CHAPTER 10……………………………………
“Welcome! Are you looking for any particular herbs?”
The shop attendant greeted us politely.
“I’m planning to buy some herbs.”
“Is there someone ill at home? What are the symptoms?”
“No one’s sick. I just want to brew some tea.”
“Ah, medicinal tea! Wonderful. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll prepare it right away.”
I whispered to the attendant the exact ingredients and amounts I needed, careful not to let anyone behind us hear.
Fortunately, Terence was busy browsing the items displayed on the counter.
While the attendant went to grind the herbs, having charged me the price plus an extra fee, Terence spoke.
“If this was your destination, going through the square would have been faster than the back streets.”
This herb shop was located in the busiest part of the capital’s central plaza—the empire’s premier herbalist, where every herb was supposedly available.
Naturally, crossing the central plaza would have been the shortcut.
But I couldn’t take that route.
“I’m not very comfortable in crowded places.”
“That’s unexpected. You don’t seem like the type.”
Exactly as you see. The one who dislikes crowded places isn’t me—it’s you.
At that moment, a subtle crease appeared on the smooth, pale expanse of his brow.
It was a minuscule change, but my attentive eyes did not miss it.
“I’ll just use the restroom for a moment.”
I gave myself some time in the bathroom so Terence could move comfortably before returning to his side.
“The items are ready.”
The man, holding a paper bag, looked more at ease than before.
The painkiller he must have taken while I was gone seemed to be taking effect.
The greatest weakness of the villainous Marquis Freihyden in the novel was his chronic headaches.
The power running through his bloodline inevitably came with persistent migraines.
Long ago, an ancestor of the royal family received part of the goddess’s power but was cursed in exchange.
Ever since, the royal family could manipulate mana effortlessly, but they constantly suffered from severe migraines.
The severity of the pain corresponded to the magnitude of their power.
The emperor was famously known to have fainted during his wedding due to such a headache in his youth.
Among such emperors, there were two sons with power surpassing anyone in nearly five centuries of history:
One, the novel’s male lead and Rienna’s lover, Crown Prince Mikhail.
The other, Terence, the emperor’s illegitimate son born before his marriage.
Terence’s mother was the daughter of Marquis Molo, the emperor’s first fiancée.
Although she and the emperor shared affectionate love, problems arose when the emperor’s older brother—the then crown prince—died.
The current emperor, originally the second prince, was then appointed crown prince.
Due to her father’s stubbornness, the Molo heiress had fallen out of favor with the late emperor, who had no intention of making her empress.
Later, the young lady of the Molo family disappeared, and rumors spread that she had eloped with a coachman.
In despair, the current emperor quickly married the daughter of Duke Velord.
The Molo family gradually declined, and the young lady was forgotten—until the day she suddenly returned, holding a child.
According to her, she had not run away voluntarily but had been kidnapped.
No concrete proof existed, but her conviction was strong.
The culprits: Duke Velord, blinded by ambition to make her empress, and the late emperor.
But who could accuse such powerful figures?
She had no place to claim, and the child she carried during the kidnapping was not recognized as royal blood.
That child was Terence Freihyden—the man beside me now.
He should have been the emperor’s legitimate heir.
‘Poor thing.’
I suddenly felt sympathy for him.
Unable to call his father “father” and facing constant assassination threats from Duke Velord—his life was harsh enough…
But the future was even darker.
A villain is a villain for a reason. In the end, he meets a miserable fate at the hands of the male and female leads.
Terence would soon rise as a powerful contender for the throne, threatening the crown prince.
A necessary adversary for the male lead.
I planned to borrow his power, divorce, and leave the empire before the ensuing succession conflict escalated.
By then, civil war would erupt, leaving the empire in chaos.
Without the protection of a great noble like Cassius, leaving was the best strategy.
The benevolent male lead wouldn’t punish anyone associated with Terence as long as they didn’t directly participate in rebellion.
‘So my plan was just to make a deal and slip away…’
But the man before me seemed unexpectedly decent, and I found myself oddly drawn to him.
I clutched the paper bag to my chest.
With this, I could relieve his headache and perhaps prevent his dark turn.
Headaches were half the reason for Terence’s eventual corruption.
As the pain worsened, he became dissatisfied with ordinary painkillers and eventually turned to narcotic substances.
The Devil’s Claw.
This ominously named herb elevated mood and alleviated pain but altered the user’s personality.
True to its name, it made one devilish.
Compassion vanished, sadistic impulses arose, and eventually, even basic humanity was lost.
The crown prince faced the same condition—but he had Rienna.
Blessed by the goddess with a second chance at life, Rienna’s presence counteracted the royal curse.
‘From Terence’s perspective, that would drive anyone mad.’
Two sons from the same father: one becomes the crown prince, blessed with love; the other, the emperor’s illegitimate child, suffers agonies worse than death, becoming addicted to narcotics.
Terence’s resentment naturally turned toward his half-brother and Rienna.
Originally, Terence realized after their first accidental encounter that Rienna could relieve his headache, approaching her to enlist her support.
But to Rienna, he appeared as a sudden intruder threatening her lover’s place.
Moreover, his aura made her uneasy.
Even the small fortune she stumbled upon was already possessed by the crown prince, the one who had everything Terence lacked.
In despair and anger, combined with the side effects of Devil’s Claw, he spiraled into darkness.
Yet…
‘If I make this tea, Terence should feel quite relieved.’
The tea I planned to brew was a kind of medicinal drink that could alleviate the suffering of royalty.
The tea was first invented by Rienna—more precisely, a future version of her.
When apart from her lover, she prayed to the goddess for the crown prince suffering from headaches, receiving a divine revelation.
Following the herbs mentioned in the vision, she experimented for days until discovering the optimal blend.
As one of the most precious gifts the heroine gave the male lead, the scene received significant attention.
‘Thanks to her, I know the ingredients and the correct ratios!’
Honestly, I was slightly resentful of the goddess.
Wasn’t the one who actually needed the tea Terence, not the crown prince with Rienna?
Well… considering the story’s development, the author needed a reason to keep the heroine and male lead together, so the tea was probably introduced for that purpose.
I glanced at Terence’s profile and spoke to him in my mind.
‘Don’t worry.’
With this tea, he wouldn’t turn into a drug-addicted villain.
“Lady.”
Terence spoke suddenly.
“What is it?”
“About the temple we were heading to. If we only need holy water, do we have to go to that specific temple?”
One main ingredient for the medicinal tea was water blessed by a priest—holy water.
“Right.”
The temple I knew in the capital just happened to be that one.
“Then may we go to another temple I know?”
Terence led me to a small temple not far away.
Located at the edge of the Wanderer’s Forest, it was quiet and secluded.
No other worshippers were lined up for holy water, so we collected it quickly and left.
“I didn’t know a place like this existed. I always took the usual path through the forest.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
He trained in the forest because he liked solitude.
…Then, perhaps?
“Tei.”
I called the name I had given him earlier, and Terence turned around.
“Did you suggest this path because I said I dislike crowded places?”
He nodded cheerfully in affirmation.
Somehow, my chest tightened at the gesture.
It could have been a benign lie—he too dislikes crowded places.
But even so…
To receive consideration from a man I met yesterday, in a way my husband never did…
…It didn’t feel unpleasant.
“Thank you.”
Terence slowed his pace, waiting for me to catch up.
“Not at all, Lady.”
“C-Could you call me something else? Lady feels awkward.”
“Then what about ‘Master’?”
“…What did you say?”
“You, my employer. You hired me, so Master.”
“Please, anything but that.”
“As my employer wishes, then.”
“You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“Oh dear, was it that obvious?”
“Wow. Just a little closeness changes you. Yesterday, you were so polite.”
I pouted as if sulking, but it was a good sign—the breaking of politeness indicated he felt closer.
Would there ever come a day when Terence calls me by my name?
Just as I was pondering this…
“Lady.”
He suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Come here.”
Then he turned toward the forest and started running.
“W-What are you doing!”
“Shh, quietly.”
We ran through the underbrush for a few minutes, finally hiding behind an unusually large tree.
“W-why are you doing this… ugh!”
I was pressed tightly against him, unable to speak.
Too close!
While I admired the Adam’s apple right in front of me, Terence raised his index finger to his lips and surveyed the surroundings carefully.
Soon, someone appeared along the path we had just taken.
