Before he could enter the room, I pounced on the bed like a charging tiger and covered Edward with the quilt from top to bottom.

"Good morning madam" Herbie greeted and bowed.

"Goood morning Herbie. Aren't you a little early today?" I asked, trying to act as normal as possible.

It was definitely not usual for him to continue knocking despite my commands.

"Madam... it's half past noon" He said hesitantly while looking at me. Then his eyes darted to the covered figure next to me.

"His Grace..." He stammered pointing at Edward. He looked surprised to find his master in yet another condition today.

"He was feeling cold. So I covered him up" I came up with excuses while secretly hatching another plan.

"Ah!" Herbie exclaimed, noticing the broken glass on the floor. He seemed to have stepped on a piece of shard.

"Yeah about that... my hand slipped. Could you please clear it up before the priests arrive?" I requested Herbie with pleading eyes.

'I beg of you please leave this room' I held myself from completing the sentence.

"Madam..."

He looked confused by the unusual position of the glass shards. More than slipped it looked like someone had thrown it towards the wall with force, fully intent on blowing it to smithereens.

"I will be right back"

Still, Herbie put down the vessel of water and towels and went out to fetch cleaning supplies.

Though it was not under his domain, he had to clean it up himself because only a select few were allowed inside Edward's room.

"Phew... that was close" I let out a sigh.

I pulled down the quilt and looked at the state of Edward's face. It looked like a toddler had used his face as a drawing board. There were pictures of tiny birds and rabbits on each of his cheeks and a snake drawn on his forehead.

"This is not what a 39-year-old woman should be doing... sigh"

I swiped Edward's cheek with my forefinger to find what material was used for the artistic drawings.

Rubbing it between my fingers, I could identify that it was just red lipstick, probably from the stuff that came from home.

I stifled a laugh when I saw Edward's carefully drawn clown nose. It was funny to think that one of the Empire's most powerful men had lipstick drawings all over his face. Not everyone will have the privilege to see such a sight.

'Such baby-soft skin...'

What kind of face lotion does he use to achieve such a texture? Probably the expensive stuff. Maybe I should snag one for myself too.

'No! I'm getting distracted by his face again. I have to clean this up before somebody else decides to pay a visit' I reminded myself of the problem at hand.

Hovering over Edward I reached for the side table cabinet which contained half of the ripped dress. I can't use the towels Herbie brought because they were infused with cleaning magic. I'll be caught if I touch that.

I pulled open the cabinet and picked up a piece of cloth to wipe Edward's face. The cabinet also contained a few small boxes and the assassin's knife which I used to open the wine bottles yesterday.

"I must've gone insane"

To completely forget about being on the Third Eye's hit list. I must definitely be insane. I moved aside the knife and started wiping Edward's face.

I'm sure the assassin saw me catch the knife before he/she ran away. They would run a background check for sure.

'Damn it! Had I pursued them without any intervention, I would've caught them by now'

Now that they know about me, the next attack won't be as easy as the previous ones. They will come with a stronger front.

"All this because of one man" I heaved a sigh looking at the sleeping male lead. He was the only one having peaceful days in the entire residence.

I finished wiping Edward's face and threw the cloth back in the cabinet. He was shining bright like a newly polished car. How can someone be indescribably perfect?

Now that I think about it, I will definitely be interrogated about yesterday's attack. And I'm sure the least bit of privacy I had while visiting the library will be gone.

I laid down next to Edward thinking of what to do next.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Herbie walked in with a broom and dusting tray. He kneeled down and started cleaning without making any noise.

Herbie was doubtless the only innocent soul in sight. To think that I once thought of Nathaniel as cute makes me doubt the state of my brain even more.

I can't really blame him. Because if I do it'll be like the pot calling the kettle black.

By the time I was agonizing about my future, Herbie had finished cleaning the floor and was walking towards me with a trolly. It had my food and a collection of drinks. Which was just about the thing I needed because my stomach started growling and also I required something to bury the wine stains on Edward's shirt.

"The butler asked me to bring these to you Madam" Herbie informed with a small smile.

"WAIT!!"

I stopped him when he reached for the quilt to start with his cleaning duties.

"*cough* Could you hand over that berry juice? The dark one. I'm feeling a bit thirsty... haha"

"Here you go"

*splash*

"Oops"

As requested, Herbie handed the glass of juice over Edward. On seeing the chance, I casually let go of my grip and pretended as if it slipped through my fingers by accident.

Edward was completely soaked through the quilt and it was perfect for me since there was no way to tell the stains apart.

The dark red drink overshadowed the dried wine stains. I think it is fire fruit juice, I can tell by the smell.

"I'm terribly sorry. I.....I'll help clean it up. My hand's a bit slippery" I put out my million-dollar acting skills.

"It is my duty, Madam. I will clean up"

"Oh, I insist. It's the least thing I can do for my husband" I laughed trying to coax him into believing me.

Herbie who seemed to buy my act without any suspicions, removed Edward's soaked shirt as I helped by wiping the residual juice on him.

'No matter how many times I do this I'll never get used to seeing Edward like this. I can imagine why I drunkenly drew all over his face'

"Holy thoughts. Holy thoughts" I murmured as I wiped his sturdy arms with a towel.

Edward was whipped. He'd fit in a military outfit with ease. Must be nice to be the male lead.

After I completed my part, I noticed Herbie staring at my face with a confused expression.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked, snapping him from his trance.

"That's... Madam was saying something about being holy..."

"Ahh... that. Yes!" I started cooking up a story.

'Sh*t, he heard that. I can't believe he heard what I was muttering under my breath. He has sharp ears' I bit my lips.

"Do you remember High Priest Thesser?"

Herbie nodded.

"He... He said that if you were to say 'holy' while tending to a cursed person. It will help in revitalizing their blessing. Kind of like keeping the bad juju out" I blabbered nonsense while checking his changing expressions.

Even I could feel how ridiculous my excuse was after voicing it. There's no way he's going to buy that.

"Oh really!" Herbie looked fired up.

"Then I'll be sure to do that from now on"

He bought it. I'm saved!

"Holy.... holy"

He started chanting as he continued with the left-off cleaning.

"Yeah... You do that"

'Dear Lord forgive me for I have sinned. And please don't kill me for messing with the mind of an innocent soul' I desperately prayed inside my mind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the residence, Nathaniel was walking towards his master's room ready to drop bombs that Angelica could never have anticipated.





Years later, the practice of chanting 'holy' while treating a sick person was widespread across the continent. Books were written by scholars and mages on theorizing the cause and effects of the practice, igniting numerous debates and conferences, not knowing that all the shenanigans stemmed from a distraught cannon fodder's little lie to save her ass.