IBFLS 08

Before I could even fully process what the butler had said, my entire body instinctively reacted in rejection.

“Kh-kugh, cough…!”

A series of harsh coughs burst from my throat, as though it were being squeezed shut.

I clutched my throat with trembling hands and gasped for breath.

I was trying to force back up the fragrant liquid that had, just moments ago, soothed my parched throat.

‘Poison?’

The butler had definitely said poison.

An insufficient amount of poison compared to usual.

‘What kind of nonsense is this? Are you telling me I’ve been drinking poison all along?’

I knew that the possessor had been up to something behind my back.

But I couldn’t even begin to imagine why he would have any reason to drink poison.

“A-are you all right, Master?”

I swallowed my heart, which was pounding so hard it felt as though it might leap out of my chest, and barely managed to raise my head.

“Is there anything else bothering you?”

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out again.

Come to think of it, aside from my heart beating a little faster than usual, I didn’t feel particularly unwell. I wasn’t experiencing any unusual symptoms, such as numbness in my hands or feet or coughing up blood.

If anything, my mind felt clearer.

“Ah, could it be that you don’t remember very well again?”

At those words, the hand gripping my throat gradually loosened.

He slowly took a small vial out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

“You drank this poison, Master.”

The Kingdom of Sandrigo, located beyond the western sea of Karzen.

Arcadius, who was called the future heir to the throne, was absolutely furious.

“Yuria!”

The King of Sandrigo had fathered numerous children.

There were so many that he sometimes confused a few of the less memorable ones for someone else’s children, despite being their father. To be precise, he had exactly thirty children.

The seventh was Arcadius, and the twenty-third was Yuria.

The siblings, including those two, never seemed capable of agreeing with one another, but Arcadius didn’t particularly care.

Once she ascended the throne, she could simply purge the fools who brought shame upon the royal family.

But Yuria was different.

He was the only full sibling among her thirty brothers and sisters, sharing the same mother.

That was why Arcadius couldn’t bring herself to turn her back on him.

“You damn brat! Where are you hiding?!”

Arcadius’s furious shouts echoed throughout the detached palace.

This was the residence once occupied by their mother, the king’s fourth consort. After her death, it had become Yuria’s residence.

Still fuming, Arcadius grabbed a passing maid.

“Where is Yuria?”

“His Highness the Prince is upstairs on the second floor…”

Arcadius immediately spun around and bounded up three steps at a time.

If he was on the second floor, there was only one place he could be: the room at the end of the stairs, on the right.

Arcadius flung the door wide open and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“You little rat!”

At her words, the back of the head she was facing—the person sprawled lazily on the sofa with his legs swinging idly—suddenly stopped moving.

With one arm draped over the backrest, he had been enjoying the leisurely peace of the morning. Now, he slowly tilted his head backward.

Pale platinum-blond hair, which hung around the nape of his neck and almost brushed his shoulders, spilled downward.

The man looked at Arcadius from an upside-down perspective.

“Yuria Sandrigo!”

His blue eyes, the color of the sea, sparkled with mischief.

“Big sister, why are you standing upside down?”

“You’re the one twisting your neck around to look at me!”

At her firm retort, Yuria chuckled and straightened himself up.

“If you shout like that one more time, you’ll bring down the castle walls. I could hear you all the way over here.”

“Oh, really? So you heard everything, yet kept your mouth shut and hid in here?”

“I wasn’t hiding. I was resting, and you’re the one who barged in.”

“Honestly, you’ve got nothing but a sharp tongue.”

Arcadius sat down opposite him, but she didn’t withdraw her contemptuous gaze.

Even so, Yuria wore an utterly shameless expression, as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

His brazen attitude made Arcadius raise her voice again.

“You remember that I personally came to see you yesterday, don’t you?”

“Of course. I remember.”

“And what about how I spent a full two hours patiently explaining things to you so you would understand?”

“Wasn’t that closer to a monologue than a lecture?”

At those words, Arcadius’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Yuria let out a small sigh and changed his tune.

“Ah, I’ve just remembered properly. Now that I think about it, I suppose you might have been lecturing me yesterday.”

“…You suppose?”

“Perhaps you were lecturing me?”

“Perhaps?”

Watching Arcadius struggle to contain herself, Yuria finally burst out laughing.

That was the problem.

When he smiled like that with a face so strikingly similar to their late mother’s, it was impossible to hate him.

“You were lecturing me, Big Sister.”

“If you know that so well, then why don’t you explain why you failed to show up for the meal with Lady Laila?”

“Because I wasn’t hungry.”

Yuria answered with a peaceful expression, as though he were stating the most obvious fact in the world.

His face practically said, Why are you even asking me something so trivial? It was as though he were explaining that one plus one equals two.

Arcadius felt as though she were about to lose the will to fight altogether.

“Yuria, the House of Laila is an unparalleled match for marriage. Why would you throw away such an incredible opportunity?”

“Then I’ll graciously give that incredible opportunity to you, Big Sister. I imagine the young lady would rather become queen than end up as a prince’s consort whose support has vanished.”

“You crazy idiot! Say something that makes sense!”

“And why wouldn’t it make sense? I’m deeply concerned that you, who will one day bear the future of the kingdom on your shoulders, have such a narrow-minded outlook.”

Yuria answered with an utterly serious expression, making Arcadius tremble from head to toe.

Her blazing anger and unmistakable anxiety. The source of these emotions, which Arcadius could never seem to shake, was always the same.

“You need someone powerful backing you.”

At those words, Yuria brushed back a strand of his smooth hair that had slipped over his forehead and smiled as though he were thoroughly amused.

“Even if I were to enter into some kind of relationship with the young lady, I doubt that would stop Brother Dior from sending assassins after me. Don’t you think?”

His tone was light, as though he were making an amusing joke.

But Arcadius’s expression turned razor-sharp.

“What? That bastard deserves to have his tongue torn out and be killed, and he’s still doing that?”

“He suffers from a severe lack of affection. Perhaps he wants my attention.”

“You deranged idiot! What did you just say?”

“Maybe he’s still tormented by the humiliation of having his dance partner stolen by me.”

“That happened more than ten years ago! What are you talking about, you brat?!”

“If that’s not it, then he must want to become closer to me after all. Brother Dior has a rather adorable side to him, doesn’t he?”

“Did an assassin cut out your brain or something?!”

By now, Arcadius was practically jumping out of her seat in outrage, while Yuria rested his chin on his hand and burst into laughter at the sight.

In truth, he knew exactly why Dior was sending assassins after him. He simply didn’t want to tell his sister.

All he wanted was for her to remain reasonably wary of Dior while he was away.

“But, Big Sister, compared to our other siblings, I live a relatively peaceful life, don’t I?”

That was true.

In the royal family of Sandrigo, it was commonplace for siblings to send assassins after one another and scheme to put each other in difficult situations.

“That may be so. But Yuria, your circumstances are different. That’s the problem.”

As the twenty-third child, Yuria was nowhere near the line of succession.

Even so, Dior, the fifth child, was threatening him, and Arcadius couldn’t understand why.

Whether he knew how worried she was or not, Yuria merely shrugged.

“I’m telling you, he just likes me. Whenever we meet face-to-face, he gets so shy that he can barely say a word.”

Remembering Dior’s face, consumed by terror and fear, Yuria couldn’t help letting another little laugh slip out.

“If I question him too much, he’ll run straight to his mother and tattle on me. Then her maternal relatives might cause a commotion, so I should just ignore him.”

It was both a subtle warning and a piece of advice: she shouldn’t go looking for Dior to interrogate him about the matter.

Arcadius immediately understood his meaning. With a sigh, she turned her head away.

“So, when are you planning to leave?”

“I thought I’d have a cup of tea with you before I go.”

“Are you still planning not to tell me where you’re headed?”

“I told you I’d let you know when I get back.”

As expected, it would be exceedingly difficult to change Yuria’s mind once he had made a decision.

Giving up on questioning him further, she spoke firmly, her words carrying the weight of a warning.

“When you return, you absolutely must have a meal with Lady Laila. Understand? And at the upcoming banquet, you must choose her as your partner. You need to announce to everyone that you have the House of Laila backing you.”

“Oh dear. I wonder if there are any cookies to go with the tea. Jeanne is on leave.”

“Answer me, you brat!”

Arcadius’s furious shouting and Yuria’s laughter echoed all the way into the second-floor corridor.