Despite her silence, Gideon roughly deduced the answer. He discovered his own error and corrected it himself.

For immunity to develop, it couldn’t have been just a one-time or two-time occurrence. Then the probability that she had poisoned herself was extremely high.

“Where?”

“……”

“Home?”

“……”

“……Ah. Mother-in-law’s storage?”

Since her mother wouldn’t have put it in her food, this meant she really took it with her own hands.

Gideon smiled brightly, utterly dumbfounded. It was a beautiful and radiant smile, but simultaneously an extremely cold one.

Tatiana just listened to Gideon’s barrage of questions with a dazed expression. Then she slowly turned her back and avoided his eyes.

She was now… too scared. It wasn’t his fierce gaze that frightened her. It was the speed of his thoughts and reasoning that extended instantaneously.

How far could he deduce from just the word “resistance”? And why were all his deductions correct? Being a prince wasn’t something just anyone could do.

But no matter how much he pondered, Gideon seemed unable to accept this situation.

“How could you put such things into this precious body?”

How did the Bloom couple raise you? You’re mine. You were going to marry me. Why would you do such a thing to that body? It was beyond audacious—it was outrageous.

There was something else that bothered him.

“But why does Kay know this while I’ve been in the dark until now?”

Kay, who had been listening to the couple’s argument as if it were someone else’s business, finally flinched. He realized that something truly terrifying had happened not only to the princess consort but to himself as well.

Tatiana glared at Kay with an expression that said “serves you right.”

‘You, how are you going to take responsibility for this? My husband is angry again. We’ve been getting along so well lately.’

‘……’

‘This is all your fault.’

But the water had already been spilled.

The two exchanged glances and slowly rose from their seats. They pretended to look around for other things to do, feigning nonchalance.

But Gideon, who was irritated by the fact that they stood up together again, gritted his teeth and smiled.

“Where are you going? Both of you sit down. No, you leave.”

Gideon drove Kay away, and Kay vanished instantly. It was an impressive speed, a new footwork technique never seen before.

Tatiana watched his retreating figure with envious eyes.

Gideon clicked his tongue at her standing there blankly, then grabbed her wrist and forcibly pulled her down to sit.

“It’s cold, so warm yourself by the fire first.”

“……Yes, honey.”

“You only call me honey at times like this……”

The winning title didn’t work at all this time. Indeed, one should not overuse their ultimate move.

Tatiana lowered her eyes with a face that said “I’m dead.” Then, wanting to somehow make amends, she moved closer to Gideon, linked arms with him, and asked,

“……Are you angry?”

Several answers simultaneously came to Gideon’s mind.

The very honest answer, ‘Do I look like I’m not?’ and the obvious lie, ‘No, I’m not angry.’

He wandered between those two options and glared at an empty space. Then, as always, he spat out an answer positioned somewhere on that boundary.

“I’m trying not to be angry.”

Tatiana nodded encouragingly, hoping that his effort would bear fruit.

In truth, from her perspective, Gideon didn’t need to be this troubled. After all, she hadn’t recklessly done such things without any precautions.

It was something she had done after meticulously examining numerous reference materials, checking dosage, usage, and even interval dates. In fact, it was all verified methodology.

Assassins did it as a basic practice, and occasionally royal knights did it as a precautionary measure. Otherwise, how could she and Kay be so healthy and alive? Besides, this was ancient history.

But thinking carefully, only a husband could be this genuinely concerned about such an old matter. Who else in the world would worry and fret over her like this?

Thinking about that made her feel grateful, but since Gideon looked so annoyed, Tatiana secretly smiled quietly.

But Gideon wasn’t one to miss that.

“Don’t smile. It’s annoying.”

“……”

“Smiling now won’t make you look pre……”

He was about to blurt out whatever came to mind but frowned and closed his mouth. Even though he was irritated, it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to say those words.

But Tatiana wore an expression as if the sky had fallen.

Oh my, this is a big problem. Was the expiration date of his infatuation this short? But before, in bed… he said I was pretty.

“Really? Do you hate me?”

“……”

“Am I not pretty anymore? Am I suddenly ugly?”

“……No.”

“If it’s the seven-year itch, you can honestly……”

“Just keep your mouth shut. That would be best right now.”

Tatiana answered very obediently, “Yes, honey.”

He sighed and grabbed her cheeks, shaking them. Even then, he couldn’t apply proper force for fear of hurting her.

No matter how he looked at her, even if he squished her cheeks with his fingers, she was always lovely in his eyes. And breathtakingly pretty at that.

While the couple bickered, people finished their brief rest, and the group moved again.

Climbing the steep mountain range along the cliff was laborious in itself. It was even more so because of the large number of soldiers. It was a grand number for a simple preliminary survey.

However, the principality’s people said that today was the first time they had ventured this deep. Until now, they had been giving their all just to defend the area around the castle.

Therefore, Kay and the assassins took the lead. Since it was difficult to expect them to serve as guides, this arrangement was better for responding to unexpected situations.

The northern soldiers naturally followed at the rear, and between them were Gideon and Tatiana.

Throughout the journey, Gideon walked one step ahead of Tatiana. He constantly surveyed the surroundings and held back branches that blocked her path. He deliberately cleared away stones that might trip her feet. Occasionally, he would pick her up and leap across gaps between rocks.

Tatiana might not want to admit it, but she was indeed shorter than Gideon. Both in leg length and running start.

After walking along the treacherous path for some time, an alien landscape unfolded before the group. The soil quality and the appearance of the trees were subtly different from what they knew.

Feeling the sense of dissonance, the soldiers murmured among themselves. However, Tatiana and Gideon weren’t surprised at all.

‘Seems like we’re going the right way.’

Places where mages gather or where magical power flows naturally experience slight ecosystem changes. It was the same around the Magic Tower and the Bloom mansion.

In fact, Tatiana and Gideon had been speculating that large amounts of magic stones were buried at the monsters’ stronghold. The waves of magic had altered the natural environment and eventually even given birth to bizarre life forms.

But the degree of bizarreness was indeed excessive. This was insufficient to describe with the word “grotesque rock formations.” It was quite unnatural and caused discomfort just by looking at it.

The cl*max unfolded when they crossed a mountain ridge.

The group stood on a steep cliff, looking down at a basin-shaped land.

Tatiana, who had merely frowned slightly when she first saw a monster in person, was truly overwhelmed this time.

“My goodness……”

How should one express this? Teeming? Packed tight?

Below was completely black. They were all monsters.

The monsters, continuously being born even at this moment, bit into each other’s flesh and sprayed fl*id here and there. In the middle stood an ancient tree that looked ominous at first glance. Not only was it incredibly thick, but it also had a grotesque shape as if it had emerged from hell.

Tatiana closed her eyes for a moment and felt the waves of magical power as they were. And she became certain. Magic stones were buried beneath that place.

With this level of waves, it was one of two things: either an enormous quantity or extraordinary purity.

Because such powerful magic had been trapped underground for a long time, the overall flow had become abnormal.

Tatiana shook her head with a serious expression.

‘I can’t do this alone.’

She could burn all the monsters with destructive magic, but that would only be a temporary measure. It wouldn’t end things.

The fundamental solution was to seal the area around that tree and restore the proper flow.

That was a task impossible for a single mage. The cooperation of other mages was absolutely necessary.

Tatiana turned to Gideon to share her opinion. And she witnessed a very peculiar sight.

‘Oh my, why are they like this?’

All the soldiers were looking only at Tatiana. Even the assassins were doing the same. They looked like baby birds desperately waiting for their mother to bring food.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone staring at me? It’s burdensome.”

However, it was true that Tatiana was the only one who could explain this situation.

The assassins turned their heads away sheepishly, but the principality’s soldiers persisted without backing down.