CHAPTER 12 - The Melancholy of Lilia Escheat

Lilia's POV before the accident

On the day of the royal party, although she wouldn't wear it, Lilia kept preparing the outfit she would wear to avoid any unnecessary suspiciousness. She also still needed to double-check her preparation once more. That morning, Celestine, her maid, was informed that Alicia, the Crown Princess, would be visiting her shortly. The girl smirked, everything was according to Evelyn's plan.

"Cely… I will go out for some time. When her highness Alicia arrives, let her wait in my room, and I was on the stable to check on Aquarius," she said to the black-haired maid who was busily combing her hair.

"You don't want to meet her directly, milady?"

"Ahhh… Yes, something comes up, but if I don't come back for a long time, inform her that I have some urgent things to finish, okay"

"Will do milady"

After Lilia finished her morning routine, she put the poised vial on display in her room and then went outside. When Alicia arrives at the Escheat Mansion and finds the vial, she quickly heads back to the Palace to inform Raphael about it. After ensuring that Alicia was already far away, Lilia went back to her room to change her outfit into a light-see-through humble dress in sage color, then switched the vial—at least, that's what she thought—and went to fetch her beloved horse Aquarius.

She decides to take her show to the most sacred and blessed place around the capital, the Flümén Sanctum. It was the Imperial Family's secret sanctuary that was bestowed by Goddess Esta herself. She chose that place not only because it was quite secluded and far from the crowds but also because it was a privileged place where only the royal family could enter, allowing Lilia to suppress the commotion that could occur because of this incident.

Once there, while waiting for the right time when Raphael would be frantically looking for her before the banquet, Lilia reflected on everything she had done to earn Duke Oldenburg's love. Was she less sincere? Did she push the duke too much? Did she choose the wrong path to approach the duke? All of that haunted her mind. While looking at the reflection of her face in the lake water, Lilia drifted deeper into her anguish.

She had never been in love before this, and no one can help her in that matter either. With the grand duchess—her mother—being away for a long time, Raphael with his merciless nature, or the ignorant and sassy kid like Evelyn, she is left alone without any good guidance. Nanny? Yes, Lilia does have a nanny, but that nanny is too soft-hearted and so grandmotherly that she will get a lame folktale about romanticism more than actual love advice.

Worse, when she decided to go to war, she was there surrounded by men and the dreadful atmosphere of war. It would sound ridiculous when you are in the middle of a war and you talk about something petty like love, even though some doctors and nurses were women. There might be some moments and times when they have a deep conversation between comrades about how they miss their homes, wives, girlfriends, families, etc., but still, for a noble lady like her, it feels rather awkward to share something like that with her fellow knights, not to mention if they knew who her love interest is.

Lilia watches the water ripple in the lake, which shows how clean the water is and how cool the air is. This place is very calming for her. Lilia used to visit the Flümén Sanctum when she was little with her mother, the king's sister. Lilia has loved the Flümén Sanctum since the first time she came here. Not caring about the anomalies that occur in the sanctum, little Lilia feels very blessed every time she comes here. Enjoying her privileges as a direct lineage member of the royal family, Lilia always takes the time to come to the sanctum. In addition to carrying out the customs of the royal family, she also likes that place because it can calm her upset or hurting heart when remembering her father's death.

After enough time passed, Lilia felt that the party time in the palace had begun, and she was sure that Evelyn could lead Raphael easily to the Flümén Sanctum, All she had to think about then was when was the right time to pretend to drink the fake poison to match the time of Raphael's arrival to the sanctum. But when the sky was even darker, Raphael had not yet arrived. Lilia began to feel that something was wrong, she had been waiting for a long time, from the afternoon until after dusk. She began to feel cold, although the Flümén Sanctum was not affected by the climate and weather outside. Still, the cold of winter could be felt through her thin dress. Then, Lilia felt that she had missed something important, which made her want to curse out loud.

"Did I just forget to tell Evelyn about the place???" She screamed and was shocked, feeling dumb about herself.

Lilia felt very upset by her carelessness, and she could already imagine how noisy Evelyn would be when scolding her for ruining her perfect plan. She already felt the headache of her imagination. Lilia sat down, lamenting her fate. Even if it were Evelyn, the so-called smartest scholar in the whole empire and her best friend, figuring out where she was now would be very difficult because of the many variables of other places she might choose.

"Evelyn, don't kill me, please..." Lilia grumbled.

Just as she was thinking about whether she should leave there immediately or wait some longer, she heard the sound of horses' feet galloping. Her face instantly brightened. Lilia positioned herself, knelt on the shore of the lake, and held the vial tightly while watching carefully for the sound of approaching footsteps. When she felt that the footsteps were approaching, Lilia opened the vial, and when she felt someone's presence, she immediately took a sip of the fake poison, but something weird happened.

Along with a mouthful of fake poison, she drank. The person who appeared before her was not Raphael, her cousin, but Duke Oldenburg. Lilia was surprised, but before she could inquire as to how Carlisle appeared in front of her, Lilia noticed something strange about the fake poison—a sauce prepared by Evelyn—that was causing a burning in her throat and making it difficult for her to breathe.

Lilia then realized her other stupidity—what she had just drunk was the real poison. She felt the effects of that poison right now. Evelyn did say that Mary's tears were not deadly, but poison certainly hurts. Lilia quickly lost consciousness, and she couldn't control her body. She slumped to the ground, occasionally coughing and bleeding, and her body was convulsing. Duke Oldenburg took her into her arms, and Lilia could only hear softly and see the faint worry in Duke Oldenburg's voice and face. For a moment, even though her plan fell apart, she felt a little grateful for Carlisle's presence. When her consciousness was almost completely gone, she could feel another liquid entering her mouth. It was cold and refreshing, and she tried her best to swallow it before completely fainting.

~the present time~

After Duke Oldenburg arrived at the palace, Raphael quickly called for the best imperial doctor to diagnose her condition. The situation was rather heavy and grim, even though Lilia had already taken the antidote a few minutes earlier. The two most restless people were Raphael and the Duke. After examining her for about 2 hours, the doctor said that the amount of poison on her body was not lethal and had been neutralized by the antidote and the basic first aid the duke provided while waiting for the antidote. Thus, she was in no harm, but she needed plenty of rest.

After the doctor leaves the room, the people present there can finally take a relief breath. Alicia approaches the duke that sits beside the bed with a glazed expression. His figure looks all tired and haggard. Alicia urges the Duke to go home and take a rest, but the Duke won't budge.

Evelyn approaches Raphael and the duke. She persuaded them to take a rest and let the poor girl rest in peace, and she went to visit her again when she was getting better. They went silent for a moment, actually, the two men wanted to protest her because Evelyn's condition right now is no different from theirs, but the young girl gave them the most reassuring smile, and finally, they yielded their defeat and went back to their residence.

"Evelyn, if something happens to Lilia, please tell us immediately." The duke gives her his last concern.

"Yes, I will, Your Grace, please take a rest for the time being, and you too, Your Highness. I will tend to the princess, so rest assured. Good night," Evelyn answered politely.

"Evelyn makes sure to rest your own body too, okay." Luke voiced his concern for her, and the girl gave him a sidelong smile and nodded.

"Thank you, I will have a good night, everyone. Do apologize for all these problems that occurred, all of you cannot enjoy the banquet to the fullest." Evelyn bowed deeply to them, showing how she felt guilty indirectly about the plan she prepared to make everyone worried and nearly take the life of the person she cared about.

"You're being silly, Evelyn, you're the one preparing the party, and you cannot enjoy it. You have the next whole week for yourself, so take a rest." Raphael pats her shoulder and gives her a sidelong glance—a suspicious one.

"I thank you for your generosity, your highness. Please rest well." Evelyn does a little curtsey and then quietly closes the door. When she cannot hear any footsteps or murmuring voices, she lets out a sigh of relief, then storms to the bed and nudges Lilia to open her eyes.

"You, slutty lady, open your eyes!"