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Chapter 03
“Everyone, step back!”
The people had no idea what was going on and simply stared at me blankly.
Hemion’s body, now completely out of her senses, went limp.
Sensing at a glance that her condition was bad, the onlookers began murmuring and tried to get closer to see.
There was no time to explain and persuade each of them one by one. I pointed at a nearby guard and gave an order.
“Guard, disperse the people immediately!”
Though flustered, the guard pushed the crowd back.
I first took out a medicine that neutralizes poison.
It wasn’t an antidote for a specific poison, but it could at least partially neutralize most poisons.
For now, I had to use this to buy time until I could make a proper antidote.
The transparent liquid poured over Hemion’s wound, and the blood vessels that had been swelling as if about to burst seemed to calm down a little.
But if left like this, it would soon relapse.
Moreover, the veins rising all over her body were still there.
Next, I picked up a thick needle.
It was hollow in the middle, tube-shaped.
At that moment, Hemion began to convulse.
It was a reaction caused by the crude injection of the neutralizer.
“With this, I can’t stab her…”
Holding the needle in one hand and trying to restrain Hemion with the other wasn’t easy.
Zenid tried to calm Hemion somehow from the side, but it wasn’t enough.
Just as I lifted my head to ask someone for help—
“What’s going on?”
Yulion had approached before I knew it.
“She’s poisoned with Bihwa. If we don’t do something right now, it could spread and harm those nearby.”
Yulion looked at the collapsed Hemion and me holding the needle, then made a bewildered expression.
“I’ll call a physician. How could you possibly—”
“There’s no time to call a physician. I can do this.”
I cut him off and spoke urgently.
“So please help me.”
I sent him a desperate look, asking him to hold Hemion down.
Yulion pondered for a moment with a serious expression, then soon sat in front of me and reached out his hand.
“Are you confident?”
Yulion’s hand pressed down firmly on Hemion’s shoulder.
I answered without hesitation.
“Of course. I’ve done this hundreds of times.”
With Hemion restrained by Yulion, I inserted the needle into the point where the Bihwa had gathered.
First, just below the collarbone.
From the deeply inserted needle, dark, dead blood flowed out.
The pure white dress was stained a dark crimson, but this was no time to worry about that.
“Zenid, the neutralizer.”
Zenid, who had been waiting, placed the vial of transparent potion over my hand.
I poured the neutralizer into the needle.
Next, below the navel.
Above both hips, and beside the knees.
After injecting the neutralizer into all the key points, the veins that had been bulging over Hemion’s skin began to slowly subside.
“…Phew.”
That bought us some time.
Now I had to make a proper antidote.
I immediately picked up a pen and scribbled the names of medicinal ingredients on paper.
When I handed the list to Zenid, she neatly gathered it and slipped through the crowd.
Looking at the limp Hemion, Yulion asked,
“Is it over?”
“I’ve put out the urgent fire. But without an antidote, it’ll relapse soon.”
“I’ve heard that Bihwa antidotes aren’t easy to obtain.”
Concern spread across Yulion’s face.
Hemion was reflected in his golden eyes.
A look of sympathy. After briefly looking into those sorrowful golden eyes, I smiled and said,
“It’s okay. I can make it.”
Yulion’s eyes widened slightly. He moved his lips as if he had many things to say, but then spoke the most important thing for now.
“Understood. I’ll hear the details later. First, what should we do about our wedding now?”
Yulion’s gaze turned to my blood-stained dress.
Hmm… marching and holding the ceremony like this would be difficult, wouldn’t it?
The sun had already climbed high into the middle of the sky.
I smiled awkwardly and said,
“Wouldn’t it be quite romantic to have a wedding while watching the sunset?”
If I hurried to make the antidote with the ingredients Zenid would bring, and prepared a new ceremonial outfit in the meantime, it would be around sunset.
Understanding immediately, Yulion nodded as if he had no choice.
“Very well. I’ll handle the rest.”
While a new dress was being prepared, I stayed in the Crown Prince’s palace and made the antidote.
Fortunately, after giving Hemion the antidote, her complexion was gradually improving.
Of course, it would take a bit more time for her to wake up, but it seemed she had passed the critical moment.
“My lady, the new dress has arrived. It’s a bit simpler though…”
The dress Zenid brought was plainer than the one I had originally worn.
“It’s fine. What about His Highness?”
“He’s dealing with the nobles.”
In the central garden of the imperial palace, many nobles had gathered to watch the ceremony.
Since the wedding had been delayed by half a day more than expected, some of the proud nobles openly expressed their dissatisfaction.
Still, fortunately, it seemed Yulion was handling them well.
With Zenid’s help, I quickly changed clothes.
Just as the preparations were almost finished, there was a knock.
“It’s me.”
It was Yulion’s voice.
When Zenid opened the door, Yulion carefully entered and looked over Hemion and my appearance.
“Are you ready? It will be difficult to delay any longer.”
“Yes, almost. What are the nobles saying?”
“As expected. They’re busy talking about this interesting situation that will go down in history.”
Yulion then extended his hand to me.
“I have a mountain of things I want to ask you as well… but for now, let’s go to the hall, Rohiriel.”
As I was about to take his hand, I glanced back at Hemion.
If we left her like this and she was attacked again, all our efforts so far would be wasted.
Noticing my concern, Yulion smirked and said,
“I’ll have my subordinates guard this place without any gaps.”
That was a relief.
Surely, in the Crown Prince’s palace—especially on a day when such a major incident had occurred—no one would dare cause trouble again.
I gently placed my hand over Yulion’s.
Once we stepped out, all eyes would be on us.
Since rumors had already spread that we had achieved a romance of the century, we might as well maintain it to the end.
Perhaps thinking the same, Yulion’s attitude toward me had changed quite a bit from when we first met.
“Then let’s go, Yulion.”
From the very beginning, our marriage had been full of incidents—may it bring good results for both of us.
The wedding ended after being conducted as simply as possible.
Since the sun was setting, Yulion had removed everything except the essentials.
I also didn’t place much significance on the wedding, so I had no complaints at all.
Perhaps this would not have been possible if the Emperor had not been nearly incapacitated, and if the Empress had not been so occupied nursing him that she had practically stepped away from palace affairs.
“Your Highness, it’s all done now.”
My reflection in the mirror showed me in an evening dress.
Zenid finished styling my hair and added decorations.
The aquamarine ornament stood out against my pure white hair.
It was a gemstone my mother had liked, saying it resembled my hair and eye color.
Although now, my hair had turned completely white.
“Has His Highness gone ahead?”
“Yes. He said he had somewhere else to stop by.”
“I see.”
It would have been better to enter together, though.
Thinking this and that, I hastened my steps toward the banquet hall.
The bride and groom were supposed to enter from a separate route, not the main open entrance.
Since I hadn’t been assigned personal maids yet, Zenid and I were walking along the back corridor of the banquet hall when—
“Loti.”
A familiar yet chilling voice caught my ankle.
My body stiffened reflexively.
Silver eyes, resembling Father’s, looked down at me.
“My sister, you look especially beautiful today.”
It felt as if darkness had settled only around him.
Though his words were gentle, they felt more aggressive than anything else to me.
Gripping the hem of my dress, I forced out his name.
“Roxis.”
The eldest son of the Cassian ducal family and the most likely candidate to become the next duke. A man deeply involved in my mother’s death.
And—
“You should call me ‘brother,’ Loti.”
My damn half-brother.
At his sly tone, I shot back sharply.
“I don’t have time to deal with you. Move.”
But he smiled silently, his silver eyes gleaming.
“No, Loti. You’ll have to make time for me.”
Then he took a step toward me.
I wanted to step back, but I held it in and glared at him as he came closer.
“Roxis. Have you forgotten where this is? This is the imperial palace, and as of today, I am the Crown Princess.”
“You’ve grown quite adorably defiant.”
Roxis’s smile deepened.
He had been away somewhere for a long time under Father’s orders, so it had indeed been a while since I last saw him.
Whatever he had been doing, a thick scent of blood emanated from him.
I didn’t hide my frown as I spoke.
“Watch your mouth. Unless you want to be beheaded for insulting royalty.”
The moment my words ended—
Roxis reached out, grabbed my shoulder, and shoved me hard against the wall.
“…!”
The impact struck my whole body, but fortunately—or unfortunately—I hadn’t taken the stimulant today.
That meant I could hardly feel pain.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Zenid turned to call for help, but—
“You there, maid. If you don’t want to die, you’d better stop.”
Roxis blocked her.
My pale face was reflected in his silver eyes.
It was a suffocating standoff.
Roxis leaned closer to me and brushed my hair back with his free hand.
“Let’s not ruin a good day by turning red-faced with each other.”
“Aren’t you the one doing that?”
“Loti, you know what I want. That damn Hemion Martin. That woman.”
The moment Hemion’s name came out of his mouth, I understood everything.
It seemed Roxis was the one who had dealt with the Martin viscount family.
He must have been chasing Hemion, and after seeing that I saved and brought her here, he resorted to this madness.
Lying in wait in the middle of an empty corridor.
“You’re a Cassian too, after all. So act like one and cooperate quietly. This is Father’s आदेश.”
The situation was serious, but I laughed.
Since when had they ever treated me as a Cassian?
“You only see one side of things. In front of the people, the Cassian name is already on the chopping block. Father will probably praise me for publicly treating that girl.”
“You…!”
Unable to deny my words, Roxis’s grip tightened.
A crushing pressure rose in my shoulder.
Even if I couldn’t feel pain well, this much still hurt.
But instead, I smiled.
“So, Roxis. I just cleaned up the mess you left behind. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
A grinding sound of teeth echoed.
At the same time, just as Roxis’s other hand moved to grab my throat—
From the side, along with the sound of footsteps, a familiar gentle voice I had been hearing often lately rang out.
“Sir Roxis Cassian. What do you think you’re doing to my consort right now?”
