Chapter 28
I’ll Carry You and Run
“Marquis Spencer! I’d advise you to take your hand off that sword right now.”
Luanse met Teishar’s crimson eyes.
It was like a frog locking eyes with a hungry serpent.
He couldn’t even think about running.
“Your Highness, Prince Luanse, you have ignored my warning.”
“S–Stop… If you dare point that sword at me, it’s war.”
Just as Teishar was about to draw his sword with a smile—
“Marquis Spencer.”
A gentle voice stopped his hand.
Teishar smoothly slid the half-drawn sword back into its sheath and strode toward Laurencia.
“What’s the matter, Lady Laurencia?”
“I’m hungry.”
“…Did you just say you’re hungry?”
“Yes.”
Laurencia nodded, her face flushed.
In truth, she wasn’t hungry at all.
“I thought you might be.”
“Pardon?”
“You ate so little earlier, I was worried. Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?”
“I’d like the potato soup I left unfinished.”
Laurencia smiled brightly as she said it, and Teishar began to smile too, his expression softening as if her joy had spread to him.
Watching him smile, Laurencia let out a silent sigh of relief.
She hadn’t imagined Teishar would threaten Luanse in the imperial palace itself—let alone look ready to kill him. Seeing him about to draw his sword, she’d called out desperately. Fortunately, he’d stopped.
“There’s no leftover potato soup, I’m afraid. But I’ll have something even tastier prepared.”
“The cocoa you brought me before was delicious. Can I have that again?”
“Of course. And I’ll also prepare strawberry milk—it’s quite good as well.”
“Okay. I’ll eat and drink everything you give me.”
Her eager promise to eat touched Teishar deeply. He had worried so much about how little she’d been eating lately. He wanted to feed her more, but Susanna had warned that forcing too much at once could make her sick—she had to increase her portions gradually.
Most importantly, Susanna had said that eating had to come from Laurencia’s own will.
Now that she was showing that will, Teishar’s heart felt warm and proud. The anger that had been surging because of Luanse vanished like smoke.
“That won’t do.”
“Pardon?”
Teishar suddenly grew restless.
He had to get back to his room—for her sake, to feed the hungry lady.
With a firm expression, he gently scooped Laurencia up in his arms like a princess.
“Excuse me, Lady Laurencia.”
In an instant, her gaze met his crimson eyes up close.
From behind came the maid Meru’s startled cry:
“Oh my! My lord Marquis!”
“I’ll carry you and run.”
“Put Laurencia down this instant!”
Luanse shouted, veins bulging in his eyes.
Immediately, Teishar’s red eyes filled with hostility, far more than before. The tender warmth they’d held for Laurencia turned cold and murderous when he looked at Luanse.
“I see now… I was mistaken. Prince Luanse is clearly not someone who deserves courtesy.”
The sheer pressure radiating from Teishar drained all color from Luanse’s face. His body trembled; his legs went weak. The suffocating aura pressed on his throat and shoulders like an invisible weight.
“Marquis Spencer…”
“What is it?”
“Could you… please put me down?”
At her words, Teishar instantly withdrew his killing intent and smiled kindly.
“Filling your stomach, Lady Laurencia, is of utmost urgency. So no, I cannot put you down—I must run with you.”
Laurencia gently patted his shoulder, insisting he let her down.
Teishar sighed as if resigned, and carefully set her on her feet.
Then, glaring at Luanse with a sharp, displeased look, he spoke:
“Prince Luanse.”
“Laurencia, let’s go back.”
“I’ve been wondering why you keep telling me to return to the count’s estate. It must be because of that potion I’ve been drinking every day, right?”
Luanse’s mind went completely blank at her words.
The potion he’d been giving her was called Digen—an alchemical elixir meant to amplify magical power.
But as one’s mana grew, the body couldn’t withstand it, often collapsing from the strain. It was a banned substance.
Because Laurencia was a “monster,” Daniel had said it was fine for her to take it.
Lately, she’d even said it made her feel calm and comfortable, so Luanse had thought, A monster truly is different.
But if anyone found out he’d been using a prohibited potion, both Duke Greycan—who’d supplied it—and Luanse himself would be ruined.
“Didn’t you say that the potion came from someone trustworthy in the imperial palace, Your Highness?”
For the first time, Luanse felt a murderous urge toward her.
He knew she was naive from being kept sheltered all her life, but he hadn’t expected her to bring up the potion here—in front of the very man who had just drawn a sword on him.
“Did I hear correctly, Lady Laurencia?” Teishar asked, narrowing his eyes. “You said the potion was made in the palace?”
“Yes, Marquis. Prince Luanse told me it was specially made for my health, and he brings it to me every day.”
Teishar’s eyes thinned suspiciously as he turned toward Luanse.
Anyone could see Laurencia was not in good health—and yet Luanse claimed it was a potion to strengthen her? The idea made Teishar chuckle coldly.
Moreover, no potion manufactured in the imperial palace was ever allowed to be taken outside.
Potions could reveal the illnesses of royal family members, so their recipes were strictly confidential.
Whatever she had been fed, it was certainly not normal medicine.
“What kind of potion is it?”
“I’m not sure. But he said I have to drink it every day.”
“It makes you healthier, does it? Then perhaps I should try it myself,” Teishar said deliberately.
Luanse’s reaction was immediate—he looked visibly panicked.
“No! Marquis Spencer mustn’t drink it!”
“And why not, Lady Laurencia?”
“Because it’s a special potion made just for me—Prince Luanse said so.”
Her eyes curved prettily into crescent shapes.
“Prince Luanse, this potion I’ve been drinking… where exactly in the palace can I get more?”
She asked sweetly, as if teasing, while hoping inwardly that Luanse would squirm—hoping he’d choke on the very poison he’d once given her.
“If not, perhaps you could keep bringing it to me every day, like before at the count’s estate?”
When Luanse avoided her gaze, Laurencia’s lips curved faintly.
You don’t have to drink that potion anymore, he muttered—and then quickly fled the room.
Laurencia looked up at Teishar, who was now escorting her calmly.
He had certainly realized that the potion Luanse gave her was anything but harmless.
“Marquis Spencer.”
“Yes?”
“Just now… were you really about to strike a royal with your sword?”
“I only meant to scare him a little.”
Luanse had provoked him to the end, and Teishar had responded in kind.
He didn’t think he’d been in the wrong.
If Luanse dared to put pressure on House Spencer over this, Teishar was confident he could return it in equal measure.
But Luanse hadn’t seemed inclined to fight back.
He’d gone pale at Laurencia’s question and fled—clear proof that he had given her something strange.
The thought alone rekindled Teishar’s anger. He had to find out exactly what kind of potion it was.
“Lady Laurencia.”
“Yes?”
“This potion that Prince Luanse supposedly gave you—what exactly is it?”
“It’s a liquid… he said it was good for my health.”
“A potion, then…”
Laurencia answered all his questions with the guileless face of someone who truly knew nothing—describing its color, quantity, and even its thickness in detail.
The more she spoke, the darker Teishar’s expression became.
When they returned to Teishar’s chambers, Susanna greeted Laurencia warmly.
“Lady Laurencia.”
“Susanna, the lady said she’s hungry. Bring her a meal, quickly.”
Laurencia’s face reddened.
She had only said she was hungry to stop Teishar from cutting Luanse down.
“Please wait a moment, my lady. Marquis, could you step outside for now? I need to help her change.”
“Change? That’s not important right now! Lady Laurencia said she’s hungry—she needs food immediately!”
“Yes, I understand, my lord. But the clothes she’s wearing now aren’t suitable for dining. So she must change first.”
“…Fine. Five minutes, then?”
“Take a walk to Her Highness’s drawing room and back—it should be about right.”
Teishar frowned. That was a thirty-minute walk.
“…Very well. Lady Laurencia, I’ll fetch some food and a healing scroll.”
“I’ll wait.”
Once he was gone, Susanna sat Laurencia on the bed and gently tied up her hair.
As the strands lifted, the part of her cheek that had been hidden beneath them was revealed.
