chapter 6
‘I should’ve realized this body was far weaker than Theodore’s.’
She fell gravely ill.
Crippling stomach pain, chills, and a burning fever wrapped around her so fiercely that she found herself wishing for death.
It felt as though Desdemona, wielding a drumstick, was mercilessly beating her without pause.
For days, Fiorentia suffered in a state where she could neither count the passing dates nor tell the time.
Had Desdemona not barged into the room one day to vent her frustration, she might truly have died there.
Fortunately, Desdemona still needed Fiorentia alive for the time being, so she summoned a doctor and forced fever medicine down her throat. Thanks to that, Fiorentia barely survived the crisis.
After enduring all of that, she was finally able to rise from her bed a week before Theodore infiltrated the estate and was imprisoned here.
And afterward, she gained the ability to cultivate poisonous mushrooms and manipulate their toxic energy.
In the original story, Theodore only discovered this method after he had nearly lost his sense of self completely.
If Fiorentia had not learned it first, he would have continued suffering the entire time he was imprisoned in the House of Marcella.
‘So it’s only right that I interfere.’
From now on, she would personally manage the pain Theodore had to endure.
Fiorentia intended to engineer a situation where Theodore would have no choice but to owe her.
Until she could help him escape, she had to keep him hidden from Desdemona’s eyes. Which meant she needed to bring Theodore as much as possible under her own protection.
‘Even if people call me cunning, I can’t help it.’
With her life on the line, who wouldn’t act this way?
Only by doing this could she increase the chances that, even if Theodore later returned to the House of Marcella for revenge, he might spare her life.
After taking a short breath to steady herself, Fiorentia looked back at Theodore.
The young man standing at the boundary between boyhood and adulthood lay there like a pitiful prince trapped in enchanted sleep.
“Make it stronger.”
At Fiorentia’s command, the poisonous mushrooms released a denser wave of toxic energy.
Soon, cold sweat began pouring from Theodore’s body.
“Ugh… ngh…”
A pained groan slipped from his lips.
Only now did the poisonous aura finally seem to be taking effect.
Fiorentia, who had been sweating nervously herself, finally let out a sigh of relief.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
She clenched her teeth inwardly as she encouraged him.
No matter what, suffering from poisonous mushroom toxins was far better than having his soul torn from his body by a dragon’s curse.
And this option would also make him far easier for her to control in the future.
Theodore writhed in agony as the two forces clashed violently inside his body.
He kept twisting and turning, and every movement made the chains binding his hands and feet rattle loudly.
Watching him, Fiorentia thought:
‘Good thing I had them chain him up.’
Right now, he was instinctively trying to escape the poisonous aura, but with his limbs restrained, his movements were limited.
If he had been free to roll around however he pleased, she would have suffered for it considerably.
Fiorentia could feel the balance between the opposing forces beginning to collapse.
Her side was gaining the upper hand.
By now, Theodore’s body must have been enduring unimaginable pain.
The stronger the poisonous energy that settled inside him became, the more agony he would feel.
But if it was Theodore Beringham, he would endure it.
“Survive somehow, Theodore.”
Fiorentia spoke quietly.
“I nearly died for your sake too.”
Had he heard her voice?
Theodore’s eyelids slowly lifted.
His blue eyes were clouded and unfocused.
“What… are you doing right now?”
Perhaps because of the fever rising through him, Theodore’s voice carried a rough metallic rasp.
The voice was so low and chilling it sent goosebumps across her skin, and for a moment Fiorentia felt overwhelmed.
Her mouth had gone dry, but after swallowing hard and calming herself, she answered evenly.
“I’m saving you.”
Theodore frowned inside the poisonous haze surrounding him.
“Bull… shit.”
“You may not believe it, but it’s true.”
Fiorentia replied indifferently.
She deliberately ignored the blue gaze fixed on her.
‘First, I need to drive out the curse doll’s poison.’
Filling Theodore’s body with the mushrooms’ toxic energy was the important part.
Only then could Fiorentia control his physical condition according to her own will.
Depending on the situation, she intended to remove or inject the poisonous aura inside Theodore’s body.
All of it was to deceive Desdemona.
Desdemona needed to believe Theodore was worthless.
‘Desdemona likes Theodore for two reasons.’
First, his appearance.
But that issue had already been partially resolved when Theodore bit Desdemona’s hand and earned her hatred.
‘That leaves only his value as an experiment subject.’
To make Desdemona give up on that, the fastest method was to show her Theodore failing to withstand the curse doll’s poison.
Once he became useless, she would quickly lose interest and discard him.
This might become her first and last chance, so Fiorentia gritted her teeth.
But the curse doll’s toxic energy stubbornly refused to leave Theodore’s body completely.
Fiorentia focused even harder to seize total control.
She still couldn’t manipulate her powers naturally, and soon beads of cold sweat formed across her forehead.
Watching her struggle, Theodore spoke coldly.
“Stop… doing creepy shit and untie me already.”
“And if I do? Can you even escape?”
“That’s… my… problem to solve…!”
“With that body? I doubt it.”
A sharp edge entered Fiorentia’s voice.
Theodore kept distracting her at a moment when she needed concentration.
Frustrated that she still couldn’t control the energy as she wished, she sighed before snapping back sharply.
“It’s true that I’m trying to save you. Believe it or not, that’s your choice—but could you stop interfering? You’re annoying.”
She looked down at Theodore with a sullen expression.
But she didn’t bother offering further explanations.
Eventually, once enough time passed and his body began feeling lighter, he would realize she had been telling the truth anyway. She had no intention of wasting more energy convincing him now.
Theodore stared at her as though he could see straight through the mask covering her face.
His gaze unnecessarily put people on edge, but Fiorentia accepted it calmly.
No matter how hard he stared, there was no way he could actually see her face.
And she herself had no intention of ever removing the mask and revealing her bare face under any circumstances.
Fiorentia was the first to look away.
It was less like retreating and more like losing interest entirely, and that only made Theodore’s already twisted expression darken further.
When Fiorentia showed no reaction at all, Theodore moved again.
Clank. Clank.
The sound of chains scraping across the floor grated on her nerves.
Fiorentia finally let out a small laugh.
Even though the poisonous energy must have made his body feel as heavy as lead, it was impressive that he still had enough strength left to move.
‘Well, I guess it’s better than barely hanging onto life by a thread?’
Her mocking laugh had been very quiet, but apparently he heard it.
“What’s so funny?”
He growled like an enraged beast.
“Untie me. Now.”
He thrashed violently against the restraints as if he might rise any second.
Even under Theodore’s terrifying threat, Fiorentia only smirked and answered,
“What, do you think I’m an idiot? Why would I untie you?”
“You damned—”
Grinding out a curse between clenched teeth, Theodore asked again,
“Who the hell are you?”
“Fiorentia Marcella.”
Fiorentia willingly introduced herself.
She even pronounced each syllable more clearly than usual, as though telling him to remember it well.
Since she concealed her face completely yet freely revealed her name, Theodore looked briefly surprised.
“Marcella?”
But the moment he repeated the name, his hostility sharpened instantly.
Fiorentia nodded calmly.
“That’s right. I’m the half-sister of Duke Desdemona Marcella—the one keeping you imprisoned here.”