Sold to My Killer Husband: His Concubine's Dilemma
Chapter 135: Bellshade resin

Chapter 135: Bellshade resin

"Of course they do," she muttered under her breath.

They shared a quiet smile then. It wasn’t much. But it was the first time in days Liora had smiled without flinching.

Meanwhile....

From across the courtyard, Lucien stood at the colonnade, hidden by a marble pillar. His sharp gaze fixed on the figure of Elias through the open infirmary window.

He had only meant to pass through. Yet the image of Liora’s laughter genuine and unguarded, had made him stop in his tracks.

She never looked like that around him.

Not that it mattered.

Still...

Lucien folded his arms, his expression unreadable. Rowan joined him a breath later, silent for a time.

"You know, it’s harmless," Rowan said finally. "The boy’s young, a medic, not from nobility. You’re not the only one people can talk to."

Lucien didn’t respond. His jaw was tight.

"Perhaps she just needed someone who isn’t always accusing her of treason," Rowan added dryly.

Lucien gave him a sidelong glare. "Are you quite done?"

Rowan smirked. "Just observing, master."

Later that evening, while Lucien sat in his study reviewing estate records, a light knock came again.

This time, it was Liora.

She held a folded report in her hand. "The latest on Lady Cecilia. She’s stabilizing."

Lucien took it but didn’t look at it right away. Instead, his gaze rested on her face, which was calm but distracted.

"You’ve made a new friend, I see," he said, voice level.

Liora blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The physician, Elias."

She stiffened. "He’s here to help. I don’t choose who arrives."

Lucien leaned back, eyes never leaving hers. "You seemed comfortable."

"I’m allowed to speak freely, am I not?"

Lucien said nothing for a moment. Then with a faint tilt of his lips, "Of course. Though do remember, in this place, people rarely arrive without purpose."

The double meaning was not lost on her.

"Goodnight, master," Liora said, tightly. She turned and walked out.

And this time, Lucien did not stop her.

But that tightening in his chest refused to ease.

Elias leaned over the counter in the infirmary, absentmindedly rolling a crushed leaf between his fingers. "The mixture you prepared for Lady Cecilia," he said without looking at Liora, "I’ve never seen it used that way before."

Liora looked up from her stitching. "It’s not conventional," she admitted. "But it works. It helped people in my town."

"Your uncle taught you, right?"

"Yes."

Elias glanced at her again, this time with a curious softness in his eyes. "He must’ve been a skilled man."

She gave a tight smile. "He was good. But he was also quiet. Taught me not to talk too much."

Elias nodded slowly. "Still, your hands show practice. More than someone who only watched."

Liora tensed slightly. There was something too knowing about his tone.

Before she could answer, footsteps echoed just outside the open infirmary door.

Lucien entered without announcement. His gaze flicked to Elias, then to Liora, and back again.

"How is Cecilia?" he asked, not sparing pleasantries.

"She’s improving. No fever today," Liora said, stepping back from Elias.

Lucien took a step closer, his gloved fingers resting lightly on the nearby shelf. "Good. You’re dismissed, Elias."

Elias hesitated. But then, nodding, he collected his satchel and walked out.

Lucien waited until the door clicked shut. Then turned to her.

"Be careful with that one," he said flatly.

Liora crossed her arms. "Is there a reason I shouldn’t be polite to someone helping us?"

Lucien’s eyes darkened. "He wasn’t sent by Alden. He’s not on the official registry."

That made her freeze. "Then who?"

"I’m still finding out." He stepped closer. "But don’t act naive, Liora. You’ve been used before."

"I can tell who’s trying to use me," she replied, lifting her chin. "You make sure I remember that every day."

Lucien’s jaw clenched. "That’s not what I..." But he stopped himself.

He looked at her, truly looked.

Her eyes fierce despite the weariness. Her hands still trembling slightly from the effort of care. Her breath quieter now that Elias was gone.

"I just don’t want another knife to find your back," he said finally, his voice lower, honest.

That honesty startled her more than anything. She looked away.

"I’ll be careful," she murmured.

Lucien gave her a slow nod and turned to leave but paused at the door.

"Don’t trust a kind face too quickly, Liora," he said without turning. "Not even mine."

And then he left.

Leaving her staring after him, not sure what was real anymore.

The door creaked open again long after Lucien had gone. A huff of wind carried dust into the infirmary, but Liora didn’t look up. She was still seated, still staring at the shelf where Lucien’s hand had rested only moments ago.

She didn’t know whether it was worry or confusion curling in her chest but she was certain of one thing: the closer she got to Lucien, the harder it became to read the boundaries between truth and manipulation.

A soft knock sounded from the opposite side of the room.

Liora turned this time. Elias stood at the threshold, his expression unreadable.

"I thought you left," she said quietly.

"I did." He stepped inside. "But I forgot something."

He walked over to the far table, picked up a folded paper from beneath a stack of linen, and tucked it into his coat.

"I’m sorry if I caused any trouble," Elias said, his tone measured.

Liora rose slowly. "Did you?"

Elias tilted his head, examining her. "You’re not like the others here. You don’t play games, and you don’t know how to lie."

Her jaw clenched. "That’s not a compliment."

"No," he said, "but it’s something dangerous in a place like this."

There was silence between them, thick and uneasy.

"You didn’t answer Lucien," she said suddenly. "When he asked where you came from."

Elias smiled faintly. "Because I wasn’t asked. I was dismissed."

She didn’t return the smile.

He sighed. "Do you want to know the truth, Liora? Or do you only want the comfort of what sounds good?"

Before she could answer, a commotion erupted in the courtyard beyond the infirmary.

Shouts.

Running footsteps.

Liora darted to the window, pushing aside the curtain.

A cart, one of the ones that delivered supplies from Petra, had tipped near the entrance gate. Sacks of dried herbs were spilling into the mud, and a guard was already shouting for the steward.

Elias was at her side in a breath.

"That cart was marked for Cecilia’s treatments," he muttered.

Liora’s heart sank. "It’s ruined?"

"Maybe not all. But..." Elias moved quickly toward the door.

She followed.

The courtyard was already crowded by the time they stepped out. Beatrice was there, frowning as she oversaw the cleanup. Rowan stood near the back, arms crossed, his sharp eyes scanning the crates.

Lucien arrived seconds later, his coat flowing behind him.

"What happened?" he demanded.

One of the stable hands stepped forward, stammering. "The wheel, it gave way on the slope, my lord. No one sabotaged it, I swear..."

Lucien raised a hand. "Silence."

Liora stepped closer to the spilled herbs. She bent, brushing her fingers lightly across the damp leaves.

"They’ve been tampered with," she said.

Lucien turned sharply. "What?"

"They were soaked in something. Not just mud. Smell this."

He crouched beside her, and when he took a breath, his eyes narrowed.

Elias knelt next to them. "Bellshade resin."

Lucien shot him a look. "That’s banned."

"I know."

Rowan stepped forward. "Someone knew this was headed for Cecilia."

Lucien rose to full height, his gaze sweeping the crowd. "This was not an accident."

He turned back to Liora. "Pick out what can be salvaged. Burn the rest."

Then to Rowan: "Find out which hand loaded this cart."

As the crowd dispersed, Liora exchanged a look with Elias.

The first real poison had been dropped in the estate.

And someone meant to finish what they’d started.

Rowan did not sleep that night.

The steward’s records were lined up before him in the side chamber of the estate. Neat. Unbroken. And yet too perfect to trust.

He tapped his fingers against the table, eyes darting over every name listed on the cart’s manifest. The one carrying the herbs. The one soaked in bellshade resin.

Only six people had access to the outbound supply carts from Petra.

Only one would’ve known what Liora had prepared for Cecilia’s next treatment.

And only one would be stupid enough to try it this early.

The steward had vouched for them all, but Edgar didn’t work for Lucien. And Edgar had far too much faith in his own order.

Rowan stood and crossed the room. He opened the back cupboard, unmarked, locked usually, but not tonight. Inside were ledgers dating back to the start of Alden’s reign. A few gaps. Too many small ones to ignore.

He ran his finger along one of them.

A name was missing.

That’s what did it. The name of the handler who’d originally cataloged the herbs from the capital was gone, replaced on paper with a scrawled correction. One was done recently.

Someone was rewriting the tracks.

He exhaled through his nose.

There were only three people in Petra who knew how to move things in silence.

And one of them was Elias.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.