Chapter 117
“Yes. When His Highness, Helios, was ill, there was a time when special medicinal foods were made using a variety of ingredients, without any records.”
There had been a time when rare and hard-to-find ingredients were used. Some of them were only presented to the Emperor, so they were brought in without any record.
Considering that past experience…
“They might have brought the snake in under the guise of medical ingredients. Bring her here.”
Jamie immediately fetched the child.
“Lady Riena,” she said, looking surprised, “I heard you were sick, but you’re up! I was worried, but I’m relieved to see you’re alright.”
The child burst into tears as soon as she saw me. I shook my head at Jamie.
Not this one.
The child wasn’t someone capable of secretly bringing in that vicious snake to kill me. She was a child who burst into tears just by looking at my face.
“Thank you. I believe you’ll continue doing well. I called you here to encourage you.”
I roughly comforted the child and handed her a piece of candy before sending her off. Seeing her excited over a simple lemon candy made me feel guilty for doubting her.
“Isn’t there anyone else? I’m sure the kid’s clever, but…”
The child Jamie brought had shown exceptional observational skills and taste, which is why she had been promoted to the inspection position early on.
“She’s too young.”
“There is one more suspicious person. It’s the laundry room maid.”
“This one seems more likely. A laundry maid could easily come and go from my room. Bring her here.”
“Ah, but… there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“The laundry maid quit her job.”
“What? Do you think she got scared? She probably quit because she feared getting caught.”
“Not exactly. She submitted her resignation a week ago.”
“It might be that she’s been planning this since a week ago. We should check. Could you get me a change of clothes?”
Jamie, while tidying up the portrait, brought out the clothes. As Jamie undid my nightgown, she gasped.
“Ah! The poison—it hasn’t been detoxified yet. There are marks all over your body! I need to call Lady Ebony right now!”
“No, Jamie! I’m fine!”
I cried, grabbing Jamie.
“No, you’re not! I know you’re hiding your pain because you don’t want to worry us. Please, lean on us!”
Jamie shook off my hand and headed toward the door.
“This isn’t from poison. It’s from something else…”
“Don’t lie that it’s from a bug bite! What kind of bug has a mouth this big? It looks like a person bit you… Huh? No way…”
It seemed like Jamie understood. My clever maid was also very knowledgeable about bodice-rippers and saucy books.
I awkwardly smiled at Jamie. Honestly, I wanted to cry.
“…Oh, well, on second thought, maybe there are bugs that big. There could be big bugs, right? Of course.”
Jamie cleared her throat awkwardly and pulled my hand off her wrist.
“I’m not going to call Lady Ebony, but you should still apply some ointment. What if it gets infected? Let me prepare the medicine for you.”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
I waved my hand dismissively.
“You don’t have to hesitate to ask me. It’s no trouble at all.”
Jamie, though smart, often misunderstood things. This wasn’t about me being considerate toward her.
“It’s not that I don’t need the medicine. I actually have something that works better than the ointment you made.”
“What? Are you saying you think I’m incapable now?”
It was embarrassing to explain, but if I didn’t, Jamie would likely start digging a hole and end up with the whole underground water system in her grasp.
Jamie had a complex about not being a formally trained doctor, so I was almost certain of her reaction.
“I’m not saying you’re bad! I taught you, didn’t I? You’re very skilled. It’s just that I have a… unique constitution. So, I’ve already figured out that the best remedy for me is…”
I made up my mind to say it, but the words wouldn’t come out.
How can I say that His Highness heals me just by licking my wounds?!
It was strange, but true.
When he licked the inflammation, the color definitely faded. The problem, however, was that he would bite the same spot again, making the mark darker.
His oral fixation from his childhood had become a source of trouble for me.
“Your unique remedy…”
As Jamie listened to me, her expression softened, but soon her eyebrows arched like waves, and she looked at me as though I were some kind of insect.
A cockroach, to be precise.
“Keo-kwi…”
“What did you say?”
I couldn’t believe Jamie had just mentioned “keo-kwi,” which is slang for a couple of cockroaches. Could it be that Jamie had also transmigrated?
That couldn’t be it. If Jamie had transmigrated, she wouldn’t have ended up as nothing more than my assistant.
Jamie was far more ambitious than I was, after all.
It was probably just a coincidence that she used a word like that. Or maybe, unconsciously, she had picked it up from something I said.
“Keo-kwi… this is too much from a vxrgxn like me!”
Jamie ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.
It wasn’t just the words that were similar; it seemed like the wounds a vxrgxn receives were the same, too.
Left alone, I stared blankly at the closed door.
When will Jamie come back?
And as for me… We’re not a couple.
Excuses swirled in my mouth, but I couldn’t quite say them.
