Chapter 3: Realizing It Too Late

Anderson looked at the barley tea being offered to him and felt a bit overwhelmed.

“No, no, it’s fine. I like drinking barley tea.”

“Then take this cup, drink plenty of it.”

Ainola tried her best to act as if nothing was happening as she held out the barley tea to Anderson.

For some reason, although Anderson felt a little surprised, he also had a vague, uneasy intuition.

It was as if his instincts were telling him that something was wrong with this barley tea.

Besides, Ainola usually wasn’t this proactive about coming over to him.

So, after calming down for a moment, Anderson immediately reacted and said to Ainola.

“You…”

“Huh? Me?”

Ainola’s heart skipped a beat, then she laughed it off and said, “What are you looking at me for? Just drink it.”

Saying that, Ainola took a sip herself to show that there was nothing wrong with the barley tea.

But in reality, Anderson had not even thought about poisoning; he just asked cautiously.

“You’re not trying to ask me to borrow money, are you?”

Hearing this, Ainola was stunned for a moment, then said with a mix of laughter and tears.

“Do I look like the kind of person who would borrow money from you?”

“Actually, borrowing a little is fine.”

After Anderson finished speaking, he drank the barley tea in one gulp without hesitation and went back to burying his face in his meal.

Seeing Anderson’s trust in her, a small trace of guilt rose in Ainola’s heart.

After all, he was a Prince; he could not possibly lack awareness of assassination attempts. If someone else had given him a drink, he might not have touched it at all.

But he had finished the barley tea she gave him so readily.

Thinking of this, Ainola silently said “I’m sorry” three times in her heart, then stood up and said.

“I’m full, I’m going back to my room now.”

“So soon?”

Anderson looked at Ainola’s bowl, which still had half of her meal left, and asked:

“Do you not have an appetite?”

“Yes.”

Actually, it wasn’t that she had no appetite; Ainola was just thinking about running for her life right now and didn’t dare to eat another bite.

Once she returned to her bedroom, she began to pack her things in a hurry.

The poison would act quickly, but its effects would not be easily noticed by Anderson.

After all, unless he was looking to reward himself, he generally wouldn’t notice if his little brother was having issues.

So Ainola had to escape the Glory Empire before Anderson decided to reward himself.

Given Anderson’s intelligence, he would definitely discover that she was the one who did this.

If she didn’t run, she would be the unlucky one.

“Anderson, the fact that I didn’t directly poison you to death is me being a good brother… oh no, you’ll be a good sister very soon.”

After talking to herself, Ainola seemed to develop a little bit of dark humor.

She picked up a pen and paper, doodling on it for quite a while, and nodded in great satisfaction.

“Yes, this is the final parting note. I wonder how long it will take for Anderson to find out… Hehe, his expression must be quite interesting when he sees this letter. This can be considered my most perfect revenge on the Glory Empire.”

Although Anderson wouldn’t die, losing that ability was miserable enough.

Besides, ever since her little broken country was destroyed, she was the only one who knew how to make the antidote for this poison. Even if Anderson wanted to find a cure, it would be an impossible task.

After giggling, she pinned the letter down with a pillow, then took her few possessions, jumped out the window, and disappeared into the vast, dark night.

On the other side, a well-fed and satisfied Anderson looked at Ainola’s bedroom, and a small sense of contentment rose in his heart.

Although he was a Prince of the Glory Empire, he longed for a plain and ordinary life.

If he were to find a wife in the future, it would have to be a girl like Ainola, someone who was both cute and very genuine.

The year spent with her was also the most comfortable year Anderson had ever had.

So, Anderson was very satisfied with Ainola.

To put it simply, he liked her.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… I don’t know what kind of wind blew today, but this girl even took the initiative to pour me tea. It’s really strange.”

Anderson naturally wouldn’t think about the fact that Ainola had drugged him; he just sighed that this young girl was incredibly hard to pursue.

It could be said that in the year they had spent together, Anderson was just a close friend to her.

Every time he wanted to take things a step further, she would refuse, telling him it was best not to have too much contact with her.

He didn’t know what was going through this girl’s mind; she always seemed to have a tragic sense, as if she were going to meet her death.

In fact, Ainola had indeed been thinking exactly that at the time.

In her view, her goal of assassinating the Prince was a one-way trip, and if she had become too close to anyone else, it would have only harmed them.

That was why Ainola had always kept her distance from Anderson.

“Sigh… A girl’s heart is so hard to guess. I’ll go back and get some sleep; tomorrow will be better.”

Anderson got up and returned to his bedroom, preparing to wash up before going to sleep.

Once he lay down, however, he vaguely noticed a bit of something wrong.

Anderson was, after all, a normal adolescent boy, and living under the same roof with a girl alone would certainly lead to some daydreams.

Especially since Anderson knew he liked Ainola, his heart would often feel a little heat.

But today… he was exceptionally calm, as if he were an old monk in meditation, devoid of any worldly desires.

“I guess I must just be too tired.”

Anderson didn’t think too much about it and closed his eyes peacefully.

In his dream, he once again saw Ainola, this very cute girl pressed against his side, using her warm breath to whisper words he couldn’t quite understand into his ear.

Time passed quickly. All night long, Anderson slept very comfortably, feeling not only energetic but also in a very cheerful mood.

However, he had one small doubt.

Under normal circumstances, when a man wakes up, there is always a little something that refuses to bow down.

Yet today, it was exceptionally quiet.

Quiet to the point of being absurd.

“That’s strange…”

Anderson reached down to check, but it was still completely limp.

And what was even more terrifying was… he felt absolutely nothing when he touched it.

It was as if that part of him had died.

Realizing this, Anderson suddenly felt that something was wrong.

The unease he felt the previous night grew even stronger now.

Anderson experimentally tried to make it stand up, but no matter how hard he tried, there was never any effect.

“What the hell, did I catch some kind of disease?”

Even now, the deeply uneasy Anderson had not suspected Ainola.

Feeling that something was not right, Anderson walked to the living room. Seeing the cold, empty room, the unease in his heart intensified.

“Normally, Ainola should be up by now. Where is she? Could she have overslept?”

Muttering to himself, Anderson decided to go to Ainola’s room and wake her up.