Baby Pharmacist Princess

Pride shattered.

Still, I didn’t want to die like this.

It became more unbearable by the second. I could barely speak anymore.

Did they think I was joking or playing a prank? What if this left permanent damage?

Me, with my precious body, suffering because of a “prank?”

And honestly, what was so wrong with using a little harmless poison, just enough so they wouldn’t die?

“I-it’s true! I used erereboar juice! But it was a joke!”

The murmurs grew louder.

“So Princess Alexandra… she intended to do that to us?”

“I never would’ve thought…”

“How awful! I don’t want to be turned into an ugly duckling!”

The young ladies chattered on, but I didn’t care.

This was South, after all.

The South’s nobles would ultimately side with me.

‘My Dad is the Emperor, after all!’

Everyone bows to him, so surely they’d excuse a little prank like this.

‘Besides, this room is separated from the adults. They might not even notice…’

Shatter.

But just then, what I had thought was glass turned into fine dust and crumbled away.

At the same time, the disdainful gazes of the South nobles bore down on me.

Contrary to my hopeful thoughts, no one stepped forward to defend Alexandra.

“This… what is this…?”

“What do you think? You’re finished.”

Cherishe turned away, her expression cold and distant.

As I felt the ground crumble beneath me in utter despair, an old woman rushed past and bumped into my shoulder.

“My granddaughter…!”

“G-grandma…”

“My baby, my dear baby! Are you hurt? Poison, how awful!”

Ha.

I let out a short, bitter laugh.

I didn’t have anyone who would do that for me.

The realization pierced my heart, filling me with so much resentment toward Jen that it became a consuming grudge.

“I told you it was a joke! Why is everyone doing this to me?!”

Later, after receiving emergency treatment from Myerden, Alexandra screamed, insisting she was innocent.

“A joke, huh.”

“Yes, a joke!”

“My precious granddaughter… You ruined her first time stepping out in the dress I made for her, and you call it a joke?”

If we were in the northern Castalia Imperial Palace, plenty of people would have come to Alexandra’s defense.

The Jen faction nobles would have taken care of things appropriately.

But unfortunately, this was the South, and the head of the local faction, Lady Benson, was fuming with anger.

“My granddaughter, who had just recovered, almost became permanently ostracized from high society!”

Lady Benson, trembling with rage, held her granddaughter close, unable to contain her fury.

“Princess Alexandra! I will never forget your vile behavior until the day I die!”

“What are you going to do if you don’t forget? Nobles are still nobles, no matter what!”

“I will file a formal complaint about this matter immediately!”

Lady Benson’s frosty voice was terrifying.

In truth, Alexandra likely knew what she should do—grovel and beg for forgiveness.

But her pride wouldn’t allow it, and she had likely decided that there was no way to salvage the situation at this point.

Even if it meant starvation, Alexandra’s blue-blooded pride as a princess and heir to the throne would never be bent.

‘People say she became this spiteful because her parents didn’t love her… but that’s just an excuse.’

Even if that were true, feeding poison to so many young ladies to turn them into quacking ducks was a sign of a rotten character.

What made it worse was that she showed no remorse, even after being caught.

If Alexandra had even pretended to feel sorry, things might not have escalated this far.

“Too bad.”

I made sure to mutter clearly, loud enough for everyone to hear, before turning on my heel.

“I’m the victim! Everyone hates me for no reason!”

No matter how much she shouted, all she got were looks of disbelief.

“The culprit, over here.”

At that moment, Gergys appeared, dragging a trembling employee from the Imperial Health Department by the collar.

The worker, visibly shaking and refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, curled up in fear, clutching his head and muttering incoherently.

“I was paid off! Princess Alexandra gave me a chest full of gold bars and told me it wouldn’t kill anyone… just sprinkle a little poison to ruin the banquet…!”

Watching the scene unfold from where he stood against the wall, Dad gently patted my head, signaling for me to leave.

At the door, I discreetly bumped fists with Idsys.

Our teamwork had been impeccable.

“Good job, Sihat!”

“It was nothing.”

I spotted Sihat waiting in the hallway after stepping out of the infirmary where Alexandra was being treated.

“Alexandra’s really stupid, huh.”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“She didn’t even realize that the glass was fake, enchanted so we could hear everything.”

“Well, it’s usually real glass. Good thing Brother Id acted quickly and made adjustments.”

Truthfully, Alexandra had stopped being a threat to us a long time ago.

We could’ve taken her down at any time, but we’d been letting her be.

With the expansion of the Imperial Health Department, it was only natural that there would be spies.

The new staff members didn’t have much loyalty, so anyone could have easily betrayed us.

This whole thing was expected.

It wasn’t shocking or anything.

‘The real danger is never the enemy you expect—it’s the one you don’t.’

My plan for this incident was simple.

I wasn’t going to remove the poison from the jelly. That would destroy the evidence.

So yes, the young ladies had indeed been poisoned.

But Sihat, hidden behind the curtains, had quickly blessed all the young ladies with an antidote effect, ensuring no harm would come to them.

With that done, I added a special poison to the jelly.

Aconite.

‘You didn’t know this, but I always carry poison in my emergency kit.’

You never know what might happen, so I kept it with me to protect myself.

Hellebore takes time to show symptoms, but if you want immediate panic, aconite is the way to go.

Of course, I used a tiny, carefully refined dose, just enough to make them feel like their breath was short and their skin was peeling.

The side effect? A few pimples.

‘That’s what you get for messing with me.’

It’s not like I couldn’t use poison—I just hadn’t bothered until now.

I stuck out my tongue in the direction where Alexandra was lying.

‘Serves her right.’

Alexandra needed to learn that if she tried to do something terrible, she could be hit with something even worse in return.

Ah, how satisfying!

It’d be great if she were stripped of her right to inherit the throne!

“The Emperor’s message was, ‘Tell her she’s pathetic.’”

“!”

“We’ll come to collect you late tomorrow afternoon. Stay quiet. If you cause any more trouble, the Emperor’s anger will be unimaginable.”

It hadn’t taken long for news of this incident to reach the South Imperial Palace.

By 3 a.m., after the servant sent by her father had left, Alexandra lay in tears.

Her eyes were sore and swollen, but the tears kept falling, fueled by her overwhelming frustration.

‘What did I do that was so wrong?’

She couldn’t understand.

She was the one who was hurt and suffering!

Why wasn’t anyone comforting her?

‘That brat’s granddaughter… she was showered with love.’

Am I not even worth that much?

The injustice and sadness clawed at her, making her want to beat her chest in agony.

Her mouth was dry, and her skin prickled from the aftereffects of the poison!

She had asked the Pope to send a servant to heal her with divine power, but he had flatly refused and hadn’t even shown up.

“This is too much. Where is Pabel?!”

Oblivious to the fact that this was a bed of her own making, Alexandra fumed—until she suddenly felt a presence.

“Did you call for me?”

The door hadn’t opened. There hadn’t been a sound.

And yet, there was Pabel, appearing as if out of nowhere.

“So, you tried to scheme something on your own and… it didn’t turn out too well, did it?”

Although Pabel always spoke formally, his tone now sounded mocking.

Alexandra’s face flushed red as she clutched her blanket and screamed.

“Pabel! Do something!”

“What would you have me do?”

“Unbelievable… We’re contract partners!”

That meant Pabel had to help her. Pabel couldn’t abandon her.

“Oh, that.”

But Pabel’s tone was utterly indifferent.

“You’re done. This isn’t fun anymore.”

“What?”

“I’m supposed to serve you, but… I think it’s about time I end this contract.”

“!”

“I have Alice now. I think I’ll play with her instead.”

What is he saying?

Alexandra’s eyes widened with shock and fear.

Pabel’s demeanor was different than before. Completely different.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m worthless!”

Desperation clawed at her as she shrieked, cornered.

But Pabel only glanced at her, his face devoid of any trace of the smile he usually wore.

“Everything’s already been decided. I came to say goodbye. Take care, Alexandra. I’ll come back to collect your soul later.”

“Soul? What do you mean by soul…?”

“How sad and pitiful. Your father didn’t tell you anything, did he?”

Pabel’s lips twisted into a smirk before he grew serious.

“The contract’s terms have changed. Your father agreed to exchange your life for protection over Luon. I can collect the payment whenever I want.”

No. No.

Don’t abandon me.

I don’t understand any of this.

The only one who had truly been by Alexandra’s side wasn’t her parents, who she barely saw once a year, or her always-resented brother, Luon.

Her maids changed constantly, so the only one Alexandra had ever come to rely on, oddly enough, was Pabel.

“Things have gotten boring.”

But without a second glance, Pabel disappeared, just as he had appeared.

No concern, no pity. He discarded her as one discards something worthless, without a thought.

“AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!”

That was the moment Alexandra snapped.

Boom!

A violent energy exploded from Alexandra’s body, shattering everything around her.

The hole torn in her abdomen appeared in an instant.

“Call the Prince… Your Highness, the Prince… AHHH!”

Alexandra threw the knight guarding the door with one hand and stormed out.

‘Cherishe. If only that wretched girl didn’t exist.’

Alexandra had completely lost her mind.

With every step she took, objects around her were torn and destroyed.

“KYAAAA!”

“AAAHHH!”

“What is this—guh!”

People caught in her rampage were thrown aside, wounded by the out-of-control force.

Her eyes, devoid of pupils and stained red, made it clear she had gone mad.

‘Where… where is she?’

Following Cherishe’s scent step by step, Alexandra froze in place.

It wasn’t Idsys Wynn Castalia, who stood in her way, that stopped her.

The scent was… gone.

Cherishe’s scent had abruptly vanished, as if she weren’t even on the ship anymore.

Which made sense.

At that moment, Cherishe was in the Dragon Shopping District, blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding on the ship.