In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 105

Since they were already outside the palace, they decided to meet with the soothsayers they’d missed yesterday, and by the time they returned, it was already late at night.

As they naturally headed toward the Minelia Palace, the two chatted quietly.

“How did you know the sorcerer had a sister?”

“Do you remember? When you said you had captured the sorcerer, I asked about the gender.”

After a brief pause, the man nodded as if the memory came back to him.

“Yes, I said it was a man. I was a bit surprised at the time. None of us knew, but you alone thought the sorcerer was a woman.”

As he let out a dry laugh, she glanced at him and calmly continued, “The sorcerer I saw at the Empress’s palace in the past was a woman. She had a tear-shaped mole under her eye and an ordinary-looking face. But when you said the sorcerer who appeared this time was a man, in a repeated timeline, I thought something was off.”

Even while focusing on her story, Caelus kept his eyes fixed on the ground, as if worried she might trip over a stone.

“But when I saw them myself, it was clear the appearance was dressed as a man, but the body was obviously female. And she looked a lot like the one I had seen. The only difference was the missing mole under the eye. That’s how I knew.”

“You have sharp eyes.”

His light smile briefly darkened.

The woman Bellona had seen in the Empress’s palace long ago was the puppeteer. She had infiltrated Camirus under the Empress’s orders.

The witch who controlled people and knights, the one who severed Caelus’s hand, turned out to be the sorcerer’s sister.

In this life, the woman didn’t recognize him—but Caelus, who still vividly remembered that day, could barely suppress his killing intent.

How could he possibly forgive the woman who cut off a knight’s hand?

Still, he held it in for Bellona’s sake, who knew nothing of that event.

He didn’t want to burden her heart by telling her.

Caelus had decided to hide everything that might weigh on Bellona with guilt.

She was the kind of upright woman who would blame herself even for the Empress and Impes’s crimes.

Simply because she had once been on their side.

“Do you think those two will accept my proposal?”

“After hearing what you told them would happen, could they really refuse? And you’ve already done that to the sorcerer’s arms. They both must know you’re someone who does what she says. If they don’t want to live with their limbs severed, they’ll accept.”

Bellona nodded, but her expression didn’t brighten.

To see someone who once spoke so cruelly now looking so innocent—it was strange every time.

Caelus shook his head slightly at her duality, then his face turned serious.

If the soothsayers cooperated, their plan to bring down the Empress was nearly guaranteed to succeed.

But cunning soothsayers were a double-edged sword.

If they betrayed them at a critical moment, the situation could flip in an instant.

That’s how risky this plan was.

Yet it was also an incredible opportunity. Caelus had no intention of letting it slip away.

“Don’t worry too much. Everything will go your way, Bello—”

Just then, her body swayed violently as she walked. He quickly supported her, then glared at the ground as if searching for a missed stone.

“Ah… I’m fine. I just felt a bit dizzy.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes. I think it’s just lack of sleep. Let’s hurry. I want to rest.”

Avoiding his suspicious gaze, she quickened her pace.

It was already well past midnight. They had been out all day—it was no surprise she was exhausted. They needed rest.

“You really should get checked tomorrow.”

“Alright, I will.”

Answering obediently, Bellona leaned on his hand as they headed for the Minelia Palace.

***

The palace physician, having finished the examination, glanced nervously at the two of them.

A few days ago, he had been caught overhearing a conversation between the Grand Duke and Duchess, and now faced another awkward situation. His brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong with her?”

The Grand Duke asked the moment the examination ended, his eyes sharp.

The physician struggled to hide his troubled expression.

“W-well, that is…”

As his gaze shifted away, he locked eyes with Bellona, who looked at him calmly. He bit the inside of his cheek.

Sweat rolled down his broad forehead in the utterly uncomfortable silence.

“Answer.”

Despite the Grand Duke’s firm command, he couldn’t open his mouth.

Under normal circumstances, he would have delivered this joyous news with congratulations.

But now, he had no choice but to lie.

Because instead of congratulations, the situation called for concealment.

More than the Grand Duke in front of him, it was the Grand Duchess, staring at him expressionlessly, who truly frightened him.

A few days ago, she had come to him and asked about her physical condition. Upon checking, she was pregnant.

But as she stood there, briefly stunned, she suddenly gave him a chilling warning with icy eyes:

“If you tell anyone about this, your life ends that day. And if you’re ever forced to examine me in front of His Grace, make sure you spin it well. I trust only you.”

At first, he was only confused. Rumors said the two had a good relationship, and from what he’d seen himself, they seemed close.

So he couldn’t understand why she looked so devastated upon hearing such joyful news, or why she was trying to keep it secret.

But with his own position already precarious, he had no room to worry about other people’s affairs. So he agreed half-heartedly and forgot about it.

It wasn’t until a few days later, after overhearing the knights’ conversations, that he realized he was tangled in something dangerous again.

Horrific stories flowed nonstop—how she had slaughtered monsters during the hunting festival, how she had tortured someone and cut off their limbs.

The knights telling these gruesome tales sounded proud.

And only at the end did he learn who the story was about.

The Grand Duchess—with her pretty face, yet constantly exuding bloodlust.

Only then did he understand her warning had been no empty threat.

Recalling that day, the physician stood frozen, unable to move.

Bellona said in a rather kind voice, “Is there really something wrong with my body? I only feel dizzy once in a while. Everything else is fine.”

He picked up on the message: answer quickly and leave.

Forcing a calm expression, he turned to Caelus. “Well… it seems to be fatigue from lack of sleep. Insomnia is the root of all illness. I’ll prepare some medicine—if she takes it and rests, she should feel better.”

‘As if.’

He clenched his jaw, having lied so smoothly.

Morning sickness would start soon. He couldn’t understand why she was hiding it from him.

The problem was that he, too, was now complicit in her lie. If the truth came out, he’d be the one to die.

The Grand Duke wouldn’t kill his pregnant wife.

But the physician—having deceived the imperial family—would have no excuse if his head rolled.

The man felt like crying at the misfortune that had suddenly befallen him.

“Good. Make sure it’s a quality medicine.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And you’ve heard that you’ll be the one preparing the antidote for His Majesty.”

The physician hesitated. “Your Grace, I would like to, but there’s already a physician assigned to His Majesty. I can’t replace him on my own—”

“I’ll speak to His Majesty myself. Just focus on making the antidote.”

At the firm command, the physician glanced at Bellona, his face drawn.

She quietly asked, “Is the one attending to His Majesty affiliated with the Empress?”

“…Yes.”

With a deep sigh, he finally revealed what he hadn’t dared say before.

“The current physician treating His Majesty was brought in by the Empress’s family. He didn’t even pass the official examination.”

“So, not only was he allowed into the imperial palace without testing, but he was appointed chief physician as well.”

“Yes. Because it was the Empress’s order, no one could object—but to be honest, everyone is dissatisfied.”

After a moment of thought, Bellona glanced at Caelus. Meeting her gaze, he nodded as if to say, do as you wish.

“What is your title?”

At the sudden question, the man fidgeted and wiped away sweat before replying, “I’m a baron.”

“A baron… No matter how skilled, a baron can’t become chief physician.”

As she struck right at the heart of the matter, his face darkened.

“So I was thinking of making you an offer.”

His gaze, which had dropped to the floor, snapped up to her.

“I’ll promote you to chief physician. Just cure His Majesty. If you succeed in this, I’ll grant you a title higher than baron.”

“Pardon?”

His jaw dropped at her bold promise. An opportunity he’d never imagined had appeared before him.

Still, he was suspicious. How could the Grand Duchess grant noble titles?

“But you’ll have to stake your life. If anything happens to His Majesty, we’ll be in danger too—and so will you.”

Only then did the man grasp the seriousness of the matter. His expression hardened.

“The choice is yours. But you must answer now.”

Like the devil tempting him, her words left his conflicted eyes trembling.

And before he could dwell on it, she drove the nail in.

“The position of chief physician will soon be vacant. Then it’ll become a brutal contest. It’s not a chance that comes often…”

As expected, the man’s wavering eyes grew sharp.