Love & Poison (2)
‘Should I give some kind of warning?’
Edwin frowned and scratched his head.
‘But how would I even do that?’
To speak about the variant monster, he would have to admit he had gone to Luxen Village. That would mean revealing he had slipped out without permission before his coming-of-age ceremony.
“…Haah, I don’t know.”
Lost in thoughts of the monster, he only now realized the basic training had already ended.
Edwin sat on a small slope near the training grounds and let out a long sigh.
Ever since the hunting competition, Philip had been unusually busy. The swordsmanship lessons they had promised to begin together were postponed indefinitely.
Today, once again, Philip had been forced to stay behind and handle the mountain of administrative work for the knight order in place of the absent commander, so he couldn’t even attend training.
‘When will I be able to swing a sword like that?’
Edwin gazed down at the knights practicing on the training field below the slope.
Some were striking training dummies while others sparred against one another.
‘Huh? Why block it that way?’
The longer he watched, the more clearly the knights’ movements stood out to him.
Before he knew it, Edwin had begun analyzing their attack patterns.
‘If you thrust to the right from there, you win immediately, don’t you?’
‘No, you shouldn’t just block it—you need to deflect it.’
‘That knight could move much faster if he tried.’
Edwin wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. He was simply absorbed in reading their motions.
“Lady Crowner, I hear you have quite an interest in Eastern Continent artifacts?”
“Mind your own business.”
A familiar voice drifted to his ears on the wind.
Edwin flinched and flattened himself against the slope, turning his head toward the sound.
In the distance, he saw Brigitte walking alongside the Second Prince.
‘Ah.’
Her red hair fluttered in the breeze. Sunlight made her face sparkle. The hem of her skirt danced with every step.
It looked as though time slowed only in the space surrounding her.
‘Is this because of the poison?’
He had heard that poisoning could sometimes cause a person to lose their sense of time.
Edwin clutched his chest, startled by how violently his heart was pounding—far harder than before.
It seemed he would need to ask Rachel to slightly reduce the amount of poison he was taking.
“So this is where you were.”
He had been staring blankly after Brigitte’s retreating figure when Philip’s voice suddenly spoke behind him.
Edwin jumped where he sat.
“P-Philip!”
“What were you looking at so intently?”
“N-nothing at all!”
Edwin scrambled to his feet, brushing off his clothes and shaking his head vigorously.
He seemed unaware that his flushed cheeks and flustered eyes completely undermined his denial.
‘Well, it’s rather charming at that age.’
Philip already knew exactly where the Third Prince’s gaze had been lingering. After all, he had been watching Brigitte himself only moments earlier—though for an entirely different reason. He had simply been making sure the Second Prince wasn’t behaving rudely toward his superior’s daughter.
“Now that I mention it, I hear a birthday banquet will be held at the Empress’s palace.”
Edwin gave Philip a puzzled look at the sudden change of topic.
“A birthday banquet? But Her Majesty the Empress’s birthday is in winter.”
Even someone as ignorant of palace affairs as Edwin knew that much. The birthdays of the Emperor and Empress were practically national festivals.
“Ah, not Her Majesty.”
Philip’s face remained expressionless as he added,
“It is Lady Crowner’s birthday banquet.”
“…What?”
“Sir Jerome is away on an expedition, so Her Majesty the Empress has offered to host the event in his place.”
Empress Melanie was Jerome’s younger sister and Brigitte’s aunt. It was not unusual for an aunt to host her niece’s birthday celebration.
“Lady Crowner’s birthday banquet is being held inside the imperial palace?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Then nearly everyone at the palace will attend, won’t they?”
Edwin’s face brightened noticeably at the words imperial palace banquet. It was as if he had already begun hoping he might encounter Brigitte that day.
“Ah, but I understand the young lady intends to invite only a few truly close acquaintances and keep the affair modest.”
“…Ah.”
Only a few truly close acquaintances.
Edwin’s expression dimmed at Philip’s answer.
‘Then there’s no chance I would be invited…’
The thought left him strangely deflated.
The young prince lowered his head.
‘We’ve only met once—no, twice.’
The First and Second Princes would surely attend. The First Prince was his cousin, after all, and the Second Prince was her fiancé.
But Edwin shared no such connection with Brigitte.
‘…Still, anyone can exchange greetings.’
The young prince’s shoulders drooped, his face gloomy. He still didn’t understand the disappointment and emptiness he felt.
“Your Highness has been acting rather strange lately, hasn’t he?”
I frowned at Catherine’s words.
She was right. Edwin’s behavior had grown increasingly odd.
Not just a little strange—quite noticeably so.
‘I heard he can’t even focus during his lessons with Sage.’
Yesterday he had sprained his ankle during knight training and returned limping. According to Philip, he had tripped over a protruding rock right in front of him because he failed to notice it.
“I’m truly worried. He barely touches his meals these days.”
Catherine looked at me with anxious eyes.
“Shouldn’t you ask him what’s wrong?”
“…I suppose I should.”
If this continued, it could jeopardize all our plans.
I sighed and headed for the prince’s chambers.
When I knocked and opened the door, I found Edwin seated at his desk. He wasn’t reading, however. He simply sat there holding a quill, staring into space.
He hadn’t even noticed me enter.
“Your Highness Edwin.”
“Whoa!”
Edwin jumped at the sound of my voice and dropped the quill.
“Wh-what? When did you come in?”
“Just now. I knocked—didn’t you hear me?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t hear…”
“What exactly is the matter with you?”
I had no patience for beating around the bush.
When I asked so directly, Edwin looked bewildered.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The reason you keep spacing out lately. What is going on?”
“M-me?”
“Yes. You didn’t even realize I had entered the room.”
Edwin’s face registered shock, as though he had been ambushed.
For a long moment he sat frozen, only his fingertips twitching. Then he suddenly offered an awkward smile.
“I was just thinking about something else for a moment…”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Who did he think he was fooling?
I planted both hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes.
“You said you were thinking about something else? What could possibly occupy your mind so completely that you’ve been drifting through your days like this?”
“Ah, well, that is…”
“I heard you cannot concentrate during lessons with Sage and that you were injured during knight training because you were distracted.”
Edwin stared at me with wide, troubled eyes. His lips twitched uncomfortably.
“Tell me. What thoughts have you so preoccupied that—”
“It’s nothing! Really, it’s just…”
“It cannot possibly be nothing. Lies don’t work on me—”
“I said it’s really nothing!”
Edwin shot up from his chair, voice raised.
I stared at him in surprise. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice at me.
“…Ah.”
Edwin seemed equally startled by his own outburst. Seeing my shocked expression, the tension drained from his face and he began to fumble.
“So, what I mean is…”
“Aigoo, I knew it would come to this! I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t!”
At that moment, Catherine appeared through the open doorway.
She set the tray of refreshments on the table and clicked her tongue.
“Nanny, that’s always your problem. You could simply talk to him, but you always start by interrogating the poor boy.”
“…What exactly did I do wrong?”
“Honestly!”
Catherine shot me a disapproving glance before turning a warm smile on Edwin.
“Your Highness, it’s time for tea. I brought some sweets to go with it today.”
“Ah, thank you, Catherine.”
“Not at all. The tea leaves today are excellent quality. Please, try some right away.”
She moved behind him and gently pushed him toward the sofa.
Once she had half-forced the young prince to sit, Catherine carefully took the seat beside him.
“How does the tea taste?”
“Mm, it’s good.”
The warm tea seemed to calm him. Edwin’s expression softened.
Catherine spoke gently.
“Your Highness, we’re only asking because we’re worried.”
Her eyes were filled with sincere concern.
“If something is troubling you, why not share it with us? We might be able to help.”
“…Help me?”
“Of course!”
Catherine placed both hands over her heart and nodded vigorously.
“We’ve lived longer than you, after all—we have more experience. And they say the more heads that come together to solve a problem, the easier it becomes.”
“Hmm…”
“Even though Nanny speaks that way, she has been terribly worried. She kept wondering if something bad had happened to you without us knowing.”
“Rachel?”
Edwin whipped his head around to stare at me.
His expression was strangely unreadable—I couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or upset.
How much time passed like that?
“Actually.”
Edwin, who had been clutching his teacup with both hands while hesitating for a long while, finally spoke.
“My condition has felt a little strange for the past few days.”
His condition felt strange?
Could it be a side effect of the poison immunity training?
If something was wrong, why hadn’t he said anything sooner?
I immediately knelt in front of him.
“Specifically, where and how does it feel strange? Are you unwell? Have you had any symptoms like shortness of breath while sleeping? You should have told me immediately! What on earth—”
I frowned and began examining him from head to toe. Edwin waved his hands in panic.
“No, no! It’s not that kind of strange…”
He hesitated once more, then spoke carefully.
“A certain person keeps appearing before my eyes.”