"We have to kill Princess Aphatsara at all cost."

"The surgery was successful. The patient's life was saved."

After completing the surgery, military doctor Jindarat returned to her own room while the patient was transferred to the post-operative room. The surgery just now at Prachan Military Hospital was not easy, as the patient was found in critical condition with countless wounds on her body. With all their efforts, Jindarat and the doctors finally saved the patient's life. 

Jindarat Wongsathorn held the military rank of Major and served as a doctor at the Prachan Military Hospital near the border. As a Countess - a title bestowed by the King when her mother, Princess Helena de Valemont, sister of King Frederick de Valemont, married - combined with her high-level education from studying abroad in the West, Jindarat was fully capable of working in a better position in the capital, Cendralis.

Yet she chose to work in Prachan, believing that Cendralis already had plenty of talented professionals. It was the remote, understaffed areas that needed people like her, not just to support the border troops, but to serve the local civilians as well. 

In the recent surgery, the patient was a complete stranger, as no one knew her identity. People discovered her lying at the foot of  Moonwatch Hill - a hill located between the border of Avaloria and Devanthira in an extremely dangerous condition. Luckily, among those who discovered her, there was a medical student who was interning at Prachan Military Hospital, so he and everyone else took her to the hospital for treatment. And it's a good thing that her life is now saved.

______

At this time, everyone in the royal palace of Devanthira was uneasy with the news that Princess Aphatsara Varadhan had an accident while traveling to a border province with her younger sister, Princess Atchariya. She returned safely but appeared deeply remorseful, consumed with guilt for not being able to bring her sister back. Currently, Aphatsara's life or death is unknown. Considering that Atchariya was not entirely at fault for her sister's disappearance, King Anawat and Queen Mathawi also didn't want to blame Atchariya. 

Crown Princess Athitaya Varadhan, heiress to the throne of Devanthira, led a group of Royal Soldiers to coordinate with the local army in organizing a search for Princess Aphatsara. At this time, Aphatsara's absence was not only a matter of the missing royal family but also related to diplomatic relations with the neighboring country of Avaloria. Princess Aphatsara and Crown Princess Katherine de Valemont of Avaloria were engaged. And before long, Princess Katherine was expected to travel to Devanthira to propose marriage, once she had completed her mission in Helverra.

______

"Your Royal Highness."

"Stay away from me!"

Pushing away the girl who was hugging her tightly, trying to release her pheromones to seduce her, Katherine grabbed the sword and ran out of the room. Collapsing, her back against the wall in the now quiet hallway, no longer lit, Katherine, while still rational, realized that she could not continue to stay here. The first thing to do was to find a secluded place with no one around to ensure that no one would have to suffer the consequences of her current pheromone outage. 

Because of a huge ambition, someone had drugged Katherine during Duke Ekkawit's wedding reception and arranged for his daughter to wait in Katherine's room. Of course, Katherine, with all her reason while still conscious, resolutely refused, even using violence to make that young lady give up, before running out of the room.

The effects of the drug were becoming more and more apparent, realizing that Katherine immediately stood up to find a suitable hiding place. Fortunately, at the end of the hallway there was still a room that seemed to be empty. Without thinking much, Katherine walked in, sat down on the chair, panting. Her face also flushed because of the effects of the drug.

"You are..." 

Suddenly, a soft voice of a young woman rang out, and the room was lit up by the lights. She was stunned to see Katherine sitting there, but Katherine was even more frightened that someone was here at this time.

"You should run before it's too late."

Confusion was also evident on Patcharee's face at this moment, but then turned to worry when she saw that Katherine's complexion seemed unstable, and even though she tried to suppress it, the scent of pheromones still spread in the air, Patcharee immediately approached to examine.

"Are you okay?"

"If you don't want to run... then tie me up!" As she spoke, Katherine took off the aiguillette on her shirt and gave it to the other person. Patcharee was confused and didn't understand why, but she still received it. Her hands trembled as she held the aiguillette, intending to tie Katherine up, but what happened next was something neither of them expected. 

The scent of the orchids became clearer and clearer, and Patcharee could also feel the abnormality in her body as her body temperature gradually increased, and an itchy feeling spread throughout her body. Stimulated by the scent of the orchids, Katherine tried to restrain herself, but her blood was still boiling, and then the pheromone with the scent of Agarwood was released, blending with the scent of the orchids.

Rational thought broke apart as Patcharee collapsed into Katherine's arms, unable to endure the suffocating heat of their mingled pheromones, which pulled them both into the grip of raw instinct. A wave of desire surged over them, washing away all restraint in ragged breaths and the merging warmth of their bodies. 

______

"Your Royal Highness, we've been looking for you all night." 

Before the sun had risen, Katherine walked out of the room, guilt weighing heavily on her. But before she could indulge in that feeling for too long, someone's call made Katherine move her gaze away. In front of her now was a young man in military uniform, a sword hanging from his waist and medals on his chest. Armin Salvador tipped his hat, knelt on one knee to salute Katherine. He was Katherine's subordinate and also the one who came here with the mission of protecting Katherine and her younger brother, Prince Vincent.

"Katherine, were you in Lady Patcharee's room last night?" Prince Vincent - Katherine's younger brother appeared at the same time, bringing her shocking information.

"Patcharee, the daughter of Marquess Thakrit Witsakul? It means..."

"Kath, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

"Your Royal Highness, the sneaky person who was captured by the Duke last night, has revealed his purpose for coming here." and at this moment, Vincent's subordinate came to report the news, which was when everything began to become clear.

It turned out that last night, Katherine was not the only one who was drugged, but Patcharee also had the same fate. Last night, when she left her room when her stepmother called her over, Katherine ran into the room while she was absent. Both of them, under the influence of the drug, could not control themselves, and as a result, a permanent mark was left on Patcharee's neck. Originally, Patcharee's stepmother wanted to ruin her reputation, so she tried to drug her and sent someone else to humiliate her. She just never expected that Katherine would come there, and the one she sent was arrested by Duke Ekkawit himself when he discovered a suspicious person walking around in his mansion.

"But if Lady Patcharee also attended to the wedding, why didn't I see her in the reception?"

"Before you came, she went back to her room because she didn't feel well. That's why you couldn't see her."

"But whatever the reason, I have taken her virginity. I need to take responsibility for what happened. We are going to talk to Marquess Thakrit so I can take Patcharee to the royal palace in Cendralis." 

"This is not the right time, Kath. Because we promised Devanthira that we would propose to Princess Aphatsara after the war in Helverra was settled. Furthermore...Lady Patcharee, she already has a fiancé."

Vincent's words made Katherine stunned when she heard them. It would be easier if Patcharee didn't have a fiancé, since Katherine had decided that her upcoming trip to Devanthira would be to ask for an annulment instead of proposing to their Princess as she had originally intended.

"But you don't need to worry. Because I have a plan to take care of everything." Vincent, of course, won't let things fall into an awkward situation as he already had a perfect plan in mind. 

______

The sunlight through the window shone on the beautiful face of the girl who was still sleeping. Patcharee woke up but beside her was now only a cold emptiness, the scent of pheromones still lingering in the air as if it had told everything that happened last night. Sitting up, she pulled the blanket over her aching body, still marked with traces that had not yet faded.

Patcharee's mind flashed with memories of the last night that she didn't know whether to call an accident or a mistake. She knew that the other person was, like her, a victim of intrigues, when neither of them was sober enough to control what happened. She shouldn't have drunk the tea her stepmother gave her, then this wouldn't have happened.

Suddenly, seeing a folded piece of paper and an intricately carved silver ring placed on the pillow beside her, Patcharee took it and then opened it. A hastily written letter with the name Kanthika, Patcharee was sure that it belonged to the mysterious woman who had been with her last night.

"Forgive me for what happened. I will not run away from my mistakes, the pain I caused you when I could not control myself. But I need time to resolve everything, and I promise that I will return to find you as soon as possible so that I can make it up to you as fully as possible.

Kanthika V."

Holding the letter tightly in her hand, Patcharee also shed tears. From today, her life had changed because of the appearance of a woman she knew nothing about. Except for the name Kanthika.