Chapter 06…
‘I should have realized that this body is weaker than Theodore’s.’
She became seriously ill.
Severe stomach pain that made her wish for death, chills, and a high fever swept over her. It felt as if Desdemona, holding a drumstick, was beating her nonstop.
She was sick for several days, unable to count the dates or even tell the time.
If Desdemona had not suddenly burst into the room to vent her anger, she might have died like that.
Desdemona still needed Fiorentia for the time being and had no intention of killing her, so she brought a doctor and gave her fever medicine. Thanks to that, Fiorentia managed to survive the worst of it.
After going through all that, fortunately, one week before Theodore broke in and was imprisoned here, Fiorentia was finally able to get back on her feet. After that, she succeeded in cultivating the poison mushrooms and learning how to control their poisonous energy.
In the original story, Theodore only discovered this method when he was almost losing his sense of self.
If Fiorentia had not mastered it first, he would have continued to suffer the entire time he was locked up in the Duke of Marcella’s household.
‘So it’s right for me to interfere.’
From now on, she would personally manage the pain Theodore was meant to endure.
Fiorentia planned to create a situation where Theodore would have no choice but to owe her.
Until she could help him escape, she had to avoid Desdemona’s eyes. So she needed to move Theodore under her own protection as much as possible.
‘Call me cunning if you want.’
Her life was on the line. Who wouldn’t act like this in her place?
Only by doing this could she increase the chance that, even if he later returned to the House of Marcella for revenge, he would spare her.
After taking a short, steady breath to organize her thoughts, Fiorentia looked at Theodore again.
The young man, standing at the boundary between boy and adult, lay there like a pitiful prince in deep sleep.
“Stronger.”
At her command, the poisonous aura from the mushrooms grew thicker.
Soon, Theodore began to sweat coldly.
“Ugh… ngh…”
A low groan of pain escaped his lips.
Only now did it seem the poison was truly taking effect.
Fiorentia, who had also been sweating, let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
She clenched her teeth and silently encouraged him.
No matter what, suffering from the poison of mushrooms was far better than having his soul separated from his body by a dragon’s curse.
And if it was the former, it would also be easier for her to control him in the future.
It seemed the two forces inside his body were fighting fiercely. Theodore writhed in agony.
Every time he moved, the chains around his hands and feet scraped and clanked.
Fiorentia glanced at him and thought,
‘It was a good idea to keep him chained.’
Right now, he was instinctively trying to escape the poisonous energy. But since his limbs were restrained, his movements were limited.
If he had been free to roll around as he wished, she would have suffered quite a bit.
She could feel the balance of power shifting. The tension between the two forces was breaking. Clearly, she was gaining the upper hand.
The stronger the poison rooted inside Theodore became, the more terrible the pain he would feel.
But if he was Theodore Beringham, he would endure it.
“Endure it somehow, Theodore,” Fiorentia said in a low voice.
“I nearly died for you too.”
As if he had heard her, Theodore’s eyelids lifted.
His blue eyes were clouded.
“What… are you doing right now?”
His voice sounded rough, as if metal scraped through it, likely from the rising fever.
The extremely low tone gave Fiorentia chills. She felt strangely overwhelmed.
Her mouth was dry, but she swallowed and steadied herself before answering calmly.
“I’m saving you.”
Theodore, trapped within the poisonous aura, frowned.
“Bull…shit.”
“You may not believe it, but it’s true.”
She answered indifferently, deliberately ignoring his intense blue gaze.
‘First, I need to drive out the curse doll’s poison.’
It was important to fill his body with the energy of the poison mushrooms.
Only then could she adjust his physical condition according to her will.
Depending on the situation, she planned to withdraw or inject the poisonous energy at will.
All of this was to deceive Desdemona.
To Desdemona, Theodore had to appear useless.
‘Desdemona likes Theodore for two reasons.’
The first was his appearance. But that problem had partly been solved when he bit her hand and earned her dislike.
‘That leaves his value as a test subject.’
To make her give that up, the fastest way was to show that Theodore could not withstand the curse doll’s poison.
Only if he seemed useless would Desdemona quickly lose interest and let him go.
This might be her first and last chance, so Fiorentia clenched her teeth.
However, the curse’s poison refused to leave his body, lingering stubbornly.
She focused even harder to gain complete control.
Since she still could not handle her power naturally, cold sweat formed on her forehead.
Theodore, who had been watching her, said coldly,
“Stop this strange nonsense and untie me right now.”
“If I untie you? Can you even escape?”
“That’s… something I’ll handle myself…!”
“With that body? I doubt it.”
Her voice sharpened. He was distracting her when she needed to focus.
Frustrated that she couldn’t control the energy as smoothly as she wanted, she sighed and replied sharply,
“It’s true that I’m trying to save you. Believe it or not, that’s your choice. But could you at least stop interfering? You’re annoying.”
She looked down at him with a sulky expression.
She didn’t bother explaining further.
Once time passed and his body felt lighter, he would understand she was right. She had no desire to waste energy persuading him.
Theodore stared at her as if he could see through the mask covering her face.
His gaze made people tense for no reason, but Fiorentia accepted it calmly.
No matter how he stared, he could not see her real face.
And she had no intention of ever removing her mask under any circumstances.
Fiorentia was the first to look away.
It was so obvious she was simply ignoring him rather than retreating that his already frowning face twisted further.
When she showed no reaction, Theodore moved his body instead.
Clank. Clank.
The sound of chains hitting the floor grated on her nerves.
Fiorentia couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
Even though his body must have felt as heavy as lead under the poison, it was impressive that he still had strength left to move.
‘Better than just floating lifelessly in water, I suppose.’
Her mocking laugh was very quiet, but apparently he heard it.
“What’s so funny?”
He growled like an angry beast.
“Are you going to untie me or not?”
He beat his chest roughly, as if ready to rise at any moment.
Despite his fierce threat, Fiorentia simply smiled faintly.
“I’m not stupid. Why would I untie you?”
“You damned—”
He cursed under his breath, then asked again,
“Who exactly are you?”
“Fiorentia Marcella.”
She gave her name without hesitation.
She even pronounced it more clearly than usual, as if telling him to listen carefully and remember it well.
With her face completely covered but her name offered so easily, Theodore looked briefly surprised.
“Marcella?”
He repeated the name, and his expression immediately turned fierce.
Fiorentia nodded calmly.
“That’s right. I’m the half-sister of Duke Desdemona Marcella—the one who imprisoned you.
