“How could something like this happen?”

Right after hearing my story, Adelia, with an incredulous expression as if it were unbelievable, stood up forcefully.

“I felt uneasy since the invitation to the tea party. I knew something like this would happen.”

“Adelia, calm down.”

Calix soothed the agitated Adelia and guided her back to her seat.

“So… the Queen pointed at you in that situation?”

“Yes. It seems she wanted to ensure that everyone knew I had knowledge about Adel.”

“I don’t think we can just let this incident pass.”

“That’s right.”

Although the Queen was the host of the tea party, there was a possibility that anyone could have poisoned the tea she drank. However, at that moment, only the Queen and I knew about Adel. Unless one considered the Queen orchestrating a play, all evidence pointed to me.

At that moment,

Knock, knock.

The sound of someone knocking on the study door accompanied a man’s voice from outside.

“Your Excellency, it’s Logan.”

“Come in.”

Logan, the subordinate who accompanied Kaern to the tea party today, entered and greeted us.

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a report that Her Majesty the Queen has awakened.”

“Awakened?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any other information?”

“Not yet. I’ll report immediately if there are any new developments.”
“Got it. Go and check.”

“Yes.”

After a brief conversation with Kaern, Logan disappeared from the study.

“Now, the key is what actions the awakened Queen will take.”

Calix spoke in a calm and polite tone.

As each of us sank into our own thoughts, silence enveloped the room.

“Now, what are we going to do?”

Even to Adelia’s question about what he was thinking, Kaern remained silent.

“We’ve been too complacent.”

Adelia mumbled anxiously, biting her lips.

“Adelia, that could hurt. Don’t do that. Besides, who would have expected someone to attack the Queen, even to the point of her willingly consuming poison.”

Calix gently touched Adelia’s lips with his hand to prevent her from continuing.

“But if what happened to my brother happens to Helena, what will you do? The incident with the assassins last time was actually aimed at Helena, not my brother.”

Even in such a moment, Adelia vented her frustration consecutively, feeling helpless without a clear way to assist.

“Adelia, don’t worry too much. Her Majesty the Queen has suffered a lot from the last incident, so it will be difficult for her to cause a big disturbance.”

Reaching out, I held Adelia’s hand firmly across the table.

That was the only thing I could say to reassure my anxious friend.

“Yeah.”

At that moment, Kaern, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

The gaze of the three of us turned simultaneously to Kaern.
The cold and sharp air swirling around him, the dark and intense gaze, and a voice much lower than usual all hinted that his mood was not good right now.

“As Adelia said, I’ve been too complacent. It’s my fault that you’ve been repeatedly caught up in such miserable situations.”

“Kaern…”

In response to his self-blaming words, I sighed with a sense of pity.

“No, it’s definitely not Kaern’s fault. So please don’t think that way.”

“No. This is entirely my fault. And I should be the one to resolve this matter.”

“What can we do, brother?”

As Adelia’s words ended, she abruptly grabbed Kaern, who was blaming himself.

“I’ll face it head-on. You have to accept that.”

“What’s the plan? Huh? Brother, there must be a way?”

Kaern silently stared at Adelia, who kept pressing him persistently.

“Adelia, rushing could make things worse. So stay calm.”

“But, Calix, Helena…”

“Adelia, I’ll be fine.”

“Helena.”

“I have Kaern with me, so there’s nothing to fear.”

Saying so, I smiled brightly at Kaern.

That statement was sincere.

With Kaern, I was not afraid of anything.

With him by my side, I could overcome anything.

“Alright. But, brother, don’t try to handle all of this alone. We’re here for you. Understand?”

Kaern nodded quietly in response to Adelia’s words.
Afterwards, Adelia and Calix, overwhelmed by sudden fatigue, left the office first, leaving only Kaern and me in the room.

“I’ll leave now.”

Since we had a longer conversation than expected, a considerable amount of time had passed. As I tried to get up from my seat, Kaern called me.

“Helena.”

“Yes?”

I sat back down on the sofa and looked at him.

“In the future, you must tell me everything, no matter how trivial.”

“Yes, I will. Of course, I’ve been doing that even now.”

I answered with a small smile.

“And trust me.”

“I always trust Kaern.”

When I said that as if it were obvious, he chuckled with a satisfied expression.

“Does Kaern trust me too?”

“Of course.”

With Kaern’s response, I left his office and returned to my room.

The next day, as expected, the Emperor declared a massive effort to capture the culprit who had attempted to poison the Empress.

As anticipated, among the noblewomen invited to the tea party, I was the first to be investigated.

Receiving the letter announcing the investigation at the palace, I accepted it calmly.