As I stare at Hill's carriage leaving the palace, my thoughts became slightly muddled at the information I've received.
Indeed. It is blasphemous. If the church and the emperor were to find out about it, things would get messy. But with my experience, I know such huge secrets won't be forever concealed. It will sooner or later come out of the shadows and it'll come back to bite you. The only way to protect Vance is to get him to become emperor,
and that is quickly. Before people find out about the secret.
"But pills that are able to suppress one's mana. And never in all my lives I've heard such a story," I mumbled. I recalled the conversation we had earlier.
'Not only that Lady Carina. But you know that suppressing one's mana is akin to suppressing one's life form development. The side effects are dire. For example, one could suffer from multiple personalities' Hill explained.
'Whatever could that mean? I've never heard of this!!!," I gritted my teeth.
Frigores. How dare you do this to Vance, a sweet and innocent man.
"The multiple personalities is resulted from suppressing the life form development. Imagine if your body could experience childhood and adulthood at the same time. Basically, your body physically ages with time but because the life form development is unstable, the mental state can go both ways, like it can go back in time sort of during childhood...though...it's just my theory," Hill sighed. "Lord Ares Hill, my ancestor, researched about mana as one's life form for sure, but he never addressed about withholding mana itself,".
My hands turned clammy at this piece of information. Hill is unaware where I got the pills from and who took it, but I knew exactly that Hill's theory may be correct.
It explained Vance's behaviour. But, revealing about this pill will put him and the whole people from Frigore, including Demetrius, in danger. And these pills defy the law of god itself because it was able to suppress mana and changes one's ability, which will catch the church's attention.
"Lady Carina," Hill placed his hand on top of mine, giving a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze. "I don't know where you got these pills from but...I beg of you to refrain from progressing further. The nature of these pills and the people behind it, they are not simple people,".
Indeed. Frigores are not simple people.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down. It's been awhile since I've been rattled like this, but I need to figure out a way quickly for Vance to ascend the throne and maybe, I could also travel to the north where the Frigores are to quickly figure out why he needs to take them.
"My lady!!," Emmy knocked on my door and rushed inside.
"T-The crown prince Hern is here!!,"
I widened my eyes in shock. For him to break the etiquette of unmarried men and women, does he have no shame? "Heh...no. He knew Lord Hill was here so he took this as an opportunity for him," I said. Even though I have the exact letter that Hill was here for business purpose. But this crown prince is indeed one of the most shameless people from the royal family she ever encountered. "Fine. Let's greet him downstairs,".
Emmy accompanied me to the guest room and when I opened the door, I saw our butler Hick serving the crown prince tea. "I greet the crown prince of the empire, Hern Jhilveid Wyrin von Astling,".
Hern, satisfied with my politeness, abruptly stood up and took my hand as he kissed it. "I am delighted to see you, Lady Carina von Aspera,".
"Please have a seat,".
Hern sat across me on the sofa. He gave me the usual gentle smile. But I of course know beneath his exterior is a scheming person. "Are you aware of what you're doing right now?," I confronted him.
Emmy who was behind me panicked a little. "M-my lady,".
Despite that, Hern laughed and was amused by it. "Even though someone else had the privilege of meeting you?,"
"We had business. There are letters to prove that. Your highness, however, don't,"
"I also have proof that Lord Caspian had been controlling the letters addressed to you," he refuted.
I smiled slightly. The crown prince is quite eloquent with his words. As expected, the biggest rival for Vance right now is him. He's no match for me though however, I wouldn't want to involve Caspian and father into this matter. Despite Aspera's tyrannical nature, I still wouldn't want to cause a scene at the moment, especially with bringing Vance to the throne. "I'll let this matter slide then. What business you have with me?,".
He smiled again. "You're the most perfect wife for me. You'll be fitting as the empress. Even mother empress agree,". I widened my eyes in shock. I feel like I knew where the direction of this conversation is going.
Emmy, too, was in a shocked state. We both know what we are up against. Sure, the noble etiquette stated that unmarried men should always have the utmost respect for unmarried women. This means that women can freely reject a proposal from men if they want to. However, it's a different story when the royal family proposed himself. If I reject him, it is equal to insult hence treason.
It's too early. I didn't expect this.
What should I do? As various thoughts came rushing in my mind, Hern asked me calmly, "what do you think?,"
"Heh? Me as the empress? You jest. I was dubbed the villainess of the society and I came from a tyrannical family. I wouldn't want to drag your pristine reputation down to the mud," I explained nervously.
No. I should've expected this. The crown prince is indeed a person full of manners. So rejecting his invitation again and again would deter him for a while. But I forgot that he is an ambitious man. He would do anything for things to get his way.
"I do not agree. You possess a temperament that is required of a mother of the empire. And you, yourself, both beauty and intelligence, is befitting to be my lifetime partner,".
But I couldn't hear him any more.
I can't fake sick. If I try to fake myself by fainting, the crown prince would sense that I am pretending because he holds the water element and is capable of detecting one's health. The only way to get out of this is to hurt myself. But something that he won't be aware of.
How? How can I do that?
I was reminded of the conversation I had with Hill earlier. Yes, mana. Is something like that even possible?
"My lady, will you ma-," but Hern paused when he saw I coughed blood.
"MY LADY!," Emmy shouted as I wipe the blood off from my lips.
"Luciel, Jared!! Call for the doctor immediately! I couldn't figure out what's wrong with her!," Hern shouted his orders as he caught me from falling to the ground.
I slowly lose consciousness. Releasing enormous amount of mana at once greatly cause stress on one's body. It's the perfect way to get out of this situation.
This is exactly what I wanted.