We had considered going to the Marquis’s residence to fetch Kian Blake, but since we had to vacate the Duke’s mansion by tomorrow anyway, and Reidox also had to enter the palace tomorrow, we came to the Duke’s mansion by ourselves.

As soon as we entered, utterly exhausted beyond the point of coherence, I collapsed straight onto the bed.

Somehow, Sikar Blake had still managed to wash up and change into nightclothes, but I simply didn’t have that kind of stamina.

I slept like a corpse until the next day, waking only at the sound of curtains being drawn.

“It’s almost time to enter the palace—I can’t let you sleep any longer.”

“Ah… right. We have to go.”

“Yes. Hurry and get ready.”

As I rose and began preparing to leave, my mind gradually cleared.

Since today involved watching a spectacle, I tied my hair back neatly.

“Thank you again, Mei Ri.”

“Please take care, Madam!”

As I climbed into the carriage after finishing preparations, I asked Sikar Blake the question I hadn’t managed to ask him yesterday.

“Yesterday, what did you see from that merchant named Tucker that made your expression change like that?”

“He told me his entire family was massacred when he was young, leaving him with only his grandmother, just like me. He became a merchant for her sake.”

Massacred. So that’s why he’s so timid.

“Now that he has a carriage, I hope he can live peacefully with his grandmother.”

To hear such words—wishing someone well with their grandmother—coming from Sikar Blake’s mouth…

Though very slowly, I felt oddly comforted watching him gradually become more human.

When I smiled, he too gave a faint smile.

“Now that I look closely, you’re quite lovely when you smile—especially when smiling at me.”

So, he was saying from now on, I should only smile at him? Seeming embarrassed by his own words, he subtly turned his head away.

“When should I take this Ma Jeong Su?”

“Since it’s made by junior mages, its effect may be brief. Best to take it when the match begins.”

Looking at the invitation, I saw not many people would be attending today, so I decided not to take any other medicine.

It wouldn’t be bad to overcome this gradually, after all.

As soon as Sikar Blake and I entered the palace, a servant immediately guided us to the rear garden.

In the garden, elegant royal chairs were arranged in a circle, with a small circular arena resembling a wrestling ring visible at the center.

The servant led us to seats marked with our names.

Sikar Blake’s seat was right beside the King’s.

The most uncomfortable seat in the world! Though I suppose I’m the only one who thinks so.

Watching Sikar Blake sit beside the King without the slightest discomfort, I couldn’t help but think he was truly remarkable… No, wait. Sikar Blake himself is the kind of man even demons would weep over.

Seeing how uneasy I was while waiting for Their Majesties, I regretted not just taking medicine beforehand.

Noticing my distress, Sikar Blake opened his palm. Inside lay a pill.

“This is…”

Medicine. A magical pill, like Uhwang Cheongsimhwan, calming the mind and relieving my agoraphobia.

“Just take it. As long as you don’t drink alcohol and stick to the prescribed dose, there won’t be any issues.”

Sikar Blake took water from a servant standing behind him and handed it to me.

“Go ahead.”

So I accepted and swallowed the medicine he prepared for me.

Thinking about it, Sikar Blake was the first person who ever understood this side of me.

Neither family nor friends had ever understood—or even tried to understand—my condition. That’s why I’d always taken medicine regularly, just to hide this part of myself.

The only reason I’ve been able to endure here without medicine is entirely thanks to Sikar Blake—because he understood my state even without me saying anything, and showed consideration first.

It wasn’t because he gave me medicine—when I looked at Sikar Blake again, I realized he possessed a strangely charming, demon-defying charisma… Snap out of it.

Soon after, Reidox also entered the garden. Without speaking, we exchanged greetings with mere nods.

“The King and Queen are arriving.”

As we all rose and slightly bowed our heads, the royal couple acknowledged each of us with subtle eye gestures.

“Please be seated.”

As the King sat down, he glanced subtly at me. Unsettled by that unpleasant gaze, I lowered my head further.

“You’ve met our Queen frequently, haven’t you, Duchess?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It seems quite a while since I’ve seen you, hasn’t it?”

“Whenever Your Majesty summons me, I will come at once.”

“I see. I’ve been occupied with state affairs and haven’t summoned you, Duchess. From now on, I shall summon you more often.”

“I am honored.”

“I’ve prepared many entertaining matches for today—please enjoy yourself, Duchess.”

“I shall.”

That unsettling smile sent chills down my spine.

To compare Sikar Blake to such a person… I felt inexplicably guilty toward him.

As I sipped the drink handed to me by servants, men with hands bound behind their backs and hoods covering their heads were dragged into the arena.

Just seeing that, my expression immediately darkened.

The men wore only trousers; their upper bodies were bare. Their skin was stained with wounds—perhaps from torture.

Wondering if I should take Ma Jeong Su now, I glanced at Sikar Blake, but he shook his head slightly, indicating not yet. He whispered into my ear:

“There’s a lot of preamble first. Take it when the match actually begins.”

True to Sikar Blake’s words, an announcer stepped forward and introduced the men at length, just like a boxing match introduction.

“Just this dawn! His Majesty’s valiant and fearless warriors have captured the vile group aiding the monstrous assassins who sought to murder the King! But our merciful King has granted clemency to these treacherous rebels: any who wish to save their own lives may live! Let us together witness who shall be worthy of His Majesty’s solemn and noble grace!”

I thought—how nicely they’ve packaged the idea of keeping them alive just to toy with them.

As soon as the announcer finished speaking, the hoods covering the men’s heads were immediately removed.

At that moment, Sikar Blake and I simultaneously looked at each other. Gillian also looked at us, wearing a cold smile.

One of the men whose hoods had been removed was none other than Tucker, the young merchant we’d met at dawn.

Tucker trembled violently, looking around with tear-filled eyes as if he had no idea why he was here.

When his eyes met mine, his expression turned shocked. But even seeing me, he didn’t acknowledge our acquaintance—instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.

I didn’t know who the man in front was, but judging by the many knife scars on his face, he must have been a skilled mercenary or gladiator.

Tucker now seemed as good as dead.

Sikar Blake gestured toward me, urging me to take the Ma Jeong Su quickly.

But though the match had already begun, I couldn’t bring myself to take it.

I gripped the Ma Jeong Su tightly with trembling hands.

Seeing this, Sikar Blake frowned and looked at Gillian.

“Your Majesty, might there be some mistake? I know that man is merely a merchant.”

“There are still those who seek to assassinate me. It seems not only remnants of the deposed king. Upon investigation, I found merchants procuring Goh Gae Yak and selling it to assassins plotting against me. Thus, these assassins charge at me fearlessly, bombs in hand—because the drug makes them see illusions. That merchant over there? He sold Goh Gae Yak to assassins.”

“That cannot be. I vouch for him—he’s too timid to sell poison to assassins.”

“Oh? Then the Duke has been deceived by him. Yesterday, he purchased Goh Gae Yak from the Merchant Guild but didn’t consume it himself. Then why suddenly start hauling a carriage around? To anyone’s eyes, he clearly sold it to assassins. That’s why, even under torture, he refuses to say who bought it.”

One corner of Gillian’s mouth twisted. He laughed at us with a murderous gaze.

“He clearly aided someone, yet refuses to say why—he must be executed, wouldn’t you agree?”

From ahead, the sound of blows landing on the young merchant Tucker—thwack, thwack—reached my ears.

Whether Gillian had truly captured Tucker to catch assassins, or whether he orchestrated this to test us, it didn’t matter.

The truth was clear: Gillian was no different from the deposed king—merciless, cruel, monstrously wicked, a demon in human form.

Such a man must never sit upon the throne.

A ruler who abuses and toys with his own people just to obtain what he wants does not deserve the throne.

I couldn’t take Goh Gae Yak, nor could I reveal it. Since Gillian had already declared it a drug sought by assassins, revealing it would immediately arouse suspicion among the crowd.

Sikar Blake knew this too—he gripped my trembling hand tightly. They would never understand that I obtained the drug merely to watch today’s match; even if they did, they’d link me to the assassins.

That would immediately give them grounds to search the Duke’s mansion.

If they searched the mansion, Pasium—who until now couldn’t even approach Kian Blake—could now use this seemingly trivial pretext to conduct a search targeting Kian.

If they stripped away the magic and found even a single sigil, everything would be over.

Veronia, held hostage, would die instantly.

Whether Gillian had discovered something or not, it was clear he suspected us and had begun his attack.

To leave Tucker—who saw our faces yet refused to identify us—to die like this…

That fact tormented me.

Perhaps sensing our darkened expressions, Reidox watched us gravely.

Gillian chuckled heartily, as if amused.

“Look at that stubborn fellow—even beaten nearly to death, he won’t say to whom he passed the Goh Gae Yak. Clearly, he’s one of them.”

“Give him to me.”

Gillian’s hearty laughter froze coldly.

“And what would the Duke do with such a man?”

“I will investigate. I will find out to whom he sold it. I will certainly find out.”

“And if you fail?”

“That won’t happen.”

Gillian twisted his head, glanced at me once, then fixed Sikar Blake with a murderous stare.

“Would you stake the Duchess’s life on that guarantee?”

Though I couldn’t see from my angle, Sikar Blake’s gaze must have been quite murderous—Gillian’s eye twitched.

He waved a hand and laughed.

“Haha. Just a joke.”

Then he lifted his head again, staring murderously at Sikar Blake.

“But if you fail to handle this properly, there will be no more jokes.”

“As Your Majesty knows, I don’t much care for jokes either.”

It was as much a warning: Don’t make such jokes.