- Within Elisabeth's room when she collapsed -

A towering man’s shadow quickly draped across the young lady’s immobile body. His eyes, hidden with a black mesh, became unveiled when he rushed by Lady Carabell’s side. The mysterious figure’s eyes were let unleashed, pulsing a glowing red. It partially illuminated the dim room, where only a bit of light trickled in from the windows, where the lamp’s brightness only revealed where the girl sat, shockingly studying away diligently.

Garrod most certainly did not sign up for babysitting this spoiled noble girl, but as they say, it’s just his duty and nothing more.

Donning a black cloak with a hood that slipped down from his head, the knight exposed himself to rummage for something within his pouches. Garrod swiftly slipped out a small glass bottle from inside his cape. He popped the cork out with his gloved fingers. Then, he carefully fed the young lady with the concoction. He tilted the bottle ever so slightly so as not to pour its contents sloppily on her clothing and her face. Her pink and soft lips gently touched the tip of the bottle as he parted her lips apart, and the clear and sweet medicine flowed down into her mouth slowly.

Meanwhile…

“Are you kidding me? Shouldn’t you know your drink was spiked with cyanide? Princess, you’re losing your touch.” The knight cursed Elisabeth after feeding her the liquid within the miniature bottle.

There was no reason for a girl with abnormally extensive knowledge in poisonous substances to suddenly collapse by her own craft. It was unthinkable! You’d think that her recent poisoning attempt would have refreshed her mind about the details of common toxins.

Lady Carabell isn’t that dumb.

Garrod knew that too well. Unlike others, he observed Lady Carabell with something more than the puppets the nobles used to watch her.

He observed her in person, hiding within shadows and accessing private properties. All of which could have possibly had him lose his life. To keep from being caught by one of the Carabells’ trained knights, he kept his movements as elusive as a fox. Rarely did he ever let himself be seen in plain sight like this.

At first, he thought this might have been some mistake. There’s no way she actually drank cyanide, knowing that it could kill her. He kept telling himself that until she lost footing and fell to the floor with an audible thud to finish off. Unfortunately, the knight wasn’t able to catch her with his late reaction. To sum it all up, she ended up with a decent lump on her head. The knight unenthusiastically had to lug the noble girl onto her bed. Leaning over her body, Garrod touched the bruising area on her forehead gingerly.

“What stupid girl would voluntarily feed herself with lethal poison?!” Garrod scoffed and crossed his arms in disbelief.

The door swung open, and a maiden in a slightly dirtied maid outfit appeared from its crack. She stood by the doorway and gasped sharply. In her hands was a tray of small butter cookies, some rounded, some squared. A few of them looked to be filled with some red jam. Her eyes tentatively darted from Garrod to Elisabeth.

“My Lady!” Teresa shouted, dropping the tray with a clatter.

The cookies fell to their demise, scattering around the floor. Her feet pivoted, and she ran by her young lady’s side.

No! The cookies! How could you…!

The knight was craving something to eat, his mouth watered with the idea of tasting one of those beautifully made cookies. It was a shame they had to go to waste like that.

When the maid approached, the knight immediately bowed to greet her, shaking off the thought of snatching one of those fallen treats to snack on.

What else could he possibly do? If he ran, it would seem as if he was guilty. He would much rather not receive a scolding from the crown prince.

This is just not good.

“Oh my...Lady Carabell!” The maid patted the cheeks and touched the forehead of the unconscious girl. Then, she whipped her head up to look at the knight. Teresa gasped sharply, barely restraining the surprise that exuded from her face. “Sir Garrod, how are you...how are you here?”

When she met the knight’s vermilion eyes, the pupils of her chocolate eyes dilated. She couldn’t break contact, and it seemed as if her mind became fixated on them. She suddenly rushed to fix her messy dark hair and adjust her wrinkled uniform. It’s as if she forgot about Lady Carabell’s existence and only cared about how presentable she was in front of the handsome man with the devil-like eyes.

“Don’t worry, she’s fine. I always keep poison antidotes with me.” Garrod’s voice barely cut through her mind. The words simply hit her like a dummy and drooped off miserably.

“Mhm…” Teresa mumbled absentmindedly.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and the knight broke it with a sigh. “Oh...I forgot.” Garrod wrapped his eyes with the black mesh once more, securing it behind his head by tying a tight knot. These devil eyes were always a pain for him.

When are they never? Honestly...

As long as a female-born person catches clear sight of his eyes, it’s almost certain that they will become mesmerized and find an abnormal obsession with him. It’s quite like how sirens attract men with their singing. In Garrod’s case, he attracts women just by gazing into their eyes.

It was odd that the last time he met Elisabeth face to face, she was unphased and highly uncomfortable. Recalling how much he wanted to tear apart Prince Patrick excited him that day, and he simply forgot about the importance of his famed mesh mask.

At least, it was famed in the eyes of the other noble ladies within his circle. They usually swooned over how he seemed so mystifying and attractive with his face half-concealed. However, he never paid them much thought since his mind was always caught on the only princess of Lotte. For the first time in his life, he met a lady incapable of reciprocating his affection once his eyes laid sight. It wasn’t the thought of pursuing her that made his veins pump with adrenaline, but how much she seemed to warm his heart so easily just by laughing.

Instantly, Teresa snapped back to attention, showing more concern for the young lady than the reason why the knight could possibly be in her lady’s room. If Garrod were her, he would attack the uninvited guest first, and then check if Elisabeth is okay. To the contrary of Teresa’s reaction, she’s not dead and is clearly peacefully sleeping. Her chest rose softly, and her breath was like a soothing hum. Despite this, the anxious maid held the girl’s hand in desperateness.

In the knight’s mind, this scene was unusually odd. Never had he seen someone so concerned for the Carabell’s lowlife.

“She’s poisoned?! How could that be? She’s…” Teresa stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed how Garrod raised an eyebrow with suspicion. “Did you, perhaps, poison my lady?” Teresa questioned the knight.

A smirk spread widely across Garrod’s face. He restricted himself from bursting into a laughing fit.

Him? Poison Lady Carabell? Does she think he actually cares about the existence of Elisabeth Madeline Carabell?

“Hmm, do you think so? You’re aware, I assume?” Garrod returned, watching the lady peacefully rest on her bed.

“Aware? Well, she couldn’t possibly have drunk it knowingly!” The maid gasped and covered her mouth. “I...I just didn’t think she would be so vulnerable to such things since she has had multiple attempted poisonings previously. I was sure I checked everything she brought back from the academy to make sure she wouldn’t be in harm’s way. That’s why you must be the one who poisoned her!”

Garrod hid another mischievous snicker with his gloved hand. The maid was frenzied, running through her memory, checking what could have been toxic despite her adamant claim.

Could this maid possibly care for the notorious Elisabeth Madeline Carabell?

“We both know she is not innocent, but I’m in no rush to spout this nonsense to the king. I work for Prince Caydel, not Lady Lancaster,” Garrod reminded her.

The statement made her shudder, and her hands twiddled to keep herself from saying something that could put the young noble in danger. Teresa nervously glanced back up to look at the knight.

“Should I report this incident to Duke Carabell, Sir Garrod, or does Prince Caydel request that this issue be silent?” Teresa questioned him cautiously.

“You pick your poison, missy. It doesn’t matter to me,” the knight said lackadaisically. “Do you think I came because of Prince Caydel?”

“No...no...not at all! I only know that you are the crown prince’s right-hand man. Who else could you have come from?” Teresa asked boldly.

The knight chuckled ominously. “Another time for this conversation, I suppose? Make sure she is hydrated...with normal water. I’d suggest disposing of the tea quickly. It’s—“

“Cyanide, I’m sure of it,” Teresa interrupted.

The maid’s brazen attitude entertained Garrod. “You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“No, no, it’s…” Teresa stuttered. “I overheard some people speak of it. I just made an educated guess—“

“And I didn’t know that the Carabell maids were being educated.” The words rang in Teresa’s ears.

That’s right.

Normal maids weren’t supposed to know anything but chores and cooking. That’s how things should have been in the Carabell Estate, but ever since Lady Carabell stopped doing her schoolwork at a young age, teen Teresa took the opportunity to complete the studies herself. Using this method, she would be able to be educated enough to leave the estate as an adult and finally be free from her life of slaving away for superiors. It was past time for her to throw away this exhausting job. Teresa was nearing the age of thirty.

Before she could say something about her suspicious knowledge, Garrod placed the small bottle on the nightstand by Lady Carabell’s bed and shushed the maid.

The knight turned his heel, pulling the mesh down a bit to let his eyes flash an intense ruby glow. The luminosity blinded the unsuspecting maid. Shielding her face with her arm, she failed to realize that the knight had taken the chance to escape. All that was left was the bottle he placed on Elisabeth’s bedside. When Teresa turned around to scan the lavishly decorated room for his presence, only the missing cookies seemed to suggest that someone had been here. She rushed to pick the tray up and brush some of the crumbs onto it.

She’d much rather become a teacher at a school than clean after nobles and others alike like this. That’s, at least, how she wanted things to go. Her interest in learning had diminished once she saw that her lady had begun to become substantially more responsible. Teresa wouldn’t mind continuing to serve her lady as long as she remains as gentle and kind as she is now. And, she wouldn’t have to leave Jillian alone in this estate.

Being alone is worse than being surrounded by people who couldn’t care less for you. She decided that once Jillian is free from her debt, she would bring her along with her.

“Teresa.” The man’s authoritative voice boomed, and she didn’t flinch even a little.

Instead, she rose quietly and curtsied to the duke with ease. She had already seen her lady collapsed on the bed and the Red Demon Knight gazing over her in a matter of minutes, could the presence of the duke be any more shocking?

“Elisabeth is still sleeping? Ridiculous! How could she be my daughter if she never studies hard nor puts an ounce of effort into anything she does? The academy debutante ball is tomorrow! Every single time she disappoints me with her lax and uncaring attitude.” Duke Carabell proceeded to approach the canopy bed, but Teresa wedged herself between him and her lady.

“I’m sorry, please do not disturb Lady Carabell. She had fainted from overwork. I moved her to her bed for her to rest,” Teresa explained quickly.

The duke glared at the maid, who was substantially shorter than him. “Overwork?”

“Yes, my lord, you may see her studies completed on her desk.” Teresa slowly reached to grab a finished problem set, being careful not to incite his rage. “I have not done any writing nor mathematics for her. You can see that it is all not my handwriting and that her hands are stained with ink.”

“Is that so?” Duke Carabell softly asked as he pushed his golden-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. Teresa held out the paper for him to take. The aging man checked the work briefly before handing it back to Teresa. “I see she has improved.”

His evergreen eyes appeared gentler after he looked at the work. When he glanced at Elisabeth and her ink-stained fingers, the wrinkled forehead he had seemed more relaxed, and its crevices smoothed. Without a single word to Teresa, he left the room, closing the door carefully. Throwing out a heavy sigh, she stooped back down to check for more cookie crumbs.

“It’s funny…” Teresa whispered. “I think I’m beginning to care for Elisabeth.”