10. but not warm to everyone (1)

Verheigen, who had left the room given to Lysith and returned straight to his office, slumped onto the sofa. The aide who had followed him in opened his mouth while neatly arranging the scattered documents.

“Your Majesty.”

“What.”

“Is the lady alright?”

“If she’s not, are you going to take responsibility?”

At Verheigen’s words, Serul’s complexion turned pale. Why does His Majesty the Emperor always speak in this manner even when he does speak?

Seeing Serul’s face, Verheigen snorted.

“I’m right that you should take responsibility. Did you check properly?”

“Who was going to drink it? Of course, I checked five times.”

Despite Serul’s assurance, Verheigen didn’t seem convinced.

The poison they had used wasn’t that strong. Whether Verheigen or Lysith had drunk it, it should have only caused minor things like coughing blood.

But the symptoms Lysith showed were much more severe than they had anticipated. From coughing up a large amount of blood and her extremely pale complexion, to being unconscious for two days after fainting.

It looked as if she had consumed a different poison than the one they had prepared.

Observing Verheigen’s expression, Serul hesitantly opened his mouth.

“But… Your Majesty. The antidote worked properly.”

“That’s right. That’s why it’s strange.”

“Could it be that the lady is particularly vulnerable to poison?”

What bothered him was that the palace doctor didn’t particularly mention anything.

Since it was a staged act and there was no reason to use strong poison on him, the Emperor, they had only prepared weak poison from the beginning.

A potent poison would have been better for a dramatic scene, but they had to prevent any possible accidents. It would have been enough to cough up a little blood and then spread rumors that the poison didn’t work well because he’s of the imperial bloodline.

In fact, it wasn’t wrong since they were actually children of god and of that bloodline.

Even if that wasn’t the case, most politics worked that way. It would have been possible for him, as the Emperor, to suppress it forcefully, but the true value of politics usually came from words.

Rumors, psychology, and the public. All of these were important elements of politics, and Verheigen was someone who knew how to use them diligently.

In any case, this situation itself wasn’t bad for him. It became possible to create a dramatic scene, and although it wasn’t the way he had thought, things ultimately flowed as he wanted.

But of course, a subtle uneasiness remained, which was bothering him like a splinter. The man was chronically suspicious and couldn’t just let it go thinking that what’s good is good.

“Is there a possibility that someone else intervened in between?”

“No.”

“……”

“…Why are you glaring at me?”

“……”

“Are you suspecting me now?!”

Serul, who jumped up saying it wasn’t so, rambled on about things like ‘What’s the use of working my bones off for 10 years if my boss doesn’t even trust me.’

Verheigen hadn’t seriously suspected him either. His aide was one of the few people against whom his suspicion disorder didn’t sharpen its blade.

“Alright. For now, investigate it. Just in case.”

“Yes…”

With so much work to do already, and now with additional tasks, Serul felt like he could cry.

Who is it, the one who messed things up like this? If I catch them, I’ll destroy them. Thinking this, he finished organizing the documents at what could be called the speed of light.

Regardless of what Serul was doing, Verheigen was thinking about the woman he had just met. Her changed attitude, gaze, personality, tone, and even the unusual way she manages her expression.

Others might have just thought her personality had changed a bit and moved on. It might have looked like her previous self to those who were close to her, but…

Originally, changes were more noticeable when viewed from a moderate distance rather than up close. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, he was a man chronically riddled with suspicion. It was impossible for him not to be concerned about a woman who had changed in an instant.

The way she managed her expression that he had witnessed at the banquet was certainly excellent, but the face he had just encountered seemed… more dull. This part was definitely strange too.

Verheigen leaned away from the sofa backrest and whispered, like he was telling a secret story.

“…What do you think?”

“Are you talking about the lady?”

“Yes. Does she seem different?”

Pondering seriously at his boss’s question, he tapped his fingers together and spoke.

“Certainly, in the past, she wouldn’t have stepped forward in such a situation. But… after experiencing such things, isn’t it natural for her personality to change a bit? If it were me, I’d definitely want to change.”

“It’s not just that.”

Hmm. Verheigen swallowed slightly and rubbed his brow.

“Her intuition has become too quick. And the way she looks at me is too different from before. It’s as if what’s inside her has changed…”

“What did you say?”

“No, never mind. It’s no use you knowing.”

“Are you ignoring me now?”

The Emperor casually dismissed his aide’s indignant words and rose from his seat. As he moved to stand by the window, his magnificent platinum hair sparkled under the evening sunset.

To an unfamiliar observer, it might not be an exaggeration to mistake him for a god who had descended from heaven. In contrast, Serul, who was present, had long grown accustomed to his appearance and felt no particular awe. Of course, there were still occasional moments of admiration.

The man remained standing by the window for a long while even after Serul, having completed his duties, had left. Only when the sun had fully set did he finish his contemplation and turn away.

In the now-dark room, his blood-red eyes gleamed brightly in the darkness.

“…It’s not impossible.”

For now, he intended to keep her close and observe.

Whether what he was thinking was indeed correct or not.

* * *

Lysith’s life in the imperial palace was a continuous stream of comfort and luxury.

Well, that’s not to say her time at the mansion was bad. Her mansion was naturally good too, but the palace was, how should I put it…

“This is why it’s called the imperial palace, right?”

“Right.”

“I was really excited when I first came here too… Oh, you’ll keep this chatter a secret, won’t you?”

“Of course, of course.”

For some reason, silence was considered a virtue among the palace maids.

Uncomfortable with the stifling silent life, Lysith had finally found a maid similar to herself and started chatting about two hours ago. The maid, apparently having been equally frustrated, had been talking non-stop for those two hours.

“You don’t know why?”

“Well, I’ve heard that His Majesty is quite sensitive. Actually, since we’re always supposed to be careful with our words, there aren’t many people who know much…”

“You should be careful too.”

“Of course. My goal since childhood has been to live a long and quiet life.”

The reason for Lysith’s stay in the palace was one that couldn’t really be contested.

She had prevented an assassination attempt on the Emperor, drank poison in his stead, and so for the time being, she was to stay in the palace and show her recovery to the palace doctor, or something along those lines.

That’s how she came to stay here since the day before yesterday.

Two days ago, she had fallen asleep right after talking with the Emperor, so today felt like the second day but was actually the third.

Her already luxurious life as a noble had become even more extravagant. Feeling somewhat guilty, she asked around about when she might be able to meet Verheigen, but everyone just shook their heads.

‘This defeats the purpose of being in the palace…’

Lysith set down the teacup the maid had poured for her and let out a small sigh.

How should she put it… Things were going as she wished, but it felt like she was being manipulated by someone’s hand.

If she only considered the conquest, it was indeed good for her to be in the palace, but she never wanted this kind of confined life.

She couldn’t understand what the Emperor was thinking at all.

Moreover, when she recalled the expression, gaze, and questions he had shown two days ago, she felt a chill. She didn’t want to see that again even in her dreams.

“By the way, I wonder if they’ve contacted my mansion properly?”

“Yes.”

“I see…”

The chatty maid who had been talking non-stop earlier was now gone.

It seemed like one person could handle the job, but strangely, the palace system had both maids and manservants working in shifts. If this system was devised by the current Emperor, he might be quite a good boss to his subordinates.

In this era, it was common to work continuously except for when it’s time to sleep.

Taking another sip of tea, the unfamiliar taste bothered her tongue.

‘…This doesn’t taste right.’

It wasn’t that the palace maids couldn’t brew tea well. It was just that her tongue, perfectly accustomed to the tea Penchev had brewed with care, was protesting.

Trying not to show it, Lysith rolled her tongue around and set down the teacup again. I can’t drink any more of this. Just as she thought that, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Contrary to her expectation that it would be a maid, the person who entered was the head butler whom she had only briefly encountered before.

“I’m here to see you, Lady Gronevelt.”

“Why has the head butler come all the way here…”

“His Majesty is calling for you.”