UDBL~56

Chapter 56

“Not just personally—what about generally?”

Riana kept her smile as she asked again.

The curly-haired knight rubbed his chin and replied,
“I suppose it depends on the goal. Do you have a specific purpose?”

“To butter someone up so they’ll run an errand for me.”

Riana admitted it honestly. The knight’s face lit up like he’d just thought of something.

“In that case…”

Just then, another knight walked past, mopping the floor. The curly-haired knight stretched out his hand and smacked the passing knight’s backside.

“Now that’s a Diares butt!”

“Oh, really?”

“Did you do leg day this morning? Solid work down there.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Go fetch me a glass of water.”

“Yes, sir!”

The curly-haired knight turned back to Riana and gave her a big thumbs-up.

“That’s how you do it. Works every time.”

“…”

Riana’s expression turned cold.

Alright. Forget recruiting Gray for now.

First, she’d secure the prop.

That decision made, she headed straight for the place where the love potion was kept—Genevieve Castle.

And right now… Deborah is…

Luck was on her side.

Deborah was trapped in a meeting. Outside the conference room, a sign listed the attendees and the meeting time.

Just started, and Deborah’s the presenter.

That meant she’d be tied up for a while.

Riana checked through the window to confirm, then confidently climbed the stairs.

Her destination: the broom closet on the 7th floor—where Deborah secretly stored materials stolen from the company for her private experiments.

On the right wall was a cabinet stuffed with her failed business products.

Among them was the love potion—an ambitious invention abandoned because she couldn’t make an antidote.

“But in romance novels, love is never meant to be cured anyway!”

Riana reached for the cabinet, grinning slyly.

“Got it.”

A bottle shaped like a heart, with red glass wrapped in silver filigree like veins, and a lid shaped like a main artery.

The love potion was in her hands.

She said there was an instruction sheet too…

Finding it wasn’t easy—Deborah’s organization skills were worse than expected.

After rummaging for a while, Riana finally dug it out.

Good. That’s everything.

She was about to tuck both the bottle and the paper into her clothes when her hand froze.

She was curious. Why not read it now?

Unable to resist, she unrolled the parchment right there.

Love Potion (alpha ver.) – Instructions

This potion does not alter emotions directly. Please check the body part activated at each stage!

As magic is sequentially triggered in five stages, you’ll experience the feeling of falling in love!

[Stage 1]

• Target: Eyes
• Condition: First time you see that person after drinking
• Effect: Your gaze will automatically be drawn to them.

[Stage 2]

• Target: Brain
• Condition: One week after Stage 1 triggers
• Effect: Each time you see them, your phenylethylamine levels will rise, tricking you into thinking they’re the source of your happiness.

[Stage 3]

• Target: Heart
• Condition: First physical contact after Stage 2
• Effect: Your heart will race like crazy at their approach—even before you say hello.

[Stage 4]

• Target: Eyes, Brain, Heart
• Condition: Ninth physical contact after Stage 3
• Effect: Your eyes will start seeking their sexual appeal. Your brain will assist with imagination, and your heart will cheer it on.

[Stage 5]

• Target: XX
• Condition: First time alone together after receiving their love confession
• Effect: You’ll want to start a family.

What the hell, Deborah… what did you make?

Riana scratched her head but quickly rolled the parchment back up.

It didn’t matter—if it made someone fall in love in the end, it would work. And if a baby came along at the end, well… that’d be an easy epilogue.

She tied the ribbon back around it and was just about to tuck it away when—

“Miss Riana?”

“…”

“What are you doing here…?”

Deborah stood in the doorway, her eyes colder than Riana had ever seen.

Ah, crap.

Riana froze and squeezed her eyes shut.

Why the hell was Deborah here instead of in the meeting?

Why now, of all times?!

She was already branded as a major villainess—did she really need another flag on her record?

Riana’s hand holding the parchment trembled.

Still… it’s not a total disaster.

She hadn’t come here without precautions—she’d anticipated even the slim chance of getting caught. After all, whenever it came to Deborah, things always turned out like this.

Stuffing the instructions into her clothes, Riana pulled out something else from her chest at the same time.

“Miss Riana, is that—ahhh-choo!”

She aimed a white flower at Deborah—the same one she’d gotten from the knights at the maids’ dining hall.

“Let me go, or I’ll use this!”

Want to sneeze nonstop? Cough your guts out until you vomit?

“Urgh…!”

Covering her mouth, Deborah collapsed to the floor.

Riana seized the chance to dart out of the broom closet and run for her life.

Her heart pounded like crazy—not from Stage 2 of the potion, but pure panic.

Oh yes, she was definitely a villainess.

It was a blessing she already planned to make a midnight escape.

“Hah… hah—!”

Riana stopped on the stairs, leaning on her knees.

Deborah didn’t seem to be chasing her, so she decided to stop running.

She’d made it down to the second floor. There was a large landing with a window, and she hurried over like Willie spotting food.

“Ugh… so out of breath.”

Throwing the window open, she gulped in the fresh air until her lungs felt full again.

She’s really not coming, right?

Carefully watching the upper floors, Riana pulled the love potion from her clothes. She’d run so hard—she had to make sure it was still intact.

“Phew—bottle’s fine, and the contents…”

Not just fine—beautiful.

Her eyes briefly lost focus as she stared into the liquid.

Like the memory potion, the love potion seemed to have an enchantment that drew people in—not just because it looked like liquid starlight in a bottle, but because of the powerful magic radiating from it.

I’ll give her this… Deborah really is a genius.

If this was a failure, then…

Killian Droche was running all over the place and he couldn’t make anything like this.

No—why am I thinking about him again?

Riana shook her head and refocused on her goal.

All she had to do was make Deborah drink it and then see Killian.

Killian wasn’t banned from love—when Deborah made a move, he’d fall for her in an instant.

Then he’d hand over both his family and company, and their marriage would be a done deal. Soon after, Droche would even become “Millicent.” Deborah’s dream—achieved.

And the prince? He’d give up on Deborah after the wedding.

No more tantrums. No more Riana living in fear of him after she escaped. Every single threat eliminated.

And after the wedding, the original story ends.

All the plotlines that had gone astray because of her transmigration would realign, and the castle would finally get its happily-ever-after.

This love potion…

…was truly the all-powerful cheat key to solving everything.

Deborah wouldn’t notice the potion’s disappearance right away in that chaotic cabinet.

But she’d definitely suspect Riana was scheming something. Which meant Riana had to move quickly.

She headed straight to the knights’ training grounds to find Gray.

“How about a delivery job? Three gold!”

Gray, sweaty from training, frowned deeply.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“A trade. Give and take. I give three gold, you run an errand—like last time.”

Gray pushed damp hair back from his face, his brow still furrowed.

“Last time?”

“Yeah, like before.”

“You mean the time my clothes turned to rags and I nearly got killed in that explosion?”

Oh. Riana’s mouth opened soundlessly.

Right. That had happened.

But she’d been so shocked by Deborah’s lovestruck eyes afterward that the explosion itself had completely slipped her mind.

Riana shrugged casually.

“Nearly killed? Isn’t that a bit dramatic? You, taken out by that small blast? Please.”

“…”

Gray fell silent, clearly unamused. His red eyes seemed to be studying her, trying to figure out her true intentions.