Chapter 4 : Fake Medicine

Caspiel, who was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, stared at Celine wide-eyed.

"Are all humans from Illuxar like that?"

"Oh no, Caspiel. Their mana is actually very limited because there's nothing there that requires mana, right, miss?" Arthur looked at the woman sitting there, waiting for her approval.

"I suppose?" she said.

The three people in the room showed different expressions. Caspiel, with his trembling irises, seemed incredulous at what he had just heard, Celine looked still confused about what was happening, and Arthur was enthusiastic.

"Celine, your task is finished, you may leave," Caspiel shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Hey Caspiel, how could you let a woman walk alone in the middle of the night like this?" Arthur protested. Caspiel knew his childhood friend was still unsatisfied with finding out about the woman in front of them.

"Shut up, Arthur, I know your tricks. She works under me, I can order her to do anything. Celine, you may leave."

"Very well, then. I bid you farewell, Lord Caspiel, Lord Arthur." The woman in question bid goodbye and wanted to quickly retire to her room. The information she had just received made her think that the two men were playing games with her, an outsider.

After Celine left, Arthur sat closer to Caspiel with a spirited expression.

"Caspiel! How did your family manage to get a person like that? It's insane! She could easily rule over Craenitus if she wanted to learn magic!"

"That won't happen."

"But still!" Arthur grumbled. Since childhood, Arthur had been very interested in magic, chemistry, herbalism, myths, and conspiracy theories. This was in stark contrast to Caspiel, who disliked using his brain to think about such things. Caspiel had been educated in politics and business since he was young because he was Count Evington's heir. Somehow, their friendship last until now.

Arthur was Caspiel's distant cousin on his mother's side. His family went bankrupt, and Arthur was entrusted to Anita since he was five years old. The Aristotle family was the largest mining business family of its time, before a major accident occurred where several mines collapsed simultaneously, claiming many lives, including Arthur's father who was inspecting at the time.

Caspiel handed over a vial containing red liquid, it was the medicine he had been taking for the past 10 years. Well, more like 6 years.

"Do you think the doctor who gave you this medicine wanted to kill you?"

"Yes. You remember, when I was 13 I was already healed, I was sure and could feel it, but a year later a doctor came and diagnosed my illness and gave this medicine to my father."

"Wasn't that the same doctor who treated you before?" Arthur inquired.

"No."

"How can you be sure?" he added.

"Because that doctor is already dead, a year after I recovered that doctor died. Maybe because he was old. At the same time, a new doctor was called by my mother," Caspiel explained.

"Ah, this reminds me of your mother. How is Countess Anita now? I heard she hadn't woken up from her sleep two days ago."

"She's still asleep," Caspiel answered casually as if there was no worry in him. Hearing this, Arthur chose not to inquire further. He was still curious about what had happened to the relationship between the mother and son who were once very close. Now, Caspiel always refused his mother's visits, even though she had just recovered from the illness she suffered 5 years ago.

There was only one answer in his mind, Caspiel suspected his mother of giving him that strange medicine to keep him sick.

'How could a mother do something so cruel to her own child?' Arthur wondered. Not wanting to let the awkward atmosphere linger, Arthur changed the subject.

"The contents of this bottle are the same medicine you usually take," Arthur explained, lifting the vial given by Caspiel.

"Is that so... so my suspicions all this time were correct," Caspiel murmured. Seeing his friend's demeanor change, Arthur quickly disposed of the vial in his hand.

"Listen, Caspiel, this medicine is just made from ordinary medicinal plants! There's no poison in it. Do you doubt me? The smartest person in Craenitus?" Arthur retorted. Caspiel raised his head, his iris staring sharply at Arthur.

"Say it."

"W-what?"

Although he appeared indifferent, Caspiel was a keen observer. He had been friends with Arthur for years, even considering him like a brother. He knew the man in front of him would keep touching his nose continuously when lying or nervous.

"I know, Arthur. Say it. Now."

Arthur took a long breath.

"There's blood and salty liquid, I think it's tears, inside it."

"What?"

-

Knock, knock, knock

"Excuse me, Miss Celine, it's me, Layla."

I faintly heard someone's voice, I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a luxurious room with the scent of roses wafting through the air.

'Right, I'm in the Evington mansion.'

Knock, knock, knock

"Excuse me, miss, it's time for you to wake up," the voice continued.

Ugh, so I can't sleep in here as much as I want. I looked at the wall clock, which showed 7 a.m. I stretched my body and sat up. My short hair now reached my shoulders. With this length, maybe I could have beautiful hair like the women I saw in town.

'Right, today I'll buy some clothes in town.'

Calling my clothes shabby really hurt. These are the best clothes I have, even better than the ones I used to wear for work.

As I waited, the servant named Layla opened the door herself and walked towards me, still a mess.

"Miss Celine, I would like to inform you about your schedule for today."

'Wow.'

"At 7:30 a.m., you are invited for breakfast in the dining room by Lord Caspiel. At 9:00 a.m., you are instructed to meet with Lord Arthur in his office. At 2:00 p.m. after lunch, you will go to town to buy clothes with Madam Lysa. After that, your time is free, except at 3:00 a.m. when you will give medicine to Count Caspiel as usual," Layla explained at length. I was still processing it all, 7:30 a.m. breakfast with Caspiel.

"So, 30 minutes left?!" I exclaimed.

After quickly showering, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I chose a dress from the wardrobe already in the room. This dress looked like the most expensive dress I would only wear once in my life. A light blue knee-length dress with white lace at the hem. The sleeves were long and puffed, with lace at the cuffs matching the bottom of the dress.

I brushed my hair and applied some blush and lipstick from the dressing table.

'I should have brought my makeup from home.'

After finishing getting ready, I walked through the mansion corridors towards the dining room. The door opened, and I saw Caspiel already sitting alone at the large dining table.

"Welcome, please have a seat," he greeted with his eyes still focused on the grilled fish in front of him.

"T, thank you," I replied awkwardly. Why bother greeting me like this?

Breakfast felt so slow because of the awkwardness between us. I guessed Count Derrick didn't join us because he was taking care of Countess Anita. But, the delicious food made me feel okay about being in this room for a whole day.

"I heard you're going to town today," Caspiel suddenly remarked.

"Yes, my lord."

"You will go with me," he said suddenly. I looked at him confused.

"I've already talked to Lysa. You will go with me," he insisted, then stood up and left me without waiting for a response to his invitation.

I couldn't stop thinking about what happened to Caspiel. From what I saw and compared to three months ago, he was very healthy now, which was good news. But his personality had also changed; he seemed like a different person from what I had heard. All the servants said that Caspiel was cold and indifferent to others. A cold, and harsh person. He changed like that since he got sick.

At first, I wanted to persuade Madam Lysa to still go with me to town. But after hearing from Arthur that Caspiel had not left the mansion in 10 years, I felt a little sorry for him. I felt like a bad person if I refused him.

So here I was, walking in the town square with Young Master Caspiel. Although his face looked flat, I could see a sparkle in his eyes. It seemed like he was very happy to see the outside world; I was touched.

"Father has given a check to the owner of Hemosé boutique, you just need to choose a few clothes, and they will be delivered directly to the mansion," Caspiel said, holding a parasol over me.

'WHAT?! Why did Count Derrick spend so much money just to buy me clothes? Will my salary be deducted later?! And also, why is Caspiel holding the umbrella for me, isn't he the master?' my mind raced with thoughts.

"We've arrived."

We arrived in front of a boutique displaying several party dresses in the window. The exterior wasn't too appealing, like an ordinary boutique, but the interior was the opposite. Very luxurious and beautiful, red carpet spread from the front door to the end of the room. On the right and left sides, there were many dresses, coats, and suits of various models. But there didn't seem to be any customers here. Usually, there were only two answers to that. First, because the clothes here were not attractive, and second, because the clothes here were very exclusive, so not everyone could buy them.

"Lady Annette is the designer of all the clothes you see. Since I was a child until now, her taste hasn't changed. Not her taste in design, but the taste of the people she chooses to buy her clothes," Caspiel explained.

Okay, the second answer.

Footsteps were heard from the end of the room, and a woman with gray hair and eccentric clothing hurried towards us.

"Oh my dragon! Is that really what I see? Caspiel?!" she exclaimed in joy. She kissed Caspiel's cheeks as if kissing a child. Caspiel, with an awkward face, still smiled and wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand, then wiped his hand on his pants.

"I'm so glad and grateful that you're better now and can even walk around town!" she said emotionally, her slender fingers wiping the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you, Lady Annette," Caspiel replied politely.

"Oh, look at this beautiful woman! Is this your girlfriend, Caspiel? Oh my, she's so beautiful!" Now her attention shifted to me. She gently grabbed my shoulders and tilted my body from side to side.

"Oh, no, I'm not..."

"Come here, darling, come here! Oh my, my! I like your body proportions!" Lady Annette interrupted. She pulled my hand to enter her room. After going out briefly to get a measuring tape, she measured my waist, shoulders, neck, and every part of my body. I looked at Caspiel bewilderedly, and he only responded with a smile.

After finishing her activity, Lady Annette gave me a catalog book.

"Miss, I apologize deeply, as there's only a week left before Princess Astarte's birthday, so I can only give you one VIP dress. But because I like you, I will give a VIP suit bonus to Young Master Caspiel!" she said, winking at Caspiel.

"Oh, there's no need. I'll just choose the regular ones," Caspiel declined casually. Wait a minute, so Evington is behind all of this. They're making me attend Princess Astarte's birthday party?

"Wait a minute, what does this mean? Princess Astarte's birthday?" I asked Caspiel. He remained silent, and Lady Annette opened her mouth to speak instead of Caspiel.

"Ah, so discussions about exes are still taboo between you two. It's okay, I understand! Although they were former fiancés, the princess and Caspiel were engaged when they were very young."

"Engaged?!" My eyes widened at Caspiel. Lady Annette closed her mouth tightly as if she had said something wrong.

"We'll talk about it later," Caspiel concluded. "Choose your dress first," he continued.

"Wait a minute." I held my head with both hands in frustration. Count Derrick spent a lot of money just to buy me clothes, I was mistaken for Caspiel's girlfriend, I would attend Princess Astarte's birthday, who was Caspiel's former fiancée!

"We don't have much time, Celine, quickly choose, and then we'll go to the next place," Caspiel commanded.

"No! All of this is weird!"

"Uh, miss..."

"Dark blue seems suitable for her, Lady Annette, try not to be too revealing. For me, just match the color with Celine's," Caspiel instructed.

"Very well, Young Master Caspiel!"

"W, wait a minute!"

Gasp

Amid the chaos in the boutique at that moment, my heart suddenly beat abnormally. I looked at Caspiel, and it seemed like he felt the same thing. His face paled, and his pupils shrank.

"Mother... something happened to Mother!" he suddenly shouted.