Hahaha, Lisbeth chuckled as she looked at , smiling all the ti.
“That’s true, that’s true,” I muttered.
“A liar can’t lie twice…”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.”
Doubts and worries vanished like snow. I smiled coolly and hugged Lisbeth. “Thank you very much, Princess. Thanks to you, I was able to solve my frustrating worries. Thank you for letting co to the library today.”
“Hehe… Well then, Rubette…”
“…?”
Lisbeth grinned and pulled a small envelope from her sleeve.
‘Here we go. The love letter.’
As soon as I knew what it was, I laughed.
“Give this to Prince Ricky without reading it secretly?”
“Why are you so sincere about soone with nothing but his face?”
“What do you an there’s nothing but his face? Do you know what a sweet and friendly man Prince Ricky is?!”
“Nonsense.”
Seeing being disgusted, Lisbeth added, “Of course, I’m not asking you to deliver it for nothing…”
Soon she pulled out sothing small and held it out.
It was a small vial.
“What’s this?”
“A drug to lose weight. There aren’t that many left, so I really cherish them, but I’m giving them to you.”
“I beg your pardon?” I frowned and took the vial from Lisbeth. “Do you think there’s dicine to lose weight? Which con artist did you purchase this from?”
“It’s not fake. It’s really a dicine to lose weight. I’ve already lost five pounds after drinking this.”
“No. It’s all lies. Even if you eat sothing like this, the fat doesn’t burn. You only lose moisture. You’ll gain more weight later.”
“You don’t believe ? This is not a simple drug. It’s a magic potion, you see?”
“Yes, yes. That’s how con artists usually advertise. A magical weight loss supplent that helps you lose weight while eating all the delicious things!”
As I shrugged my shoulders, being sarcastic, Lisbeth snorted. “It’s really effective, you know? They also sold a potion to grow hair, so I gifted it to my seventh uncle, who is suffering from hair loss, and the next month, his hair grew as much as this.”
“Oh my, that’s kind of coveted. Hair loss dicine may have real efficacy, but not weight loss dicine. Only diet and exercise can make you slim.”
“Woo, woo! It’s true! You’re saying this because you don’t know how clever the shaman who sold this is!”
“Yes, yes. I understand—” I nodded my head roughly and was about to get up after organizing my books, but stopped for a mont. “I beg your pardon?”
“Mm?”
“What did you just say? Shaman?”
Lisbeth held her mouth in amazent at my question.
Her reaction confused .
“Shaman? What kind of shaman? A shaman who sells things they called magic potions?”
“Oh, no-”
“Hurry up and tell !”
“W-Why are you so excited?”
“What dicine did you buy from the shaman? Are these weight loss dicine and hair loss all? That’s all, isn’t it?”
“W-What’s wrong? Do you even know the shaman?”
“Answer quickly! Did you only buy two of those potions!?”
“No…” Lisbeth, startled by my outburst, replied with her lips quivering.
“I bought t-two more.”
“What?!”
“I-I already gave one to my brother? It was a potion that had to be given to other people. It would make anyone nod to whatever I request after eating it.”
Hearing Lisbeth’s words, I rembered Lark’s worries the other day.
“My sister has been acting up.”
“She brought poison into the imperial palace.”
‘That must have been the potion.’
I felt my lips dry and asked again, “What about the other?”
“Well, it’s really nothing. It was a dicine that restored energy to the weak. I don’t know if you know, but my eldest sister is so sick that she lays in bed every day…”
“Ah.”
The eldest sister Lisbeth referred to was the 1st Princess of the imperial family. She was Lisbeth’s half-sister, who’s been bedridden since birth due to her weak body, and she was the second-ranked imperial family mber in the line of succession after the crown prince.
I asked urgently, “You haven’t given it to Her Highness the 1st Princess yet, have you?”
“Mm?”
As if she felt sothing ominous about my expression, Lisbeth murmured in contemplation, “Oh, I gave it to her yesterday…”
“Oh, my God.”
My mind went blank.
But there was no ti to lose. I imdiately stord out of my seat.
***
“Let see the crown prince. It’s urgent.”
“Well, Princess. His Highness is out of office now. And if you want to have an audience with His Highness, you have to contact him in advance before coming…”
The escort guarding Lark’s office was bewildered and stopped .
He must’ve been flustered that a noble lady wanted to see the crown prince out of nowhere, but-
‘I can’t help it! We’re in a state of ergency!’
When I was stamping my feet-
“Princess?”
A familiar voice was heard.
As I turned around, I saw Lark with sweat-drenched hair, perhaps on his way back from training.
“Your Highness! I’m in a hurry! I have sothing to say-”
“Aha, that’s right. Dear . I forgot I had an appointnt with you today. Sorry, sorry. Co on in, quick.”
Lark, who noticed in contemplation, opened the office door pretending to be calm. In the office, we easily escaped the puzzled escort’s eyes and quickly beca alone.
Lark put his index finger over his lips and said, “Speak quietly from now on.”
“Your Highness, you said the other day that Princess Lisbeth brought poison into the imperial palace, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you find out how she got it?”
“Oh. A servant of the palace who was about to quit approached Lissy. She introduced her to a woman called the shaman. She sold the drugs to Lissy by faking them as magic potions.”
“The shaman-”
“When I found her, she’d cut off her tail and ran away. The shop where Lissy t the shaman was already cleared up without a trace, and the servant who introduced the shaman had also disappeared.”
“Oh, my God.”
“It’s inevitable because I expected it to be carefully cleared out anyway. But what else is wrong?”
“You see, the dicines the princess got from the shaman weren’t everything. She had obtained quite a few varieties.”
“What?”
Lark was surprised.
“Your Highness, there’s a 1st Princess in the imperial family, right?”
“The 1st Princess? Are you talking about Bella?”
“Yes.” I cald my agitated mind and slowly closed my eyes. The things to co unfolded like a panorama in my head.
‘The 1st Princess, Lark’s half-sister. Bella van Rashmagh Descarde.’
She was currently the second heir to the imperial family.
‘It is said that she was so weak from birth that she was called a living corpse. Her determination for life was so great that she went all over the place asking for dicine.’
That 1st Princess eventually died about ten years from now.
No, could it be called dead?
To be precise, she was in a coma. She was alive and breathing but couldn’t open her eyes and had lived her whole life with needles in bed.
‘That’s right. It’s because she’s taking dicine she got from a suspicious soone called the shaman.’
I said imdiately, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have ti to talk long. Please go to Her Highness the 1st Princess imdiately and check her condition.”
“Is there sothing wrong with Bella?”
“Yes. In the future I saw, Her Highness would collapse about ten years from now and never wake up after that.”
Surprised, Lark nodded his head.
“Bella is weak from the beginning.”
“No. She doesn’t collapse because she’s weak.”
“Then? Is it the 2nd Prince’s doing? You an Nathan is going to use his hand on Bella too?”
“Perhaps. The imperial family will be in turmoil as the 1st Crown Princess continues to sleep, neither dead nor alive. People were ordered to investigate the cause-”
“Don’t tell …” Lark, who vaguely understood, raised his eyebrows. I nodded right away.
“The maid testified. The 1st Princess is said to have t with a mysterious being called ‘shaman’. Her Highness obtained her dicine from the shaman.”
“Ha, she must have cheated on Bella and sold her drugs as she did to Lisbeth.”
“I guess so. She drank poison, believing it was a dicine that could preserve her weak body,” I added with a look of despair.
“But of course they had even put up a wanted list all over the country to find the shaman.”
“And naturally, they couldn’t find it.” Hearing my words, Lark chewed his lips and added, “You’re saying it’s the future, right? So, from now on, I’ll have to keep a close watch on Bella to make sure she doesn’t et any suspicious people.”
“No.” I added adamantly and a little terrified, “I’m so sorry, but you should go to the 1st Princess right now and check if she has taken any suspicious drugs.”
“Now? Wasn’t it ten years later that sothing happened to Bella?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it, but…”
I caught my breath for a mont.
I had been surprised when the word ‘shaman’ ca out of Lisbeth’s mouth. Although they were a criminal who turned the empire upside down, it was a na that would only appear in the future.
“I never thought that Princess Lisbeth would et the shaman first. And one of the many drugs Princess Lisbeth got from the shaman…”
“Oh, damn it.”
Lark, who realized it, exclaid and touched his head. “Are you saying it’s like the dicine Bella takes and causes her collapse in the future? Did Lisbeth already give Bella the drug?”
“Yes. She gave it the day before yesterday.”
“Oh, dear.” My eyes clouded at Lark’s contemplative expression, and my heart raced.
I tried to conceal my trembling voice and excused myself. “The future is basically going the way I see it. But if you put your hand to change it, it will, of course, change.”
The relationship between my father and brothers, eting Lark and getting this close, was different from my previous life.
And it would be different in the future.
“However, I have never touched anything related to the safety of the 1st Princess. I have no contact with her. Also, it was in the future that Her Highness got the dicine by herself, and it was a long ti before she got it… So I-” I closed my eyes tightly and added, “I was complacent. I’m sorry. Keeping in mind that the future can change… I should’ve acted. I should’ve-”
“Princess.” Lark’s heavy voice pressed down. “Why are you sorry, Princess?”
I felt a tender touch on my head, so I opened my closed eyes and looked at him.
“Oh, dear. Why are you shaking like this?”
“…”
“Don’t worry. You’re not responsible.”
“Ah…”
“In the first place, you could’ve just taken Vista and changed your life for the better.” He added with a slight smile as if he was trying to appease my frightened , “From the beginning, you didn’t have to worry about this ssy succession war, nor did you need to help save my life. But you’re intentionally taking the trouble and helping .”
“…”
“I’m always grateful. So even if you make a mistake. Or even if you don’t talk to . I’ll never bla you.” Saying that, Lark quickly picked up his coat hanging on the hanger in the office. “For now, I must go to Bella.”
He must be as anxious as I am.
Lark tried to smile, covering his feelings tightly, soothing to the end, and leaving.
“Nothing will happen. Let’s hope it’s a tragedy that won’t happen until ten years later, as you saw it in the future.”
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