Chapter 49: The Venom and the Veil

Marian, trapped in an ice prison in an instant.

In that brief moment, she thought.

‘Ah… Sister, I’m sorry.’

She apologized to her sister, who was likely still shedding tears and grieving in their homeland today.

She had been too complacent.

For the past three years.

Thinking everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan, she had let her guard down significantly.

In truth, there had been several opportunities to kill that bastard.

But thinking of the pain and humiliation her sister must have endured from him, simply killing him was far from enough.

He was the one who had ruined her sister, who had been purer and more beautiful than anyone.

Shouldn’t he suffer several times… no, thousands, tens of thousands of times more pain!

And the Church was helping him.

Even if she succeeded in assassinating him and ending his life.

If that Saintess who performs miracles stepped in, he could be revived.

So she had prepared meticulously over a very long time.

A potent poison that could kill him secretly, without anyone knowing.

A poison so lethal that, upon reaching death.

Even if that Saintess came, she could neither treat nor revive him.

It was a poison painstakingly created by the foremost shaman of her homeland.

“Unless the Saintess examines him very closely, there’s no way it will be discovered, Second Princess-nim…”

“Thank you, Graham…”

“But… must you really do this? The First Princess would never want you to do this, Second Princess-nim…!”

“I’m sorry, Graham. I just can’t forgive him. That reckless b*stard..!”

“…I understand. Please be careful. And to avoid detection, you must feed it to him very slowly, in small amounts, over a long period…”

“Yes…”

Following the shaman’s words, she had fed the poison to him very slowly, in small amounts.

Approaching the reckless prince hadn’t been too difficult.

Because there were hardly any maids willing to work for the man who had been confined to the detached palace for raping her sister.

Deposed from his position as Crown Prince.

Who would want to serve such a savage and selfish man?

“Wait, you there.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to ask. Where are you from?”

At first, she faced some difficulty due to the suspicions of his attendant…

“What are you doing!?”

“Well… she’s a new maid who started today, and her identity is unclear, so I’m asking a few questions.”

“A new maid, you say? Hmm… That’s enough. Stop it.”

“Yes? But, Your Highness…”

“Tsk! Shut up and get lost. I’m already annoyed enough with only male b*stards around, I can’t be chasing away a precious maid, can I?”

“Ah… Understood, Your Highness.”

She had managed to escape the crisis by coincidentally being spotted by him as he passed through the corridor.

“Well… this is…”

He openly drooled as he scanned her face and body.

And.

“There was a woman I regretted only tasting once, you seem to resemble that b*tch a bit… No, you seem even better. Kuhuhu…”

He insulted her sister again.

!!!

For a moment, an intense urge to wring his neck surged within her, but she clenched her teeth and endured.

And.

“Oh my~ Hello, Your Highness. My name is Marian. I’ll be even more delicious~ Hoho.”

She somehow forced a smile and seduced him.

“Kuhahaha! I really like you! Yes, let’s go to the bedroom right away!”

“Aing, you’re so bold, Your Highness~”

The shame and disgust of defiling her own body with the man who had insulted her sister were unbearable, but she endured.

To bring him.

A death more gruesome and painful than anything else.

‘Ah, there’s only a little time left…!’

Recently, his physical condition had deteriorated to a noticeably impaired state.

Not only that.

Age spots and blemishes were slowly appearing on that disgusting face he was so proud of.

He was diligently covering them with makeup and grooming.

But she, who shared his bed every time, could clearly tell.

‘It’s almost time.’

However.

She had acted too rashly.

‘Ah… ah… you foolish b*tch…’

Trying to please Narcissus, she had needlessly provoked Irene, whom she had considered a very foolish and idiotic b*tch.

‘No… I shouldn’t have entered this bedroom today…’

Even if she hadn’t provoked her in the first place, she probably couldn’t have avoided her fate of being discovered.

Because as soon as she entered, Irene’s gaze had been fixed on the wine glass he had touched, and then towards her fingertips.

Ssss…

‘Ah…’

Not just her body, but her mind too, was slowly feeling like it was freezing.

Just before she lost consciousness.

She apologized to another person one last time.

‘I’m sorry, Crown Princess-nim… I’ll be fine, so please achieve what you des…’

Ssssss…

---

“Th-This d*mn it! Is that really true, Saintess-nim!?”

“Yes, it is, Your Highness. You were truly on the verge of a major crisis.”

“Ha…!”

Narcissus, leaning halfway against the bed, let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

‘Lately, I’ve been getting more tired, and for some reason, it didn’t seem to stand up well…!’

He thought she slightly resembled the princess of a small country he had f*cked before, but to think she was really that princess’s younger sister.

After Irene instantly froze Marian.

A priest from the Church.

No, the result of being told to call the Saintess to confirm.

One of the priests who came with Sera recognized Marian’s face.

And as Sera examined his body and the wine glass very closely, it was revealed that he had been seriously poisoned.

She too said this was the first time she had seen such a poison, and if she hadn’t examined it so meticulously, she would never have noticed.

Therefore, Narcissus asked Sera in a trembling voice.

“Th-Then is my life safe now?”

“Yes, if you had ingested it for a few more days, it would have been truly dangerous, but now that it’s been discovered, you can rest assured.”

“Ah, I see! Thank you, Saintess-nim!”

“Not at all, rather, I apologize for not noticing sooner that a star of the Empire was about to fall.”

Sera bowed politely and apologized.

Normally, Narcissus, like his uncle Kardo, might have leered at her cleavage and had lewd thoughts.

But he was different now.

“Ah, no. Thank you. And…”

Because.

Now, no other woman caught his eye.

“Irene, thank you so much! If it weren’t for you, I really…!”

His red eyes gazed intensely at Irene.

At this, Irene slowly shook her head and replied.

“No, I’m sorry I didn’t discover it sooner either. If I hadn’t happened to see the wine glass you were drinking from today, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“What are you talking about! I survived because you discovered it even now!”

Narcissus repeatedly expressed his gratitude and tried to take her hand.

However, Irene naturally avoided his touch by striking up a conversation with Sera.

“Sera, Narcissus’s condition is alright, right?”

“Ah, yes. He just needs to rest comfortably and regain his mental and physical stability.”

“Really? Alright. Did you hear that, Narcissus?”

“Yes! I’ll rest comfortably!”

The arrogant Narcissus, who had intended to use Irene as a mere tool and treat her like a toy, had completely vanished.

Because now, his feelings for her had surpassed infatuation and reached a level of awe.

It was a potent poison that even the Saintess, whom he had so desperately wanted to meet and covet, had discovered only after careful examination.

Since Irene had identified it in an instant and saved him, Narcissus couldn’t help but fall for her.

He felt like such a fool for having previously thought her insignificant and intending to treat her carelessly.

Therefore, Narcissus asked Irene in a more desperate and tender voice than ever before.

“Irene, you’ll come to see me tomorrow too, right?”

“…Yes, of course. Rest well, Narcissus.”

“Yes!”

Narcissus lay down on the bed, smiling brightly like an innocent child.

Leaving him behind.

Irene and Sera slowly exited the Prince’s bedroom.

---

‘I really can’t believe it…’

Sera was utterly surprised.

She had thought Irene had some talent for magic, but not so outstanding as to cause such a fuss at the Magic Tower.

‘If it hadn’t been for Logan…’

She would never have included her in the Hero’s party.

She was just an empty-headed b*tch who was slightly good at using magic.

But now, Sera had no choice but to think differently.

‘Even I barely discovered it… If she hadn’t told me, I would have never known.’

But how could this woman.

Discover it in a single instant?

When she first heard Narcissus’s testimony, she couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Because she felt that the Irene she knew could never do such a thing.

However, seeing Marian trapped in the transparent ice prison, she had no choice but to accept it.

The sculpture, perfectly frozen with such high-density mana that it felt like a work of art.

Even the high priests of the Church found it difficult to handle carelessly.

Because the moment they tried to touch it, their hands could freeze if they weren’t careful, due to the condensed high-density mana.

Only after calling for more people from the Church and exerting considerable effort were they finally able to move it to another location.

Sera was in the midst of such thoughts.

“You didn’t treat him on purpose, did you?”

Irene asked sharply in a low voice.

!!!

Sera momentarily gasped.

‘She even noticed that?’

If it had been the Sera of yesterday.

She might have retorted, thinking, ‘She’s throwing a fit over a man again.’

But recalling the look in Irene’s eyes as she watched Narcissus in the bedroom, she couldn’t help but feel that wasn’t the case at all.

Because there was no affection, not even a trace of any emotion, in Irene’s eyes.

Therefore, she couldn’t help but ponder how to respond to her.

At this, Irene smirked and said.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking to pick a fight.”

“Yes…?”

“Let’s go talk somewhere else first. This doesn’t seem like the right place.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand.”

Sera found herself nodding and following Irene without realizing it.

Until just yesterday.

The crazy b*tch who had been spewing all sorts of nonsense and throwing tantrums.

Had changed, changed too much.