~Chapter 87~
“……Shortness of breath, you say?”
Countess Hayden’s shocked gaze turned toward Camilla.
Camilla quietly held the medicine bottle up to the light.
It was a cloudy golden color. Each time she shook it, the liquid separated into two thin layers before slowly mixing again.
‘As I thought….’
“The basic structure of this potion Lady Renelia made is perfect. Oh my… it even has the key traits of the Aurevita antidote that I heard about from Meisa. However—”
She gently opened the lid again and inhaled deeply.
A sharp sensation pricked inside her nose.
“This medicine, due to the nature of Aurevita, is highly likely to cause shortness of breath if it passes through the stomach. It is not for oral use. It must be administered intravenously.”
Kabul raised his voice in shock.
“In-intravenously…!”
Countess Hayden stepped back, placing a hand on her chest.
“Your Highness, that is too dangerous. An injection leaves marks. His Majesty’s security is strict. It may even be mistaken for an assassination attempt….”
“But it must be done.”
Camilla cut her off firmly.
She knew that injections were not common in this era, and that for an Emperor, such an act could be seen as a threat. Still—
“With oral administration, we cannot prove the Empress Dowager’s crime.”
At those words, Kabul’s face darkened slightly.
“To prove at once that drugs were administered to induce madness—and that it can be cured… it would be best to show His Majesty the effect directly.”
Camilla lifted her head.
Her green eyes shone with certainty and calm resolve.
“I can adjust the medicine for intravenous use. Since it is an important antidote, intravenous administration is absolutely necessary.”
At that moment, Countess Hayden grabbed Camilla’s wrist.
“……Miss.”
“Ah, she is the Grand Duchess.”
“Is that important right now? By helping you, I am already crossing a dangerous bridge…! And now you speak of injections….”
Camilla sensed something from the Countess, who had cast aside her earlier timid demeanor and now looked deeply anxious.
‘Could it be….’
She gently held the Countess’s hand that was gripping her wrist.
“Madam.”
“……W-what is it?”
With her other hand, Camilla lightly checked her pulse and then raised her head.
The reason for her sudden anxiety. The hint from the original story.
And the pulse she had just felt through her fingers.
“Madam… are you perhaps with child?”
Shock flashed across Kabul’s face.
Countess Hayden’s face turned pale.
“……You are carrying an imperial heir…?”
“…….”
The Countess bit her lip tightly before answering.
“……If that is so, what will you do?”
She closed her eyes briefly and steadied her breathing.
It was as if the anxiety she had hidden all this time was finally collapsing.
She wrapped her arms around her still-flat stomach.
“……Yes. His Majesty does not yet know. But Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, who bribed the physician, does. I am carrying His Majesty’s child.”
A few years ago, the Countess had once conceived an imperial grandchild but suffered a miscarriage. Because of that, the Empress Dowager had whispered that she was treating her carefully this time.
Kabul’s face stiffened as if his throat were being strangled.
“If the Empress Dowager knows… that may be why she was even more eager to assassinate His Majesty.”
Since there would be another imperial heir, she would have no need for an Emperor who opposed her.
The Countess nodded anxiously.
“……I must be careful. We must free His Majesty from madness, but if I am even suspected of harming him…!”
“Then both you and the child in your womb would be in danger.”
Countess Hayden lowered her head.
“But we are already crossing a dangerous bridge in this imperial palace.”
Camilla whispered slowly.
“Madam. Do you know the periods when His Majesty is in his right mind?”
“……To some extent….”
“Then I will take responsibility for persuading His Majesty and administering the intravenous injection. Madam, can you secretly arrange for me to meet him?”
“Your Highness!”
Kabul looked shocked at Camilla’s bold words—especially when she herself needed to escape.
‘According to the original story, the Emperor is highly suspicious.’
But Camilla had a way to overcome that suspicion.
Countess Hayden looked at Camilla directly, her lips trembling, then nodded.
“……Very well.”
The Countess asked her to return to this place by 7 p.m.
Kabul also told her to stay safe until then and to meet again at that time.
‘His Grace said that if you meet him, you should be told this. That he misses you. And that you will meet again soon.’
At those words, Camilla nodded, her heart filled with both joy and sorrow.
With escape so close, she did not truly wish to refuse.
Dane… she missed him.
But—
‘To protect Dane, I must deliver the perfect antidote to the Emperor.’
“……Understood. Then I will certainly see you here again at seven.”
Camilla returned to the laboratory to refine the potion for intravenous use.
As soon as she arrived, she placed the three bottles of golden potion completed that morning into a box and organized them.
Then she dropped the substance she had been researching onto a petri dish with a dropper and took out the antidote Kabul had given her.
‘If I mix what I have researched with this antidote….’
A cloudy vapor rose from the point where they met.
‘This is it.’
The reaction and scent she had hoped for appeared.
A complete antidote suitable for intravenous injection was finished.
‘……Just in case.’
Camilla divided the antidote into two syringes. She placed one behind a drawer in the laboratory and the other into her bundle.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Click. The door opened, and someone with his hood pulled low stepped inside.
“Lux.”
He walked toward her and stopped in front of her.
Since she was sitting, she could see part of his face beneath the hood.
‘He really does look like a villain from a romance fantasy.’
Perhaps because he was the man entangled with the heroine in a dark, adult-rated novel, Lux often covered his face with a hood. He had a gloomy yet striking beauty.
‘But it’s meaningless.’
As a business partner or as an emotional connection, he meant nothing.
Lux spoke in a low voice.
“……You can leave earlier than planned. About your request—”
“Ah, I would like to change the terms of our deal.”
Originally, she had planned to send word of her location to Dane through Lux when he went outside. But after meeting Kabul, that plan needed adjustment.
“You do not need to deliver news of me outside. Instead, what I want is—”
As Camilla explained, Lux suddenly leaned close to her face and growled.
“It’s not worth it.”
“No, it is. Your life and your master’s life are at stake. Besides, it’s conditional, isn’t it?”
Lux stared at her for a long moment before turning away.
“……Witch.”
“What did you say?”
Camilla doubted her ears at his quiet mutter.
“……I said nothing. Fine. I’ll go.”
“Wait.”
Camilla hurriedly stopped him and handed him a clear-colored potion.
It was the golden potion promised as payment.
Lux’s eyes widened.
“I will give you the compensation in advance. If something happens, I am counting on you.”
Lux looked at her and asked,
“What makes you trust me?”
Now that he had what he wanted, he could break his promise—or threaten her with a dagger as he had before.
In the original story, Lux was called a cunning attendant, a sly servant.
But—
“Because I think once you make a promise, you keep it.”
‘You have never broken a deal.’
He had been loyal to Amelia because of the very first promise he made to her.
Moreover, the golden potion concerned Amelia.
“……You will regret it.”
‘He said that to Nina too.’
Of course, the bright heroine Nina had not even blinked.
Camilla waved her hand indifferently.
“Fine. Now leave.”
“…….”
‘Let’s go.’
At exactly seven, Camilla packed her belongings and quietly headed toward the herb garden.
Everything was prepared. If she could only meet the Emperor, victory would be hers.
She reached the appointed place.
“In the middle of the night, where are you going?”
‘……Why is she here?’
At the entrance of the herb garden—where Kabul and Countess Hayden were supposed to be waiting—
Kabul was kneeling on the stone ground, his hands bound behind his back by knights.
Countess Hayden stood beside him, clutching her hands and trembling.
Beside a neatly standing Amelia, a woman smiled softly, letting out a light laugh as she looked directly at Camilla.
It was the Empress Dowager.
