Chapter 22: Chapter 21

Earlier when she woke up in the morning, she had pretended to have taken her medicine and hid it in her negligee’s sleeve. Then, when she changed into a new negligee, she moved it into the new one’s sleeve and hid it. If the medicine came out in Kaiden’s room, she’d be caught not taking it.

“Lina!”

“Ugh…”

“Call the palace doctor!”

Kaiden covered his mouth and leaned down, checking trembling Evelina’s face.

“What are you doing, not coming as fast as possible?”

He shouted very hard, voice sounding like a thud.

“Ugh!”

She vomited blood again, and Kaiden hardened in surprise.

“Lina, didn’t you take your medicine?”

Evelina couldn’t see his expression well because of her tears. However, what she saw was that even in her blurred vision, his red eyes were clearly fluttering.

“Ugh…”

She was in no condition to say anything. The blood kept coming out, and she felt as if she was going to spit it out every time she felt nauseous. Her nose hurt so much, but her head was dizzy as she was bleeding from her nose.

“Lina!”

Evelina fainted at that moment.

It’s clear that the drug is really the problem. She thought so.

She started taking the medicine, then stopped taking it, so these symptoms came.

~~~~

“It’s pathetic.”

Evelina heard this as soon as she woke up. She tried to see who was around her, but of all things, her eyes met that person.

“Your Majesty the Dowager Empress…”

“I came here because I heard you collapsed while eating.”

Evelina looked around to see if there was anyone but Dowager Empress Isabella. But there was no one else around, except for one lady-in-waiting of the Dowager Empress.

The maid was fanning the Dowager Empress next to her, and Evelina didn’t feel so good when she saw her eyes looking down at her.

“You suddenly collapsed but you look fine.”

Evelina sighed soon after thinking about closing her eyes again because she didn’t want to answer. Then she smiled and answered.

“What brings you to such a shabby place?”

“Huh. Didn’t I say I came because I was worried? You don’t have anything in your head, so your memory is terrible!”

Evelina knew that the Dowager Empress would suffer from dementia in the future, so she wasn’t too hurt by the words.

“I’m fine, so I think you can go now.”

“How dare you drive me away!”

“I said that because the Dowager Empress was more worried than me.”

Evelina had complicated thoughts. At the same time, she didn’t know what she had to do in the complex situation. She was reminded that she had about three weeks to live.

It was obvious that her father would be purged after she died if she was stupid like this. She became an Empress with some determination. Nothing else, but she couldn’t let her parents suffer.

Therefore, Evelina was never going to die easily like this.

“I heard that the Dowager Empress also has a bad memory these days.”

“Who says that!”

“Oh, I said it without realizing it.”

Evelina thought the guards outside would hear if she made the Dowager Empress even angrier. This was not her bedroom, it was the Emperor’s bedroom.

“Who do you think I heard from, Dowager Empress?”

“What did that foxy little girl say?”

So that was Evelina’s plan. The Dowager Empress and Princess Elsius were bitter enemies that could never get close. The mother of Princess Elsius was not an official Empress, but a concubine. She was the concubine that helped lead to Empress Rayson’s death.

“Well, I have a terrible headache.”

That’s why the two coveted Evelina. Regardless of Kaiden, it will be easier to control Kaiden only if they led Evelina, who was now Empress, to their side.

They were not unaware of the atrocities the Marquis of Logias had done to Kaiden. However, Evelina didn’t know what Kaiden’s intentions were, but seeing him trying to look good to her, and leaving her family alone without killing her on purpose, he must have thought that she would be of use, and showed his obsession.

If she wanted to live a smooth life as Kaiden’s Empress, she would have abandoned her family and both would have tried to be nice to her. They wouldn’t try to bully her through gaslighting her like they were now.

“Can’t you tell me!”

“I can’t say. How can I say what I decided to keep a secret? But…”

As Evelina made such a pause as if she was spilling something, the Dowager Empress closed her mouth tightly and stared at her.

“I heard that Your Majesty’s mother died from a memory loss disease.”

That was what Evelina said when she thought of the original.

“How dare you.”

The Empress looked at Evelina with a solemn face, trembling.

“Of course, I didn’t want to believe it because it was Your Majesty, the eldest adult of the royal family.”

“Do you believe such nonsense!”

“No, I just said it out of concern.”

Evelina frowned at the sudden dizziness. She was lying down, but the sky seemed to be spinning.

“You know what? His Majesty gave me {Tears of a Mermaid}.”

“What? I don’t think it’s a jewel for the Empress.”

When the Dowager Empress said so as if embarrassed, Evelina smiled. Then the Dowager Empress frowned and said,

“Did Kaiden really give you {Tears of a Mermaid}?”

“Yes. We were together last night.”

“Huh.”

The Dowager Empress rolled her eyes as if thinking about the words. Disgraceful Elsius who insulted her. If it were Princess Elsius, she would have left it. Besides, didn’t he make the same excuse and call for Empress Evelina every time?

Maybe. Maybe Empress Evelina liked Kaiden more than she thought? So what if the daughter of the enemy who killed his mother pretended not to know?

Then there is no better marionette to control the Emperor than this. After completing her calculations, the Dowager Empress raised her chin and said,

“I want to see if it’s really {Tears of a Mermaid}.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll wear it and go to the Dowager Empress’ Palace.”

“Hmm. Tomorrow is the day I’m going to go boating.”

The Dowager Empress laughed, thinking that it was a wonderful coincidence that the date would happen like that.

“If you come there, I’ll forgive you for the ugliness you’ve shown so far.”

“Thank you, Dowager Empress.”

“Well, yes. Then I’ll go now.”

The Dowager Empress was going to swear more at Elsius, but she turned around and left because she did not intend to say anything useless to Evelina, who was still clearly unreliable.

As the Dowager Empress went out, Evelina smiled and clutched the sheets tightly in dizziness.

“Ha.”

In that way, she ran out of energy against the Dowager Empress and was unable to get out of bed.

~~~~

“You have to take your medicine properly.”

Evelina nodded when she saw that Kaiden, who did not return to the bedroom that day, showed up in the morning.

She suspected that it was because of Kaiden that she would die soon. In the original, she dies of a heart attack a month later on July 7. There was a little more than 3 weeks left.

When she stopped taking the medicine he gave her yesterday, she vomited blood and had a nosebleed. There was no way that stopping her heart disease medicine would have these side effects. She had forgotten the medicine she had been taking since she was very young several times, but she didn’t never got sick because of missing a day.

“Are you here to give me medicine?”

“Yes.”

Evelina seemed to know when he said so.

The reason why he’s nice to her. He had to be nice so that she didn’t doubt him and take all of the medicine.

Realizing that she couldn’t even throw away the medicine now, she thought she’d rather make a way to save her family in the remaining three weeks.

“Kaiden.”

“Yes.”

“I’m so glad you came.”

She also thought it was suspicious that he wouldn’t question her for not taking medicine yesterday. She wasn’t going to bring up anything he didn’t bring up first. She had her end set for her. Life in the palace was not so pleasant for Evelina at least for a long time.

“Lina.”

Kaiden embraced Evelina at her words. She thought he was such a great performer. Otherwise she thought the sound of his heart in her ear was so ridiculous.

She couldn’t shake his arm even though it was itchy because her ears touched it.

“From now on, I’ll be with you every time Lina needs to take her medicine.”

“I know that Kaiden is busy. I will properly take it without making a mistake from now on.”

Then he relaxed his arm and looked at her face.

“I’ll make sure to make time, too. I want to come to see your face at least once a day. Or how about sharing a room?”

“What? This room?”

“Yes.”

She was confused by the look on Kaiden’s face as if he really meant it in a pure way, but she knew he wasn’t that kind of person.

“Oh, we can do that when we have children.”

“Child… yes. Yes, that’s fine.”

Kaiden’s ears were red, and she wasn’t as confused as before.

All he wants is her life. The good news is that she knew when her end would be.

“Let’s eat together since we’re here. That happened yesterday… I’m sorry, Kaiden.”

“No, let’s eat together every day from now on.”

“I thought Kaiden would be too busy.”

“I won’t be busy.”

Evelina said with a smile that he was stronger than she thought.

“Yes, of course. It’s so nice… Yes. Very.”

“For me too.”

So he was about to lead her hand to the terrace.

– Knock knock.

“What’s going on?”

“Here comes Her Highness, Princess Elsius.”

“Tell her to come in.”

Kaiden said sourly, hiding Evelina in his bed behind her, staring at the door.

“What’s going on?”

As soon as the door opened, what was seen was a splendidly decorated Princess Elsius.

“I thought the Dowager Empress was going to bully my sister-in-law again. Why don’t the three of us go boating during the day?”

As soon as Elsius came, she was smiling, telling the truth. Evelina laughed, too. Elsius came here to check on the Empress too.