Chapter 21 (1/2)

Chapter 21

3 – The emperor does not know the empress

“…I was worried.”

A tense silence filled the gap between the emperor and the empress.

Yvonne, who looked at Karloi with a face that seemed to have had a hallucination, pulled away her hand after a while. She couldn’t afford to give her heart to something ephemeral like a dream.

As her little hand was relentlessly slipping away, Karloi was also plagued with a strange feeling of emptiness.

“You wasted your time despite being busy because of me… I’m sorry.”

The words had a chill to them. If her words had a form, it was probably an icicle pointed towards him.

With cold resolve, as if she wasn’t the person who survived death, Karloi became suspicious of his judgment.

Maybe it was a mistake to think that Yvonne liked him? He wondered if he was trying to do something useless.

“It’s not absurd for a husband to be worried about his wife. I’m glad you woke up safely.”

At Karloi’s words, Yvonne’s face crumpled.

Karloi couldn’t figure out what words he said went against Yvonne’s feelings. Did he offend her or something? She had never been friendly, so he wasn’t sure.

“I don’t think your mind and body are well because your Majesty has witnessed something that was not pleasant.”

Now, Yvonne was treating him like a madman.

“No…”

“I’m fine, so why don’t you take a rest, Your Majesty.”

Karloi, trying to add to what he said, looked at Yvonne’s pale face and bit his mouth.

It was Yvonne, not him, who needed to rest. And he needed time to reconsider his hasty judgments, not rest.

“….Then, I’ll be on my way, so the Empress can rest. The physician that the Duke brought in took care of you. Do you really not want an Imperial physician?”

“Yes, that physician knows my condition best.”

Strictly speaking, he was also a servant of the Duke. At Yvonne’s resolute demeanor, Karloi left her bedroom silently.

It was only after he left that Yvonne exhaled a deep, long breath.

What’s wrong with him all of a sudden?

Yvonne was seriously worried that Karloi might have also taken poison.

Shouldn’t he be crying with regrets that she’s not dead right now?

Or maybe he was shocked to see her vomiting blood. Since he was young, Kal behaved like that when he saw blood.

“Your Majesty.”

Yvonne’s thoughts were interrupted by Marlone, the physician who soon entered.

Seeing the physician, Yvonne refined her expression. The physician was the duke’s faithful hand. She survived from the poison, it was obvious that he would doubt her. He will certainly ask beforehand if she took the antidote, why did she take it, how did she know, how was she able to get the antidote, and if she had switched the poison.

She had to lie to trick Marlone, she will say she doesn’t know how she survived. Yvonne took a deep breath and called the physician.

“Marlone.”

“The heavens have helped.”

But the words from the physician’s mouth were unexpected.

“Shortly after drinking poison, His Majesty the Emperor poured the antidote, so you could escape death. I’ve been dizzy…”

“Antidote? His Majesty?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? He always carries an antidote.”

Fortunately, Marlone didn’t seem to have noticed that Yvonne had already had the antidote beforehand.

“It’s not surprising. It’s Croisen, which surpasses most botanists when it comes to poison, but the Emperor is more sensitive.”

Yvonne was confused since it was Karloi who saved her.

He would rather be compassionate if he felt bad at all, but Karloi seemed unable to even do that. Is there anything as cruel as ambiguity?

“Anyway, you have to be careful for a few weeks. You need to choose your food and take medicine well.”

“Okay.”

“Lift your arms.”

As Yvonne extended her arm, the physician rolled her sleeves and examined her skin.

Yvonne, who had long suffered from the physical violence of the Duke, had many indelible scars here and there.

When the marriage to the emperor was settled, the duke hurriedly called the physician. He took a servant and threatened to use the now-illegal transfer magic, asking him to move the wounds to them, but unfortunately, the scar cannot be transferred.

Marlone was afraid of the duke’s anger, keeping the scar from being seen as a temporary measure.

Physicians knew how to deal with basic medical magic and also knew how to cover up blemishes on the skin.

But it doesn’t last forever, like almost all magic on the continent, it required a periodic prescription.

“I was worried that the poison would affect it, but it’s still all right. If you ever get scars, you need to call me right away.”

“Okay.”

So, the Duke rejected the Imperial healers and sent the physician to follow Yvonne on the pretext of Yvonne’s condition.

Seeing Yvonne answering softly, the physician got up from his seat with a sigh.

“The Duke was worried. I told him that I’ll let him know when your condition improves. He knows you’re awake, so he’ll be back in a few days.”

The choice of the word ‘worry’ was hilarious, but Yvonne nodded without any expression. When the physician left her bedroom, Yvonne was alone.

She had to rest for now. That way, she would be able to face the Duke.

***

Karloi sat in the office with a stern expression.