Clea couldn’t help but be bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

It was an unbelievable situation.

She had been the one groaning in pain just moments ago, yet Admund was the one who collapsed.

“Please help.”

She pleaded to Odin for assistance.

Seeing Admund’s face grow increasingly pale, Clea wanted to take him out of there immediately.

However, there were too many people beyond the terrace.

Odin looked at Admund with a bitter expression and said,

“In exchange, you must grant one of my wishes this time.”

Some might call him cruel for asking a wish of his own son, but Clea felt rather relieved.

She thought Odin would surely get them out of this difficult situation no matter what.

Moreover, she was in no position to be picky right now.

“I don’t mind as long as it’s something I can do.”

Whatever Odin wished for, she could grant it as long as it was within her power.

Even if he asked her to immerse herself in a bathtub full of poison.

Satisfied with Clea’s determined gaze, Odin let out a sigh and quietly turned his back.

“You must remember today’s events clearly.”

“Your Majesty.”

Clea tried to ask how to handle the situation as he was leaving.

But Odin only left his words and returned to the banquet hall.

“Wait a little. I’ll be back soon after wrapping this up.”

* * *

Elaina approached Odin as he entered the banquet hall.

“It seems something has happened.”

“Yes, something has indeed happened.”

Elaina frowned for a moment.

Though she didn’t know the details yet, she didn’t like that someone was ruining this joyous day till the end.

“So what should I do?”

However, it was time to set aside personal feelings.

It seemed something had happened to the children on the terrace, so she looked at Odin, suppressing her emotions.

Odin smiled at Elaina and said,

“What else, we need to drive out the uninvited guests.”

“Oh my, they’re still people who attended the event, it’s a bit much to call them uninvited guests. And there are real uninvited guests elsewhere.”

“You’re certainly right about that.”

The person who caught their eye was Grit, who was alone and not mingling with anyone here.

“So how are you going to drive them out?”

And at that moment, the siblings of the Philip family were seen approaching, seeming to have realized a problem had occurred.

Odin smiled as he saw Oberon revealing an anxious expression.

“Why don’t we cause a little commotion?”

“It’s fascinating how I can now predict what you’re about to do.”

No sooner had those words ended than Odin picked up a nearby champagne glass and dropped it on the floor.

Pretending it was an accident, Empress Elaina sank to the floor at the shards of the dropped champagne glass.

The people who witnessed this scene began to visibly waver.

“Oh my, I made a mistake.”

Everyone knew Odin had dropped it on purpose, but no one pointed it out.

If the master of the empire said so, then that was how it was.

The reason people were shaken was more out of curiosity about why he had done such a thing rather than the incident itself.

“Your dress has been stained.”

“Indeed. It would be difficult to stay here like this.”

The dress could simply be changed. A spare dress was prepared for such situations.

But Elaina did not mention changing it.

“I don’t particularly want to be here without the Empress present.”

By this point, people could understand.

That he was trying to end this banquet hastily.

“So we shall end today’s reception here. I personally express my gratitude to all who attended, and those who have come from afar should rest and recover from their journey tonight.”

Many people had questions, but they dared not approach Odin to ask for reasons.

It wasn’t the first time Odin had ended a banquet in this manner.

But they didn’t expect him to end it like this on a day like today.

Originally, the reception for the Emperor and his successor would have continued through the night.

Although the previous reception had ended when the former Empress said she could no longer stay.

This time, there hadn’t been any discord during the exchange of opinions like before.

But it wasn’t as if there were no reasons at all.

Come to think of it, quite a few incidents that could be unpleasant from the imperial family’s perspective had occurred today.

Considering that, it was understandable to want to end the gathering quickly.

In any case, the conclusion was that the reception had ended.

‘What happened over there?’

People glanced towards the terrace where Clea and Admund were as they hurriedly began to leave.

* * *

How many minutes had passed?

After Odin had hastily ordered everyone out and the last person had left, Clea quickly moved Admund to a room with Hayden’s help.

Lying on the bed, Admund furrowed his brow in pain and let out a groan.

His body was hot as if it were a ball of fire, and he kept sweating profusely.

“Now explain. Without leaving anything out.”

Clea asked Hayden without taking her eyes off Admund.

Everyone present looked at Hayden.

Hayden explained the situation with a bitter smile.

“There was a corpse in the Hersher family’s lounge. A corpse wearing the exact same dress as Your Highness.”

Hearing those words, Clea sighed.

‘Ah, you again?’

It was her again.

Just how long was she going to keep interfering with her path?

Seeing the collapsed Admund, Clea felt her blood boiling inside.

But she tried to calm her emotions and waited for Hayden’s next words.

“There was a red bloodstain near the chest of that corpse.”

A bloodstain on the chest.

Clea imagined the scene Hayden described.

‘It must have looked as if a witch had cast some sort of spell.’

Everyone else besides her had difficulty understanding what this all meant.

But at Hayden’s final words, people frowned.

“According to our believer’s investigation, she died from poison. The same poison that has now intoxicated His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Poison? Even if there was poison there, His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t consume anything.”

Oberon immediately objected.

Oberon was the one who had been by Admund’s side constantly, except when he was with Clea at the reception.

“Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince has built up immunity to most poisons.”

Although Oberon was saying there was no way Admund could have been poisoned, even he could see with his own eyes Admund’s condition.

Until hearing Hayden’s words, he hadn’t realized, but now it seemed Admund had indeed been poisoned.

In fact, if it wasn’t that, there was no way to explain his symptoms.

“Of course His Highness would be. But did the dead woman have immunity as well?”

Oberon was about to ask what Hayden meant by that, but Odin spoke first.

“That sounds like the witch truly cast a futile spell.”

Though not fully understood, one thing was certain.

That the one behind this incident was Aria.

An incident that occurred in the Hersher family’s lounge.

Moreover, according to those who observed her movements, only Aria and her maid were inside.

“It seems she was targeting Her Highness the Crown Princess specifically. But somehow, Her Highness is fine while His Highness has collapsed.”

Clea, who had been listening silently, organized the situation in her mind.

Aria’s new curse, the fact that she was the target, how Admund knew about it and brought an unidentified medicine to make her drink.

The reason she could deduce these facts was because of the pain that had overwhelmed her as if she would really die.

The intensity of the pain, which had been similar every day, had suddenly worsened earlier.

Then it got better after taking the medicine Admund gave her.

The only questions were ‘how did Admund know’ and ‘where did he get the medicine’.

“Oberon, did Admund really not meet anyone?”

Clea looked at Oberon with cold eyes.

She knew what words would come out of his mouth. Nevertheless, she wanted to hear it directly.

To make sure her prediction was correct.

“…Actually, someone sent a letter to His Highness.”

Oberon recalled his memory.

A palace servant suddenly approached Admund and handed him a letter.

It was suspicious that there was no sender written and that a letter was sent during the reception.

But Admund put it in his inner pocket as if it was nothing, so Oberon didn’t pay attention to it.

He thought Admund would discuss with him if anything happened.

“He looked at the letter with an unconcerned expression and then went somewhere for a while.”

After hearing that much, Clea stood up with eyes full of certainty.

Everyone looked at Clea as she stood up.

“Then he risked his life to save me, even though he might die.”

“Your Highness.”

“Can you cure him?”

Clea was angry at herself.

She had thought she had completely dealt with Aria at this point.

She was certain Aria had no more cards left to play.

It was too complacent and arrogant a thought.

She should have continued to doubt and be wary of what Aria might do.

‘I must have been too intoxicated by the happiness you gave me.’

She thought she had come close to the ‘happily ever after’ like the female protagonist in a novel, but that wasn’t the case.

Clea pondered for a moment on what to do, then soon came to a conclusion.

Thinking she needed to settle everything for certain, her eyes were filled with a fierce determination.

‘I’ve always been on the receiving end from you. On that terrace, on that bridge, and now even at the very end.’

Thinking it was now her turn to give back, she kissed him and said,

“I’ll make those who did this to you suffer just as much, Admund.”