Chapter 33 (1/2)

Chapter 33

The emperor’s face was impassive as he looked around coldly, almost murderous. So basically, the usual expression. There had been times when I had thought I’d gotten used to his face, and found it attractive, even, but now I was reminded of how scary he could look.

The sensation of a piece of wood hitting my cheek was too vivid to be a dream.

I think the loud noise I had just heard was the sound of my door breaking.

“Follow me!”

The emperor muttered under his breath that he didn’t know who the attackers were and where they came from. I couldn’t use magic in my state, so I couldn’t really feel the magical energy scattered in the air. Where did the intruders go?

I stared up at him blankly, and the emperor frowned, perhaps because he noticed my gaze.

“It’s a good thing I put a magical alarm on your quarters. I thought it would be safe to leave you alone because you wouldn’t be affected by magic… What happened to you?”

I opened my mouth to respond to the reprimand, but the words did not come out easily. I clumsily tried to make a sound, but it was difficult so I gave up quickly and shut my mouth again.

The emperor continued walking.

‘Oh no, you don’t mean to walk around the hallway holding me like this, right? This can’t be happening…’

I didn’t want to have anything to do with something that draws attention like that, being carried around the hallway in the emperor’s arms…

He walked out of the hallway, obviously irritated, carrying me like a piece of luggage despite my rising panic.

It was so absurd that I wanted to protest, but my voice wouldn’t come out. I learned in an herbal medicine class that there was a kind of drug that relaxes the muscles of the whole body and puts you to sleep. That must have been what I was given.

I still couldn’t turn my head properly, but I could feel the shocked gazes of the people who saw us. The only option I had was to close my eyes tightly, dizzy and delirious from the ridiculousness of the situation.

It felt like it took a lifetime to get through the hall. My head ached at the prospect of explaining this to everyone, but the emperor put me down on the bed as if he didn’t care about what people would say.

I opened my eyes to glare at him but stopped short at his worried expression. I didn’t mean to make him look like that.

Did I do something wrong?

I tried and failed to speak, and then everything went dark.

***

His face appeared for a moment, blurry, then it vanished again.

I heard the doctor’s serious voice saying I must have been drugged as I faded in and out of consciousness. After a brief moment, when I woke up, the emperor and I were alone in my room.

His hand was on my cheek, gently shaking me, then he sighed and brought out a small black bottle as he barely met my eyes.

Was that an antidote?

It seemed that didn’t want anyone else in the area, so the doctor was nowhere to be found. The emperor tried to give me the medicine by pouring the liquid into my mouth himself.

It was a pitiful attempt, and I was terrified that he would continue to give me liquids while I was lying down. Wouldn’t it be worse if I choked and couldn’t breathe?

I couldn’t even speak a word of warning, though it was clear that this was a bad idea. It was a miracle that I could even open my eyes to see what was happening.

Fortunately, I was able to cough when I couldn’t take the medicine being force-fed to me, even in my helpless state. The emperor stared at me worriedly, unsure of what to do since his efforts didn’t seem to be working as he intended.

‘Hey, it’s not my fault either.’

I looked back into his frustrated eyes.

He lifted my upper body a little bit and held me, then stared at the medicine for a while, thinking. He seemed to realize that time was of the essence―I was poisoned and needed the antidote quickly. I tried to force my mouth to open, but the emperor made a resolute expression, poured the contents of the bottle into his mouth, and then pressed his lips to mine.

The liquid that trickled into my mouth from the emperor’s had the characteristic pungent smell of medicinal herbs. I was so startled at what he did, but thankfully the amount of medicine was small enough that I was able to swallow it, albeit with a little difficulty.

He seemed to realize that I was able to ingest it this way, so he tilted the bottle of medicine into his mouth and repeated the process.

I honestly didn’t have any good memories of a kiss. However, I’d seen a lot of artificial respiration to treat patients in emergencies, and there was nothing embarrassing with someone putting their mouth on mine for medical purposes. Well, the emperor himself carried the antidote to his mouth…

I blushed and swallowed with difficulty.

The second time, the emperor was a bit slower in opening his mouth to let the medicine pass. He closed his eyes for a long time and held my gaze intently.

Then the emperor quickly straightened as if nothing had happened. He raised his hand and put it on my forehead, and then put it to his own.

“I still have no idea how to measure heat,” he muttered nonchalantly, wiping off the medicine around his mouth with his fingers. Then he laid me back on the bed and stood abruptly. “You must’ve been given a drug that made you unconscious. That’s been dealt with. We’ll find out later what exactly happened to you. Get a good night’s sleep first.”

He paused. “Also what the hell did you eat? You…”

I couldn’t catch the trailing end of his sentence as he wiped his lips with his thumb once more. He gave me a brief glance before slipping out of the room.

‘This bed is the emperor’s bed… are you really going to let me stay here? Where are you going? Are you leaving to sleep somewhere else?’