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Side Story Episode 8
“How is Your Grace?”
“I…”
Miliana had asked because she thought this topic might finally get the woman to speak, but she still remained tight-lipped. At the same time, a vision flashed before Miliana’s eyes. She saw Kaiden, looking as though he had been drenched in water.
Why is Kaiden appearing in Celine’s future?
The thought struck her as strange, but she dismissed it.
“Well then… it’s gotten quite late. We should be going now.”
“Yes. I had a wonderful time today.”
Miliana rose to see the three women off.
Just then, a low voice came from behind her.
“So, it’s finally over?”
“Y-Your Grace? What brings you here?”
“Is it strange for me to be where my wife is? I’ve been waiting for this tea party to end. Surely you’ll spare some time for me now?”
“K-Kaiden, honestly…!”
Embarrassed, Miliana lightly pummeled his chest with her clenched fists, telling him not to say such things. Pretending to be in great pain despite not being hurt at all, Kaiden suddenly changed his expression and chased the ladies away.
The women jumped in surprise, but none of them looked offended. Instead, they seemed delighted to witness the famous couple’s affection with their own eyes.
“We should get going.”
Unlike the other two women, Celine remained frozen in place.
She looked as though she had fallen into another world. When she failed to react at all, Ariana grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
Startled, Celine lost her balance, and something she had been holding flew upward in a graceful arc.
Is this… the scene I saw in the future?
Miliana assumed it was simply a perfume bottle, something noblewomen commonly carried. She reached out to catch it so she could hand it back—
But the lid popped open.
The perfume splashed directly over Kaiden.
“This is…”
Miliana hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped his hair.
“Please don’t worry. It’ll be fine once we wipe it off… Lady?”
Celine looked utterly terrified. She stamped her feet anxiously, biting her lip.
“I-I didn’t mean for this to happen…”
“Lady, what’s wrong?”
A sweet fragrance brushed past Miliana’s nose.
She tilted her head.
Normally Celine wore a light, elegant scent, not one this sugary.
“It’s… a love potion…”
“A-a love potion?!”
Miliana cried out in shock.
Come to think of it, Erphilsi had once created a love potion aimed at noble ladies and married women who wanted to win back the hearts of their fiancés or husbands.
I thought every last bottle had been recovered…
And now Kaiden had been drenched in it.
No one knew what effect it would have on him.
Furious, Miliana shouted.
Before she could respond further, Lillian immediately summoned the knights, who restrained Celine, while everyone else stared around in confusion, wondering what on earth had happened.
Amid the chaos, the tea party came to an abrupt end.
“Kaiden… you’re really all right?”
“I’m fine. A love potion, was it? It doesn’t seem to have affected me.”
A love potion.
Depending on how well it was made, it could make the drinker fall in love with the first person they saw after consuming it, or it could be brewed using physical samples from two specific people so that one would fall in love with the other.
If Erphilsi had made it, it was probably the latter.
Kaiden looked down at the restless Miliana.
Then, suddenly, his expression went blank.
“N-No way…”
Miliana stared anxiously at his face.
“Hmm. I take that back. I’m not entirely fine.”
“What? W-What’s wrong? Is there someone you suddenly miss… someone you desperately want to see?”
The thought of him falling in love with another woman made her heart feel as though it would shatter.
“You look even more beautiful.”
“…What?”
Everyone who had been worrying about Kaiden stared at him in disbelief.
“Father!”
Hearing the news, Heos rushed in and shouted with a horrified expression.
“I’ve heard what happened. But if that potion makes you love someone other than Mother, I won’t forgive you!”
“H-Heos…”
“That won’t happen.”
Kaiden never took his eyes off Miliana.
“I can’t look away from Miliana. Is this the power of the love potion? It seems my condition has become even more severe. I’ve never seen the Goddess of Beauty herself… but somehow I doubt she’d be more beautiful than you. And… I can’t help wanting to make you mine.”
Miliana felt both dumbfounded and mortified.
She knew better than anyone what she looked like.
She certainly wasn’t a legendary beauty.
And more than anything…
There was something dangerously intense about the way he was looking at her.
She unconsciously swallowed.
“Father… shouldn’t you have realized that much long ago?”
Miliana let out an awkward laugh.
Maybe Heos is the one under the love potion’s effects…
How could he say something like that so naturally?
“My lady…”
“…I-It’s definitely the love potion.”
Whether this situation was good or bad, one thing was certain.
The potion was working.
Seeing Kaiden calmly utter one embarrassing line after another with his usual composed expression made her heart pound wildly.
“Don’t hide your face. It hurts me to see you like this.”
Miliana lowered her head in embarrassment.
Kaiden frowned slightly in dissatisfaction, reached out, and gently stroked her cheek.
She gasped.
For a moment…
She felt as though he looked even more handsome than usual.
N-No way! The love potion only works one way!
Kaiden had been the one exposed to it.
It shouldn’t have affected her at all.
“So… what should we do?”
Ian asked worriedly.
At present, Miliana was the only one who knew much about the love potion.
“…Sometimes the effects wear off with time. Sometimes an antidote has to be taken. I’ll ask my master for advice. I’ve never actually made a love potion myself…”
While Ian and Miliana discussed the matter seriously…
Kaiden tilted his head from side to side as though struggling to control his emotions.
Then he reached out and gently lifted Miliana’s chin.
Seeing his reflection in her startled eyes, he smiled in satisfaction.
“It’s irritating when you won’t look at me. I wish you’d keep your eyes on me alone. I can’t see anyone else but you. Is that the potion too?”
He asked it as casually as if he were discussing the weather.
Miliana swallowed nervously.
“I-Ian… please contact my master as soon as possible…”
At this rate… my heart won’t survive…!
She repeated to herself.
His Highness is a patient. A patient. Stay calm. Don’t overreact.
But despite her determination, enduring his unwavering gaze was torture.
She could hardly meet the eyes that looked at her with such unmistakable affection.
“Does it still feel strange?”
“It does. Are you referring to this heart of mine that feels like it’ll burst from anxiety whenever you’re not beside me?”
“…Yes. That’s a serious problem. It isn’t just a feeling—it can become real.”
If someone affected by the potion was separated from the person they loved for too long, they could lose control.
And Kaiden, being a transcendent being, made it all the more dangerous.
“I don’t mind.”
“What?”
“You’ve been so busy lately that you hardly spent any time with me. I like having you within arm’s reach.”
“W-When did I ever…”
…Actually… wasn’t I the one who kept sending him away?
“Ah…?”
Without warning, Kaiden burned the documents Miliana had been reading with a bolt of lightning.
It already frustrated him that he couldn’t have all of her attention.
Seeing sheets of paper steal even a little of it irritated him.
Lifting Miliana effortlessly into his arms, he carried her to the bed.
He laid her down—
Then immediately lay beside her.
“How about acting like newlyweds and lounging around in bed? I’ve missed your warmth… Or are you not going to hold me like you used to?”
“…!”
He said such shamelessly embarrassing things without the slightest hesitation.
Blushing furiously, Miliana tried to cover her face.
Kaiden stopped her.
“Your face is as red as your lips.”
“U-Um… just go to sleep. I’ll help you fall asleep.”
She began gently patting his back instead.
His warm breathing tickled her ear, but it was still easier to endure than constantly facing his affectionate gaze and sweet voice.
“Eek! Y-Your Highness, what are you doing?”
The old title slipped out from sheer surprise.
He had bitten her earlobe.
“It looked red… and delicious.”
Could it be… the love potion stimulates a person’s most primal desires?
Miliana could only stare blankly at him.
His face slowly drew closer.
“Miliana.”
His fingers softly caressed her cheek as his lips approached.
Whether it was because of the potion or not…
The yearning in his eyes left her unable to resist.
The kiss was different from usual.
He gently nibbled at her lips as though reproaching her for leaving him alone all this time.
“Tonight should be all right.”
His voice was thick with longing.
Miliana let out a small, shaky breath.
“…I’ll help you sleep comfortably.”
She opened both arms.
Without a word of refusal, Kaiden buried himself in her embrace.
Bright morning sunlight urged her awake.
The place beside her was still warm, but the person who should have been there was gone.
Just then, the door opened.
Kaiden entered carrying a plate of fresh fruit.
“You must be hungry. I brought some fruit, so eat a little.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
Miliana slowly sat up despite the ache in her waist.
Forcing open her heavy eyelids, she placed a piece of fruit into her mouth.
The sweet, tangy flavor chased away the remnants of sleep.
Then—
She remembered everything that had happened the day before.
She stared intently at Kaiden.
Something was different.
No…
Yesterday had been the strange part.
Now he was back to his usual self.
His gentle gaze remained unchanged.
But the dangerously burning intensity in his eyes had disappeared.
“…Are you… all right?”
Kaiden knew exactly what she meant.
But he couldn’t resist teasing her.
“Well… what should I do? You still look even more beautiful than before.”
Miliana let out an incoherent squeak, twisting in embarrassment.
“I’m joking. I’m completely back to normal.”
Thanks to that incident, the rumor that the Grand Duke of Etelhardt’s household was overflowing with newlywed bliss spread even further throughout the empire.
