At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Nellia, are you in there?”

It was Duke Hart’s voice.
“Yes. Please come in, Your Grace.”

With permission, the door opened. The Duke entered slowly and spoke.

“I was looking out the window, and Nellia rushed down, so I came to see what’s going on.”

“Oh, a package has arrived.”

“Who sent the package?”

Nellia shook the glass bottle she was holding.

“Apothecary Griff. He sent the requested medicine.”

Duke Hart approached, quickly reading the letter spread next to the parcel.

“He developed it faster than I thought.”

Putting the letter down on the table, the Duke said, “But I’m worried. Because he’s a prideful person, I don’t know if he’ll easily accept this deal.”

That was a concern Nellia had a little too. However, since the medicine was developed, she had to try persuading him.

“We need to meet him first.”

“When do you plan to meet him, Nellia?”

“As soon as possible.”

Duke Hart glanced at the calendar for a moment.

“My schedule is packed next week, so it’s difficult. Let’s do it this week.”

Nellia couldn’t understand the Duke’s words.

Why is this person talking as if he’s going with me?

“Are you planning to go with me…?”

Turning to look at the calendar, Duke Hart suddenly turned his head.

“Are you trying to meet him alone?”

“Well, that’s…”

You two would fight as soon as you see each other’s faces…

“It’s disappointing, Nellia. Trying to meet him without me.”

“If we go together, it will create a bad atmosphere…”

“It won’t. I absolutely won’t fight with him this time.”

Duke Hart answered naturally.

However, Nellia couldn’t trust his answer. Even if he promises, Carlos would easily provoke and overcome it.

“I can’t go alone, Your Grace.”

Duke Hart’s gaze was quite firm.

‘…’

Nellia surrendered in the end.

“Okay. But promise me that I won’t fight with Carlos, absolutely.”

“Of course.”

Duke Hart seemed to have no doubts.

Watching Duke Hart like that, Nellia thought.

‘Can I trust him…?’

Having arrived at the palace, Duke Hart told Carlos’s personal servant to deliver a letter describing the developed medicine.

Nellia felt anxious while waiting for Carlos’s reply.

When she asked Griff, she thought Carlos wouldn’t refuse the medicine to alleviate the symptoms of his stiffening right arm. However, as the Duke mentioned, she became increasingly worried.

Would the proud Carlos readily accept this proposal?

However, it didn’t take long to receive a response from Carlos.

Duke Hart entered the office, sat down, and said.

“I met His Highness’s personal servant a while ago. We’re scheduled to meet His Highness in the main palace reception room tomorrow evening.”

Nellia stood up from her seat.

“Really?”

Duke Hart nodded briefly.

“Luckily. He didn’t unnecessarily assert his pride this time.”
Nellia thought that during this time, Carlos’s right arm symptoms might have worsened, leaving him with no choice.

Tomorrow, seeing Carlos in person would give her an idea of his condition.

Nellia eagerly awaited tomorrow with a fluttering heart.

Since the next day was a weekend, Nellia spent time at the mansion, waiting for the evening when she had plans with Carlos.

Today, Nellia read books related to the myth of Zigridt.

In the evening, if the conversation with Carlos went well and they reunited, she needed to ask him about the sacred dew. Before that, she wanted to check if there were any hints in the books that might help her in case they needed to discuss the sacred dew.

However, as expected, there was nothing more to learn about the sacred dew in the books. The contents were similar to what she already knew.

Around the time the evening sky turned red with the sunset, Duke Hart’s voice echoed from outside the door.

“Nellia, shall we go soon?”

It was time to go to the palace to meet Carlos.

“Yes, I’m coming!”

Nellia, who had put on her coat in a hurry, suddenly noticed in the mirror that her hair looked too messy.

Even if she lay down on the bed for a moment, her curly hair quickly became unruly and looked cumbersome.

“Your Grace, just a moment…!”

Nellia opened a drawer and took out a comb.

However, something rushed in along and fell to the floor. Making a clattering sound, the rolling object was an unknown gem that had been inside Charlotte’s pendant.

The gem rolled and stopped at the corner of the wall.

Nellia walked over to pick up the gem.

‘Come to think of it, I forgot about the existence of this gem.’

That moment.

Sparkle. The gem emitted a sudden light in Nellia’s hand.

She blinked.

‘What was that just now…?’

Wondering if the gem reflected light, she looked around, but there was no light to reflect except for the illumination.

However, it didn’t shine as vividly as it just did, even if she brought the gem close to the light.

‘Hmm…’

Nellia felt a strange sensation from this gem.

When she first saw this gem from Charlotte’s pendant, she had a similar feeling.

Staring at the gem, Nellia soon identified the nature of the sensation.

The color of this gem was quite similar to Elena’s tears.

Nellia widened her eyes.

‘Could it be…!’

Is this the sacred dew that separated from Elena’s tears?

Nellia belatedly remembered the origin of this gem.

Charlotte said she received the pendant necklace from a priest. And in the book, the origin of the sacred dew, named as such, was discovered by a priest and entrusted to the monastery.

If today’s events go well and she can see the reunion, asking Carlos about this gem at that time should clarify things.

Suppressing her excited emotions, Nellia carefully put the gem in her pocket and went outside.

Duke Hart, who was waiting for her, came into view.
“Because my hair looked messy, it took some time to comb it.”

“Nellia, no matter how your hair looks, it’s always beautiful.”

Duke Hart casually smiled and descended with Nellia to the carriage.

As the carriage started moving, the Duke was looking out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but Nellia was a bit worried about his unusual behavior.

Nellia cautiously asked, “Your Grace, are you nervous about meeting Lord Carlos…?”

The Duke, who had been gazing out the window, slowly turned his head. “No.”

He quickly smiled, but there was an undeniable depth in his eyes.

As Nellia stared at the Duke, seemingly urging him to be truthful, he eventually let out a weak laugh.

“As expected, Nellia can’t be deceived.”

The Duke spoke with lowered eyes. “It’s not that I’m nervous, just… It feels like going to do something I’d rather not.”

Although this time Duke Hart volunteered to meet Carlos first, his dislike for him remained evident.

Meeting someone you dislike is a painful experience.

However, Nellia had a curiosity.

“Why does Your Grace dislike Lord Carlos so much?”

Of course, Nellia knew that Duke Hart had countless reasons to dislike Carlos. He was the son of an enemy, behaved arrogantly, and thought he had a grudge against him, etc.

However, as Nellia observed Duke Hart and Carlos, she began to think that there might be reasons beyond these, a bit more fundamental, like the instinctive dislike between a dog and a cat.

Even though their personalities were as different as those of a dog and a cat, there was a subtle difference.

It might sound absurd, but the silver eyes of the Duke and the black eyes of Carlos seemed like entities that could never blend from the start.

Nellia awaited the Duke’s response. After contemplating for a moment, the Duke slowly spoke.

“I don’t like the way Carlos looks at you.”

“Is that really all…?”

“That reason alone is sufficient.”

As Nellia thought, ‘I guess I asked something unnecessary,’ and was about to give up on further questioning, the Duke continued.

“And…”

As the Duke spoke, Nellia immediately focused, her ears perking up.

“It feels uncomfortable when he’s around.”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Yes… I felt that from the moment I first saw Carlos.”