I couldn’t remember how I’d fallen ill.

I had no choice.

I’d let my guard down.

Was it because of that last smile that was dangerously beautiful?

Was it because I had taken responsibility for the tyrant of the original story?

I’d swum late at night and ended up with a terrible cold.

“Real idiots don’t just jump into a lake on a moonlit night.”

Franz, arms crossed, grumbled from the head of the bed.

With my head buried in the pillow, I let out a hoarse voice.

“Quiet, Franz.”

“Where else do you find a teacher who just skips class?”

“Think of it as vacation.”

“Irresponsible. Tsk.”

“Douglas will look after you until you recover.”

“I’d rather he didn’t! What am I going to do with all this damage?”

Franz puffed out his cheeks.

If there were a squirrel that fell out of a tree with its mouth full of food, it would look just like this.

“Please, be quiet. My head feels like it’s splitting whenever you talk.”

“Stop moving. The towel will fall.”

Franz picked up the towel that had slipped down my forehead and wrung it out with clumsy hands.

He put the towel back on my forehead, clearly proud of himself.

Apparently, he couldn’t see my damp hair and bedsheet.

“Elizabeth is lucky. She has an affectionate disciple like me.”

“True. A credit to the family. The affectionate Crown Prince.”

“Who else would have provided nutritional support?”

Behind the smug Franz, steam rose from a bowl of soup.

It was a special soup Franz had bullied the palace chefs into making.

The soup contained fish heads, bird feet, and unidentifiable pieces of wood.

The color was a deep green and it smelled of bitter medicine; just looking at it made my stomach turn.

While he meant well, everything was annoying and burdensome.

“Franz, can I be alone?”

“Am I disturbing you?”

Franz’s eyes widened.

‘Yes. I feel like you’re wearing me down. If I eat that Hulklike soup, I might actually die.’

But I couldn’t ignore my disciple’s goodwill.

Especially when that disciple was the Crown Prince who never missed an opportunity for sharp comments.

“I don’t want to get you sick.”

It was a good excuse. I was getting better at this.

Franz’s eyes sparkled, then quickly dimmed.

“I’m robust. I don’t get sick.”

“I’m relieved. I’d be even more miserable if you got sick.”

It was burdensome to have to deal with such a fussy patient while being sick.

Franz seemed to be moved again.

“I’ll go back to the Crown Prince’s palace now. Nice, right?”

I stretched my hand out from under the blanket and patted Franz’s blond hair.

A child’s scalp hair is smoother than silk; I wanted to keep touching it.

Franz, who acted like a wolf fighting for territory, became as docile as a sleepy puppy when patted.

I had no choice but to pat him occasionally.

“I’ll bring your getwell gift later.”

“Your thoughts are enough, Franz.”

“Look forward to a memorable gift.”

Although it would be best if he didn’t come, I responded with a soft smile.

As soon as Franz left, I drank the medicine and fell asleep.

When I faintly woke up, the sun was setting.

Instead of the congealed Hulk soup, I took a few sips of thin vegetable soup.

Drowsiness kept rolling in.

My body sank back under the bed as if unwilling to miss the rare rest.

Morasinia’s eyes couldn’t accurately assess my condition.

I had no choice but to trust the court physicians and take a deep rest.

‘Why doesn’t Nikolai come to visit? He owes his life to me and I’m lying sick here…’

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t dream of the guillotine.

There was no Claudia, no crowd who had come to watch the execution.

But Nikolai kept appearing, bewildering me.

Even more so because I had never seen him in that form before.

Nikolai, who perfectly broke through the current to save me from drowning in the lake.

Nikolai, who gave me CPR!

It was a situation similar to when little Nikolai had confused my thoughts.

There were other differences, too.

Unlike the nasty little Nikolais, the Nikolai in my dreams only had damaging words for my heart.

His words lingered in my ears.

“You saved me, so you’re responsible, Elizabeth.”

“I saw it properly. I look crazy even to my own eyes.”

Shouldn’t I have some expectations?

Who would risk their lives just for a joke?

Would even a womanizer say ‘take responsibility’ so easily?

It was still ambiguous.

I couldn’t tell if Nikolai was really impulsively trying to die or threatening me in a strange way.

I wanted to trust him one last time.

I was so desperate and anxious that I was unaware that I had completely forgotten the rules of the seduction game.

I was afraid to be disappointed by Nikolai again.

(This is a time separator.)

A few days later, Casus came with a white handkerchief covering his mouth.

“Originally, His Majesty the Emperor does not visit the sick.”

Judging from his professional tone and curt gaze, the charm must have worn off.

I thought about seducing him again but decided to postpone it.

“Why?”