“Sir Sio.”

Siobhan, uncharacteristically hesitant as he entered, was holding a pretty teapot with a rose illustration and a teacup, obtained from somewhere.

“This is…”

“It is herbal tea good for calming the mind and body.”

“Would you like to have some together?”

“No, I am alright. I thought you might want to be alone.”

“I did until a moment ago, but that changed a little after you came in. Ah, but there is only one cup.”

“I will go and get another cup.”

I hurriedly stopped him as he looked ready to dash out at any moment.

“Or would you keep me company instead?”

I took the tray from Siobhan’s hands and headed toward the table near the window.

“I will carry that.”

A laugh nearly escaped me at the sight of Siobhan following anxiously behind me. I sat at the table first, and only after pouring the tea did Siobhan sit across from me.

The first thing he said was, as expected, a question asking whether I was alright.

“You were very worried, were you not? I am fine.”

“No, it is not me but the master who…”

Unable to continue, he soon corrected himself.

“I am glad you are alright. The master will be here soon.”

“Was this tea something Eden asked for?”

“No, this is something I… ah, let me taste it first.”

“From the same cup?”

“Ah…”

I had brought the cup to my lips and then handed it to Siobhan, and his face flushed easily.

“Since Sir Sio brought it, I can trust it and drink it.”

“No, I only received it by asking a palace lady-in-waiting.”

I put a silver spoon into the pale yellow tea and stirred it around.

Hmm, well, the color did not change, so it should be fine to drink.

“Sir Sio is truly kind.”

“Not particularly. There is someone who says they dislike me for being too soft.”

The someone Siobhan was referring to would be Hesse Herrmann.

“Do you care for that person a great deal?”

“Pardon?”

Whether it was an unexpected question, Siobhan showed a reaction that was unlike his usual self.

“If it were a passing stranger or someone you did not care about, those words would not have lodged themselves in Sir Sio’s heart.”

“…I suppose that may be so.”

His manner as he spoke, seemingly thinking of Herrmann, was like that of a boy in the throes of unrequited love. The embarrassment showing on his face, the effort to conceal it, and the love that showed through regardless were all plain to see.

“What kind of person is she? If she is someone Sir Sio cares for, she must surely be a good person.”

“She… told me I was too soft, but in my eyes, she is the same.”

“The same?”

The Young Duchess Herrmann I had seen did not seem like that kind of person.

“She is someone who thinks of her family more than herself.”

Ah.

Right. Duke Herrmann did tend to push the young duchess rather hard.

“Have you ever told her that you like her?”

“…She said there is someone she must marry.”

“For the sake of her family?”

“Yes, for the sake of her family.”

Reading words on a page and hearing them spoken directly were vastly different. I had thought it was simply a bittersweet unrequited love, but it was pure devotion. At the same time, however, an inexplicable sense of resistance stirred within me.

A familiar feeling, the sensation of seeing someone I knew. It was an emotion I could not explain.

How much time had passed while I was talking with Siobhan like that, when Eden returned from the banquet hall.

“Master.”

The moment Eden gave a nod, Siobhan, who had greeted me, quickly excused himself from the room.

“It seems it was quite a pleasant conversation.”

“Pardon?”

“The corners of your mouth are turned up.”

Ah, I had been smiling without realizing it.

It cannot be helped. Who would not be smiling while talking with their favorite character?

“Yes, thanks to that I was not bored.”

“Perhaps I should have come later.”

“Hmm…”

“……”

“No. I had things to ask you as well, and things to say.”

Of course it would have been nice if he had come a little later, but it is true that I have things to ask Eden, so.

“Go ahead.”

“Pardon?”

“What you wanted to ask. Go ahead.”

“Ah, I did not get to hear who the sorcerer the marquis mentioned was, and I thought you would know.”

Eden gave a small nod and then sat down across from me and opened his mouth.

“I will tell you when we return to the ducal residence. Mentioning a sorcerer’s name within the imperial palace is considered taboo.”

I could not understand why he specifically said he would tell me at the ducal residence, but I was able to accept it when he added his explanation.

“And?”

“I was thinking of staying at the count’s residence for a while. I also need to look into what the marquis said…”

The answers that had been coming steadily were not forthcoming this time.

“Going to the count’s residence will be after this matter is resolved.”

“When I returned to the banquet hall, I met the princess, and the princess mentioned the Western Kingdom prince’s name.”

The hands of Eden, who had been removing his clothing one piece at a time, stopped for a moment.

“She said that she and Enoch would keep the secret, so not to worry.”

“……”

“I think the prince must have been there, even though I did not see him.”

“It is alright.”

“Pardon?”

“The magic stone used today will not activate if there is even one other person nearby, aside from the user.”

“……”

“No one will know that you and Dias used the magic stone.”

Eden’s explanation put me somewhat at ease. It was true that I had been anxious, as an uncertain alibi would be disadvantageous at trial.

“That is a relief then.”

“……”

“But, Eden…”

He offered only a look in response to my question rather than words. I knew well what that look meant, but my mouth would not easily open.

“……”

The silence continued, and only after he asked again was I finally able to speak.

“…You are not asking me if I am alright.”

“…Because it would not be easy to say you are not alright in front of someone asking if you are.”

“……”

“I was waiting for you to speak first.”

“It is not that there is anything wrong with my health, it is just that I find it a little difficult to handle…”

Worried he might think there was something wrong with my health, I found myself rambling without realizing it. Before the rambling could even finish, his voice reached my ears.

“I know.”

“……”

“I have never suspected there was anything wrong with your health. So do not worry.”

“Then you do not think it is strange?”

“Not particularly.”

“Why?”

“Because my birth mother was the same.”

His birth mother?

Was he referring to the subject of the portrait I had seen at the ducal residence before?

“That said, I do not take it lightly.”

Right, of course, he would not just brush it off…

My thought had not yet finished before Eden’s voice came first.

“If such a situation comes again, will counting numbers help?”

“Pardon?”

“It seemed to help when I counted numbers then.”

“Ah… yes.”

“I will do so.”

“Thank you.”

Contrary to what I had expected, Eden did not ask further or show any more curiosity. He simply accepted it calmly and moved on.

He set his gloves on the table and began undoing the buttons of his shirt one by one.

The moment I stood up to give him privacy to change, a powerful dizziness came over me along with an irresistible nausea.

“Ugh.”

Despite clamping my mouth shut with force, liquid mixed with blood escaped past my lips. The continuous waves of nausea made it impossible to stand with any strength in my legs.

The feet I planted again and again in an attempt to find my footing collapsed as though there were no ground to support them. It felt as though everything inside my body had become a long balloon. What I was expelling right now was neither water nor blood… but a balloon.

Ah, so this is what it would feel like if a balloon came out from inside the body.

Something powerful pressed down on my body, and what forced its way up against that pressure and poured out could not be stopped.

The one who caught me as I collapsed without the slightest resistance, like a toy with its battery removed, was Eden. He held me in his arms and called for Siobhan and Dias.

The two who appeared from somewhere at his urgent call seemed to be confronted with an unexpected sight.

“Call a physician, quickly!”

A voice like a roar filled the room. At that sound, Siobhan’s feet left the room without hesitation and headed toward where the imperial palace physician was.

The blood that had been coming up mixed with the tea I had drunk earlier began to come out as blood alone once nothing else remained. The clothes already soaked from the vomiting were being stained red, and soon the raw smell of blood rose more strongly.

A little more time passed, and the imperial palace physician appeared behind Siobhan.

“What was the last thing the Duchess consumed?”

At the physician’s question, Siobhan opened his mouth urgently.

“The last thing she had was the tea I brought her.”

“It appears the lady has ingested a poison. Let us first investigate what was in the tea.”

Poison.

At the word from the physician’s mouth, everyone in the room turned their gaze toward Siobhan. Among them, only Eden’s gaze remained on the physician rather than on Siobhan.

“Find the culprit later, treat my wife first!”

At his thunderous command, the physician finally approached me. In my fading vision, I felt the physician administering something into my body.

My body, which had grown hot from the continuous expelling, felt even hotter, as though burned, when the medicine with a temperature lower than my body temperature entered. Even after the medicine was administered, I vomited blood several more times before my exhausted body finally stopped, and my consciousness grew distant.

“It appears all the poison has been expelled, so I have administered medicine to stop the blood vomiting. The symptoms the lady is showing are typical of blood vomiting caused by poison.”

***