IGMIMYS 80

~Chapter 80~

Even so, Camilla’s heart raced with impatience.

“…But to restore His Majesty the Emperor, we absolutely need the antidote.”

“It’s not something you can whip up in a single day,” Dane replied.

How wonderful it would be if everything fell perfectly into place. But reality rarely granted such convenience.

“For now, let’s rest.”
“…Thank you.”

Dane bent his head and planted a soft birdlike kiss on Camilla’s smiling lips.

As he naturally moved to enter the room with her, Camilla held up a book toward him.

“I don’t think I can rest just yet.”

The research notes from the Grand Duchess might contain cryptic hints, and she wanted to pursue them.

“Dane, you don’t need to come in and comfort me. I’ll handle what I can. You focus on your work.”

Tomorrow’s family council would demand all of Dane’s attention.

Sonia, standing just behind Camilla, lowered her head and let her shoulders tremble slightly, as if stifling a laugh that wasn’t really there.

“Now, I am truly your wife. I’ll make sure we can fight together.”

Camilla rose onto her tiptoes, pressed a quick kiss to Dane’s lips at the door, and shut it behind her.

The soft thud of the door closed, but Dane lingered frozen for a moment before turning, eyes darkening.

“…Once everything is over, we’ll hold a grand wedding, and on the first night afterward…”

The words muttered so coldly and with such intensity that anyone observing might have assumed he was a villain.

This is serious business.

Camilla spent the night immersed in the research notes the Grand Duchess had given her. The quality of the work was astonishing—so advanced that it seemed almost impossible for such material to exist at the time.

But nothing on the red herb.

Since it was a hybrid she had created herself, the research must have existed somewhere—but perhaps it had all been lost.

Should I focus more on the samples Kabul brought me?

She had thought those would be the key, yet the elusive clue never appeared, leaving her with a sigh.

Rising, she made her way to the laboratory beside the greenhouse, where the Grand Duchess had given her permission to work.

From the window, she spotted the senior family members filing into the mansion.

The family council.

She bit her lip.

No. I must do what I can.

Finally, she could fight alongside Dane. She would bring the Mowin family to ruin and walk out holding his hand.

Despite a sleepless night and fitful naps haunted by nightmares, there was work to be done.

In the greenhouse lab, she exhaled deeply and retrieved the red herb, carefully using a dropper with the reagent.

As a child, Camilla had stood in a room lined with cabinets filled with reagents.

No… it wasn’t this big.

The space seemed to shrink in her memory. Even in the old cabin, there had been a small cabinet for storing vials, tucked into a shadowed corner.

Her mother, Meisa, had cherished that cabinet above all else. Though Camilla had been tasked with endless chores, the cabinet remained her mother’s domain.

“Hehe, good.”

Occasionally, Meisa would sit at a long table, filling bottles, then quietly slide a completed vial into the lowest empty slot of the cabinet.

Young Camilla had tilted her head in curiosity. Behind the wall was a small, palm-sized hidden compartment.

Inside lay a single bundle, cool to the touch, as if a subtle breath from underground whispered from within.

“Mother, what is this? Why hide something inside the wall when there’s already a cabinet?”

Meisa clicked her tongue.

“Tch, what else? It’s poisoned for that woman.”

She retrieved the herbal bundle, whispering:

“The most precious antidotes must always be kept hidden.”

Camilla awoke with that soft voice echoing in her mind.

…What was that just now?

She must have dozed off during her late-night research. But that wasn’t the main issue.

She had picked up her quill and parchment, unconsciously scribbling:

Behind the bottom panel of the reagent cabinet.
Wall crevice.
Antidote.

Whether it had really happened or not, she had to record the images before sleep fully claimed her.

“Ah! Awake!!”

A cute voice called out, and Camilla turned.

“…Ah, Grand Princess Lucy.”

No attendants, no Eugenia in sight.

“Where are the attendants, Eugenia?”
“Eugenia went to the council…”

Had the attendants left Lucy on their own? Camilla smiled faintly, a little unsure.

“Are you bored?”

“Yup! Gatti Nora! What’s this? A cabinet? A wall? Antidote….”

Gently, Camilla took the parchment from Lucy’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Grand Princess. I have to finish my research right now.”

“No, no! I—”
“It’s research to help treat the Grand Duchess, isn’t it?”

At that, Lucy stopped her whining immediately.

“Ahem. Then I forgive you! And if you get bored, come to the rose garden! I’ll give you Nora!”

“Thank you, Grand Princess.”

Lucy scampered off. Camilla remained alone, staring at the parchment.

Let’s check this first.

Her mother’s words echoed: the most precious antidotes must be hidden. The memory of Meisa saying it had transferred from that woman.

The Grand Duchess had unusually allowed Camilla to enter the secret research lab yesterday.

I’ll check the secret lab.

She slipped a vial into her sleeve, parchment in hand, and headed back toward the mansion.

“Grand Princess! Where are you?”

Esther, pale as snow, was searching for Lucy. Camilla approached.

So Esther was the one who left Lucy alone.

Though not her duty, Esther had previously sought out Lucy.

“She should be in the garden.”
“The garden…?”
“Yes, the rose garden.”

As Camilla nodded to confirm, Esther called after her.

“Miss Mowin, please wait a moment.”
“…What is it?”
“Forgive me, but your word cannot be fully trusted. Last time, you hid the Grand Princess under the bedding and acted as if nothing happened.”

Her tone was polite, but sharp.