Though she knew innocent people would suffer, she was too hungry to stop him.

Lucian quickly returned with a teacup and teapot.

“Hmm… this smells familiar….”

“It’s tea the merchant guild master left.”

“The one that’s good for restoring energy?”

“Yes, it contains no caffeine and has some nutrients. I asked a doctor, and he said severely ill patients often drink it. I thought you might be able to drink it too.”

Lucian skillfully poured tea into the cup. Then he cooled the tea with utmost care. Because he had brought it in a hurry, the tea was still warm.

Unable to use magic, he cooled the tea by blowing on it gently.

“Pfft…! Cough, cough!”

“Are you alright?”

“Ah… I didn’t know even laughing would be this difficult. I’m fine.”

Adelia pressed her hand firmly against her chest as she spoke.

Laughing heartily had caused her chest to tighten. The feeling of her lungs being pricked meant she had to avoid loud laughter, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.

It was quite amusing to see a large adult man holding a small teacup preciously and cooling it with gentle blows.

It wasn’t bad seeing the man who once wielded and swung a sword now focusing on a single teacup.

‘Of course, I’m happy because it’s tea for me.’

If that cup had been for another woman? She would have found a way to spill it by any means necessary.

Since recognizing that Lucian liked her, she had been enjoying his actions.

After taking great pains to cool the tea, Lucian brought the cup to Adelia’s lips.

“Drink slowly.”

The tea flowed in leisurely.

Though the aroma wasn’t pleasant, being liquid, it didn’t cause the rejection reaction from earlier.

When Adelia emptied the cup, Lucian’s face brightened.

“Would you like more?”

“I’ll have one more cup.”

One cup wasn’t enough to satisfy her hunger. Only after drinking three cups in succession did Adelia show a satisfied expression.

Her stomach would soon empty again, but the hunger that had caused her to feel nauseous was gone.

‘Ah… I’m getting sleepy again.’

As the sensations that irritated her nerves disappeared, her body grew languid. Drowsiness came over her as if her body were truly dying.

Fear followed that she might never open her eyes again if she closed them now, but she couldn’t resist her increasingly heavy eyelids.

As soon as she leaned her body against the bed, Adelia fell asleep again.

“Again….”

Lucian let out a small sigh. His heart sank whenever Adelia fell asleep without warning.

He was immensely happy when the blue sea held him in its gaze, but when the sea disappeared, his heart raced with anxiety.

It seemed she might leave for a place he would never see again with her eyes closed.

Lucian firmly held Adelia’s hand. Feeling the faint pulse from her thin wrist, which was less than a handful, he recognized that she was alive.

When she coughed and spat blood, his heart felt torn with pain and anguish, but when she slept, he couldn’t take his eyes off the deep, ocean-like emptiness.

“Please don’t leave me.”

Because if you leave without a word, I might go mad.

Lucian kept his post, firmly holding Adelia’s hand.

***

“Her body is gradually stabilizing. We can set aside our worries now.”

“Thank goodness… we can call the palace servants back now.”

Only after a week since waking up did Adelia escape her dying body.

Palace servants returned to the Crown Princess’s palace, where only the imperial family and a few shadows had been coming and going.

Since Adelia had a good reputation among the servants, many people genuinely worried about her. They returned to the palace rejoicing at the news of her recovery, but they had to tremble at the imperial family they encountered as soon as they arrived.

“If Adelia’s condition worsens, I’ll replace all of you.”

“Don’t make even a sound near my sister’s bedroom, be careful of every noise and light, and everything from what she eats to what she wears and sleeps in must be perfect.”

“If you utter nonsense, you’ll have to forfeit your neck.”

“Just try asking my sister if she’s worried or if anything hurts. Treat her like cotton candy by the water, being careful in everything you do.”

The palace servants broke out in cold sweat at the Emperor’s threats and the princes’ enumeration of numerous precautions.

She already had a fragile image, but now Adelia had become the very embodiment of illness. The palace servants, who had received one round of education, whispered with deflated expressions.

“Still, since Her Highness has awakened, will the palace atmosphere improve?”

“It should. The palace became too bleak after Her Highness collapsed.”

“The Emperor’s palace was hell, they say. Without Her Highness to alleviate His Majesty’s anger, people were carried out like before.”

“And what about the Prince’s palace? They say His Highness became more fastidious and sensitive than before, making it a nightmare to match his mood.”

“In the Princess’s palace, Her Highness had no energy and kept crying, so they had to work hard to comfort her.”

“The worst was the Crown Prince’s palace. They say it was frighteningly quiet there. His Highness rarely came to the palace, and though he was listless and said nothing, he became so sensitive that the palace felt full of invisible knives.”

But contrary to their hopes, the atmosphere in the Crown Princess’s palace was like walking on thin ice.

Lucian spent all day with Adelia in the palace except when sleeping, and the Prince who came and went at all hours was an added burden.

They could barely breathe only when Ariana came.

“Where’s my sister?”

“She was asleep earlier, but I’m not sure about now. His Highness the Crown Prince is inside, so we can’t enter either.”

“Okay. Let them know I’m here!”

“We were told to just open the door when the Princess comes.”

There was no longer fog in front of the bedroom. One maid and guards of Sword Master level guarded the door.

The bedroom door, which opened wide only for the imperial family, welcomed Ariana.

Ariana entered the room on tiptoes with small steps. Fortunately, Adelia was awake.

Adelia, who was sitting leaning back slightly against many cushions at the head of the bed, was looking out the window beside the bed.

Because the day was cloudy, the sunlight wasn’t strong. The curtains had been drawn and the windows opened wide for the first time in a long while.

Lucian sat in a chair beside the bed, only looking at Adelia. Previously, he would have been the first to greet the Princess, hearing her footsteps before anyone else, but since Adelia’s collapse, Lucian only had eyes for her.

Ariana wasn’t offended at all.

“I’m here.”

“You’ve come. Come over here.”

Her brother’s appearance, welcoming her with a smile, remained the same. She could accept that her brother’s priorities had changed as he pulled a low chair suited to her height toward the bed and placed a cushion on it with kindness.

Besides, she was more than happy that Adelia occupied the first place in his priorities.

“The Princess has arrived.”

“How are you feeling, Sister?”

“Better than yesterday.”

Adelia, who had been blankly staring out the window, turned her head at Ariana’s voice.

As Adelia pulled up the corners of her mouth, they trembled weakly. She still welcomed the Princess with a smile.

The contrast was stark between the vibrant life outside the window and Adelia, who was as precarious as a candle flame.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“No, thank you! I have etiquette lessons soon. I just came to see your face briefly, Sister.”

“Etiquette lessons?”

“Oh, I’ve decided to attend this year’s Founding Festival. Though I’m not making an official debut as a debutante, they say I can attend since I’m a member of the imperial family and it’s the Founding Festival. I’ll be there to protect you from the side!”

Ariana clenched both hands and pledged with a resolute face.

To Ariana, Adelia was like an idol. From their first meeting, she had sparkled like the sun, a person with beautiful vitality.

Though her family members were also very strong and reliable, Adelia was strong and solid in a different sense.

Seeing such an Adelia collapse weakly and cough up blood came as a shock to Ariana as well.

So Ariana, watching the sleeping Adelia, thought she wanted to protect her. Though she wasn’t strong enough to protect her physically like Lucian, she wanted to be a reliable younger sister whom Adelia could lean on mentally.

“Did His Majesty permit it?”

“Of course!”

“That’s reassuring. I’ll stay right by your side, Princess.”

Adelia curved her eyes, hiding her pupils. Behind her faint smile, she concealed her anxiety.

There was nothing better than a smile to hide her trembling pupils.

‘Ariana attending the banquet is something that should happen years from now.’

The future had changed.