The scented candles kept in the drawer were also moved to Tiuran's hut, and all the medicinal herbs sent by Senevier were collected. This was a measure to identify all the medicines he had been taking.
Tiuran even went so far as to search Marisen's room and find prescription records and a list of medicinal ingredients.
"Fortunately, it seems that the use of medicinal substances that could permanently damage the body has only occurred within the last few weeks."
Tiuran, who was sitting at his desk comparing nearly a year's worth of prescriptions, rubbed her eyes as if tired and continued speaking.
"The problem is the herbs you have been taking. Because you have been using various highly toxic medicines in combination for several years, your dependence is likely quite deep. You might experience more severe side effects than expected during the process of completely stopping the medication."
Thalia did not reply. She had already started experiencing pain that felt like her nerves were being gnawed at a few days ago. She was suddenly terrified at the thought that even worse symptoms might follow.
"Is there no separate medicine to alleviate the side effects?"
"It is there. However, Your Highness, the most urgent matter right now is to completely expel the residual effects of the medicine from your body. If you start using another medicine to suppress the symptoms, the same problem will only repeat itself."
Tiuran looked back at Thalia, who was curled up on the bed, and frowned worriedly.
"If you are having a hard time, I will cast a healing spell for you."
"Forget it. It won't be of much help anyway, so don't waste your energy on useless things."
Thalia mumbled with her face buried in Khan's chest.
Tiuran, looking at her with pity, pulled the blanket tangled at the edge of the bed and covered her shoulders.
"If it is still too difficult to bear, please be sure to let me know. I will try to find another way."
"...Yes."
Tiuran, having smoothed the hair stuck to her forehead, returned to the desk and began sorting and sealing the medicines Marisen had made by type.
Thalia, who had been watching the scene with half-closed eyes, asked in a puzzled tone.
"Why go out of your way to repackage that?"
"I’m going to keep it safe and separate in case I need to check it again later."
Tiuran replied calmly, wrapped the incense, reagent, and ointment in linen cloth respectively, and then put them into two small boxes.
She divided it into portions. Then, she lifted the carpet on the floor and raised one of the planks. Then a shallow storage space that appeared to be designed to hide valuables was revealed.
Thalia, watching Tiuran push the box into it, frowned and asked.
"Is it really necessary to hide it to that extent?"
"It wouldn't do any good for us to know that Marisen's item is in our hands."
Tiuran added calmly.
"Marisen's body was found early this morning."
Thalia felt the drowsiness vanish in an instant and sat up.
Tiuran continued speaking with a surprisingly calm demeanor.
"Fortunately, it seems to have been attributed to wild animals, but someone might have seen us that day. It would be safer to hide anything that might arouse suspicion."
Then, she tightly bound Marisen's journal and various records with a leather strap and neatly stuffed them into the secret compartment.
"If those items were discovered, we would inevitably be suspected of being involved in Marisen's death."
Thalia sprang up from the bed.
"There's no need to keep things like that. Just burn it all!"
"But... these materials might be of great help someday."
Tiuran, having covered the cabinet with the plank again, spread out the carpet and spoke.
"These documents are proof that Marisen intentionally tried to harm Your Highness. They may not be of much use right now, but if we secure physical evidence in the future that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince tried to harm you, they could serve as powerful supplementary material."
Thalia looked at Tiuran with surprised eyes. She had been so preoccupied with covering up the fact that Khan had killed Marisen that she hadn't even thought to uncover the truth of the incident.
She stared down at the bundle of documents with pensive eyes, then slowly shook her head.
"It's a waste of time. Gareth will never stand trial."
A bitter smile crossed Thalia's lips.
"No matter what anyone says, that man is the Crown Prince of the Empire. On top of that, Marquis Orstein, the head of the Central Nobility, is backing him. Even if evidence were to emerge, how could I possibly punish someone like that?"
"But... Your Highness, the Grand Duchess, has the Empress. If you ask her for help..."
"Do you think she would get involved in such a hassle?"
Thalia twisted the corners of her mouth cynically.
"Marisen is someone Mom personally assigned to me. If it is revealed that the person dispatched by the Empress's Palace has been using drugs to harm Grand Duchess Sheerkan for a long time, Mom will not be able to escape responsibility either. Do you think the Empress of the Empire would take such a risk? Unless there is clear evidence to bring down Gareth, if she judges that there is even the slightest risk of jeopardizing her position, she would rather try to cover up this incident."
Tiuran, who had been making a strange expression at her scathing remarks, cautiously made a suggestion.
"Then why don't you try asking His Excellency the Grand Duke for help? If it's him..."
"Barcas is the same. He won't believe me unless there is clear evidence."
Thalia spat it out definitively.
"That man knows very well how much I hate Gareth. He probably thinks I am maliciously slandering the Crown Prince at my mother's behest."
At that moment, Khan leaped down from the bed and pressed his face close to hers. Then, he shot a look that seemed somehow wronged.
As she frowned at his inexplicable behavior and pushed Khan's face away, Tiuran muttered in a sighing voice.
"...Your Highness, you really don't trust anyone."
Thalia hesitated and looked back at her.
Tiuran continued speaking gently, as if soothing a sulking child.
"We don't know how His Excellency the Grand Duke will react until you tell him. If necessary, I will testify alongside you."
Thalia, who was about to reflexively blurt out a refusal, suddenly closed her mouth. She wondered why she was so determined to keep this matter a secret.
Is he afraid that Barcas might side with Gareth even if he knows the truth?
She clouded her face at the thought that suddenly crossed her mind. It was an excessive distrust, considering how meticulously he had taken care of her during her pregnancy.
She knew that he, too, was secretly looking forward to the day he would become a father.
"Yes, whether it's a daughter or a son, let's keep them for the rest of our lives."
A heavy weight settled in her heart as she recalled him holding her in his arms and whispering affectionately. Perhaps he might feel a profound sense of betrayal at the fact that the Crown Prince he had supported had harmed his child.
Thalia looked down at her shadow pooling on the floor with a dark gaze and soon nodded.
"...Alright. I'll look for an opportunity to talk to Barcas when he returns."
No sooner had those words left her mouth than Khan began to rub his face against her neck.
Thalia smiled faintly, glad that the wolf, who had looked endlessly gloomy for the past few days, had suddenly cheered up.
***
Khan, who had been watching her undress, soon turned toward the door. However, all his senses were focused on her.
A moment later, the sound of splashing could be heard, as if she had taken a bath. Feeling the strong scent of perfume fill the room, he nervously scratched the floor.
Since quitting the medication, Thalia seemed to be seeing hallucinations more frequently than before. They appeared to be mostly related to her own body.
At some point, she began to think that her body emitted a terrible stench, and sometimes the scars on her legs appeared to be slowly decaying and rotting away.
He could not take his eyes off her for even a moment as he had to stop her from constantly picking at her scars.
Once, she even brought a bottle of rose essential oil to her lips with a dazed look on her face, startling him. If he hadn't lunged to snatch the bottle away, she would have drunk the beauty water straight from the bottle. What made him even more anxious was the fact that she was not aware in the slightest that she was doing such a thing.
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