CHAPTER 11 - Shivers, Sanctum and Horses

There are many questions that pop up in her mind. Sadly, she seems unable to utter any of those questions because her tongue froze, her body floated and staggered with blurred vision, and she felt a burning sensation in her throat. She tried to hold up with all her might while thinking hard about how a bottle of sauce could do this to her, then realized that the one she brought was the real poison.

"You….r….gracee….." Lilia stammered, trying very hard to make a sound.

"Are you out of your mind, Princess? How can a noble lady like you commit such a sinful deed like this?" The face of Duke Oldenburg was overly furious and exhausted. The old man fell to the ground, panting for breath. Lilia, still baffled by the situation, can't contain her confused and frightened feelings.

"How... did you know that I was here?" Lilia demands an immediate answer from the man who holds her heart. She never imagined that the duke would show up himself. Evelyn never considered this possibility when they arranged this little show. No, Evelyn might not have mentioned it to her even though she said that this plan was directed toward Raphael. She was speechless from the very moment the duke suddenly appeared in front of her, snatching her poisonous vial and throwing it somewhere far.

Lilia still tries to discern the situation, but suddenly the symptoms she felt earlier worsen; it brings a chill running down her body, she is shaken heavily, her stomach feels like it has been turned upside down; and severe nausea comes down in seconds. Lilia was gaping in the air, feeling suffocating because she was unable, her hands reaching out to grip onto something. Lilia feels pain all over her body. It was when the duke sensed something amiss, it was the symptoms of Mary's Tears. The duke just rests, and he is in an alert stance once again.

"Princess!! Lilia! Lilia! Hang in there, child, Lilia!" The duke screamed in his panicked mind. He reached out to hug her, while her body continued to convulse violently before she forcefully vomited a handful of blood.

"Lilia!! Please… Hang on for a while, Lady Osborne will arrive and bring you the antidote, please."

Carlisle hugs her tightly and tries to engulf her in his warm embrace, hoping to calm her shaken body. He looked around, but there was no sign of Evelyn arriving at the sanctum. Panic attacked him, what if Evelyn hadn't arrived and Lilia couldn't survive? Duke tried various ways while waiting for the antidote to arrive, but fear began to spread in his heart, Lilia's face looked very pale, and her body was getting limp.

Meanwhile, a few minutes ago~

Evelyn arrives at the Sanctum after a while, but she and Luke can't find any horses belonging to the Duke. There was a doubt in her heart whether the duke had arrived and could really enter the sanctum without the royal insignia or the royal family beside him, but she immediately put the thought aside and rushed into the sanctum. Fortunately, the guard was in a friendly state, so the girl could enter easily.

"You seem used to coming in here." Luke asked

"No, not really... In fact, I dislike coming here because, aside from the fact that I am not a member of the royal family, it is a place where knowledge cannot be grasped, and it is somewhat uncomfortable here."

"You mean something that cannot be explained by logic?"

"Uh huh..." Evelyn answered Luke's question nonchalantly.

She was busy looking around carefully for the duke's whereabouts, but the dense bushes and trees didn't help at all. Finally, she decided to head straight to the lake just in case the duke was already there and found Lilia, which he thankfully managed to stop.

"Eve! Wait!" Luke reaches out for her hand before the girl disappears in front of him. It's not just Eve; he also feels uncomfortable there, which is why 22-year-old Luke decides to cling on to the short girl beside her. The said girl just rolled her eyes, she then focused again to find the right path to the lake, but then Luke's question took her by surprise.

"You know something, don't you?"

"About..?" The girl tried to stay calm so Luke wouldn't get suspicious.

"This whole situation, of course, makes you seem less panicked now than before. Did you already predict it?"

"Don't entertain your brain with that ridiculous theory, Luke, you'll get a headache."

"Still, there were possibilities, right? Is it a scheme for my father?"

Evelyn stops her step, she turns around, and she faces Luke, her face showing displeasure and irritation, flushed all over because of tiredness and anger mixed into one.

"Look, maybe I was her one and only supporter for her feelings, but I'm not as stupid as to push my own best friend to drink poison just because she got rejected, and right now, shes really on the brink of death, out of everyone's mercy. We're rushing her to prevent that, I'm in a rush right now. If you want me to entertain you with any doubt you have in your wrecked mind, I'll do it after I assure Lilia's safety, so until that, shut your mouth!"

Evelyn snapped at Luke then quickly left him behind, she was furious because of everyone—Lilia, Duke Oldenburg, Luke, and everyone else—who tortured her like this. She never calculated that Lilia would pick the wrong vial, not telling her where she decided to take the 'fake' poison, or that she would ride a horse at a deadly pace, thinking hard about where Lilia was and also how irritating Luke was—she almost cursed him out loud, which would be fatal.

She walks further to the center, but there is no sign of a lake or human presence. She begins to panic, and just when she wants to cry out her agony, she hears another pitiful scream that makes her realize immediately whose voice it is. She dashed towards the voice, which was the duke's screams. She could clearly see the duke and Lilia in his embrace, limping and fainting, when she saw the moonlight reflection on the water and a lot of fireflies around. Evelyn ran there with all her might, almost tripping.

The duke lifted his head up when he heard the sounds of grass and shoe steps. It was Evelyn, the girl who ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. The duke's previously sad face after seeing Evelyn's arrival lit up again. He was still holding Lilia tightly in his arms.

"Lady Osborne, the antidote!" He asked quickly as Evelyn arrived beside him. She was much shocked by Lilia's state now, but her trembling hand reached out quickly to the vial, which she had been clutching tightly all the way here. She gave it to the duke, and he immediately gave the medicine to Lilia. Thank God, the girl still retained her consciousness, but after taking the antidote, she passed out.

"Lilia… Your Grace, Lilia…" Evelyn asked the duke about her condition. Her legs were so weak that she fell to the ground, her tears dripping heavily, but when the duke said that Lilia had only fainted, Evelyn let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh Lilia… you... Stupid girl…"

"We need to bring her back immediately for further examination."

"Yes? That's right… but…duke..."

"Yes, Lady Osborne?"

"You... bring Lilia back on horseback?" she asks out of curiosity.

The duke smiled faintly, his tired face was illuminated by the moonlight. Evelyn can see it clearly, even though he is an adult with three children, all of whom are older than her. His alluring looks don't seem to fade, despite his age.

"I assure you, lady, I'm still capable enough to carry this on," he said confidently, lifting Lilia as easily as he would have lifted a child, despite the fact that Lilia was a grown woman and a knight on top of that.

Evelyn then tried to get up, but she felt her legs were still weak, so she fell back to the ground. Luke, who was finally able to catch up, was quite surprised to see his father carrying the fainted Lilia in his arm. Evelyn told the Duke that he could return to the palace immediately, and she would follow right after.

"Right… Please be careful on your way back, Lady Osborne. Luke, please protect the lady well."

"Yes father… you al… so... be careful. Do you really not need my help?" He felt quite unsure.

"I'm fine"

The duke then left the sanctum and brought Lilia back to the palace for further treatment. He draped his outer coat over Lilia's body so that the girl would not get cold. Meanwhile, Evelyn was still silently looking in the direction where the Duke disappeared. Luke, who saw the uncertain expression on Evelyn's beautiful face, felt unpleasant.

"Did you also fall in love with my father?"

Evelyn awoke at the question that came from Luke, she looked up at Luke with a disgusted expression, and her furrowed brows expressed her protest at Luke.

"Are you drunk?"

"No, I'm pretty much sober."

"You're spouting nonsense."

"You not denied it?'

"Oh God, for God's sake! Can you see how disgusting it was? The duke is older than my father, you moron!"

"My father is also older than Lilia's father."

"Seriously, Luke Oldenburg! Instead of entertaining your brain with that weird theory, help me up now"

Evelyn held her hand out to Luke as a gesture to help her up. Luke lifted the small hand, giving the girl a foothold until she could stand steadily. He chuckled.

"Cutie fawn, don't force yourself to walk, this big brother can carry you to the horse."

"Stop it, Luke, it's not funny!"

Evelyn hit Luke's shoulder, showing her annoyance, and she walked rather hurriedly with her small feet. Luke followed with a sigh of relief, at least Evelyn was telling the truth from her expression earlier.

"I wonder if Lilia returns safely to the palace."

"Don't worry, father might be aging and look like that, but he is quite strong and good at horse riding, despite being more of a businessman than a warrior."

"Sure, he is more capable than his two sons."

"What! Why are you comparing me? Do you really have feelings for my father?"

"I said stop your ridiculous idea, it's gross!" Evelyn shows her displeasure and almost kicks Luke in the process.

"Fine, fine, I believe you." Luke pats her head playfully before helping the short girl up onto the horse.

While the younger pair had just left the sanctum, Duke Oldenburg, who had first returned to the palace with the unconscious Lilia in his arms, was already quite far away and had almost reached his destination. The occasional glance at Lilia's pale face made him quicken the pace of his horse. He smiled wryly.

"See how you always surprise me, Lilia Escheat."

"When you open your eyes, I hope you're ready for what I'm about to do."