TVLWM 01

Chapter 01

“Even at best, you have one year. There’s no treatment available right now.”

At the physician’s indifferent voice, a curse surged up inside me.

I had already gathered all the funds for my escape. All that was left was to finally leave that wretched family behind.

What kind of nonsense was this?

I had spent over ten years saving money just to escape that miserable household.

I wanted to eat delicious food to my heart’s content, make lots of friends, and experience all kinds of joys.

I had even made plans to live the rest of my life leisurely, spending the money I had saved without restraint.

“The exact cause is unclear, but your bodily senses are dying one by one. It seems pain is the first to go. Haven’t you noticed anything strange?”

The physician pushed up his round glasses as he asked.

The eyes behind those lenses looked utterly indifferent and dry.

“I’ve always been rather dull.”

I had simply assumed it was an aftereffect of poison.

I had been exposed to toxins for a long time, so I thought that was the cause.

But I couldn’t exactly say here, “I’ve been poisoned almost every day, so I thought that was why.”

As I gave an awkward smile, the physician checked the chart and let out a sigh.

“This isn’t something you could miss just because you’re dull.”

Tap. Tap.

His fingers drummed against the desk, and silence filled the examination room.

To break the atmosphere, I cleared my throat and stood up.

“Anyway, I understand. I’ll be going now.”

I bowed slightly and turned around, but the physician stopped me from behind.

When I looked back, he was holding a pen and flipping through some papers.

“You should at least take some medicine.”

“If there’s no cure, what’s the point of medicine?”

“It’s better than doing nothing at all.”

Saying that, he began writing out a prescription.

Valcoin, Cheche root, Norangjuk, mulberry bark, Sorafino fruit…

They were all familiar ingredients.

They could treat symptoms, but fundamentally had no real effect.

Looking at the prescription he handed me, I shook my head.

“I’ve already tried all of these.”

A flicker of confusion crossed the physician’s face.

“Did you get examined somewhere else?”

“…Yes, something like that.”

I swallowed the truth—that I had examined myself.

There’s a saying: “Even a barber can’t cut his own hair.”

Likewise, although I had sensed something wrong with my body, I lacked certainty.

So I wanted someone else to confirm it—and this was the result.

“I see. That explains why you’re so calm.”

The physician nodded as if he finally understood.

“Still, the medicine could help, even a little.”

“It’s fine. I already have plenty at home.”

And besides, I’m better at making medicine myself.

I didn’t bother adding that part.

Instead, I took out a ruby the size of my thumbnail and placed it on the desk.

“That’s the consultation fee. Thank you.”

“W–wait—!”

The bewildered physician called after me, but I left the room without responding.

A cold wind seeped into my clothes, sending chills down my spine.

“I should’ve run away sooner.”

My breath turned white as it dispersed into the air.

They say even the fastest regret is still too late.

If I had known this would happen, I would have moved my plans forward.

Or perhaps I shouldn’t have handled poisonous herbs.

What if I had stopped everything the moment my hair began turning white from dealing with toxins?

I shook my head, brushing away the thoughts.

The physician said there was no solution—but in truth, there was one way to survive.

It would be troublesome and inconvenient, but there was no choice.

“I’m not dying like this—it’s too unfair.”

Having steeled my resolve, I quickened my steps toward the estate.

The Cassian Ducal House, which ruled the underworld of the Sertizan Empire.

I was born there as the third daughter, but I was never treated properly as a noble lady.

Because my mother was not the legal wife, but a princess of a fallen kingdom who had been brought into the ducal house as if sold.

With no backing whatsoever, my mother and I had to live quietly, like dead mice, within the ducal castle.

Not long after I was born, due to the schemes of the legal wife, we were driven out of the main residence and forced to live in a villa.

Everyone mocked and ridiculed us, but for me, it was rather fortunate.

Thanks to that, I avoided Cassian’s inhumane education and was raised with abundant love under my mother.

If I had struggled to survive in the main house, I would have been brainwashed by Cassian’s teachings and grown into a villain.

“My lady, shall I prepare your bath?”

As soon as I returned to my room after arriving at the estate, my personal maid, Jenid, asked.

“No, later.”

Since I had to go out again soon, I dismissed Jenid and entered the study.

I ran my fingers along the bookshelf, pulling out a specific book.

Then another. And another.

When I removed a total of five books, the shelf rumbled and slid apart to both sides.

A doorway just wide enough for one person appeared between them, and as I stepped inside, my familiar workshop came into view.

“…Ha.”

This was the only place in this house where I could truly breathe.

The Duke Cassian knew that I studied medicine, but he had no idea I had achieved this level.

Even now, he was pressuring me to create undetectable poisons—if he found out the truth, I might be used as his tool until the day I died.

I picked up a yellowish potion from among the scattered bottles on the workbench and drank it down.

It was similar to the one the physician had tried to prescribe earlier.

‘Of course, I added my own ingredients.’

I could confidently say its effectiveness was at least five times greater.

If my mother had made it, perhaps it would have been even better.

My mother’s homeland, the Kingdom of Yalon, was famous for its medical arts—especially pharmacology, in which it surpassed all other nations.

My mother was both a princess of that nation and the top graduate of its medical academy.

She was called a genius in medicine and held great expectations in academic circles, but after coming to Cassian, her wings were torn and her hands and feet bound.

Still, the knowledge in her mind remained intact, and she taught me countless things.

We roamed the mountains learning to identify and harvest herbs, and treated villagers while learning how to care for patients.

She was my teacher in everything.

Naturally, I came to dream of becoming a physician, and even after returning to the ducal house following her death, I never neglected my studies.

This workshop was the result.

Here, I created effective medicines and sold them to gather funds for my escape.

My plan for revenge against Cassian—who had caused my mother’s death—was nearly complete.

“Right… it’s just been delayed a little.”

It wasn’t as if there was no cure.

A rare plant called Aferium, which grew only in the imperial palace garden.

I would need to consume it regularly—for at least over a year.

The problem was that the garden was accessible only to the imperial family.

‘It originally grew in the royal palace of Yalon.’

The Emperor had taken a liking to Aferium and moved it to the imperial palace.

If I hadn’t learned this from my mother, I might have fallen into despair.

Its seeds were so rare that it was almost impossible to find elsewhere.

‘Rather than searching aimlessly for something that might not exist…’

After some thought, I threw on a black robe and packed several bottles of sleeping potion I had prepared in advance.

Just in case, I also swallowed a stimulant.

Since it was difficult to feel pain, I needed something to heighten my senses.

Then I immediately left the study.

“My lady, where are you going?”

Jenid stood in front of the study door, looking worried. Without stopping, I answered:

“The imperial palace.”

More precisely, my destination was the Crown Prince’s palace within it.

Though it was late at night, using the name of Cassian would be enough to gain entry into the imperial palace.

‘At least the Crown Prince’s palace has fewer guards.’

The Crown Prince, confident in his own martial abilities, kept only a small number of guards.

Using that fact—and the sleeping potion—I believed I could somehow infiltrate his bedchamber.

And if I could just get that far, I would win.

After all, I had heard the Crown Prince was a very curious man.

My first impression upon meeting Crown Prince Yulion was this:

First, that his face was extraordinarily dazzling—so beautiful it felt like flowers were scattering around him.

Second, in complete contrast to that beauty…

“My lady, are you in your right mind?”

His expression, presence, and voice—everything about him was so cold it hardly felt human.

At his indifferent tone and the faint mocking curve of his lips, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

As expected, Yulion had noticed my intrusion all along.

He must have refrained from stopping me earlier out of curiosity.

I greeted him boldly, unfitting for an intruder.

“I greet the light of the Empire, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

His black hair, still damp as if he had just bathed, dripped droplets of water.

Beneath it, his smooth, pale skin looked almost chilling under the moonlight.

“Someone might think this is an official visit. At least you seem to be in your right mind…”

He met my gaze directly, then let out a small laugh.

As he moved, the loose robe he wore shifted, briefly revealing his chest before covering it again.

I had worried he might refuse to engage with me at all, but it seemed he was at least willing to talk.

“I’m delighted that you’re concerned about me. Thank you, Your Highness.”

I smiled brightly as I replied, and Yulion looked at me as if I were absurd.

Without even offering me a seat, he leaned back comfortably on the sofa.

“So then, a perfectly sane young lady—and a noble lady of marriageable age at that—what brings you here? It’s quite a late hour for a visit.”

His golden eyes were filled half with annoyance, half with curiosity.

Those eyes, shining like they were inlaid with pure gold, stared straight at me—then slowly curved into a smile.

“You snuck in so quietly, I almost mistook you for a rat and cut you down. If I hadn’t seen you from afar at the imperial banquet, it might have been a real disaster.”

He was clearly smiling, and his tone was gentle—but the meaning beneath it was anything but.

Still smiling, Yulion picked up a wine glass from the table.

The red liquid swayed precariously, giving off a sweet aroma.

“Your Highness.”

When I called softly, he replied without changing his expression.

“I’m listening, my lady.”

Meeting his golden gaze, I finally spoke the reason I had come here.

“Please propose to me.”