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Chapter 115

The Empress waited for the young ladies to come to the center of the ballroom, where the crowd was thickest.

Then she leisurely made her way over.

As she drew near, she overheard their excited chatter.

"I thought my heart was going to drop out of my chest earlier!"

"Shh! Quiet, please!"

"Oh, right."

Their faces were flushed, one and all.

Yes—they had clearly witnessed something too scandalous to speak of.

Without noticing Estelle's pale, stricken face, the Empress approached them.

With a look of great curiosity, she asked.

"Did something amusing happen?"

"Huh? Pardon?"

Startled by the Empress's sudden address, the young ladies flinched.

The Empress smiled warmly and added suggestively.

"I'm terribly curious what has you all so worked up."

"Ah, no, it's just..."

The young ladies exchanged glances.

After all, the Duke of Valen had warned them.

In truth, displays of affection between a married couple at a ball were hardly a scandal.

That was precisely why children were barred from such events—just stepping onto the terrace or into the garden, one could hear the sounds of kissing.

So if news of their affection spread, people would simply say, "What a loving couple."

Of course, it wasn't usual for a husband to follow his wife all the way to the powder room in such a frenzy.

But regardless, ignoring the warning of a Duke so clearly besotted with his wife could bring real harm to their families.

So they couldn't speak of what they'd witnessed.

But with the Empress asking so directly, they couldn't very well stay silent.

Just then, the Empress spoke as if she already knew.

"I overheard something about my nephew."

"Gasp!"

"H-how..."

The young ladies were startled, and the Empress hid a smile.

Of course, she hadn't actually heard their conversation.

She'd simply given them an opening, knowing they'd be reluctant to speak first.

"I'll keep it just between us ladies—go on, tell me."

At that, the least experienced young lady blushed and stammered.

"W-well..."

"Go on, speak freely."

Come now—tell me about the scene you saw.

The Empress urged inwardly, looking at the young lady before her.

"W-we were just saying how we never knew His Grace the Duke could be so... so ardent!"

"...What?"

The Empress's eyes wavered.

Thinking she'd said something improper, the young lady quickly added.

"W-we were only saying how affectionate the Duke and Duchess seemed!"

The other ladies chimed in to smooth things over.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We were just saying how wonderful it is to see His Grace so devoted to the Duchess. Isn't that right, ladies?"

"Exactly! We were only saying we hope to find husbands like that someday."

The young ladies exchanged glances and laughed awkwardly, their faces flushed.

What is all this?

The Empress's expression slowly hardened.

Why were they talking about the Duke being a devoted lover, instead of a scandal about the Duchess?!

If they had seen the scene she'd prepared, they could never be saying such things.

Sensing something wrong, the Empress whipped her head around to look at Estelle behind her.

Her face was as pale as if she'd committed a grave error.

The meaning was clear—something had gone wrong.

What on earth went wrong?! Why?!

The Empress ground her teeth.

Furious, she stormed out of the ballroom with angry strides.

"Your Majesty!"

A startled maid called after her, but the Empress didn't stop.

Tap, tap, tap.

Only the sound of her heels echoed through the deliberately empty corridor.

Burst!

She threw open the powder room door.

But there wasn't a soul in sight—not even an ant.

"Arrgh!"

The Empress finally screamed.

"What in the world happened?!"

---

It hurts... It hurts so much.

Had she ever been in this much pain before?

Her body throbbed as if she'd been beaten black and blue, and every swallow burned like fire in her throat.

"Hngh..."

A groan escaped her lips.

Just then, something trickled into her mouth.

"No... don't..."

Emilia clamped her mouth shut and turned her head away, but a coaxing voice came.

"Emilia."

Still, she wouldn't open her mouth—so the other person gently patted her back.

"Please, just drink this."

After a long moment of pleading, Emilia finally opened her mouth.

Soon, something slid down her throat.

"Good."

A low voice followed.

After that, someone repeatedly cooled her neck and arms with cold, damp cloths.

This happened several times.

When she finally regained a faint awareness, she was leaning against a firm arm, opening her mouth.

"Cough, hack."

When she swallowed wrong, a hand gently stroked her back, as if soothing a baby.

Emilia leaned into that warmth and drifted back to sleep.

---

When Emilia awoke, she blinked dazedly.

What happened?

Still groggy, she tried to assess the situation.

Flinch.

She remembered Cedric's leering face.

Her body tensed.

But then she recognized the familiar ceiling and relaxed.

She didn't know the details, but she seemed to have escaped that situation.

My body feels so weak.

She was so limp she didn't want to move a finger.

She felt completely drained, as if she'd just recovered from a high fever.

Emilia shifted her gaze to the side.

There sat Kayden, arms crossed, eyes closed on a simple chair.

Her eyes went wide in surprise—and he frowned, lifting his eyelids.

Meeting her eyes, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"...You're awake?"

Emilia gave a small nod.

"How's your body?"

"I think... I'm... okay."

Kayden let out a breath of relief and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

"It seems the antidote worked."

"Antidote?"

Emilia blinked in puzzlement.

"I had an antidote made using the formula from your friend. I hadn't been able to fully verify its effectiveness yet."

"Ah..."

Emilia sighed softly and smiled faintly.

"So I... made a good test subject."

Kayden's expression hardened instantly.

"I-it was a joke."

Emilia quickly added.

"Is now really the time for jokes?"

A low, restrained voice came from Kayden.

He was clenching his jaw, as if barely holding back his anger.

The atmosphere felt unbearably heavy.

Emilia glanced at him.

"Why are you—cough, cough...!"

She tried to lighten the mood, but a dry cough interrupted her.

"Stop talking now."

Kayden said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and lifting her up.

"Wait."

Emilia looked up at him with a questioning gaze, and he brought a glass of water from the table to her lips.

He tilted the glass slowly, letting her drink.

The whole motion was so natural.

Huh.

As she drank like a baby bird, her eyes suddenly widened.

So it wasn't a dream.

The voice calling her name, calming her, wiping her cold sweat, giving her water every time she whimpered...

Emilia flinched slightly.

At her small movement, Kayden lowered the glass and asked.

"Do you want to stop?"

"Huh? Yes..."

Emilia nodded quickly.

"Um, Kayden."

"Yes."

He set the glass down on the table, still holding her shoulder.

Then he looked down at her, and Emilia hesitated before speaking carefully.

"Was it... you who took care of me while I was unconscious?"

Kayden frowned, as if displeased that she was asking such unnecessary questions when her throat was sore.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I thought... you must have gone through a lot because of me."

Emilia rolled her eyes and added.

Kayden answered casually.

"I didn't go through much trouble."

"Huh? Surely you don't mean..."

Emilia's eyes went wide.

"Of course it was me. Who else would take care of my wife?"

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