It seemed Nayla had finished gathering the herbs and returned ahead of me.
An involuntary sigh of relief escaped my lips.
âThank goodness⊠She wasnât attacked by a monster.â
Just then, Luke, who had been sitting near the campfire, trudged over to me.
I took a step backâagain.
Nothing good had ever come from him getting close to me.
âIf you have something to say, say it from there. Donât come any closer.â
At my blatant wariness, Luke stopped in his tracks.
But he snorted dismissively, souring my mood even further.
âWhere the hell did you wander off to in the middle of the night? Got a death wish or something?â
âI was just gathering herbs. And watch your mouth.â
The knights were watching us.
If weâd been alone, I wouldnât have cared what nonsense he spewed.
But not in front of others.
If I, the future wife of Nathan, let myself be insulted like this, it would tarnish his name too.
Of course, Luke had zero intention of considering my position.
âHerbs? Nayla already gathered more than enough while you were off doing who-knows-what. Stop wasting time and stay put.â
Once again, he was quick to compare me to Nayla and belittle me.
He probably still didnât realize I was the one who had discovered those herbs in the first place.
âUgh⊠Iâm so tired of thisâŠâ
I almost blurted out that I was the one who had told Nayla about the herbs, but I held back.
What reaction could I expect from Luke anyway?
Heâd just dismiss me without a second thought.
âNo point stooping to his level.â
So I ignored him and turned to Nayla instead.
âNayla, you canât just disappear like that. I was looking everywhere for you.â
She blinked at me with those innocent eyes of hers and explained,
âI thought you had come back first. I didnât see you.â
âDo you have any idea how worried I was?â
âReally? Iâm sorry. Next time, Iâll make sure to tell you before I move.â
Maybe it was because Luke had already put me in a foul mood, but hearing her words made my blood boil.
But since she claimed she hadnât done it on purposeâand because we had an audienceâI swallowed my anger.
âSigh⊠Fine. Then help me make the medicine now. First, we need to extract the juice from theseââ
âOh, I already treated all the knights. Letâs save the herbs you gathered for later.â
At her words, I glanced around.
Sure enough, the knights had already applied the herb juice to their wounds to stop the bleeding.
She mustâve remembered what Iâd told herââCrush it and apply the juice to stop bleedingââand followed it exactly.
Naturally, the knights looked deeply moved.
They showered her with praise.
âThank you, Lady Nayla. The pain has lessened a lot.â
âHow did you even find this herb? The bleeding stopped right away.â
âWeâre truly grateful!â
I was the one who had provided the information, but she was the one who had treated them.
Of course, she was the one getting all the attention.
âNaylaâs already done everything. Thereâs nothing left for me to do.â
While she basked in their admiration, I quietly slipped away.
Then I plopped down on a spread-out blanket.
All I wanted was to rest and forget everything.
But just then, a terrible thought struck me.
âNayla, wait! Did you just crush the herbs and apply the juice directly?â
At my urgent call, she blinked in confusion and nodded.
ââŠYeah? Did I do something wrong?â
I dragged my hands down my face in despair.
Those herbs had mild toxicityâthey needed to be boiled first.
If used raw, the poison would seep into the wounds and cause unbearable itching later.
In severe cases, their entire bodies could swell up.
Nayla, who knew nothing about herbs, had just caused a major problem.
âYou canât use them like that! Theyâre poisonous unless boiled first!â
A wave of panic spread among the knights.
Since their bodies were their most valuable assets, they were extremely sensitive about their health.
They wouldnât just let it slide after being told theyâd applied poison to their wounds.
Sure enough, some of them began protesting.
âLady Nayla, is this true?â
âIsnât this dangerous?â
âWe need to wash it off now!â
As the commotion grew, Luke, who had been watching the situation, snapped at me.
âPoisonous? Never heard of that.â
âOf course you havenât! You donât know anything about herbs! They have to be boiled properly to be used as medicine!â
âYou mustâve gotten it wrong. If notâŠâ
He smirked in that infuriating way of his and added,
ââŠthen youâre just making this up because you canât stand Nayla getting attention.â
ââŠExcuse me?â
âYou canât handle even a little praise going to your sister, can you? This isnât the first time youâve tried to drag her down with lies.â
It was so absurd I almost laughed.
No matter how kindly I treated Nayla, Luke refused to see it.
In his mind, I was already branded as a jealous villainess.
âStop talking nonsense! Do you really want to do this right now?!â
âFine, thenââ
Luke immediately turned to the knights.
âDoes anyone here feel anything unusual?â
No one raised their hand.
Smirking, he shot me a mocking look.
âSee? Everyoneâs fine.â
âThe symptoms take three days to appear! They might be fine now, but theyâll suffer later!â
Luke lowered his voice, as if conscious of the others watching.
âCut it out. I get that you canât stand your sister being praised, but if you keep this up, youâre the one whoâll look pathetic.â
âSince when have Iâ?! UghâŠÂ Forget it. Arguing with you is a waste of time.â
It was clear he wouldnât listen.
Once the symptoms started showing, the truth would speak for itself.
So I decided to drop it.
Right now, with no one feeling ill yet, pushing further would just make me look crazy.
âIâll step in when they all start suffering.â
I could just prepare the antidote then.
That way, Iâd regain their trust.
âYeah, yeah. Youâre so right, Luke.â
I brushed him off and went to my sleeping spot, lying down.
Then I forced myself to sleep, bracing for the next day.
Dawn of Regret
Being labeled a liar mustâve stung more than I thought.
I barely slept a wink all night.
Eventually, I greeted the rising sun with bleary eyes.
âUgh⊠Iâm exhaustedâŠâ
As soon as day broke, everyone woke up and began packing.
Still half-asleep, I checked on the knightsâ conditions.
Even now, Nayla was monopolizing all the praise and attention.
âTo think the Dukeâs daughter would personally cook stew for us⊠What an honor!â
âItâs delicious!â
âHonestly, the best stew Iâve ever had!â
Nayla, with her uncharacteristically down-to-earth charm, was loved wherever she went.
Maybe that was why.
Why Regis loved her.
Why Luke adored her.
âSheâs always the center of attention⊠Just like a true protagonist.â
Lost in thought, I got up and sat down.
Then Nayla handed me a steaming bowl of stew.
âHungry?â
âYou made this?â
âYeah. Everyone looked exhausted, so I took care of breakfast.â
I took a spoonfulâit was surprisingly good.
Some of my resentment toward her faded.
âRight. She didnât have bad intentions. I was just being too sensitive.â
I forced myself to let go of my bitterness and took another bite.
ââŠHm?â
That was when I noticed a piece of meat in the stew.
A bad feeling crept up on me, and I froze.
âAccording to the meal plan I prepared⊠We werenât supposed to have meat today.â
I was in charge of rationing supplies, so I knew.
Iâd carefully portioned out just enough for a weekâtoday was supposed to be bread and cheese only.
So where had this meat come from?
âWait, is this meat from that bag?â
I prayed she hadnât touched the emergency rations.
But she betrayed my hopes instantly.
âYeah. Was I not supposed to use it?â
That was the final straw.