BXBX NOVEL Chapter 198 198. Engagement, Part XI
Editor: Aelryinth
Killian lowered his head to the face of Julietta who was staring owlishly, her lips closed tight. He whispered, stopping right in front of her lips. "Or should we move on to the next step from what happened in the lounge on the last day of the social season? We’ve already seen each other naked appearance before, haven’t we?"
Julietta recalled the day’s events and straightened her body, her cheeks flaring pink. Killian smiled in a softer voice after a light touch on her tense lips, "You look like Lilly facing Albert."
Killian grabbed Julietta’s hand, held his jacket tightly, kissed the back of her hand, and released her. Looking at her quickly fleeing to the opposite sofa, fanning her hands on her face and cooling her heated cheeks, Killian declared, "I am going to set the engagement date as soon as possible. I think next week will be good. I’ll also set the wedding date as soon as possible, so you shouldn’t even think about opposing it."
Julietta protested with astonishment to hear that the engagement date was next week. "It’s too fast. People will be gossiping!"
"It doesn’t matter."
’Yes, it does. You don’t care about that.’ Julietta was about to complain, but she gave up. He decided to do it, and she wondered who could stop him. The date was not important anyway, so there was no particular reason to stop him. She quickly adapted to the reality with the mindset that she had learned as a maid.
Killian laughed as he looked at her mouth working, saying nothing and nodding as if she had told him to do as he pleased.
"I thought it would be better to have the engagement and wedding ceremonies done with as soon as possible, so I proceeded without consultation, but I promise I’ll discuss everything with you next time."
Julietta jumped up from her seat as her heart bounced slightly at the sight of Killian smiling, as if he was looking forward to a quick union with her.
She tilted her head, her heart throbbing. She didn’t know why her heart was beating so fast. What was more, he looked cute when he was showing that nasty thought all over his face. It seemed like the effects of a nonstop trip to Tilia were quite great.
"Well, well, then I’ll go back to the Kiellini mansion. I have to prepare for the engagement ceremony that’s just around the corner, and I think I’m going to be busy."
"Are you not going to Vicern?"
"I’ll go with Count Adam next time. We decided to go check out the site for the Vicern branch of Raefany’s."
Killian’s well-extended eyebrows rose in disapproval at Julietta’s answer. "I think we can go together after the engagement ceremony. I also want to confirm the location of the new branch."
------
Paulo walked through the hall of the grand Kiellini mansion, recalling what had happened a few days ago.
After a short break from morning treatment, Marquis Anais came to him and offered him an empty poison bottle. "The troupe leader of the Eileen Theater asked me to visit you. I heard you treated the girl in the dressing shop on Eloz Street. I heard that you had doubts about her hair turning white; here’s the poison that the girl took."
Paulo took the bottle and glanced at the nobleman in front of him. "You are Your Excellency Marquis Anais." He bowed deeply in front of the Marquis, who looked much like the late Duchess of Kiellini.
"Do you know me?"
Paulo shook his head at his puzzled question. "No, I treated the Duchess of Kiellini for a while before. You look a lot like the Duchess, so I pretended to know you. I’m sorry."
"That’s fine. Your keen eyes would have been a threat to me a while ago, but I don’t care now."
Not long after their secret meeting, Prince Killian had overpowered the Duke of Kiellini. Later, he thought his greatest enemy, the Duke, was powerless to use his strength, so he did not need to investigate the ingredients of the poison, but Maribel had a different opinion. The letter which arrived yesterday with an invitation from the Eileen Theater urged an investigation of the ingredients of the poison.
Marquis Anais silently watched the doctor without a word, who looked at and smelled the contents at the bottom of the finger-sized bottle. The letter which Maribel sent said that he should go meet Paulo, and contained a story about a young lady named Phoebe Julietta had saved.
"Did Katarina, my sister, get poisoned, too?" With the compressed content in the letter alone, he simply related the current matter to the old one and asked.
"Yes. If I analyze this poison, I’ll be sure it’s the same one."
"There’s a common characteristic in that her hair turned white. Isn’t it the same poison?"
Paulo accepted the words of the Marquis. "It smells like the same poison, but I’ll still have to investigate. The only reason you brought me this poison isn’t to ask me to reveal what the poison is, correct?"
"That’s right. I’ve heard it’s a poison with no symptoms, other than white hair. She said they couldn’t find any symptoms of poisoning in the dead."
"Yes, that’s right."
"Can you make an antidote?"
"It’s not going to be easy. I’ve been working on it for decades, but I haven’t succeeded. In fact, it’s better to say that I couldn’t make the poison and so I couldn’t make the antidote."
He experimented with the mix of laya and bltia leaves in the same amounts the maid of the Kiellini mansion used, but the results were not significant. It had no symptoms except the headache and dullness of mind, even if he brewed it in one way or another. Dr. Paulo was frustrated that he could not find anything at all, except for a slight hallucination.
There must have been something else besides blending the laya and bltia leaves together. Thinking he should see the girl who had survived the poison again, Dr. Paulo told the waiting Marquis, "I can’t say anything about the poison because I can’t guarantee it. But if I find out something, where should I contact you?"
After a moment’s hesitation, the Marquis of Anais answered, "Speak directly with the troupe leader of the Eileen Theater," and then left the doctor’s plain clinic.
After the Marquis departed, Dr. Paulo closed the door immediately and went to the Chartreu Dressing Shop to find the lady. But the girl had followed Princess Kiellini to the Kiellini mansion and he couldn’t meet her. Finally, he left a message that they should contact him when the lady came to the dressing shop.
------
In the next few days, Dr. Paulo was still studying the poison, and received a letter from Princess Kiellini, asking him to visit the Kiellini mansion. He quietly went to meet Phoebe.
Jane became the new Julietta’s maid, taking a close look at the people who visited the princess and sitting around the table as she served the tea. It was strange to bring in a doctor from outside, as there was a family doctor in the mansion. She wanted to listen, so she waited served the tea slowly, but they kept their mouths shut.
"Now that you’re done, go out." As she waited in the corner without leaving, she was ordered to exit the room.
Jane felt even more suspicious when she thought they were more wary of her than necessary, even though a doctor just visited. At this point, she clearly thought there was something going on.
Jane remembered that Lady Anais, whom she met not long ago, asked her if she had found out anything. She regretted having put her foot in this matter because of the good pay, but it was too late. The moment she said that she would quit, she would be found dead on the outskirts of the capital.
She left the room and looked around the hall with the door slightly less closed. There was no one in the hallway on the third floor where the princess lived. When she confirmed it, she listened to the conversation beyond the unclosed door.
"How’s your leg? Are you still sick?"
She heard a woman, the princess’ companion, answering the doctor’s questions.
"Yes, it’s okay. It’s all right now. I’ve been taking fewer painkillers lately," Phoebe answered with a smile.
"It’s a relief. I was worried that taking dureng roots in the long term could seriously hurt your digestive system."
"Oh, that’s why I felt sick and nauseous after taking the painkillers they gave me. I think Sophie’s painkillers work better for me."