Chapter 36 (1/2)

Chapter 36

I ran my hand over the shiny hinge that must have just been put on the new door. All of these things were done with the consideration of the chief servant.

It was true that since it turned out that the chief servant was the one who informed the empress dowager, we couldn’t afford to fully trust and follow him. However, I could not shake off my affection for him that swiftly.

While washing with warm water and lying on the soft, warm blanket, those complicated thoughts were sorted out one by one. Whether it was because of the medicines that I had taken, or because I had suffered mentally and physically for a long day, it was easy to drift off.

There was one thing that kept me from falling completely asleep. I couldn’t help but snicker at the image of the empress surrounded by cookie packages. When I imagined the face of the empress, who must have been embarrassed by the package of cookies she had looked for everywhere, I laughed even as I was falling asleep.

After a long while, the emperor’s face came to mind. His voice praising me for doing well and eyes that seemed to see right through me. Him giving me his permission to confront Xenon myself.

It was a hard-earned trust. As he said, my life was no longer mine, so I shouldn’t act recklessly. I had to make good use of this opportunity somehow. I imagined myself going to the Academy and meeting him, pondering over what to say, then I fell into a sullen sleep.

When I arrived at the academy, I thought Xenon might have already run away. I wouldn’t have thought he couldn’t deduce that I knew he was the one who drugged me.

However, he showed up during the Academy Inquiry session. His round glasses were impressive on his tired-looking face, which was no different from usual. He hurried to the front of the podium, waited for us to sit down, and calmly opened his mouth. “Hello, everyone. Good morning. I have something to tell you today. Class N of Magic Herbology was supposed to be outdoors, but…” He explained in a languid voice and even made eye contact with each student.

While listening to that friendly voice, I entertained the doubt that I might have misunderstood and that it was someone else who used poison on me. But it couldn’t be an illusion.

I followed him out and headed to the instructor’s office. Xenon noticed that I was following, so he waited in front of the door and even opened the door. All of this was like hide-and-seek. Or a difficult puzzle.

Instructor Xenon calmly went to the academy every day to spend his usual daily life, and the emperor was watching the situation even though he could easily capture him and lock him up or cut his throat. Between those two, I was the only one busy coming and going, trying to figure out the purpose of the group somehow.

Entering his room, where the air was as pleasant as usual, I sat down in a chair as recommended. The face of the instructor looked as good as always. Monolids, light eyes, bushy green hair.

The instructor handed me a piece of candy with a small smile as he sat back. “What brings you here, Miss Celestia?”

The same candy as yesterday. I wouldn’t eat this unless I was a really great idiot.

But what if he gave it to me with intent? The fact that I didn’t eat it could be taken as a sign of doubt for him.

As long as I was awake, I couldn’t help but doubt him. But I calmly peeled the candy and put it in my mouth.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t be poisoned again. Not because I had faith that they wouldn’t try anything again. This time, the antidote was prepared in advance.

I could tell he was observing me.

It was a really small smell, but I was sure of it. Instructor Xenon must have intentionally fed me “the stone dragon’s saliva”.

‘How do I bring this up? Can you answer my direct question? What if you don’t?’

But if it wasn’t now, there was no other chance. I didn’t want to ruin the opportunity the emperor had granted me.

“I’m here to tell you something.”

“Is this a consultation?”

“I won’t beat around the bush. I… the candy you gave me yesterday.”

“What?”

It was a face of ignorance, but I took a deep breath and asked at once. “It’s because I don’t want to doubt you. Why did you give me the candy yesterday?”

Xenon blinked as if he didn’t understand the language I was speaking. “The candy I gave you?”

“You don’t mean to say you don’t know anything.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Are you going to pretend you don’t even know that the candy has poison in it?”

“What do you mean, poison?”

“The whole time I was at the academy, you were nice to me. Even if my status is low, you never discriminated against me. I looked up to you.”

“Thank you.”

“I was here for so long. I came to the lecture hall often. But why did you do this all of a sudden…? I don’t quite understand. Why did the instructor give me candy with stone dragon’s saliva?”

“If I were to stay with you as a researcher, I would have had more time. It’s because you’re graduating early and you’re going into the palace.” He sounded the same as usual and looked the same as usual.

I didn’t realize until a beat later that he confessed to my accusations.

Looking at the candies in the basket on the desk, he still replied with an innocent face. “You didn’t fall down immediately, so you must have come prepared.”

It was such a gentle tone that I even thought I heard something wrong. He was confirming that he was the culprit, but when he confessed so gently, I felt nauseous and sweaty. I bit my lips gently. I thought I was trying not to be exposed to danger, but there really was someone in the academy who was after me for some reason. I was naive. Since he was supposed to serve the emperor, he had to take his escort around the clock.