Chapter 40
A small figure lightly embraced in his arms. For no apparent reason, his heart pounded more violently than before.
She already looked thin, but it was only upon holding her that he truly realized how fragile she was.
So delicate and frail that even a slight amount of force might break her.
Khalid unconsciously pulled her shoulder closer to him.
“…Why is this happening?”
“You said the book might have been rigged…”
It made no sense that someone who had been fine moments ago would suddenly collapse. Khalid quickly checked Erdia’s condition.
Her trembling body was firmly secured in his arms, and when he looked down, he saw her fingertips had turned purple. His expression stiffened instantly.
“…Poison.”
“It seems so.”
There was no way Aldin hadn’t noticed what he had, and yet, Khalid felt a stronger surge of irritation than before.
“Isn’t it the duty of a knight to protect their master?”
“…It’s my failure.”
“Running all the way here without realizing your master was poisoned—that is clearly your fault.”
“I’m sorry.”
He knew. In truth, Aldin wasn’t the one to blame.
Unexpected situations were bound to happen during operations. Given Erdia’s personality, she had likely sensed something was wrong and hid it herself.
She probably even urged Aldin to hurry here.
“There’s a temporary hideout nearby. Let’s move her there first.”
Gate 3 of Rajan was a residential area for commoners, crowded with shops and bustling merchants. As a hub of information exchange, they had already prepared a safe house in the area.
Thank goodness. In this situation, trying to reach the Marquess of Balandier’s mansion at Gate 1 would have been impossible.
When Aldin moved to lift Erdia, Khalid stopped him and instead carried her himself.
It was an almost reflexive act. He thought for a moment, Oops, but still, he didn’t want to hand her over to Aldin again.
“Zerman will be scouting nearby. Tell him what’s happened and bring a physician to the fifth house in Gate 3.”
“…But, Your Highness, she is…”
“She’s the one I’m betrothed to.”
“…”
“If you don’t want your master to die from poison, I suggest you get moving.”
“…Yes, please take good care of the young lady.”
Leaving behind the bowing Aldin, Khalid rushed toward the safe house.
Erdia’s ragged, shallow breaths felt like they would stop at any moment if he hesitated.
Held in his arms, she felt impossibly small and fragile. Even while running, he was careful not to press too hard with even a fingertip.
He didn’t understand why he was being so cautious, but his body moved as though handling shattered glass, despite his thoughts.
Once at the safe house, he laid her down in the bedroom and placed a hand on her forehead.
Her temperature, which had been normal just moments ago, had risen drastically during the journey. She was burning up now.
Despite that, her lips had turned blue as if she were freezing, and her whole body trembled.
Curled up and shivering on the bed, she looked smaller and more pitiful than ever.
The ledger—the key result of the operation—was tossed carelessly onto the table beside the bed. It should’ve been the most important thing, but the only thing he could see now was Erdia, breathing heavily in pain.
“Are you conscious?”
“Ugh…”
She opened her eyes, but there was no sign of awareness.
Even her faint groans tightened his chest painfully.
“So foolish.”
There were plenty of capable people—why had she insisted on going herself?
“Haa…”
As she clawed at her throat in discomfort, he forcefully held down her hand.
Even with just a few movements, red marks were left on her delicate neck. Her skin, like her body, seemed extremely sensitive.
He loosened her collar to help her breathe and removed the dagger from her waist.
It wasn’t decorative, but rather a crude, practical weapon. It didn’t suit her, which made him chuckle bitterly.
It felt like this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
He had felt it while planning the operation too… Just what is she really?
Erdia’s feverish groan brought Khalid back to reality.
He had intended to wait for a physician, but her fingers had darkened beyond purple to black. Without hesitation, Khalid picked up the dagger.
“This will hurt a bit.”
She couldn’t hear him, but he said it anyway, hoping it might somehow comfort her.
With the dagger, he made a shallow cut across the discolored finger. Instinctively, he was careful not to cut too deeply.
Dark purple blood slowly oozed from the cracked skin.
“Damn it… of all things.”
As a crown prince, Khalid had been trained to withstand and recognize various poisons from a young age.
Fortunately, he had an antidote on hand, so detoxifying the poison wasn’t difficult. But this particular toxin brought intense pain, separate from the need for an antidote.
It warped time, making moments feel like eternity, and conjured one’s most traumatic memories as hallucinations—breaking the mind from within.
When diluted and mixed with other drugs, the toxin could even be used as an anesthetic. But it wasn’t something just anyone could handle.
That made it even more rare and difficult to manage.
And yet, someone like a viscount running a mere trade group had it.
It only proved how important the ledger was, but it didn’t ease Khalid’s mind.
To extract as much of the poison as possible, he pressed hard on her palm.
Though her hand was small and fragile, her fingers were covered in calluses.
“…Unexpected.”
Her face looked weak and sickly—nothing like someone who had suffered. And yet her hands were rough. Had she lived a harsher life than it seemed?
Why did that alone make his chest tighten?
Frustrated with himself, Khalid pressed even harder on her palm.
As though trying to squeeze every last drop of blood from her, he pressed again and again. Slowly, the dark purple blood began to turn bright red.
Since it affected the mind, the poison spread more slowly through the body.
“Ugh… ngh, ah… uuh.”
Though the poison had been drawn out, the true pain seemed to be just beginning. Erdia’s sweat-soaked face twisted in agony.
Tears welled in her barely-open eyes and quietly rolled down her temples.
She stared blankly into the void, sobbing silently as tears continued to fall.
Watching her, Khalid felt his heart pound for no reason.
Even as he pressed a handkerchief to her now-red fingers to stop the bleeding, he couldn’t take his eyes off her face.
“What kind of nightmare must it be… to make you cry like this?”
It wasn’t a scream of pain or a groan of physical torment. It was just quiet tears and sobbing—yet it suffocated him.
What was she seeing with those unfocused eyes? Who—or what—could make her cry so bitterly?
Khalid unconsciously reached out to wipe her tears. The drops were so hot to the touch that even his gaze turned cautious.
As he gently wiped her face, he suddenly realized what he was doing and hastily pulled his hand back.
“Your Highness!”
Just then, Zerman arrived.
He hadn’t brought a physician.
Instead, upon hearing she was poisoned, he had grabbed a box of antidotes and come himself.
“She was poisoned by Pia.”
“That one, huh? Nasty stuff.”
At Khalid’s words, Zerman opened the box and searched through various colored vials until he found the one he needed.
But when he reached out to administer the antidote, Khalid took the vial from him and blocked him.
“I’ll do it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I’ll do it.”
He brushed past Zerman and sat casually on the edge of the bed.
Erdia was still drenched in tears, suffering.
Her flushed eyes, harsh breathing, damp cheeks, and pale lips from the blood loss…
For some reason, he didn’t want anyone else to see this face. Even Zerman’s brief glance had irritated him—but it was the idea of showing her to another man that bothered him more.
He knew it was a strange, uncomfortable feeling, but he couldn’t bring himself to step aside.
I must be insane.
The thought flashed through his mind, but his body continued calmly, gently supporting her.
He pulled her into his arms, cradling her as he brought the vial to her quivering lips.
Fortunately, she still had a will to live, and drank it down in gulps.
Khalid carefully wiped the corners of her mouth and looked directly into her eyes.
Though unfocused and likely hallucinating from the poison, it strangely felt like she was looking right at him.
No, perhaps not.
But for some reason, he didn’t want to look away.
