How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending

Tristan frowned slightly and asked, “Are you suggesting that we test an unverified antidote on the Crown Prince’s son?”

“That’s…”

I was at a loss for words. Before I could respond, the nanny interrupted sharply.

“Your Grace, have you suddenly become a physician? Your Grace, there’s no need to listen to such nonsense. She’s trying to harm His Highness Constantine. You mustn’t even pretend to entertain her!”

Tristan’s gaze turned toward the nanny. The coldness in his eyes made her plump shoulders flinch.

Then, the knights standing behind me spoke in harsh voices.

“Your Grace, His Highness Constantine is growing uneasy.”

“The Grand Consort’s conduct is disrespectful, Your Grace.”

The nanny regained her confidence at their words and shouted triumphantly,

“Poisoning, you say? Are you accusing the Grand Duke’s household? How long has it even been since he was released from the underground prison?”

Her tone was as if I had committed treason. The mention of the underground prison made me stiffen. I had only just begun to rebuild a little goodwill, and now it seemed I was about to be thrown into that cold cell again. Maybe I should have just stayed quiet…

“Escort the Grand Consort back to his chambers.”

Tristan’s deep voice rang out. The knights twitched their brows in dissatisfaction, but soon straightened and gave a formal salute.

❖ ❖ ❖

I ended up being half-confined to my quarters. I was supposed to live quietly, get divorced peacefully, and escape, yet everything kept going wrong from the very beginning.

Tristan hadn’t ordered a formal confinement, but leaving my room now felt impossible. Still, I was lucky not to be back in that freezing underground prison.

“Ahh… ah, ngh…!”

From across the hallway, the boy’s pained cries could still be heard. He had been relatively quiet before, but the symptoms seemed to have worsened over the past few days. Growing anxious, I stared at the door.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally decided to go to Constantine’s bedchamber.

As I stepped inside, I saw a faint candle flickering in the dim room. Nearby, Constantine was curled up tightly, swallowing his sobs alone.

How could they leave such a sick child alone in bed like this? I looked around just in case, but there was no one else in sight. I quickly approached him.

“Con… His Highness the Crown Prince’s son.”

I almost called his name before correcting myself. Constantine lifted his tear-soaked face.

The small, frail boy had the same black hair and blue eyes as his uncle, Tristan. He looked at me with frightened, tearful eyes, trying to hold back his sobs. The sight was pitiful.

Constantine weakly tried to push me away with his tiny hands.

“What are you doing here? Get out! Y-you witch!”

“…”

Once again, I faced the consequences of Ruellin’s past actions. Judging by how terrified he was, the original Ruellin must have been quite harsh toward him. His round eyes were filled with fear and suspicion.

But perhaps because of his high fever, his body soon wavered, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

“Constantine!”

I rushed forward and carefully gathered his small body into my arms. After a brief struggle, he went limp against me. His pale face was drenched in cold sweat, and his breathing came in ragged gasps.

I held him tighter. The child looked up at me with wet, trembling eyes.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Don’t be scared. I won’t do anything to you.”

There was no time to observe proper etiquette toward the Crown Prince’s son. I tried to soothe him as best I could, but he only kept shaking his head.

“Liar… hic… liar…”

“I mean it. You’re this sick, what could I possibly do to you?”

If it had been the original Ruellin, he probably would have snapped back cruelly.

Constantine flailed his thin arms and legs again, trying to push me away, but there was no strength behind his movements. It was only pitiful to watch.

I silently patted the trembling boy in my arms. I felt him flinch slightly, startled by the gesture, but soon he grew weak again, sniffling faintly as his body went limp.

I didn’t know how much time had passed.

Eventually, Constantine’s small body relaxed completely in my arms.