Chapter 34

I pouted.

The emperor pressed again, “Is there anyone who’s been hanging around you a lot, who talks to you often and shares food with you? Someone who can use magic?”

I had to think hard about this.

“I don’t know, I met so many people yesterday… I was with Vincenzo on my way to the academy.”

He nodded.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people there…”

“Anyone you talked to for a long time?”

“Vincenzo asked me to join him for the year-end party and helped carry my luggage.”

“Year-end party?”

Was the emperor the type to change topics so quickly? He seemed to be interested in such a minor detail.

Hmmm… Vincenzo had to help me because I met with a lot of instructors. Among them…

“Come to think of it, there was someone who said something strange.”

“What did they say…?”

“It was like…”

They spoke as if they knew that I had been attacked. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but now…

“‘You’ve changed your outfit. Did something happen to your school uniform?’ There was a person who asked that. It’s weird, right? People usually only say, ‘You changed your school uniform?’”

“Who’s that?”

“But he’s a lecturer…”

“I asked who it was.”

I belatedly remembered a sweet candy that smelled like herbs. I took a while to speak, tongue-tied.

“Instructor Xenon…”

The emperor didn’t miss my stammering. My voice sounded unconvincing.

“Instructor?”

“Yes. He’s my instructor and I went to consult with him about my early graduation requirements. He’s the one who said something I found weird. And yes, I ate something while I was there.”

“What was the exact time that you were there?”

Since I was busy running away from the stupid aristocrats hounding me about the imperial carriage, I had skipped lunch and went to visit the instructors right away. That’s how I was able to recall the exact time.

I didn’t know if he would be able to figure out the culprit just with this information, but in either case, I did not hesitate to say what I knew.

“It was half past twelve.”

“The herb I ate was probably an ingredient used in magical concoctions. Maybe that’s what affected me… It might have been the herb called the “stone dragon’s saliva”. The ingredients are medicinal and… It’s an ingredient used in magic.”

The emperor smiled as if he was pleased with my answer, his grin growing wider as I spoke. He touched his hand to my head very lightly, as if stroking a puppy, and then nodded.

It wasn’t a bad feeling to receive a compliment, but I was dumbfounded when I realized what he did.

He already knew the name of the herb I ate. So the emperor kept his mouth shut and watched if I could reason properly while I was thinking of every single person I met today, doubting and reflecting on what I ate?

I didn’t like the emperor acting like he was testing people’s intelligence every time. If it hadn’t been for this serious circumstance where I was suspicious of Instructor Xenon, I might have complained.

But the more I talked, the more it would seem that I was accusing Xenon of being the culprit. He was sweet to me from the start and was one of the few people who helped me adapt well to the academy from when I didn’t have many people on my side.

I didn’t want to think ill of him, I didn’t want to doubt him.

But I didn’t mean to stay quiet. I hadn’t forgotten the cold face the emperor had when he came into my room earlier. A stranger standing in my room was also not something I could let slide.

And most of all, I wasn’t afforded the luxury to grow up with my naivete. Just because someone showed you a kind face didn’t mean that they were a good person or that they meant well. You couldn’t live with your heart on your sleeve in the back alley–someone who treated you like a friend could be robbing you the next morning.

Instead of defending Instructor Xenon, I went on to say what I knew. “I understand that stone dragon’s saliva is a paralytic compound that works by mixing magic and drugs, and is rarely traded on the market because it is not suitable for medical use or for capturing animals alive. In some cases, excessive doses can kill you instantly, but it’s a drug that you can’t help but notice when you overdose on it because of its strong taste and aroma, which is followed by immediate paralysis.”

“Seeing how well you can speak again, the paralysis has really gone away. So?”

“Maybe he thought the drug would work right away, but it didn’t. I didn’t feel any effects until I got to the palace and it was too late.”

“Then what?”

“It must be Instructor Xerox.”

He looked intrigued. “You sound more determined than you look. Aren’t you acquainted with him? I heard you were generous with the food you gave away.”

“That’s right.”

The emperor’s red eyes looked straight into mine. “You’re being unexpectedly calm.”

“What did you think I’d do?”

“That’s not something I think of. But you’re being so calm when you might as well have been hit on the back of your head…”

“What about it?”

“It’s similar to how I would respond.”

It was an unexpected response.

“Your Majesty, who I have yet to formally serve as my master, has probably suffered from a lot of pitfalls since the death of his father, the former emperor. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any connection to my family that I seem a little comfortable when I’m alone with myself. I’m not proud of it, but I was sold to a slave dealer and only barely escaped with the help of the emperor.” I gave him a small smile. “I am not calm, Your Majesty.”

“Then what?”

“No matter how much I’ve lived in the back alley, I know my priorities. My priorities come under the will of Your Majesty, who has agreed to appoint me to a high position. I need to figure out what’s wrong so I can be of better service to Your Majesty.”

He laughed. “So you do know how to speak to a royal.”

It wasn’t flattery.

It didn’t matter what he thought. Even I, who was born with a low status unaware of the concept of chivalry, knew that being in an organization and being loyal were very important. It might be even more important than chivalry, as it was a matter directly related to our survival.

“The guard who made chase is said to have been seriously wounded in pursuit, but he couldn’t catch the culprit. But a suspect at the academy… That’s something we can investigate.”

“Yes.”

“Can you stand up?”

After taking the antidote, I guess I wasn’t the only one who was judging the extent of the drug’s effect. I’d been wiggling my fingers and toes for a while now, and I was sure I would be able to.

“Yeah.”

“Then go back now.”

I didn’t readily agree.

It was so obvious what he would do the moment I stepped out of this room. He’d take men like the security I have around my room, or the wizards I took when I went hunting the beast, and take them to the academy. And then he would bring out Xenon and torture him to near death until he confessed everything he knew. It was the most efficient way for him.

That was not to say that it was wrong. He dared to break into the imperial palace and lay a hand on me, someone who belonged to the emperor.

Maybe Instructor Xerox knew that.

However, before that, there was something I wanted to do first. Though I was sure this beautiful black-haired emperor wouldn’t like it.

I moistened my lips with my tongue instead of walking towards the door, to which he gestured for me to exit.

‘How can I talk to you so that you can pretend to listen to me?’

“Well, Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“Now, I can imagine that you’re carving out the limbs of Master Xerox in your head, but could you give me some time?”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to stand up for him?”

“I’m not standing up for him. It’s just that I suddenly thought of a possibility.”

“You do tend to say that a lot.”

He was the kind of person to listen very carefully to people’s words, looking for anything useful. I bet on that trait of his.

Instead of urging me to get out, the emperor crossed his arms as if he was listening.

I was skeptical about whether I could persuade him, but I had no choice but to try. There was no better plan for now than this, except that I would be exposed to danger.

I took a small breath. “It was the chief of staff who informed the empress about your condition.”

“What…?”

“I told you that I didn’t remember the last time, but as I pondered over it, I realized why his voice was so familiar to my ears. I have no doubt about it.”

“Can you take responsibility for that?”

“Yeah,” I answered decisively, but I don’t know which one he would trust more, the chief of staff or me. I waited for a moment in silence, waiting for his judgment.

The emperor rolled his red eyes as if contemplating for a moment and pressed his fingers to his temple as if he had been bothered. “He knows what happened when I was a kid, so he must know what happened.”

“Your Majesty.”

“I see.”

“Are you all right?”

“Well, there’s nothing that won’t eventually be fine. It’s surprising, but it’s good to know the rotten branches to cut. It’s bad to be rotten to the core.”

‘Do you trust me?’

Even if you didn’t believe me, he may have been pretending to.

I couldn’t figure out what he was up to, but I continued, “When the chief servant told the empress about the constitution of Your Majesty, she seemed not to believe a thing. Still, I thought the reason why she accepted the testimony was because I was suddenly attacked after that.”

“So what?”

“What if the two groups are different?”

“How would it be different…”

“Your Majesty, you said that the empress would not believe the truth about your condition. I thought that might be the case.”

I thought that the wizard who attacked me on the way down was sent by the empress dowager to find out about the ability to nullify magic. But thinking about it, wouldn’t Instructor Xenon’s purpose and that of the man who broke into my room differ?

“It means that the two groups are completely different and that information is not shared between them.” The emperor seemed to understand.

“Yeah.”

“Is there a third group with a different purpose as well?”

I nodded slowly. The man in my room was obviously, undoubtedly from Golddina.