Delina, who saw Betty, who had stayed in the Grand Duke’s palace, in this place, shouted with joy. However, she frowned at the pain felt in her throat. Then, Betty offered water.

“You’ve been lying down for several days, so your voice might not come out properly. Please, take it easy on your throat.”

“How many days was I lying down?”

Delina asked, surprised, while cracking her neck. Betty started to explain.

“This place is the royal palace. I came here to take care of and guard the lady after hearing the news. Someone who will explain everything will come soon.”

As Betty finished speaking, the door opened again.

“Miss!”

With a loud noise, Verlion and Felix entered the room.

“Goodness! Miss, you’ve awakened! Is there anywhere else you’re feeling unwell? Any particularly painful spots?”

“Oh, yeah. Except for being a bit weak, I’m fine.”

“That’s really fortunate. I can’t express how worried we were, wondering what would happen if you didn’t wake up.”

Looking at the awakened Delina, Felix spoke with a bright face. Verlion, without saying anything, stood quietly and approached Delina.

“…Miss?”

Delina called him, but Verlion remained silent, holding Delina’s hand tightly.

“…”

Delina, too, couldn’t say anything and just rolled her eyes. However, she could feel the warmth from his hand, the disheveled hair that seemed to have rushed without thinking, and the untidy clothes, all indicating how much he had been worrying about her.

“Jester.”

“…Yes.”

Delina could feel it. Though very faint, Verlion’s hand was trembling.

“It’s okay.”

“Yes, as I said, except for being a bit weak, I’m perfectly fine. And you know me well. My body is sturdy. I should fully recover in a few days.”

“…”

“If my personal jester doesn’t have this much stamina…”

Having sensed Verlion’s concern, Delina spoke brightly.

“I’m sorry for causing you worry. I never thought there would be poison on the bullets. I was careless.”

At Delina’s words, Verlion firmly spoke.

“The one who shot the bullets is at fault, not the jester.”

“Well, that’s true, but… Oh, right. Come to think of it, what happened to Mohn Yeongsik? Is he in prison now?”

At Delina’s question, Verlion fell silent, and Felix and Betty also had peculiar expressions. Soon, Felix spoke.

“Well, this… the situation has become quite strange, miss.”

“Why?”

“Mohn Yeongsik passed away.”

“What?”

“It happened after you collapsed. Without even being interrogated, he twisted his body as if in agony and died, vomiting blood.”
Unexpectedly, Delina mumbled with a vacant expression at the unexpected story.

“The only clues left after Mohn Yeongsik’s death are the gun, the bullets, and the poison applied to the bullets. Still, you were very fortunate. The amount of poison that entered your body was truly minimal, so your body could withstand it until the antidote was used. It was even more fortunate that someone with the antidote was in the group.”

“Who had it?”

“It was Princess Merin.”

When Merin’s name was mentioned, Delina’s eyes widened.

“I mentioned it before. The Runan Empire is famous for producing various medicines. So, people from the Runan Empire always carry one or two antidotes with them. Especially the nobles, not to mention.”

“…”

“The fact that the princess provided the appropriate antidote means that Princess Merin knows well about the poison you were exposed to…”

Felix blurred the end of his sentence and glanced at Verlion. Then Verlion spoke up.

“That poison is known for being produced a lot in the Runan Empire.”

After his words, a heavy silence fell in the room.