Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 7.4

But how could he find it in such a vast land with only three months to spare? Swallowing hard, Callisto clenched his jaw, the lump in his throat burning.

“I know where it is,” Ivry said. His voice grew firmer, more certain, and at last, his words took a definitive form.

“It’s a red poisonous herb that only grows in the Northern Continent.”

Callisto slowly sat upright. He didn’t even register the small figure rushing toward him and clinging to his leg. Lilibet had wrapped her arms around him, sniffling.

“Your Grace, the Second Prince! My brother is telling the truth! It’s true!”

Her childish, tearful voice barely reached his ears. Callisto was unaware of Lilibet’s presence as he stared intently at Ivry, straightening his posture.

Echinacea.

The red poisonous flower native to the Northern Continent. Callisto repeated the name over and over in his mind, trying to ground himself.

Could it be true?

It felt like grasping at a fragile hope, one that could shatter at any moment. He didn’t dare hold onto it completely. He feared the weight of his hopes being crushed. Perhaps, Callisto thought, he was already too worn down.

But Ivry’s voice continued, refusing to let him drift away.

“Yes, that flower can be used as an antidote. If you’re not too late, there’s a chance he can be saved.”

“If you’re not too late,” “a chance,” “he can be saved.”

Each conditional phrase battered Callisto’s thoughts, making his head spin. His sharp, gold eyes narrowed. Ivry flinched under the piercing gaze.

“Why should I believe you?”

The blunt question spilled out unfiltered. Ivry pressed his lips together tightly, unable to offer a direct response. His face, already pale, looked fraught with guilt and unease.

After a tense pause, Ivry finally broke the silence.

“Callisto, the slaves used as test subjects in the First Prince’s palace… they’re dying. They weren’t treated. The First Prince brought infected meat from the Northern Continent but didn’t bother to secure the antidote. I’ll say it again—the Empire has no cure.”

Callisto bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, the metallic taste sharp on his tongue. Ivry pressed on.

“You need to go to the Northern Continent. There’s no time left. I know you don’t trust me, and that’s fair. But…”

His gaze shifted momentarily to Lilibet, who still clung to Callisto’s leg. A shadow passed over Ivry’s dark eyes—resignation mingled with quiet frustration.

“…for Beth’s sake, for the people of my territory, and for my father… please trust me, just this once.”

The process of creating a treatment using the extract stored in the lab didn’t take long. Dr. Woodson modified the formula of a previously researched treatment based on Etienne’s symptoms and combined it with the Echinacea extract to produce a new remedy.

However, whether this treatment would actually work remained uncertain. While Echinacea was used as a medicinal herb, it was inherently toxic. There was a risk of adverse effects. Despite this, Dr. Woodson decided to administer the new treatment to Etienne. Leaving him as he was offered no hope; it was better to try everything possible.

A few days later, Callisto carefully lifted Etienne and helped the medicine slide through his parched, cracked lips. Fortunately, Etienne swallowed it without any resistance. A heavy silence fell over the room. Both Callisto, clutching Etienne’s cold hand tightly, and Dr. Woodson, standing at the bedside, held their breaths, their gazes fixed on Etienne.

“Ahh…”

For the first time in days, Etienne exhaled a long breath.

His trembling eyelashes fluttered open, revealing purple irises that wavered weakly. As Callisto tightened his embrace and called out to him frantically, Dr. Woodson calmly observed his condition. The dark red blotches that had covered Etienne’s face were noticeably fading.

“Etienne, can you hear me? Look at me! Etienne!”

“Mm… Callisto. Oh, and Dr. Woodson is here too…”

Though he seemed groggy and not fully alert, Etienne appeared in better condition than before. Dr. Woodson meticulously monitored and documented the changes in Etienne. Though it required further observation, his reaction to the treatment was noticeably different from before.

While Callisto sobbed and laughed as he held Etienne tightly, Dr. Woodson quietly left the room. Confirming the medicinal properties of Echinacea was a relief, but it didn’t mean the issue was entirely resolved.

“To truly cure him, we’ll need to retrieve Echinacea. However, if we wait to start the process after returning, there won’t be enough time.”

This treatment was only a preliminary test to verify that Echinacea could be effective against the endemic disease. To fully cure Etienne, they would need a remedy made with a significant amount of the flower’s petals.

However, Etienne had at most three or four months left to live.

Even under ideal conditions, traveling to the Northern Continent and back would be a tight fit for the time available. It was uncertain whether Etienne would hold on that long, and considering Echinacea’s sensitivity to environments outside the Northern Continent, there was a high likelihood that the flowers would wither during the voyage.

“If we could return within three months, we could save him for sure.”

But even the great Callisto, who had dominated the Northern Seas, couldn’t reduce a four-month journey to three. With a grim expression, Dr. Woodson exited the long corridors of the Second Prince’s palace.

“I’m coming with you. Take me. You can’t do this alone. You’re not in your right mind these days, and if you lose it in the middle of the ocean and never come back, what will happen to Etienne?”

There weren’t many people who could brazenly tell the Second Prince to his face that he was losing his mind. Lawrence was one of them. He clung to Callisto with determination, begging to be included in the voyage.

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