She was always quick to give up, never greedy for anything, because she knew that if she had such a thing, her life would be more miserable. But now she wanted to be greedy. She didn't want any unhappiness to come to the lady who had become the most precious family to her.

It was shocking to her that someone had tried to kill the lady with poison. 'Who? Why?'

From then on, Phoebe said she would take care of all the food and tea for the lady. She always tried it herself to see if it was safe by eating it before she got to the princess. The lady would be furious if she knew...

"Phoebe, you believe so in me, so I'll go ahead with my work without any further consideration. It's hard to say now, but I'll let you know later because I need the permission of His Highness."

At Julietta's words, Phoebe smiled understanding, and continued with what she was doing.

------------------

Killian returned from a morning-long meeting with the Emperor and was briefed on the clinic that had safely begun.

"Is Julietta out at the clinic?"

"Yes, Your Highness, she left a message, 'I'm working while concealing my ident.i.ty, so don't come to me.'"

Killian's eyebrows rose when Valerian delivered the report he had received from his subordinates.

"Marquis Oswald, how's your mission going?" When Count Valerian stepped out after the report, he looked at Oswald.

"…"

"The Marquis, why did you just look at me and not answer?"

"You would normally get up right now, but I was speechless for a moment, because it was quite weird that you didn't."

Killian smiled at Oswald, who was looking at him with his eyes squinted, as if Killian were really strange.

"She even made a bluff not to come, and I don't want to hear some resentment after going there. I'm sure she'll be angry and tell me not to even set foot in the Kiellini mansion for a while, and I can't do things that way."

"Your Highness..."

"Don't cry." Killian sighed as if he had given up, when Oswald took out a crimson handkerchief stuck in his jacket, waved it, and wiped away his tears. "I think she has a plan, so I shouldn't interrupt. She's not someone who moves without thinking."

The Prince's self-indulgence and arrogance had done somewhere. As the Prince endured the impatience that seemed only Julietta could stir, Oswald exclaimed with excitement, "Yes, she is not! Oh, and I'll answer what you asked earlier. Day and night, I have been in meetings and parties."

"How did the people react?"

"They have no choice but to show interest upon hearing that the Duke of Kiellini's servant fled with important doc.u.ments and valuables. They asked me if that's why the Duke of Kiellini was gravely ill."

"Well done. The rumors about the treatment center must have entered Francis's ears. I wonder how he's going to react."

"Will he interrupt us?"

"He's going to try to figure out what the antidote is. They're going to pretend to be sick, act as patients, and try to get some painkillers."

They had been ordered the painkillers not to be taken out in preparation for such an incident. Any patient who was able to move had to take antidote in front of the doctor's eyes, and for those who couldn't move, his men visited and fed them in person.

He was as careful as he could be. He didn't want to mar the name of the Kiellini family in the war that was about to begin.

He wanted Julietta to enter the Imperial Castle, receiving the praise of everyone as the daughter of a great n.o.ble. It was his consolation for Julietta and revenge on those who had made her live in hiding herself in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the theater with no light and the label of an illegitimate child.

He had refused to admit that he loved her. He thought she was a lovely girl who he just wanted to give a seat next to him, and who he liked more than anyone else. That was all he thought.

But this time, when Julietta had the infectious disease, and when he heard there was no cure for it, he felt the darkness of his life, as if the light had been extinguished. He didn't want to live life without Julietta. No, he wasn't confident of living.

He realized then how much he loved Julietta. That love killed his mother, the Empress, and even though he grew up watching the life of his aunt, the second Queen, be mortgaged, he fell in love with a woman named Julietta. It meant that she was the greatest weakness in his life.

He would never let Julietta be taken away by anyone. No one would take Julietta away from him. To do so, he had to kill the people in turn who had put Julietta's life at risk.

The first of them was the Duke of Kiellini. He had given him one chance and warned him that there would be no second opportunity. He ignored it lightly, and now had to pay for it.

"What shall I do?"

Even though Killian's words had no subject, Marquis Oswald immediately noticed. "Are you thinking of killing the Duke of Kiellini?"

"Yes."

"There's no hurry. The death of a great n.o.bleman will be investigated in detail. I'm afraid that things will go wrong."

"We have to be careful, and not be caught."