“I understand, Your Majesty. I promise we’ll finish things as soon as possible,” Fred said, nodding. “Our priority is that you hang in there for a little longer. Soon you’ll have a healthy young body and can continue your work for the nation.“You must be patient and trust me until then, okay?” Fred stressed again.The queen nodded. “Yes, of course. I’m a little tired now.”“Ah, yes. You need your rest, Your Majesty. You shouldn’t have come here in the first place,” Immediately after, he turned to the guards and shouted, “Take the queen back to rest!”Once again, Lily was alone with Fred. The latter gazed after the queen and slowly turned to look at Lily spitefully, cursing, “You fucking bitch!”He tried slapping Lily. However, he forgot Lily was good at combat. She seized his wrist and twisted his arm behind him, causing him to scream in pain. Alarmed, the guards outside stormed in and pointed their guns at her.Lily remained unfazed as she glanced around and chuckled coldly, “D
Fred screamed in pain, and the guards immediately closed in on Lily. Still, none dared to shoot her. After a momentary silence, someone shouted, “Let the duke go!”Lily glared disdainfully at the guards, saying, “Bring my babies to me if you want your duke to live!”“Nobody moves!” Fred thundered, despite the pain, “I’d rather die serving Her Majesty.”After taking a breath, he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t let this woman go and kill her children if necessary!”“Don’t you dare!” Alarmed, Lily applied more pressure and twisted Fred’s arm further.Fred groaned and refused to yield as sweat flowed down his face. “I’m nothing compared to Her Majesty’s grand plans for the nation! Lily, you won’t be able to leave here alive even if you kill me!”He glanced sideways at Lily as he spoke.Lily did not know what to do next. She knew she would be gambling as Fred was since they were at a standstill. Nonetheless, there was no way she could kill him because she had to think about her ch
Lily knew Fred was right and that they would remain in the standoff if she did not let him go. Moreover, Fred refused to yield, and his men might shoot Lily or her babies if things dragged on.Still, she did not let him go so quickly. “Since I broke your arm, what if you hurt my children after I release you?”“Believe me, I wanted to,” Fred said, nodding. He kept gasping in pain as his eyes were full of hatred. “However, I know it won’t do me any good. You won’t mind getting hurt to get back at me if I lay a finger on your children.”After a pause, he continued through clenched teeth, “Don’t worry. I promise to never take it out on your children. I’ll settle our score in the future, but not now, alright?” However, Lily could not simply take his word for it, so she pulled him up and gripped his cheeks, forcing his mouth open.“What are you—” Before he could finish, he felt Lily stuffing something into his mouth, and it slid down his throat. After confirming that he had swallowed t
Lily spoke calmly, as if she controlled everything, “Don’t worry. The poison won’t take effect immediately. You have one week. If you can get someone to neutralize it soon enough, you don’t need to bother about me.”Fred was unsure if he should believe her. After all, she could not have created a poison under his nose. Also, she could not have carried it with her through the transit points.‘But what else could I have swallowed if it weren’t poison? If it is, then where did she get it?’With that thought in mind, he became worried.Lily smiled as if she had read his mind. She said casually, “If you must know, I’ve interacted with many doctors and nurses during my time here. Do you honestly think I couldn’t have swiped some drugs from them? Do you think I couldn’t make something out of whatever I took?”Fred remained silent, but his wavering eyes made it apparent that he believed her. He had to admit that what Lily said could be true. Furthermore, he had witnessed what she had acco
Fred stood there and palmed his throat while moving his neck. He coughed twice, then swallowed a few times, feeling the discomfort in his stomach.He felt something was wrong as a stinging and numbing sensation spread across his body. His limbs also had no strength, and even his vision seemed blurry. He shook his head vigorously and convinced himself he was just imagining things and that Lily must have lied about the poison.‘Still, I feel uncomfortable. Damn it!’Fred punched the wall, angry at himself for letting something like that happen. He thought he had everything under control, and Lily would never dare do anything to him, nor would she have a chance to do so.However, he had underestimated her. He never expected her to sneak attack him or even secretly create a poison after being held captive for so long.‘My damn arm is hurt, too!’Fred looked at his dangling arm and grew furious. Since his arm had become numb due to extreme pain, he almost forgot that she had broken it
Fred woke up in pain, yelping as his eyes snapped open. He wanted to move his arms but could not. Turning his head, he saw several people holding his arms and legs down.Some noticed he was awake and said, “Sorry about this, Your Grace. I must do this to fix your arm.”The pain caused Fred to stay wide awake. He glanced at the wall clock and then the doctor, asking, “How much longer?”"About 30 minutes," the doctor replied as he carefully applied the splint to Fred’s arm.“Is it broken? Can you save my arm?” That was what Fred cared about most.The doctor shook his head. “Your Grace, you didn’t exactly break your arm. However, it is dislocated.”“Dislocated?”“A unique force somehow dislocated your arm at the joint without damaging the bone. Still, I must apply a splint and properly bandage it. It’s best not to use your arm for some time after I finish, okay?" The doctor explained with a frown while applying the splint.“Hey, why are you applying the splint if it's not broken?”
Fred recalled what Lily did when he spied on her and asked, “Can’t you just feel my wrist and tell me if I’m poisoned?”The doctor answered calmly, “You’re talking about checking your wrist pulse, huh? I’m sorry, I’ve never undergone such training before. However, I am interested in learning about it. I tried before, but I couldn’t master it.”The doctor looked regretful while Fred rolled his eyes.When the doctor finished drawing blood, Fred held a piece of sterile cotton against his vein and stood up. “How long will it take to know the results?”“About 30 minutes.”“30 minutes again?” Fred gritted his teeth and glared at the doctor. “Fine, I’ll give you 30 minutes! Report to me once the results are out, got it?”‘If the analysis indicates that I’m not poisoned, I’ll make Lily pay for this!’As he was leaving, someone stumbled in. “Your Grace, those men have started sanitizing the embassy!”“What?!” Fred widened his eyes in disbelief. “How dare they do it without my permission
“Fred,” a low voice came through the phone.Fred answered, “Yes?”“Let them do it.”Fred widened his eyes and subconsciously glanced over his shoulder. The man in the hazmat remained standing there, seemingly waiting for his answer.Fred walked away a few steps and lowered his voice. “Your Majesty, you know what they’re up to. They aren’t here to disinfect the embassy. They are here to—"“Find someone, right?” The queen interrupted.“You knew, yet you…” Fred was puzzled. He thought the queen did not know what the men in hazmat suits were up to. However, she knew, and he wondered why she would let them in.‘If they do, wouldn’t they…’“Fred, you must know this is the embassy, not the Royal Palace of Yudonia. How many times can you turn them away? They will keep coming back.” The queen paused momentarily, then said, “Just let them do whatever they want.“They’ll only give up after conducting a thorough search, and they’ll have no more excuses next time.”Fred nodded. “Yes, Your