“Your complexion has been quite poor lately. Do you have any worries?”

“No. I’m just… a bit tired.”

“Then try to get more sleep, even if you have to force yourself. If you lack sleep, your body will start breaking down bit by bit.”

“Yes. I will, madam. Thank you for your concern.”

Merche, who responded mechanically, looked extremely exhausted. Even though she had just woken up after sleeping soundly for hours.

Lady Martin, who had been gazing intently at Merche in that state, said:

“Escape is not necessarily a cowardly choice.”

“Pardon?”

“The young lady I saw is not a cowardly fugitive. So if anyone calls you that, ignore them.”

“……”

“Young lady.”

Lady Martin took the teacup from Merche. She looked into the blue eyes with a deep gaze, as if peering into Merche’s soul.

What happened at Fondo’s main house. How brilliantly Merche had triumphed in the competition. And how she had returned to Venenum as if being chased.

There were many mouths spreading even the most trivial news.

Thanks to that, even she who had not gone to Fondo came to know everything about her mistress’s affairs.

Lady Martin slowly reached out and took Merche’s limp hands resting on the bed.

“I am indeed a cowardly fugitive. I committed an unforgivable sin yet ultimately escaped punishment, and I betrayed an old friend to protect my kin and fled here, so I have no words to defend myself if anyone calls me a cowardly fugitive.”

Lady Martin’s generous voice changed at a short breath, then continued in a stern and resolute tone.

“But you are not. You are never, ever a cowardly fugitive.”

Merche gazed blankly at Lady Martin’s eyes as she asserted this to her.

When Merche first met Lady Martin, her eyes, which had been filled with fear, showed no composure and were just dull.

But now, as if finding her former self, they were elegant and full of dignity.

…Yes. She looked happy.

The former maid whom Merche had separated from Genovefa’s pursuit at great risk, and who had thus been freed, now appeared to be immersed in unimpeachable tranquility.

And to Merche, that came as an irreplaceable comfort.

“What’s wrong with running away? Why is it cowardly to bow my head and avoid fights to protect those I love? Rather, it should be considered a brave escape for the sake of everyone.”

As Lady Martin had fled to protect her beloved family, she could understand Merche more completely than anyone else.

It’s not only those who fight to protect that are brave. Those who step back are also making an equally brave choice.

Lady Martin naturally tidied up the bedding, made Merche lie down again, and covered her with a warm blanket.

A hand holding lukewarm warmth gently stroked the golden hair.

“Sleep a bit more. I’ll wake you when dawn breaks.”

The touch that evoked a very old memory continued gently.

As Merche’s consciousness faded, enveloped by drowsiness, she realized what that memory was.

Claudia. It was the touch of her mother caressing Merche when she was young. Under that longed-for touch, Merche fell asleep again.

Shh, shh…!

The fierce threatening sound woke her from her drowsiness. For some reason, the surroundings felt chilly. Had the fireplace gone out?

“…?”

Merche, who was slowly trying to get up, froze in bewilderment.

Her body felt strange. Her limbs felt heavy as if weights were attached, and even her vision was not clear.

Poison? When and how did I ingest it?

She thought as she struggled to move her sluggish body.

Despite the sudden situation, she did not lose her composure and calmly turned her thoughts.

The most recent thing she ate. Fortunately, there weren’t many candidates to narrow down, as she hadn’t eaten much lately due to lack of appetite.

Yesterday she had only one meal, didn’t eat any snacks, and besides that…

−Your complexion has been quite poor lately. Do you have any worries?

The tea. There was the tea Lady Martin had given her before she went to sleep.

Had Lady Martin turned traitor? Even as she doubted, she estimated the possibility to be low.

Lady Martin owed Merche not only a life debt but also the grace of saving her family.

Aside from that, she was not the type to easily betray Merche, so Merche decided to first try to get through this situation to some extent and then consider other suspicious candidates.

Shh. Shhhh.

The snake’s distinctive threatening sound drew closer.

Reaching out to feel around, she touched the scales of a snake coiled right next to her waist.

Though her vision was blurry, her senses were sharp.

Merche drew on her dominion to gather a handful of scattered snakes around her.

Soon after, the space that had been silent except for the snakes’ hissing sounds was filled with their voices.

‘If there is anyone trying to attack me, bite them.’

As soon as she gave the order, a suppressed groan burst out from nearby.

“Ugh!”

The snakes rushed in relentlessly. Though she couldn’t see, she could tell that all the snakes gathered here were going to the intruder and sinking their venomous fangs into them.

Thud, soon after a heavy sound shook the floor.

Expecting that the intruder had fallen, Merche was not greatly surprised and finally set her feet on the floor.

The first thing she searched for was the bedside table.

−If you accidentally eat poison or something somewhere, go into any bedroom and open the bedside drawer. We always keep antidotes prepared as a precaution because there are so many snakes and poisons in our territory.

Those of Venenum blood, like Carla or Mariette, are immune to poison.

So they don’t need antidotes, but they always keep antidotes in designated places in case other visitors or servants ingest poison, as Merche had heard from Carla.

This was when she had just arrived in Venenum.

Fortunately, there was an antidote in the form of a round pill in the bedside drawer.

As she chewed and swallowed it without water, a strong bitter taste spread and her vision slowly became clear.

“…Lady Martin?”

Lady Martin was sitting leaning on a couch in one corner of the bedroom.

Seeing her back turned, Merche stopped in her tracks. An eerie ominousness crept up her skin.

Drip, drip….

At the sound of water droplets pooling on the floor, she unconsciously looked down at her feet.

It was dark red blood. The liquid she wanted to deny kept flowing like water, soaking the white carpet.

“Lady Martin.”

Please answer me. Please, turn around and look at me from there.

Step by step, her feet felt as heavy as if weighed down by rocks as she approached the couch. But she had to check.

“…Ah.”

The chest area of the elegant purple dress was completely red.

The dark fabric had hidden it from afar, but as the distance closed, the vivid red became more prominent.

Bluish skin, limp arms and legs, a voice that wouldn’t return no matter how much she called.

Merche collapsed helplessly.

Lady Martin was dead. Even after difficult acceptance of that fact, Merche had to despair once again.

The outside was too desolate. The snakes connected to her consciousness informed her. Dozens of intruders were surrounding this building.

She couldn’t even bury Lady Martin’s body right away. It was impossible to even inform anyone of her death.

It was unbearably painful, and Merche bit her lip and exhaled a suppressed breath.

“…Shakar.”

I need to get out of here.

After repeated cold deliberation to the point of self-loathing, she made a decision.

No matter how much she attacked using the snakes, as long as she stayed here, intruders would keep pouring in. She had a feeling, almost like a certainty, that this would happen.

A method to escape, a loyal black wolf that could carry her outside.

“Come here, Shakar.”

Merche used all her might to move her body still affected by the poison, and kept focusing on locating Shakar’s position.

The wolf that always guarded near her seemed to be quite far from here for some reason today.

After some time had passed. Merche narrowed her eyes and turned her head.

“Nike?”

She sensed a black wolf running towards this place. A wolf running faster than Shakar, rushing here recklessly, almost arrived.

Crash−!

The large window shattered into fragments, and a man dismounted from a huge wolf and stepped on the dazzling path formed by those fragments.

The heel of his shiny black shoes further crushed the already broken glass pieces with a crunch as he closed the distance between them.

“…Merche.”

Those of Lupinus blood, they say they have an instinct to sense their companion’s danger.

Rude, who had gone mad sensing his companion’s danger, naturally approached and reached out to Merche.

From the fact that he didn’t immediately grab her waist and embrace her, Merche felt his patience.

The promise to prove change, saying he wouldn’t force her. He was trying his hardest to keep the promise he had made.

“You need me, don’t you?”

He uncannily knows when the woman he obsessively pursues needs him. Right now was that time.

“Use me. Use me as you like, order me around as you please.”

The eyes containing the sea that always drive him mad poured onto him.

It would be fine even if he was shoved into water that made him want to vomit.

Even if thrown into a fire pit, it would be okay if it was for that woman. He could do anything.

“Rude.”

“Tell me.”

“Take me outside.”

“Of course, that’s why I came in the first place. What’s so difficult about that? I’ll even take you to the royal palace and seat you there. I’ll kill the guy there and give that seat to you, that’s all.”

“Thank you.”

The woman who finally placed her pale hand on his hand smiled.