“How did you… get here all of a sudden?”

Without a sound, he approached, panting again and looking down at me.

Now it was more terrifying than scary.

It seemed like he became a different person.

‘Queen must have given him a drug that makes people go crazy.’

Just in case he went crazy.

If he were Hertian, he wouldn’t do such a thing to me.

Soon, his face, which had become as ruined as mine, appeared.

“Hurry and go!”

It’s Hertian again.

It seemed like his ego was coming and going.

“Hurry!”

He shouted, covering his face painfully.

“Do I have to let go…?”

I said so, but my hand was gripping him.

He looked down at his arm and sighed deeply.

“I keep doing this because I want to touch… because I want to hold.”

He tried painfully to pull his arm away. But it was futile. The more he tried to pull it out, the stronger the force applied to his hand.

“Ugh.”

Gradually, the strength in my grip increased to the point where it hurt. I quickly suppressed my expression to not show any signs of pain, but he had already seen it. He let go of the hand that was holding my arm and took out a large pottery from the cabinet.

“Hertian?”

“It seems I can’t let go of my wife easily.”

“Is your body controlled?”

I asked anxiously. What kind of drug would make a person change like this?

“I’m thoroughly obeying my instincts.”

He raised the pottery high.

“What are you trying to do with this?”

“If I don’t do this, I might find it difficult to stop myself.”

“No, you can’t. Stop!”

But my plea couldn’t make him stop.

Thanks to Hertian making himself faint, I was able to leave the room safely.

‘How painful must it have been for him to hit his own head.’

Thinking of the collapsed Hertian on the floor, I shook my head nervously.
Quietly cursing the empress in my mind, I quickly arrived at the laboratory.

This time, I attended to Hertian’s head wound and administered the antidote simultaneously.

‘By the way, what is going on?’

The situation that unfolded before me ten minutes ago still felt like a dream. However, the swollen lips, as if to prove that it wasn’t a dream, were still warm.

“No, it’s not. This is clearly an accident.”

Hertian was under the influence of the drug, making it difficult for him to control his body. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to kiss me.

Just like I was trying to administer the antidote to him, he, too, was helpless due to the effects of the drug.

‘Please don’t act up, my heart.’

Deciding so didn’t make the nonexistent incident go away.

Back in the room, looking at Hertian, it seemed as if someone was tickling his side.

‘Why is he so handsome and well-built? It’s a riot.’

Blaming his perfect appearance, I roughly opened the lid of the antidote.

“I’m really sorry about earlier.”

He, who had neatly dressed himself, apologized to me in a repentant manner. After taking a short nap, it seemed like his senses had returned. Fortunately, it wasn’t that his mind had gone astray.

“Drink it all at once.”

Nevertheless, I prepared a potent antidote to thoroughly extract any remaining traces of the drug from his body.

Without a word, Hertian gulped down the antidote.

Somehow, the clock had long passed the evening hours.

“It seems dinner time has passed.”

It was fortunate, or rather strange.

My parents, who usually kept dinner time as strictly as a knife, didn’t mention anything about meals today.

“Just in case, I’ll tell my parents that I’ll have dinner separately.”

“Do so.”

He also averted his gaze, urging me to leave quickly.

Neither Hertian nor I mentioned anything about the earlier incident. But we couldn’t pretend forever. I was the one who started the conversation.

“Before that, there’s something I need to discuss.”

Surprised, he stopped me.

“I feel sorry for Hertian. I didn’t plan to get involved, but seeing Hertian in pain, I can’t just stand by.”

Provoking the queen who continued to worry was unavoidable.

Avoiding the situation wasn’t the solution.

“Before talking to my parents about the empress, we need to be careful. If there’s any gossip about the empress in our house, even our parents could be in danger. What if the one who put Hertian in this state is a parent in the capital… I’m worried.”

It’s regrettable to talk about this to Hertian, but the concern is genuine.

If there is gossip among the household staff, it would be even more serious.

And there’s a history of betrayal from Melson. With that in mind, even at this moment when my parents are extra cautious, someone might be betraying us.

“There’s something to discuss before that.”

He stopped me, looking flustered.

“I feel sorry for Hertian. I have no intention of growing the problem, but seeing Hertian in pain, I can’t just stand by.”

Provoking the queen who continued to worry was unavoidable.

Avoiding the situation wasn’t the solution.

“This incident is not caused by the empress……. ”

He clearly had an idea of who might have fed him the drug.

I looked at him with surprise.

If it’s not the empress, then there’s only one person who comes to mind.

“Is it perhaps Prince Sardis?”

If Sardis is dissatisfied with me being his wife, the situation would be unpleasant. If it’s not the empress, there was no one else but Sardis.

With a head lowered in guilt, I apologized.

“It’s not Sardis either.”

He lowered his head clearly. Somehow, he avoided eye contact and sighed deeply. It seemed difficult for him to speak.

It was the first time Hertian hesitated like this.

Fear gradually grew.

“Who on earth…?”

At the end of the hesitation, he opened his mouth.

“It’s the Countess.”

Huh?

Our mother?