It wasnt long before Oscar started his dinner with Ian and Laritte.

Crown Prince Oscars elegant hands in showing his table manners to match the manners of nobility.

He washed his hands with warm water in a wooden basin and wiped his mouth with a towel.

His methods were neat.

But Oscar didnt pay much attention to what he was doing.

Because his eyes were focused elsewhere.

Let me check if the water temperature is appropriate.

Its okay. Its not that hot.

Does the towel feel uncomfortable to your hands?

Ians concerned voice.

Oscar felt disturbed, so he spoke up.

Stop, Stop it! Ian!

The couple was sitting opposite him.

Ian, who was taking care of Laritte, blinked at Oscar as if he knew nothing.

Oscar could see how overprotective Ian was getting.

Whats the matter?

You put so much effort into it. The Duchess must be annoyed!

According to Oscar, this was nothing other than love.

I cant believe how you say you dont love her, though! Everything is so very obvious.

Laritte responded by wiping her mouth herself.

I know Im lazy, but I dont want him to do these things for me. He has been acting very weird lately.

Oscar knew Laritte would naturally agree.

Werent they friends?

Of course, Oscar was an old friend of Ian.

But, Ian wasnt such a strange person before.

It was amusing to see how the Duchess was unaware of Ians feelings, too.

Ian spoke up in his defense,

Your Highness doesnt know. Its getting hard to say how frequently Laritte is getting into small accidents these days.

The Crown Prince could not have known if the maids didnt even notice such things.

In the first place, it could not be stated as a conspiracy due to which Laritte was suddenly experiencing her bad luck.

As Ian continued to tend to Laritte, Oscar felt like he should have eaten alone.

I wanted to know more about how they had been doing.

At this rate, he was uncertain if his visit would end in a few days just with greeting the Duchess.

Before he knew it, dessert was presented at the table.

It was earl grey peach cupcakes.

The pickled peaches over the earl grey sheet were giving off a pleasant scent.

Ian used a spoon to taste Larittes cupcake first.

Its delicious and safe.

Ian wasnt worried about being poisoned.

He just didnt know how Larittes sudden bad luck would affect him.

Oscar shook his head at Ians behavior before he moved on from his grumpy state.

Meanwhile, Laritte began to eat her cupcake.

The taste was perfect. But after a while, her throat felt itchy.

Ian asked as Laritte coughed softly,

Are you thirsty? Here, have some water.

Thats not.. Cough!

Laritte put down the cutlery.

Something was stinging deep in her throat.

Somehow, it felt swollen inside her throat.

Cough! Cough!

Laritte panted as her lungs desperately started scrounging for air to breathe. Her pale skin turned paler if that was possible.

Ian jumped up from his chair as he felt something off.

Laritte?

Ian, I

Laritte also got up, staggering in the process.

She tried to say something but leaned against Ians arms as if she was going to collapse.

Laritte, is it because of the food?

Ian was unable to think straight.

It had been a long time since he was in a war zone.

He was also used to people dying in front of his eyes.

But now, everything felt too unfamiliar.

Why?

Laritte, Laritte!

His slightly trembling hands supported Larittes head.

Luckily, the other man present in the room was calm. Oscar directed the maids,

You, bring the cook here. Fast.

Then he turned to Ian,

Ian, is she allergic to peaches?

Ian had no problem eating the dessert.

Then there was only one possibility. It was an allergic reaction.

Ians eyes turned to the peach cupcake on the table.

She wasnt before.

It might be possible that she suddenly developed allergies.

Just in time, the chef arrived.

Do you keep stinging nettle in the kitchen?

Ah, we have some!

Boil it and prepare the juice so that its no longer toxic.

Oscar helped Ian to support Laritte.

Ian muttered,

Why. Why do these keep happening only to Laritte?

His heart was pounding against his chest.

No matter what the situation was, Ian was always strong enough to endure it.

But this time, he felt helpless.

Oscar soothed Ian,

The Duchess hasnt lost consciousness. Its just hard for her to breathe. Shell get better after she drinks the juice.

Like he said, Laritte felt much better after drinking the juice.

See. Now, we should let the Duchess rest in her room.

Ian carried Laritte to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed as his friend suggested.

Exhausted, she fell asleep.

Ian brought a chair to sit along the bedside.

He had a frustratingly tightening feeling weighing down his chest.

He stayed still for a long time before Oscars voice comforted him.

I think shes out of danger now. Thanks to you avoiding the tension, shell be fine in the future.

.Is she going to be okay?

Ian muttered as he placed his hand over the white blanket covering Laritte.

The finest blanket embroidered with golden threads was crumpled under his grip.

Laritte suffered from minor burns three days ago when a spark flew off the fireplace. Also, she slipped herself on a puddle even when there was no shower.

Ian gritted his teeth.

The day before yesterday, she was stung by a bee. That was nothing, compared to Larittes close encounter with death when Nabi dropped an ornament from the bookshelf. Yesterday, the ladder in the study, which had been intact the last time I checked, collapsed and fell next to her.

{N: Changing Butterflys name to Nabi, since it is used as an endearment for cats in Korea.}

Today, she almost lost consciousness due to a sudden allergy she certainly didnt have before.

The situation would have been three times worse if he hadnt stayed by Laritte throughout.

Oscar was able to understand his friends concerns a little.

I thought he was being too much, but it was worth worrying about.

You dont know if its just a coincidence or a joke God is making.

However, as Ian was so worried, Oscar was able to come up with a solution.

Ian, the reason the Empress allowed me to come here is because of the exchange meeting. You know, if you dont attend, my mother will feel humiliated.

But Oscar was not willing to persuade Ian. Ian also knew that.

I dont want to force you to attend the meeting. But know that you should also consider attending the meeting this time.

He didnt intend to carry out his mothers orders because he changed his mind.

Word is, we are going to host a fortune teller among the foreign participants.

They must have great talent to be invited. You used to receive only foreign company managers or lenders.

Thats true. They appear to have gained fame in the Mirnoan kingdom recently. If you attend, you will be able to show Laritte to that person.

Ian contemplated for a moment.

The reason was that Laritte was bothered by society.

However, if the present incidents continued to happen, Larittes life could be in danger.

In the end, he had no choice but to see the fortune teller.

Ill attend.

Mother will be pleased. Unfortunately.

Ian gently flickered his eyes to watch the sleeping face of Laritte.

He was determined to hear what the fortune teller had to say about the reason for her bad luck.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep