IMLM 08

Chapter : 08

A short while later, the knights returned carrying armfuls of ingredients.

They sprinkled powder over the wound and lightly crushed flower petals before placing them on top. This should be enough.

“I’ve drawn out as much of the poison as I can, so it should be fine now—ah.”

The moment I turned around to reassure the knights, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me.

Maybe drawing out that much poison was a bit excessive, no matter how hard I was to kill.

“Miss!”

From far away, Mary came running toward me, sobbing.

The food she had been carrying in her arms scattered miserably across the ground, but no one paid it any attention.

Because they hadn’t been able to confirm Mary’s identity, an imperial knight tried to stop her, but when I said it was fine, he immediately stepped back.

Good thing I spoke up quickly—otherwise something big would’ve happened. I saw Mary trying to kick you in the shin.

“M-Miss, your lips!”

Mary rushed over and cupped my cheeks with both hands. Gilbert, who followed after her, kept wiping away tears.

If everyone was panicking this much, then it really must be serious.

Am I going to faint the moment I look in a mirror?

“Why did you have to go this far…?”

Mary tried not to cry in front of me, but in the end, tears spilled out. It wasn’t like I did this because I wanted to.

Who would want to live the rest of their life like this?

Earlier, things were too chaotic for me to realize it, but after drawing out the poison for so long, I understood.

The arrow had been coated in a deadly poison.

A vicious toxin—one that leaves permanent marks even if treated in time.

Enoch’s wound would heal, but a bluish stain would remain at the site.

My lips are probably the same.

Still, I didn’t regret what I’d done. If Enoch had come to harm because of me, it would’ve hurt far more.

“Mary, I did enough, right?”

“…Is that even a question? Of course you did.”

“Even if I look like this, you’ll stay with me, won’t you?”

“Why do you keep saying such strange things? Of course I will!”

I could only give a small smile at her completely twisted expression.

Yeah. This is enough. I patted Mary on the shoulder and turned my head.

In the distance, I saw Zen looking this way.

“Zen…”

But before my voice could reach him, Zen turned away and disappeared from view. That actually stung a little.

…Is it really that ugly?

A short while later, the doctor who arrived examined Enoch and told me I’d handled things well.

I’d been worried, honestly, so it was a huge relief.

“Remarkable. How did you know those two things would help?”

“I read it in a book. We had related texts at home.”

“Even so, herbal names are very similar—it couldn’t have been easy to memorize them…”

As he spoke, the doctor glanced at my hair and nodded, as if realizing something.

It seemed he’d finally figured out that I was the famous half-elf. Elves being known for their excellent memory, there was no need for further explanation.

“But this poison is extremely rare. How did it end up here…?”

An imperial knight who had been listening to our conversation spoke up.

“That much, even I don’t know. No matter how much we interrogated the man who fired the arrow, he wouldn’t talk. All he said was that Enoch was the target.”

Enoch had been the target from the start? My eyes widened at the unexpected news.

Then the arrow aimed at me had been a mistake.

If things followed the original story, then Enoch was always destined to survive, even without me.

That meant I hadn’t needed to step in—but I didn’t feel regret or anger.

I was just relieved it hadn’t been because of me.

I’d lived such an unlucky life that I’d developed immunity to this sort of thing. Zen was the real problem now.

“Gilbert, did you find out where Zen went?”

“He seemed to have something nearby he wanted to see. Since there was nothing pleasant to watch here, I let him go.”

“By himself? That’s dangerous.”

“Two knights from the Hentison barony went with him, so he should be fine.”

“If that’s the case, he should’ve told me. I would’ve gone too—”

I stopped mid-step, suddenly remembering my condition.

…Better to just stay here. He seemed afraid of my face anyway—going would only make him uncomfortable.

By then, the doctor seemed to have finished treating Enoch and slowly stood up.

“It’s fortunate you acted quickly. Otherwise, this could’ve ended badly. He might have lost his life.”

At that, the imperial knight’s face went pale. Well, it would be stranger if he stayed calm after nearly witnessing the assassination of the crown prince.

“Th-Then… there’s no further danger now?”

“For the moment, yes. However, there may still be poison left in his body, so he should avoid moving for a while. The wound also needs time to heal.”

“Would traveling by carriage be—”

“Long distances are out of the question.”

The doctor firmly waved his hand. There was no room for argument, but for the imperial knights, it was a bolt from the blue.

It meant they couldn’t return to the imperial palace and would be stuck here until Enoch recovered.

Even traveling as fast as possible, it would take two or three days to reach the palace—far too much strain on his body.

“Ah, is it because your home isn’t nearby? If so, we do have an empty room at our clinic—”

“…That won’t be necessary.”

The imperial knight quickly shook his head. Enoch was the crown prince of the empire.

No matter the circumstances, they couldn’t house him at a rural clinic.

And the knights would need to stay too—there wouldn’t be enough space.

Somewhere nearby suitable for Enoch to stay…

As I lifted my head, my gaze landed on Rachel, who was fidgeting anxiously.

Right—the Marquess Morette’s estate.

As if she’d read my thoughts, Rachel suddenly raised her hand.

“W-We’ll host him on our estate! He’s a-already been staying there until now!”

Yes. The Morette estate would reassure even the emperor. After all, Rachel had been considered a candidate for crown princess.

Perfect. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore—

“That won’t be possible.”

Huh? Why not?

As I tilted my head in confusion, a knight with a cold expression slowly approached Rachel.

She visibly shrank back.

It didn’t look like simple fear—she seemed to know exactly why he was angry.

“Lady Morette.”

“…Y-Yes?”

“Many people at today’s festival recognized Lord Enoch.”

“Well, th-that is…”

“I believe we clearly instructed the Morette family to keep Lord Enoch’s schedule confidential. Am I mistaken?”

Only then did I understand the situation.

Despite the imperial family’s request, Rachel had leaked Enoch’s schedule.

And she’d done it at a crowded party. Returning to the Morette estate now was unthinkable.

Who knew what information might leak next—especially with Enoch unconscious and in danger.

“I-It’s my fault! I-I had my reasons, I just—”

“Your reasons are irrelevant. What matters is that due to your carelessness, Lord Enoch was injured.”

…Wow. That was harsh.

The imperial knight spoke coldly, seemingly unmoved by Rachel’s trembling.

I knew he was angry, but I didn’t expect him to go that far—especially since she might have become the crown princess.

Not that I planned to defend her. I’d heard her openly talking about Enoch attending the party.

Ah… does this mean her chances as crown princess are over?

Whatever Rachel’s fate, one thing was clear: how important Enoch was to these knights.

That alone explained everything.

Seeing how Enoch had tried to push me away, even at the risk of his own life, made it obvious how he treated those around him.

“We will hold the Morette family responsible for this incident. Naturally, we cannot allow Lord Enoch to stay in such a place.”

Fair enough. Then they’d need another suitable location.

…Wait. Why is everyone looking at me?

“Lady Amelio.”

No. Please. Please tell me no. I can barely take care of myself as it is.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, may we stay temporarily at the Amelio Count’s estate?”

The imperial knight approached me as he spoke.

Ah. Why is my bad feeling always right?

“We will, of course, provide generous compensation.”

…Does that mean severe punishment if I refuse?

I closed my eyes and imagined what would happen if Enoch took a turn for the worse.

I’d heard the emperor cherished his son dearly—this wouldn’t end with a simple punishment.

…Is this the dead ending?

A chill ran through me, cold sweat trickling down my back.

Of course, Enoch’s injury wasn’t my fault—in fact, I’d saved his life.

Still, anxiety wasn’t something I could control. No matter the reason, dying was still dying.

Who knows? Even falling backward could break my nose—my bad luck might strike again.

“Please. We can only trust you, my lady.”

All the imperial knights looked at me with desperate eyes.

My status as a divinely blessed race, and the fact that I’d saved Enoch by drawing out the poison myself, probably played a big role.

Thinking about it now, it really was an outrageous set of deeds—but it couldn’t be helped.

There was no turning back time.

“…All right.”

With a quiet sigh, I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket.

It was a contract I’d prepared just in case—an extra copy from the Hentison estate, with only the subject omitted.

“Then please sign here.”

I held the contract out to the stunned knight.

So what if he’s the crown prince? I still have to protect myself.

My safety comes first.

And so, without being able to enjoy the festival any longer, I returned to the Amelio estate.

After what had happened to Enoch, there was no way I could stay.

Still… every time I go out, I seem to come back with more people.

“Mary, have you assigned rooms for Lord Enoch and the knights?”

“Yes. I arranged everything so they’d be as comfortable as possible. Though the knights say they’ll be guarding Lord Enoch’s room all night, so it may not matter.”

Mary blinked her swollen eyes—puffy from crying—and gave a small smile.

It seemed she still didn’t know Enoch’s true identity.

…If I told her right now that Enoch was the crown prince, she’d probably faint.

The knights had asked us to keep it secret, so I’d stay quiet for now.

“I’m going to sleep now. You should rest too, Mary.”

“…All right, miss. If you need anything, please call for me!”

Mary glanced back several times before quietly closing the door behind her.

As her footsteps faded, I reached under the blanket and pulled out what I’d hidden there.

A hand mirror I’d been carrying since earlier.

“It really is bad…”

Not just my lips—my entire mouth area was stained bluish, like a bruise.

…No wonder Zen ran away.

It looked worse than I’d expected. I didn’t regret saving Enoch—but I was worried.

A little… no, very upset too. Would I even be able to walk around like this?

“Maybe I should cover it with cloth.”

A veil might work. To get a rough idea, I picked up a handkerchief from the bedside table.

I folded it in half and held it beneath my nose.

Something like this, maybe.

As I stared into the mirror, I heard a knock at the door.

Mary?

“Mary?”

There was no reply, even though I’d spoken loudly. Just as I reached for the bell cord by the bed, a quiet voice spoke.

“…It’s me.”

Not too high, not too low—a familiar voice.

I hurriedly covered my mouth with the handkerchief.

After running away earlier, he probably wouldn’t like seeing my face like this either.

“Zen. Come in.”

The door creaked open and Zen stepped inside. It looked like he’d come, as usual, to say good night.

The moment he entered, his gaze fixed on the handkerchief covering my mouth.

“Why are you doing that?”

“…Ah, this?”

Of course it bothers him.

But I can’t show my bare face to someone who ran away from it.

…I should’ve just pretended to be asleep. I shouldn’t have told him to come in.

“I haven’t prepared anything proper to cover my mouth yet, so I’m just doing this for now.”

“Why do you need to cover your mouth?”

Honestly. Why ask something so obvious?

If he was pretending not to know out of guilt, he didn’t have to.

“Because it looks ugly. You know that.”

“…Who says so?”

Zen frowned at my half-smiling reply.

Late evening, moonlight softly filtering in—the red of his eyes gleamed strangely in the dark room.

“I asked who said that.”

His gaze never leaving me.