“Duke Spencer! It would be best to take your hand off your scabbard right now.”

Ruans’ gaze met Teishar’s red eyes. It was like a frog meeting the gaze of a hungry snake. He didn’t even think of running away.

“Prince Ruans, you have disobeyed my warning.”

“S-stop… If you point your sword at me, it means war.”

Just as Teishar was smiling and about to draw his sword.

“Duke Spencer.”

A gentle voice stopped Teishar’s action. Teishar neatly slid his half-drawn sword back into its scabbard and strode over to Lorencia.

“What’s the matter, Lady Lorencia?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Did you just say you’re hungry?”

“Yes.”

Lorencia nodded with a reddened face as she answered. In truth, she wasn’t really hungry.

“I knew you’d be hungry.”

“Pardon?”

“I was worried because you ate so little. Is there any food you’d like?”

“I’d like to have the potato soup I left unfinished earlier.”

As Lorencia spoke with a forced smile, Teishar began to laugh, his face relaxing. Lorencia swallowed a sigh of relief as she watched him laugh.

She never imagined Teishar would threaten Ruans, especially in the imperial palace. Seeing him about to draw his sword as if he was really going to kill Ruans, she called out to him urgently. Fortunately, Teishar stopped without drawing his sword.

“Lady Lorencia, the potato soup you left is no longer available. I’ll prepare other delicious food instead of potato soup.”

“The cocoa Duke Spencer brought was also delicious. Could I have that again?”

“Of course. I’ll also prepare milk with strawberries, which is very tasty too.”

“Yes. I’ll eat and drink whatever you give me.”

Teishar felt overwhelming emotion at Lorencia’s admirable attitude of saying she would eat. He had been worried because Lorencia was eating too little. He wanted to feed her more, but Susanna had said that eating too much at once could cause problems, so he needed to increase the amount gradually.

Above all, Susanna had emphasized that one’s own will was important when it came to eating. Seeing Lorencia show willingness to eat made his heart swell with pride. The anger that had risen because of Ruans disappeared like smoke in an instant.

“This won’t do.”

“Pardon?”

Teishar became impatient. He needed to return to his room for her who was hungry. As if he had made up his mind, Teishar carefully lifted Lorencia like a princess.

“Excuse me, Lady Lorencia.”

Lorencia’s eye level suddenly met Teishar’s red eyes. She heard the voice of the maid Meru behind her saying, “Oh my! Duke.”

“I’m going to run while carrying you.”

“Put Lorencia down right now!”

Ruans shouted at Teishar with bloodshot eyes. At that moment, Teishar’s red eyes began to fill with more hostility than before. His red gaze became chilling when he looked at Ruans, unlike the gentle gaze he had when looking at Lorencia.

“I think I was mistaken. I just realized that Prince Ruans is a person who doesn’t need consideration.”

At Teishar’s sudden aura, the color drained from Ruans’ face. His body trembled, and his legs kept losing strength. The pressure that choked his breath not only squeezed his neck but also seemed to press down on his head and shoulders.

“Duke Spencer.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Could you put me down?”

When Lorencia spoke, Teishar instantly withdrew his killing intent and showed a bright smile.

“Filling Lady Lorencia’s stomach is a truly urgent matter. So I can’t put you down because I need to run while carrying you.”

Lorencia, tapping Teishar’s shoulder, began to plead to be put down. Teishar, with a face that said he had no choice, put Lorencia down. Then, with a displeased face, he sighed deeply and glared sharply at Ruans.

“Prince Ruans.”

“Lorencia. Let’s go back.”

“I’ve been thinking about why you keep saying we should go back to the count’s residence. It’s because of the potion I used to drink every day, isn’t it?”

Ruans’ mind went blank at her unintended question. The name of the potion he was feeding Lorencia was ‘Digene’.

It was one of the potions brewed through alchemy to amplify magical power. It’s one of the banned potions due to the side effect of physical breakdown as the body can’t handle the increasing magical power.

Lorencia was a monster, so Daniel said it was okay to feed her, and recently Lorencia said she felt comfortable and good after drinking Digene. So he thought that a monster is indeed a monster.

However, since Digene is one of the banned potions, if caught, both the Greikan ducal family who distributed it and himself would be in trouble.

“You said that the medicine Prince Ruans gave me was a potion made by someone trustworthy in the imperial palace, didn’t you?”

At Lorencia’s words, Ruans felt the urge to kill her for the first time. He knew she lacked tact from living in confinement, but he didn’t expect her to bring up the medicine so tactlessly in this situation. And in front of Teishar, who had just brandished a sword at him…

“Did you say it was a potion made in the imperial palace, Lady Lorencia?”

“Yes, Duke Spencer. Prince Ruans personally made and brought me a potion every day for my health.”

Teishar narrowed his eyes and looked at Ruans suspiciously. Anyone could see that Lorencia didn’t look healthy. The mention of medicine for health made him laugh.

Moreover, above all, the distribution of medicine produced in the imperial palace is prohibited. This is because the illnesses of the royal family can be determined based on the medicine they take. Even if it’s claimed to be beneficial, it absolutely cannot be sent outside.

Above all, Teishar thought that the medicine fed to the young tree couldn’t possibly be normal medicine.

“What kind of medicine is it?”

“I’m not sure what kind of medicine it is, but I was told I had to take it every day.”

“It makes you healthier? I’d like to try that medicine once.”

Teishar, showing obvious interest, deliberately said he wanted to try the medicine, and Ruans’ visible discomfort was apparent.

“You can’t, Duke Spencer.”

“Why not, Lady Lorencia?”

“Duke Spencer, you mustn’t take that potion. Prince Ruans said it was a customized medicine made just for me.”

Lorencia’s eyes curved into gentle crescents.

“Prince Ruans. That potion I take every day. Where in the imperial palace can I receive it?”

With the intention of pressuring him just a little until Ruans properly endured to the point of drinking the poisoned cup he had fed her, Lorencia found that Ruans looked more cornered than expected.

“If not that, could Prince Ruans bring it to me every day like when I was at the count’s residence?”

Lorencia twisted her lips into a smile as Ruans avoided her gaze.

Ruans left those words behind and hastily departed.

Lorencia looked up intently at Teishar, who was escorting her beside her.

He must have noticed that the medicine Ruans had given her wasn’t normal.

“Duke Spencer.”

“Yes.”

“Were you really going to draw your sword and strike down a royal earlier?”

“I was just going to scare him a little.”

Ruans had provoked to the end, and Teishar had responded to the provocation by attempting to draw his sword.

He thinks there’s nothing wrong with that. If Ruans were to use this to pressure the Spencer ducal family, he could exert equal pressure.

But Ruans didn’t seem to have any such intention. He turned pale at Lorencia’s question, only glancing around nervously before leaving. He must have fed Lorencia some strange potion. Just thinking about it made anger rise. It seemed necessary to find out immediately what kind of potion he had fed her.

“Lady Lorencia.”

“Yes.”

“What exactly is this medicine that Prince Ruans supposedly provided for you?”

“It’s a potion… He said it was good for health.”

“A potion…”

Lorencia answered all of Teishar’s questions with a face that truly seemed to know nothing.

The color, quantity, and concentration of the potion, without missing anything. And as he listened to her story, Teishar’s face gradually darkened.

When they returned to Teishar’s room, Susanna greeted Lorencia kindly.

“Lady Lorencia.”

“Susanna. The lady said she’s hungry. We need to bring food quickly.”

Lorencia blushed. The reason she said she was hungry was to prevent the situation where Teishar seemed about to swing his sword at Ruans as if to kill him.

“Then please wait a moment. Duke, please step outside the room first. I need to change her clothes.”

“Change clothes? That’s not important right now! Lady Lorencia said she’s hungry! The meal is urgent.”

“Yes. I understand perfectly what you’re saying, Duke Spencer. The clothes the lady is wearing now are very uncomfortable for dining. So we need to change them.”

“Alright. Should I come back in 5 minutes?”

“Walk once to Her Highness the Princess’s reception room and back. That should be about right.”

Teishar frowned. That’s a distance that takes 30 minutes to walk.

“It can’t be helped. Lady Lorencia. I’ll bring food and a scroll with healing spells.”

“I’ll wait.”

After confirming that Teishar had left the room, Susanna sat Lorencia on the bed and neatly tied up her hair. And the cheeks that had been slightly hidden by her hair were revealed.