Chapter 90

Daon, ignoring Vivian’s words, mumbled as he pointed to a few types of tea with his finger.  

“This one seems good.”  

After contemplating a few choices, Daon took out the bottle of tea from the bottom. He opened the lid and inhaled the fragrance, nodding with a satisfied smile.  

“Uh, so today…”  

Vivian opened her mouth again, worried that he might not have heard her due to his hearing.  

“I would be very disappointed if you came to the tea house and left without having tea.”  

At Daon’s words, Vivian lifted the corners of her mouth and nodded.  

Watching Daon prepare the tea was like watching a performance. He measured the right amount of tea and poured water at the right temperature.  

He discarded the first steeping of the tea, then poured water again, waiting for it to brew deliciously. It was an elegant sight.  

As Vivian watched Daon make tea in a daze, a group of customers entered the tea house.  

They glanced at Vivian, who was sitting alone at the bar, and took seats near her.  

They seemed to be regulars, as the grandmother approached them with a menu, inquiring about their well-being. After a brief chat with the grandmother, they ordered a few types of tea.  

The grandmother, who had taken their order, urged Daon to hurry as there were many orders.  

Daon clicked his tongue softly, so the grandmother wouldn’t hear, and placed the tea in a plain teacup in front of Vivian.  

“This is a tea enjoyed by the people of the Cheno region. It’s made from sergi.”  

“Sergi?”  

Vivian, who was savoring the softly rising cool scent, blinked rapidly.  

Sergi was a wildflower that bloomed in the fields, a very common grass flower in the Empire.  

“Yes. They enjoy drinking what we consider a trivial weed as tea. It’s mostly consumed by commoners, but surprisingly, it tastes good.”  

Daon winked and then busily moved his hands to handle the backlog of orders before the grandmother could scold him.  

Vivian took a sip of the tea made from sergi.  

A cool fragrance accompanied the slightly bitter tea as it entered her mouth. As she swallowed it, a lingering aftertaste remained.  

“It feels like I’m drinking flowers!”  

Vivian said, her eyes sparkling, to Daon.  

Daon, who was working hard, smiled pleasantly at Vivian’s taste assessment.  

“Things haven’t been good lately. A merchant who recently went to Palterno was grumbling because he couldn’t buy any magical tools.”  

Vivian paused her sipping of the sergi tea and perked up her ears at the mention of Palterno from another table.  

“Rumor has it…”  

It was a voice from the group that had been glancing at Vivian earlier. They were speaking in hushed tones.  

“There might be a war with the Mage Tower.”  

“What? That’s ridiculous.”  

“It’s true. My father visits the royal palace quite often.”  

Vivian almost turned around at that moment.  

“A war… Wouldn’t that be pointless?”  

A man gave his opinion.  

“That’s from the Empire’s perspective.”  

Vivian, trying not to turn around, tensed her body and lifted her teacup.  

Could the rumors be starting to spread?  

Vivian’s heart began to beat abnormally fast.  

“Come to think of it, it’s a bit strange. The Crown Prince’s wedding was postponed.”  

When someone else spoke, the man who had been listening quietly nodded vigorously in agreement.  

“There’s no reason to postpone it. Unless there’s going to be a war.”  

“Isn’t something really big going to happen?”  

“Shouldn’t we buy some gold or something?”  

“If we get drafted…”  

“Hey, don’t jinx it. As soon as I’m drafted, I’m running to another country.”  

A brief silence fell among the men. Soon, someone tried to lighten the mood with a lowbrow joke.  

Vivian held her teacup tightly to hide her trembling hands.  

At that moment, something wrapped in yellow paper caught Vivian’s eye.  

“This is the tea Lord Louis likes. I’ve also included other teas he might enjoy. There’s tea good for fatigue recovery and tea good for headaches.”  

Daon explained to Vivian, adjusting his glasses.  

“I’ve included the recipes inside, so don’t worry.”  

Vivian held the rather heavy paper bag Daon had prepared in her arms. It seemed Daon had known from the start why she had come there.  

“Right now, this is all I can do for Louis.”  

Daon exhaled through his nose, raising his white eyebrows.  

“There might be something you can do.”  

“Sorry?”  

Daon put down the kettle that had started boiling and wiped the steam off his glasses.  

“The situation is certainly not good. Even the people on this street have started murmuring.”  

Wearing his now-clean glasses, Daon looked at Vivian.  

“There’s nothing anyone can do in this situation except those in high positions. It’s not your fault, Miss Vivian.”

Daon smiled, his eyes crinkling deeply.  

“How about making the tea yourself? Then, at least for now, you might be a great help to him.”  

* * *  

The Emperor’s morning was a bit later than usual, with two attendants fussing over his hair and attire.  

“Have you contacted Aitor?”  

A deep, cold voice flowed from the Emperor’s mouth.  

“We received word that he arrived safely at the Mage Tower and that the atmosphere is very different from before.”  

Louis, standing a few steps behind the Emperor, replied.  

“Is that all? Even I, in Dovelia Palace, know that much.”  

The Emperor’s expression didn’t change, but his voice dropped a notch.  

“The vigilance against Aitor has intensified, so no one is speaking easily.”  

“It seems Aitor’s position at the Mage Tower isn’t as significant as expected.”  

As the attendants finished grooming and stepped back, the Emperor turned from the mirror to face Louis.  

Louis clenched his fists tightly at the Emperor’s evaluation of Aitor.  

“What about Marquis Theon?”

“He is scheduled to quietly arrive at Palterno and the border by tonight.”

The Emperor nodded slightly and passed Louis, heading elegantly towards the sofa.  

As the Emperor sat on the sofa, the head attendant handed him medicine and water.  

The Emperor casually tossed the medicine into his mouth and gulped down the water, glancing at his son, who still stood there.  

“Their target isn’t the Empire, it’s me.”  

Louis’s back twitched.  

Handing the water cup back to the head attendant, the Emperor slowly opened his mouth again.  

“They aim to establish a new Emperor to manipulate Tapeullon as they please.”  

Louis turned to look at the Emperor, meeting his eyes.  

“Such threats have occurred before and always ended in failure. But this time, it’s a bit different.”  

The Emperor leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs, smirking at Louis’s words.  

“Should I say their effort is commendable?”  

Louis’s brow twitched at the Emperor’s dismissive attitude towards the Mage Tower.  

“It seems someone has joined the Mage Tower.”  

The Emperor raised his right eyebrow and turned his head to look at his son, who wore a stern expression, gesturing to the empty sofa.  

Louis exhaled deeply through his nose and slowly walked over to sit on the sofa.  

“Do you have proof?”  

“Before things got worse, Marquis Cloak cut ties. Earl Moore, driven to the brink of bankruptcy, drunkenly shouted at a salon that someone was selling the Empire to the Mage Tower.”  

“Is that all?”  

“We discovered evidence that Marquis Cloak’s side sent a considerable amount of money and magic stones to Inferna.”  

“Inferna?”  

The Emperor’s previously calm expression suddenly twisted.  

“Sending money and magic stones to those vermin who only care about money…”  

The Emperor murmured, brushing his lips.  

“If Marquis Cloak hired Inferna to build an army and joined hands with the Mage Tower, it complicates matters quite a bit. And…”  

The Emperor frowned at Louis, who trailed off.  

“If they join hands with Marquis Marx.”  

“Marquis Marx isn’t that kind of person.”  

“His son, however, is quite different from him.”

At the Emperor’s firm words, Louis quickly added, as if to refute. When the topic of Marquis Marx’s son came up, the Emperor straightened up and clasped his hands.  

“Assign someone to monitor the movements of Marquis Marx’s son. Someone you can trust, Crown Prince.”  

“…Understood.”  

The two were about to embark on another lengthy meeting. The Emperor closed his eyes briefly, as if to suppress his agitation, and fell into thought.  

Then, slowly opening his eyes, the Emperor’s golden pupils were as sharp as a well-maintained blade.  

“Make sure not to miss any important matters unrelated to the Mage Tower affair.”  

“Yes, understood.”  

“The citizens of the Empire are uneasy. Even the commoners are starting to stir.”  

The Emperor began tapping the armrest with his index finger.  

“Delaying your marriage to Lady Dinever seems to have further intensified their unease.”

In the otherwise silent Emperor’s chamber, the sound of him tapping the armrest was the only thing heard. The wedding, postponed by the insistence of Duke Dinever and the Crown Prince, seemed to have thrown the citizens into confusion, and the Emperor made no effort to hide his dissatisfaction.  

As the Emperor furrowed his brow, the wrinkles deepened. With each passing year, the wrinkles on his brow became more pronounced.  

“If this chaos grows, it will be troublesome. We need to reassure the citizens before that happens.”  

Louis nodded at the Emperor’s words.  

Nothing had been decided yet. In this situation, it wasn’t good for the citizens to fall into confusion.  

“Should we prepare for the spring hunting tournament?”  

“What? A hunting… tournament?”  

Louis asked, seemingly confused by the Emperor’s words.  

“If we don’t hold the annual spring hunting tournament, their unease will turn into certainty. So proceed with the hunting tournament as planned.”  

Having said that, the Emperor stood up and adjusted his jacket sleeves.  

“Invite Lady Dinever to the tournament. Show the people the two of you together.”

“Your Majesty.”  

Louis stood up, following him. A hunting tournament in this uncertain situation with the Mage Tower, and involving Vivian, made Louis unable to hide his discomfort.  

“But holding a hunting tournament now is…”  

“It’s an order.”  

With just one word, the Emperor silenced Louis. Louis had to swallow the words he was about to say, biting his lower lip.  

“Your Majesty, it’s time to go.”  

Dave, who had knocked and entered, announced, and the Emperor nodded as he exited the room.  

Louis, who had been watching the Emperor’s back for a moment, followed him out.  

In front of the meeting room where the meeting was to be held, the Emperor paused for a moment and looked back at the Crown Prince following him, then nodded to Dave.  

At the Emperor’s nod, Dave quickly opened the meeting room door.  

As the Emperor and Louis entered the meeting room, the nobles who were seated stood up.  

“Then, let’s start with the discussion on conscription.”  

With the Emperor’s words, another heated debate began.  

* * *  

A few days after receiving the tea from Daon, Vivian headed to Dovelia Palace at the summons of the Empress.  

The Empress was also busy.  

She had called Vivian to console her after the wedding was postponed. However, the Empress was more disheartened than Vivian, so Vivian ended up consoling her instead.  

After a brief chat with her, Vivian turned her steps not towards home but towards the Crown Prince’s palace.  

“Your Highness will take some time to arrive.”  

Rayden said apologetically to Vivian, who had come unexpectedly.  

“These days, meetings last for hours once they start… I’ll let Allen know that you’re waiting, Lady.”  

“No, there’s no need for that.”  

Vivian shook her head, stopping Rayden, who seemed ready to rush to the Emperor’s palace.