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Chapter 36
“So don’t say you regret it later—it won’t help.”
Just as Kartan’s lips were about to touch hers, a single tear rolled from Lillian’s eye and dampened his cheek. Only then did Kartan come to his senses, letting out a short curse.
“Damn it.”
He roughly unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing.
“Haa, I don’t want to… please don’t….”
“Stay still!”
Kartan forcibly dressed Lillian, who was struggling against him. He had tried earlier as well, but her resistance had been so fierce that he’d failed.
This time was different. If he didn’t force the shirt on her, he didn’t know what he might end up doing to Lillian. But he couldn’t leave her alone while she was sick either, so this was the best option.
“Stop making things difficult and listen while I’m still being nice.”
“But…!”
Drugged, Lillian was in no condition to be reasoned with. In the end, Kartan had no choice but to show her the side of himself he least wanted her to see.
“Do you know this? I’m a perfectly healthy man too.”
At that, Lillian—who had been struggling to take off the shirt—froze.
“So don’t touch me. Even I have my limits.”
“B-but… it’s so hot….”
The breath Lillian exhaled provoked Kartan once again. His body trembled instinctively. Right now, she was the most dangerous being in the world to him.
If he gave himself over to his instincts like this, Lillian would end up hating him again—because the person she truly wanted wasn’t him.
‘She’s just under the influence of the drug right now.’
In the end, Kartan had to give up on dressing her this time as well. Left with no choice, he called the guards outside.
“Clear out the entire detached palace immediately. I’m returning to the grand duke’s residence.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
Lillian continued to writhe in pain, while his own patience was wearing thin. Rather than waiting here for Doctor Selly—who might not even come—it seemed better to return to the grand duke’s residence.
Kartan lifted Lillian into his arms. At that moment, he heard her faint voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
When he looked down, her eyes were filled with remorse toward him. That made Kartan suddenly angry.
Hearing her say she was sorry felt like she was pushing him away, plunging him into endless misery.
“It’s fine.”
Kartan suppressed his emotions as much as he could and stared at the ceiling.
“Hah… how did things end up like this? Is this Bella Ariana’s doing?”
That was when it happened. Something soft brushed against his lips for a brief moment before pulling away. Kartan’s eyes widened instantly.
“…!”
Startled, it felt as though his heart might leap out of his chest.
“What… what do you think you’re doing right now?”
But Lillian gave no response. Like a butterfly that had exhausted all its strength, she simply collapsed.
“Hah. I’m really going to lose my mind.”
‘If only I could have her like this….’
Kartan let out a quiet sigh. At least for now, it was a blessing that she didn’t understand the state he was in.
‘If she did, she’d despise me.’
Knock, knock.
“Your Grace, it’s me.”
At last, the voice of Doctor Selly—the one he’d been waiting for—was heard.
“Come in.”
Doctor Selly entered the room, showing no sign of apology at all. Sensing the suspicious air filling the room, she merely frowned.
“But did something happen? Your face is unusually red—almost like…?”
Kartan cut her off.
“You’re late.”
“My apologies.”
Only then did Selly examine Lillian’s condition.
“Oh dear. Looks like she fell victim to something nasty.”
“I know that already. I’ll step outside, so hurry up and treat her.”
“This isn’t a simple aphrodisiac.”
Just as Kartan was about to leave, he stopped dead in his tracks.
“What?”
“It seems to be a drug made using illusion grass as its base.”
“Don’t tell me—you mean that poisonous plant that shows people hallucinations of what they want to see if inhaled?”
Instead of answering, Doctor Selly began examining Lillian more closely. Then she turned Lillian’s arm over and showed it to Kartan.
“Do you see these red blotches here? It looks like she didn’t inhale it through her nose—it seems she drank it.”
“Drank it? That’s impossible. Illusion grass is poisonous enough to kill you with even a small amount.”
“Normally, yes. But if it’s diluted and mixed with videl flowers, it can be consumed. In theory, there are no major side effects.”
But his relief was short-lived. At Selly’s next words, Kartan’s expression stiffened instantly.
“However, if someone who’s consumed illusion grass has relations with another person, that other person falls into a severe state of addiction. In extreme cases, it can even be fatal.”
“What you’re saying is… they were aiming for me?”
After letting go of Lillian’s arm, Doctor Selly nodded.
“It must have been hard to endure. You went through a lot.”
“……”
Kartan clenched his fist. Bella Ariana had tried to kill him by using Lillian—just because she’d rejected his clumsy confession.
The corners of Kartan’s lips stretched into a long smile.
“How amusing.”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
Instead of answering, Kartan turned away. As of today, the Ariana ducal house was finished.
“I didn’t like the way they were acting anyway. This works out nicely.”
A flash of madness flickered in his sapphire-blue eyes. Sensing something ominous, Doctor Selly silently closed her mouth.
However, Kartan couldn’t take even a single step out of the room. An unexpected obstacle blocked his way.
Suddenly, the hem of his shirt was pulled taut. When he turned around, the culprit was Lillian.
“Your Grace… please don’t go….”
“…!”
In that moment, he couldn’t move an inch, as if he’d been put under a spell. Watching him, Doctor Selly finally let out a sigh of relief.
“I told you not to give in to temptation, honestly.”
She then pointed to a wooden chair lying off to the side.
“Just sit there. Standing around like that gets in the way of treatment.”
“Doctor.”
Kartan called out in a low voice, but she showed no sign of stopping.
“You don’t actually want to leave anyway, do you? There’s no need to keep up appearances in front of me.”
“Don’t cross the line. If you think I’ll tolerate it forever, you’re mistaken.”
Doctor Selly paused for a moment, then shrugged.
“Well, as long as the young lady is alive, it seems like you will tolerate it. Or am I wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Doctor Selly had been the personal physician of the late empress—his mother. She was the only person who had taken care of him and his siblings after their mother’s death, and one of the very few people Kartan trusted.
“So, was it worth going to the academic conference?”
“Not particularly. No matter how many skilled doctors from various countries are gathered, it’s hard to make an accurate diagnosis just by reading papers. In the end, we’ll probably have to bring the young lady to the conference herself—”
“Are you saying you want to use Lillian for human experimentation?”
Crack.
The armrest of the chair Kartan was gripping shattered instantly. Unfazed, Doctor Selly continued calmly, as if she were used to this.
“But for now, there’s no other way.”
“I told you to save Lillian. I never said to satisfy the curiosity of those academics. If you spout nonsense like that one more time, I’ll wipe out the entire conference—remember that.”
Doctor Selly let out a sigh as she administered a sedative to Lillian.
“In that case, the word ‘academic conference’ will exist only in history books from now on.”
“Those idiots are better off gone anyway. What a waste of all the money I poured into them.”
“There’s no need to be that sarcastic. Thanks to them, I’ve come up with a rather interesting hypothesis, so please spare the conference members.”
Doctor Selly then took out a paper from her medical bag and spread it open.
“This records the circumstances when the young lady collapsed. If you look here, there’s one thing they all have in common.”
She pointed to a specific part with her finger.
“We’ve been so focused on treating the illness that we’ve overlooked an important fact. It seems there’s a certain pattern to the young lady’s collapses. Ordinary patients never show symptoms like this.”
“Explain in more detail.”
