“Ah!”

Seraphina collapsed forward onto the Crown Prince. It seemed that she had injured her wrist falling down the stairs. As he tried to get up, he caught her again.

Now fully cradled in his arms, Seraphina struggled and cried out.

“I—I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness!”

As if injuring him were not bad enough, she had ended up in his arms. This was the kind of situation that would leave her with no excuse at all, and could result in her being dismissed on the spot.

Seraphina shuddered at the thought of losing her position.

The Crown Prince hated women.

Countless women had tried to approach him, yet he treated them with an almost obsessive fastidiousness. Anyone who touched him without permission was expelled immediately.

Those who resorted to petty schemes, such as dropping a handkerchief at his feet or pretending to stumble into his path, were severely punished. He banned them from ever setting foot in the palace again, imposing heavy fines on top of that.

Her fall down the stairs could be dismissed as an accident. Even the Crown Prince catching her could be explained away.

But clinging to him after hitting the floor? There was no excuse for that.

‘What should I do…?’

She felt the blood drain from her body. She had been clinging to the hope of this month’s wages, but if she were expelled from the palace and fined as well, a new dress would be the least of her concerns. Marianne and Leoban would never leave her alone.

“Y-Your Highness…”

With her heart pounding, Seraphina addressed the Crown Prince.

For some reason, he had remained silent throughout. He was usually a man of few words, but this was unnervingly quiet even for him.

“Y-Your… Highness?”

Seraphina cautiously lifted her gaze. The instant her eyes met the Crown Prince’s deep blue ones—

“Ugh…!”

A searing pain shot through the nape of her neck.

It was sharp and intense, as if dozens of needles were stabbing her skin simultaneously. Startled, she tried to raise her hand to her neck, but the Crown Prince clenched his jaw.

“Hh…”

Even with his face twisted into a cold grimace, he was strikingly handsome. However, Seraphina had no time to admire him — the pain in her neck was worsening.

Then, an overwhelmingly potent scent flooded her nostrils.

It was the kind of fresh, cool fragrance one might encounter while walking through a forest at dawn, with a faint hint of damp earth. The scent surged over her all at once.

‘What is this smell…?’

Seraphina panicked and covered her nose and mouth. Mocking her efforts, the scent intensified until it felt as though she were being drenched in undiluted perfume.

It was suffocating. Breathing became difficult, and she felt nauseous.

“Ugh—hk!”

Seraphina covered her mouth and heaved. Still fearing that she might offend the Crown Prince, she tried to sit up straight.

But her body refused to obey her.

The Crown Prince was still holding her.

‘I’m really going to throw up at this rate!’

In a panic, Seraphina clamped a hand over her mouth and shoved him away. Fortunately, he released her without putting up a fight.

The moment she was free, she fled without looking back, running as fast as she could to escape him and the strange scent.

She didn’t stop until she could no longer smell it.

Unaware that the Crown Prince was watching her retreating figure with an unyielding gaze, she continued to run, her lungs burning with each painful breath.

***

“Sephi! Sephi!”

It was only when Brandt’s voice finally stopped her that she stopped running aimlessly. She had been pushing her legs to their limits, but it was only when she spotted her friend that she was able to stop.

“Hah… hhk… Bra—Brandt…”

“Where were you rushing off to like that? Just look at you — you’re dripping with sweat!”

Brandt pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her forehead. Still gasping, Seraphina took the cloth from him.

“Y-yeah… I don’t know… It was a smell—no, a scent. Yes, a scent…”

Her voice trembled as she spoke incoherently. The handkerchief in her grip quickly grew damp.

“A scent? What kind of scent?”

“…You don’t smell anything, Brandt?”

At her question, Brandt leaned in slightly. He sniffed the air around her, then straightened and replied.

“I don’t smell anything at all.”

“…Really?”

Struggling to steady her breathing, Seraphina rubbed her arms as though she were freezing. The sharp pain that had stabbed her in the nape of her neck seemed to be spreading throughout her body, making her shiver uncontrollably.

‘What’s wrong with me…?’

She bit down on her lip. She had definitely smelled something — a very strong, overpowering scent. So why had Brandt said there was nothing? And why did her body feel like this?

She was confused.

“Look at you shaking. Don’t tell me you caught a cold?”

“Do you think so…?”

Seraphina blinked slowly as she listened to Brandt, trembling. She had been worried because her condition had felt so unusual, but now he had mentioned it, it did seem possible.

Her sense of smell was impaired, and she could feel a creeping chill.

“…A cold?”

She murmured, frowning. The moment she did, Brandt swiftly took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

“You’re dressed too lightly. It’s autumn now. Don’t just stand around—go back to your quarters and rest.”

“Mm.”

“I’d walk you back, but the knights are being summoned. You can make it on your own, right?”

Seraphina nodded, pulling the cloak tighter around herself as she spoke.

“Thank you for the cloak. I’ll have it cleaned and return it.”

“You don’t need to. I’ve got plenty.”

Brandt smiled brightly, gently pushing Seraphina in the back and urging her to go. At his prompting, Seraphina started walking.

“Okay. See you later.”

After saying goodbye, she headed towards the Crown Prince’s palace. Perhaps because she had run at full speed earlier, her legs felt weak and unsteady.

Seraphina dragged her heavy feet as she slowly made her way back to the palace and her quarters.

Just as Brandt had said, she must have caught a cold.

If she lay down in her soft bed and slept for a while, she would surely feel better.

That was what she believed.

***

Her belief betrayed her easily.

Even after she had collapsed into bed and slept as though she had fainted, and even after she had slept for a long time, the chills did not subside.

“I’m cold…”

Curled up in bed, Seraphina was trembling violently. Earlier, she had only felt a slight chill. Now, late into the night, she felt as though she were immersed in icy water.

‘What kind of cold is this…?’

She touched her forehead with trembling hands. Her skin felt as cold as her fingers.

Lowering her hands, she pulled a robe over her nightclothes. She thought she might need to consult a royal physician.

‘Are they still awake…?’

Seraphina stepped out into the corridor, hoping the physician was still in the palace somewhere. Beyond the large windows lining the long hallway, the dark sky was scattered with bright stars.

As she walked through the silent passageway, holding a lantern, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Once again, she felt a sharp pain in the nape of her neck and winced.

“Ugh…”

She lifted a hand to her neck. When she had asked Rosalynde earlier, she had been told that there were no marks on the back of her neck. Indeed, the skin beneath her fingers was smooth and unblemished.

Yet it continued to sting and throb as though something were deeply wrong.

It was maddening.

‘I should have the physician check my neck too.’

Seraphina endured the pain and pressed on. To reach the main palace, where the physician was staying, she had to pass through the glass greenhouse attached to the Crown Prince’s palace.

As she left the corridor by her quarters and entered the hallway leading to the greenhouse—

“…!”

The powerful scent she had smelled earlier crashed over her once more.