Delina showed no signs of waking up. Bellion was looking down at her as she lay on the bed.

“Uh…”

As Delina seemed to mumble in her sleep, tossing and turning, Bellion neatly tucked her in, covering her up to her neck. Moments later, a knock on the door was heard, and Felic entered. Bellion asked,

“Where are they?”

“Both have been safely escorted to the monastery. I have just received word that they have entered the palace.”

Upon Felic’s report, Bellion silently nodded. Felic looked at the soundly sleeping Delina.

“The doctor said she is just exhausted and should wake up soon.”

“I suppose.”

“If it weren’t for her, things would have been precarious. I’m continually amazed at how remarkable she is.”

“Indeed. She’s quite a character.”

At that, Felic chuckled briefly but quickly changed the topic.

“I’ve investigated the matter you asked about.”

“…”

“As you suspected, it wasn’t just the royal family attempting to assassinate His Highness, the Crown Prince.”

At this, Bellion’s brow furrowed.

“The people we dealt with were sent by the royal family, but those who killed our knights on standby were from a different force.”

“The ones who fought with the shadows.”

At the time Delina and Ashud were confronting a masked man, their shadow escorts were also battling other enemies. Then Bellion asked,

“Any survivors?”

“None. They jumped off a cliff, making it difficult to even locate their bodies. However, we found something that could serve as a clue from one of the attackers.”

Felic took out a small vial from his pocket. It was one of the vials found in the pouch on the man Delina had dealt with.

“We analyzed the contents of the vials that she found. Among them was this poison.”

“Poison?”

“Yes. It’s a poison made from a toxic herb. The issue is that this herb doesn’t grow in the Helium Empire.”

“Then…”

“It grows in the Lunen Empire.”

At the mention of the Lunen Empire, a spark flashed in Bellion’s eyes.

Decar.

The only person daring enough to roam the duchy and target the Crown Prince had to be him. Felic seemed to think of Decar as well.

“His Majesty may have caught wind of the assassination plot and sent them in, blending naturally into the scheme of things.”

“It wouldn’t matter to him whether it succeeds or fails.”

It was a kind of warning and provocation aimed at Bellion.

“Indeed. A man like him will still be around. Moreover…”

Felic felt the ominous atmosphere surrounding Bellion and stopped himself from completing the sentence.

“Shall we make this public?”

“No.”

If it becomes known that Decar had invaded the duchy, naturally, the assassination attempt would also become public. And if that were to happen, the empire would undoubtedly plunge into chaos.

“He’ll take advantage of that.”

Bellion knew this all too well.

“Just handle it quietly.”

“Understood.”

Felic bowed his head and left the room, knowing very well that if Decar were to repeat such an act, Bellion wouldn’t hold back anymore. Feeling the increasingly strained relationship between the two, Felic exited to attend to other matters.

“Uh…”

Waking up to the familiar ceiling, Delina lay there in a daze for a moment. Then she abruptly sat up.

“Why am I lying here?”
Taking a few moments to assess the situation, Delrina soon recalled the events just before she lost consciousness. She had certainly used her abilities to heal Ashud’s wounds, and after that, her memory was blank. Delrina looked around the room once more and hastily pulled the cord.

“Have you awakened?”

As soon as Delrina pulled the cord, Betty opened the door and came in. Delrina quickly asked,

“Betty! How did I end up here, how… I mean, where is Prince Hwangtaeson?”

“Your Highness and you both collapsed. We brought you to the Duke’s residence. Prince Hwangtaeson is fine. After receiving treatment at the mansion, he returned to the palace. You’ve been asleep for two days.”

“I slept for two days?”

Delrina asked with a surprised face upon hearing Betty’s brief report.

“Yes. You seemed to have been through a lot, so you must be tired.”

“Well… I almost died.”

“Yes, I should have checked for other enemies at the time. My apologies.”

“No. You were busy fighting as well. It couldn’t be helped.”

Delrina comfortingly told Betty and then continued.

“So, Prince Hwangtaeson went back to the palace?”

“Yes, he said he would do so himself.”

“I see…”

Though it was somewhat worrisome that he returned to the palace, Delrina decided to trust Ashud since he made the decision himself. Then, Betty approached and checked on Delrina’s condition.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll prepare something to eat right away.”

“Ah, will you?”

“Yes, you’ve slept for two days. I’ll prepare a soup so as not to burden your stomach. I’ll bring it to your room right away.”

“Okay, please do.”

Upon Delrina’s words, Betty immediately left the room. Now alone, Delrina moved her hands around and opened the window.

‘As I thought…’