Chapter 52

Hahaha, Lisbeth chuckled as she looked at me, smiling all the time.

“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 me come 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 someone with nothing but his face?”

“What do you mean there’s nothing but his face? Do you know what a sweet and friendly man Prince Ricky is?!”

“Nonsense.”

Seeing me being disgusted, Lisbeth added, “Of course, I’m not asking you to deliver it for nothing…”

Soon she pulled out something 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 medicine to lose weight? Which con artist did you purchase this from?”

“It’s not fake. It’s really a medicine to lose weight. I’ve already lost five pounds after drinking this.”

“No. It’s all lies. Even if you eat something like this, the fat doesn’t burn. You only lose moisture. You’ll gain more weight later.”

“You don’t believe me? 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 supplement 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 medicine may have real efficacy, but not weight loss medicine. 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 moment. “I beg your pardon?”

“Mm?”

“What did you just say? Shaman?”

Lisbeth held her mouth in amazement at my question.

Her reaction confused me.

“Shaman? What kind of shaman? A shaman who sells things they called magic potions?”

“Oh, no-”

“Hurry up and tell me!”

“W-Why are you so excited?”

“What medicine did you buy from the shaman? Are these weight loss medicine 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 remembered 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 medicine 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 member 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 something 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 time to lose. I immediately stormed out of my seat.

***

“Let me 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 me.

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 emergency!’

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 something to say-”

“Aha, that’s right. Dear me. I forgot I had an appointment with you today. Sorry, sorry. Come on in, quick.”

Lark, who noticed me in contemplation, opened the office door pretending to be calm. In the office, we easily escaped the puzzled escort’s eyes and quickly became 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 met 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 medicines 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 calmed my agitated mind and slowly closed my eyes. The things to come 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 medicine.’

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 medicine she got from a suspicious someone called the shaman.’

I said immediately, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to talk long. Please go to Her Highness the 1st Princess immediately and check her condition.”

“Is there something 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 mean 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 me…” Lark, who vaguely understood, raised his eyebrows. I nodded right away.

“The maid testified. The 1st Princess is said to have met with a mysterious being called ‘shaman’. Her Highness obtained her medicine 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 medicine 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 meet 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 something happened to Bella?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it, but…”

I caught my breath for a moment.

I had been surprised when the word ‘shaman’ came out of Lisbeth’s mouth. Although they were a criminal who turned the empire upside down, it was a name that would only appear in the future.

“I never thought that Princess Lisbeth would meet the shaman first. And one of the many drugs Princess Lisbeth got from the shaman…”

“Oh, damn it.”

Lark, who realized it, exclaimed and touched his head. “Are you saying it’s like the medicine 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, meeting 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 medicine by herself, and it was a long time 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 me 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 me, “From the beginning, you didn’t have to worry about this messy succession war, nor did you need to help me save my life. But you’re intentionally taking the trouble and helping me.”

“…”

“I’m always grateful. So even if you make a mistake. Or even if you don’t talk to me. I’ll never blame 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 me 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.”