Chapter 34
“You brought it, Oliver. Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me… big sis…”
After watching Philina carefully pack the medicine into her bag, Oliver kept glancing around restlessly.
The dessert shop felt like something straight out of a fairy tale. The macarons and cakes were fascinating. The warm cocoa was fascinating. Even the sparkling forks caught his attention. His eyes shone as he took everything in. When he got home today, he would explain it all to his younger sister, Ebony.
“The escort knight over there will take you home, Oliver. He’ll give you the bread and the medicine. Share them well with your sister. You can read, right?”
As Philina spoke, she suddenly worried that the boy might not be able to read and could end up taking the medicine incorrectly.
“Of course! I’m smart. I read well, and I’m good at addition and subtraction too.”
Given the chance to show off his strengths, Oliver answered confidently.
I should practice subtraction more when I get home…
There was a bit of exaggeration in his words, but that was something he could fix later.
“I see. You’re smart. Eat slowly. I have plenty of time.”
Philina smiled as she watched his small mouth and tiny hands move busily, then took a sip of her own warm cocoa.
“Oliver… you and I are going to share a secret. If anything ever happens—if things get difficult or dangerous—go to the duke’s residence. You know where it is, right?”
When she thought he must be getting sick of all the sweets by now, Philina spoke calmly.
“The duke’s residence?”
Perhaps because such a high-ranking noble was mentioned, Oliver dropped the fork he was holding. Philina picked it up, placed it back into his hand, and gently wrapped her own hand around his.
“Yes. I know someone there. I’ll tell them about you in advance. If something happens, go to the duke’s residence and say the secret password. Then they’ll let you and Ebony in. The password is olive tree. Don’t forget it.”
Concerned that Oliver might become a target simply for having crossed paths with someone of high status like herself, Philina spoke quietly and glanced toward the escort knight.
The knight silently nodded, showing he understood. After escorting Oliver home, he would likely pass the password along to Owen, the captain of the duke’s knights.
“Yes. I won’t forget, big sis.”
Oliver looked at the hand wrapped around his own and answered clearly, engraving the secret password deep in his heart. He felt embarrassed that Philina was touching his rough hands, yet when she pulled away and the warmth disappeared, he felt an unexpected sense of longing.
When I returned to the imperial palace, I sat in the reception room that doubled as my office and carefully examined the medicine Oliver had given me alongside the medicine Margaret had bought on Topaz Street.
Stella was out gathering divorce case records and had to meet a construction company in the evening, leaving her completely swamped.
“I should hire an assistant for Stella…”
Worried she might run away from sheer exhaustion, I decided to assign someone under her.
“Philina. Are you busy?”
Calis, who was in the middle of preparing for the envoys’ meeting, opened the door and walked in. I had heard he’d been in meetings at the Crown Prince’s palace all day.
“Calis! Aren’t you busy? We said we’d have dinner together later.”
Since I was supposed to dine with Chester later like yesterday, I hadn’t expected him to stop by.
“It’s a short break. Everyone was exhausted from the long meeting, so we decided to rest for an hour.”
“The Crown Prince’s palace isn’t close at all…”
“I came on horseback.”
He approached my desk, examined the pills laid out there, then looked up at me.
“Medicine? Are you ill?”
“No. Calis, come sit here for a moment.”
Since he was already here, I seated him on the sofa and sat beside him, intending to ask if he knew anything about the medicine.
“Look. This medicine was bought in a busy district near the palace, and this one was bought in a poor neighborhood. The price is the same. The shape is the same. Even the packaging is the same. But they say the effects are different. What do you think?”
Calis’s expression darkened for a moment before returning to normal.
“I’ve heard about this too. I’ve been investigating it quietly. Never speak of it outside. You could be put in danger.”
Seeing how serious his reaction was, it was clear something truly was going on.
“Calis, look closely. The pills look the same… but the smell is slightly different.”
“The smell is different?”
I placed two pills on my palm and showed them to him, but he didn’t seem to notice any difference.
I went into the room and brought out two clean handkerchiefs that hadn’t been sprayed with perfume yet. I placed ten pills on each.
With more quantity, the scent would be easier to detect. I handed the handkerchiefs to Calis again.
“Calis. These two medicines have different ingredients. The smell is already subtly different, and if you took them, the taste would probably differ slightly too. Very slightly.”
I was certain.
I had spent ten long years in hospitals. I took more than twenty pills a day. Just by looking at a pill, I could tell whether it was an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory. I could read doctors’ charts—even their messy handwriting. If needed, I could practically write prescriptions myself. I knew the medications of every patient who shared my ward.
I had been… unbearably bored.
And I had an overly sensitive sense of smell. I could detect even the faintest difference in these pills.
“Different smells and ingredients… then there must be two separate production lines, kept from mixing.”
Calis frowned slightly, thinking deeply.
“And… if they were cutting costs by using grain instead of proper ingredients… they’d use something like oatmeal, which has almost no smell or taste.”
I broke one pill in half and put it in my mouth, thinking I could check by taste. If it was oatmeal, that would be a relief. In my past life, people had used substances that actually harmed those who consumed them.
“Mmph!”
Suddenly, Calis kissed me, his tongue searching my mouth and removing the pill.
“Calis!”
Startled by his sudden action, my heart began pounding wildly.
“Philina. You can’t just take medicine like that. Don’t do dangerous things. I’ll handle matters like this.”
He spat the pill into a tissue, threw it away, then pulled me into another kiss.
Even if he’d spat it out quickly, there must have been some lingering taste—but while kissing him, I couldn’t feel it at all.
“Calis… this is… the reception room…”
As his kiss deepened and our heavy breaths filled the room, I grew anxious someone might open the door at any moment.
“There’s no time to go to the bedroom.”
It was right behind us! Less than five minutes away!
Calis continued kissing my lips and neck on the reception room sofa. Afraid someone outside might hear—especially the knights standing guard—I tried to keep even my breathing quiet.
“Never do anything dangerous.”
Reluctantly releasing me, Calis said those words and returned to his meeting.
Ah… at this rate, I’ll die of a heart attack…
After he left, I ran to the bedroom, finally letting out the breath I’d been holding, pressing both hands to my chest to calm my still-racing heart.
In Lucas’s office, his aide Halo ran a hand through his neatly combed brown hair in frustration. Lately, Lucas had been utterly unreasonable.
Lucas stood with his arms crossed, staring into space, lost in thought. On his desk lay a white handkerchief embroidered with roses.
Seeing Lucas’s gaze fixed precisely on the spot where his own name was embroidered, Halo pressed his temple and stood before the desk.
“Your Highness. To keep Bart in check, we need Count Fame. You know this. Her Majesty the Empress is also fond of Lady Heine. There’s no better opportunity. You should make her the Crown Princess.”
Knowing that Bart—the emperor’s aide—was supporting a minor noble family to restrain Lucas, Halo had discussed this with him many times before.
One of the families they wanted as Crown Princess was Count Fame’s house—Heine’s family. Above all, with the imperial treasury drained by post-war reconstruction, they desperately needed that family’s wealth.
“I know… you’re right… unfortunate as it is, we need Heine Fame.”
Lucas had already asked the Empress to support Heine as Crown Princess. Yet even as the outcome approached, his heart felt anything but joyful.
“Lucas. You are the Crown Prince of this empire. Save matters of love for later.”
Having been friends with Lucas since childhood, Halo deliberately called him by name to snap him out of it.
Lucas… this won’t do… we can’t make an enemy of Calis…
From Lucas’s recent behavior, Halo could roughly guess whom he was agonizing over.
“Matters of love…”
Lucas smiled bitterly as he regained his composure. Before being a man, he was the Crown Prince of a nation. His position demanded that the empire’s interests come first.
“I understand. I’ll forgive you just this once for daring to call me by name. We’ll discuss the spy from Silas’s side later… Heine will be arriving soon.”
Yes… now wasn’t the time for love. When had I ever been someone who followed my emotions?
Suppressing feelings that didn’t suit him, Lucas headed to the reception room to meet Heine.
Seated in the reception room, Heine pondered endlessly how she might reject the position of Crown Princess—and whether her father would grant her freedom if she did.
If not Crown Princess… what position would he push next? No… Father would never give up the Crown Princess position…
She had always been grateful for her wealthy father, but now that she herself was becoming a tool of his money and power, she hated it.
“Heine Fame. It’s been a while.”
Lucas entered the room, sat across from her, and crossed his legs.
The same gentle smile as always. Many noble ladies had fallen for it, but Heine—whose profession was observing and describing people—had seen the sharp gaze hidden behind that smile many times.
With that very expression, Lucas had once led post-war negotiations with the Luna Empire to success. Getting entangled with him was something she wanted to avoid in every way.
“Greetings, Your Highness. It has been a long time.”
Heine bowed, observing perfect etiquette. Lucas chuckled softly.
So… Heine doesn’t particularly want the position either… I’m sorry, Heine.
A marriage neither side desired—yet Lucas was the one who had to hold on.
“Her Majesty the Empress seems to favor you as a candidate for Crown Princess. I don’t find it objectionable either.”
As Lucas sipped his tea, he watched Heine clench her fist.
There really are so many strange women around Belita, he thought.
