“Why are you making that expression, Ellyn?”

With a worried look, Raul approached Ellyn. At that moment, Ellyn, feeling uneasy, inadvertently felt her words were retreating inward, especially with Raul’s face so close.

“Are you still hung up on Princess Belia? But…”

At that moment, Raul cut off Ellyn’s words firmly.

“What are you talking about? The person I mentioned is you, Ellyn.”

“What?”

“I’m aware that there are various rumors about me and Princess Belia. Regardless of what happened, the fact that I proposed to her remains unchanged. However, my fiancée is not Princess Belia; it’s you, Ellyn.”

“Your Highness…”

It was an unexpected statement, and Ellyn, surprised, widened her eyes.

Raul courteously held Ellyn’s hand.

“I apologize for not showing a good side for a while. It must have been quite upsetting. However, there won’t be such incidents in the future. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt by it.”

Lifting Ellyn’s hand that Raul was holding, he lightly kissed her fingertips.

Ellyn’s face turned bright red at the sight.

“So, can you trust and follow me, Ellyn?”

“…Of course. There’s no one else for me but Your Highness.”

Shyly responding to Ellyn’s answer, Raul extended his hand again, escorting her once more. Although Raul’s expression as he turned away was a beautifully crafted smile, his eyes were chillingly cold.

On her way to the clinic, Belia narrowed her eyes at Raul’s carriage that happened to pass by.

Rachel, sitting on the opposite side, reviewing documents, asked with a worried expression as she noticed Belia’s expression.

“Princess, your expression doesn’t look good.”

“No, it’s just that there’s something on my mind.”

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately. Today, you didn’t have to come with me…”

In fact, today, Belia had only come to check a few things, and there was no need for her to accompany Rachel.

“I’ve been neglecting my duties as a hostess for a while, so it’s time to visit when I get the chance.”

“Still.”

Belia just smiled silently and looked out the window again.
In fact, the reason for accompanying Rachel today was to receive the antidote.

Afterward, through the maid infiltrated into the Empress’s palace by Khalid in advance, the antidote was scheduled to be delivered to the Empress.

‘The connection with the Empress from her youth…’

Back when the Empress was Lady Tessa.

At that time, she was outstanding in every aspect, especially in swordsmanship, as befitting the successor of the knightly Tessa Duchy.

In the social circles of the time, the anecdotes of Lady Tessa’s martial arts were the main topic of conversation, receiving the attention of everyone.

Many people who had been helped by Lady Tessa at that time were now saying that the maid assigned to deliver the antidote to the Empress was the granddaughter of someone who had received Lady Tessa’s help.

‘The concept of fate is truly fascinating.’

It was clear that even the Empress had forgotten about this connection. However, they had not forgotten the help they received.

Although it was unknown how Khalid had found them, he assured that they were trustworthy people, so Belia had no choice but to believe him for now.

“We’ve arrived, Princess.”

When Rachel announced the arrival at the clinic, Belia woke up from her thoughts.

After that, Rachel left to do what she originally had to, and Belia, after mentioning that she would check the underground storage as the final step, went down with the steward.

“Is this it?”

Belia meticulously inspected the antidote received from the production room in the underground. The quantity was not as much as she had hoped, but it was enough to hold out temporarily until more could be produced.

“The formulation turned out to be more complicated than I initially mentioned, so it took longer than expected. I apologize.”

“No, honestly, I was worried whether the antidote could be made… You really did well.”

Although it was possible to secretly take medicine from the Empress’s palace, there was not much of it, so there were many concerns about whether the analysis could be properly done.

However, they managed to dispel these concerns and eventually produced the antidote.

It was indeed a good decision to join hands with Luness as soon as she returned.

“I have confirmed that the poison you sent additionally has been detoxified. The effect has clearly manifested.”

It felt like finally obtaining the most crucial key to make Khalid the Emperor.

Belia hugged the box containing the antidote to her chest.

“Please continue to make this medicine in the future. And could you check if it’s possible to make the antidote in this way?”

“What is that?”

“So… Could you…”

Belia cautiously conveyed what she had in mind to the steward. After all the explanations were done, the steward massaged his chin for a while and nodded.

“I will give it a try. I don’t think it’s entirely impossible.”

“That’s fortunate. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Belia’s stiff expression loosened only after hearing his positive response.