you would have allowed it if you saw directly.”

Knight Biden carefully said while fidgeting.

“Lord Helix was said to have healing abilities. Actually, while with him, the lady even ran.”

Run? Leah?

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“It’s true. My knights and I saw clearly with our own eyes. The court physician vouched for him too.”

Ruyan listened with patience as they explained how Helix had saved Leah when she was poisoned, how the court physician had welcomed and accepted him, and how the lady had grown healthier since then.

His insides were boiling like a volcano about to erupt.

He had felt uneasy seeing some guy sticking close to Leah acting friendly, but now it turns out he was a man who suddenly appeared with unknown identity? And both Leah and the employees accepted such a person without resistance?

“Call the court physician.”

The court physician who appeared after quite a while, having been who knows where doing what, looked haggard.

“Lord Helix is not someone who would harm the lady!”

Ruyan’s mood grew darker at his immediate assertion filled with conviction.

It was reckless enough that they accepted Helix as Leah’s benefactor and welcomed him after a major incident like the poisoning, and it was incomprehensible that the employees trusted such a person.

But to think even the closest aides like Knight Biden and the court physician deeply trusted the guy. Ruyan let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha. To think I trusted Leah with people like you.”

The court physician who would normally have crumpled immediately under Ruyan’s fierce aura. Yet somehow finding courage, he looked at Ruyan and objected.

“Young lord, you say that because you haven’t seen how Lord Helix took care of the lady, how much healthier she became after he arrived. He even ma…!”

The court physician who was about to add something hastily shut his mouth.

Ruyan sneered.

“And such a person would act that way to a collapsed child?”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

Knight Biden carefully cut in for the bewildered court physician.

“Captain, it wasn’t just Lord Helix who was found. There was also an unconscious maid there, and poison and a dagger were found on her. Perhaps Lord Helix saved the lady…”

Ruyan’s expression twisted fiercely.

Come to think of it, there was that suspicious maid too.

“Right. I need to investigate everything.”

He said through gritted teeth.

“I’ll check personally how many more suspicious people are in this villa.”

***

It was late afternoon when the subjugation force finally arrived at the villa, huffing and puffing after following Ruyan who had disappeared first.

Though it was a beautiful villa meticulously decorated down to each rose in the garden and stone in the pavement, the subjugation force knights couldn’t admire the scene before them.

“Why is the atmosphere here like this?”

The knights whispered while reading the mood. They soon learned why.

The villa’s atmosphere that had darkened after Leah was attacked had grown even darker with Ruyan’s rampage.

It was obvious without seeing how that sister-complex would be acting when Peirlily faced assassination threats and poison. Prince Patrick spoke while inwardly sighing.

“Have someone guide us to Lord Piert.”