Chapter 670
Just as Liliana was about to succeed, a voice rang out. “Your Highness!”
Liliana froze. Magnus snapped back to his senses and immediately released her.
“So here you are, Your Highness!” Caitlin approached.
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Hearing that voice, Liliana’s heart jolted. She looked at the unfamiliar woman walking toward them, utterly bewildered.
Why did Magnus’s assistant sound exactly like Caitlin?
Maybe it was just a coincidence–the resemblance ended at the voice. Outwardly, the woman looked entirely different.
But her timing couldn’t have been worse. Liliana’s moment had been ruined.
Her brows knitted, frustration rising. She had been so close.
Caitlin stepped up to them, her tone brisk and official. “Your Highness, it’s about time. We should head back.”
Magnus still felt an uncomfortable heat coursing through him, but he forced himself to remain composed. He gave Liliana a courteous nod. “Thank you very much for your company, Miss Jonathan. I’ve enjoyed today, and I appreciate it.”
With that, he turned and followed Caitlin out of the garden.
“Your Highness, wait-” Liliana hurried after him, unwilling to let go. She blocked his path and asked, “Forgive me for being forward, but may I ask what impression you have of me?”
“Miss Jonathan, you are beautiful, gracious, and certainly very charming.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Then, if you’re still in D Country tomorrow, may I invite you to lunch?”
“If time allows, it would be my honor.”
He didn’t close the door entirely, which to Liliana meant he had accepted. A radiant smile bloomed on her lips. If not today, then tomorrow.
“Let’s go, Your Highness.”
Caitlin called him away, her eyes locking briefly with Liliana’s. Liliana studied her in return.
Back in the main hall, Nicoletta and the First Lady were waiting. Seeing Magnus return, they both rose to greet him.
“Your Highness, did you enjoy the gardens?” Nicoletta asked with a smile, her gaze shifting toward Liliana, eager for a hint of progress.
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“Yes. The Jonathan gardens are beautiful, and with Miss Jonathan’s company, I’ve had a very pleasant day. Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Liliana quickly added, “Mother, I’ve already arranged with His Highness to have lunch together tomorrow.”
“Oh? That’s wonderful!” Nicoletta beamed. “Let’s see His Highness off, then.”
Magnus said nothing further. He simply gathered his attendants and departed.
The limousine rolled out through the Jonathan gates. Inside, Magnus slumped back against the seat, jaw clenched, eyes shut tight, his face taut with strain.
“Your Highness, are you all right?” Caitlin asked, alarmed.
“I feel… unwell. I don’t know what’s happening…”
He opened his eyes, meeting hers. His furrowed brow and clenched fists betrayed his struggle.
“Let me check.”
She reached toward his forehead, but he recoiled. “Don’t touch me. Stay away from me.”
Then he turned to his two male guards. “Tie my wrists. Quickly!”
He feared he might lose control and disgrace himself.
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Watching him struggle, Zinnia frowned. “What’s wrong with him? Is he having an allergic reaction to pollen?”
“No. Not pollen.” Caitlin’s sharp eyes had already guessed the truth. She quickly instructed the driver, “Head straight back to His Highness’s residence.”
Once there, Magnus was helped inside. Sebastian had been waiting and hurried over, alarmed by Magnus’s condition. “What’s happened to him?”
“He’s in some trouble,” Caitlin explained briefly, relaying what she’d seen. Sebastian was shocked. A simple visit to the Jonathans had turned into this?
“How do we fix it?” he asked.
“That’s the real issue,” Caitlin replied. “He can’t just take any woman, and going to a hospital could cause rumors with his status. The safest course is hydration, exercise, and a controlled detox. Vaughn has already gone to buy IV fluids and glucose.”
They got to work. Magnus drank water, exercised to sweat it out, then Caitlin administered the IV once Vaughn returned.
Afterward, his condition improved. Sebastian asked again, “How did this even happen?”
“I didn’t notice,” Magnus admitted with a shake of his head.
Caitlin gave her assessment. “It likely happened in one of two ways–either the tea he drank at the Jonathan
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estate, or something applied through Liliana’s perfume. But I caught a whiff of her scent in the garden. It seemed harmless. That means the tea is the most likely culprit.”
Sebastian frowned. “They dared tamper with His Highness’s tea? In broad daylight?”
“Exactly. Desperate measures. If he had lost control with Liliana in that garden, the Jonathans would have seized the scandal as leverage, forcing a royal connection. It was a trap, plain and simple.”
Her reasoning was airtight.
Magnus exhaled slowly. “When they introduced me to Liliana, I had the same suspicion. If not for Mrs. Vanderbilt stepping in, I would have walked right into it. Thank you.”
“It should be me thanking you,” Caitlin said softly. “If it weren’t for my business with them, you wouldn’t be caught in their schemes.”
“It’s nothing,” Magnus replied. “But did you manage to meet Hector?”
“I did. We spoke. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be formally entering the Jonathan estate.”
“That’s good. At least today wasn’t wasted.”
“Rest now, Your Highness.”
Caitlin and the others withdrew.
Back in their own room, Sebastian asked in a low voice, “So what exactly did you say to Hector? With the Seventh Door hunting us across the city, walking through their gates tomorrow sounds like walking into a trap.”