From that day on, I immediately began examining the medicines brought by the Empress.
Julion resumed the noble meeting that had been interrupted, and the Emperor, eager to recover as quickly as possible, dedicated himself to rehabilitation.
And today, after a few days,
As I was preparing the reagents, Hemion informed me of the progress in a stifled voice.
“Roxis’s execution has been decided, Your Highness.”
I lifted my eyes from the reagent and looked at Hemion.
Hemion’s expression was rigid, unable to contain the flood of emotions surging within her—resentment, sorrow, sadness, and anger.
Overwhelmed by this flood of mixed emotions, I put down the pills I was holding and stood up fully.
“Hemion, isn’t this what you wish for? Why do you look upset?”
Hemion couldn’t answer immediately. She tightly bit her lower lip. Then, with a slightly trembling voice, he spoke up.
“It’s frustrating. I couldn’t do anything with my own hands. It makes me so frustrated and angry.”
Hemion’s hand, holding the mortar, slightly trembled. Her efforts to avoid crying only made her seem more pitiful.
I let out a small sigh and said,
“What do you mean you didn’t do anything? You provided the proof that Roxis was responsible for the attack on the Viscount of Martin and the burning of the estate. Without that, capturing Roxis would have been much more difficult.”
It was all true.
Hemion informed me that Roxis had taken the Viscount of Martin’s seal, and it turned out to be a ‘fake’ seal that Viscount Martin hadn’t officially used, providing crucial evidence.
Also, thanks to knowing the real location of the seal, Julion and I immediately secured the genuine seal and accused Roxis of being the culprit in the Viscount Martin incident.
This allowed us to add another serious charge to Roxis and issue a wanted notice. However, despite my explanation, Hemion still seemed resentful.
“Even if it wasn’t me, Your Highness could have guided the situation through other means.”
“That’s possible. However, we might have had to endure much more bloodshed. Roxis might have been freely wandering around, still planning and preparing?”
“That’s…….”
Hemion lowered her head deeply, as if at a loss for words. Her brown hair cascaded down her cheeks.
As her hand holding her skirt gradually turned paler, I spoke again, observing the change.
“So, don’t say you did nothing. Don’t even think about it. Negative thoughts will only gnaw at you.”
Tuduk, tuduk.
Clear tears fell drop by drop onto Hemion’s hand, holding her skirt. But in an instant, she lifted her head, wiping away the tears with a quick motion.
“Thank you, Your Highness. I really…… don’t know how to repay you for this favor.”
Hemion tried to sound cheerful, but her face was already wet with tears. To lighten the atmosphere, I intentionally responded with a stern expression.
“Then you’ll just have to work harder. Did you memorize all the assignments I gave you yesterday?”
“Uh, no…….”
Hemion gave me a look of disbelief, as if her mind had snapped back to reality.
It’s always fascinating to see how quickly her expression can change. I chuckled and turned my gaze back to the ingredients on the preparation table.
The medicines brought by the Empress from Cassian’s apothecary, along with various experiments for concocting the antidote for the poisonous beetle, were stacked neatly.
‘Now that Roxis’ execution has been decided, father will make a move, one way or another.’
From the moment Roxis’s guilt is confirmed and his execution is decided, the stigma of a noble family that has expelled an attempted regicide will be attached to Cassian’s name.
However, the Duke abandoned Roxis, leaving him to be executed.
That implied there were other options.
‘But he won’t use the same method as he did with Yeffa, and…’
I picked up a reagent and asked Hemion,
“Any news from the Rivolain’s side?”
“No, nothing.”
“I see….”
I had requested that she arrange a meeting with Marquis Thetman, but there was still no correspondence.
It seemed she was facing difficulties.
‘Then I might as well help him out a bit.’
Without taking my eyes off the ingredients, I told Hemion,
“Go and tell Julion to come when he has time.”
It seemed like we needed to take action from our side first.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Marquis Thetman has a lot on his mind these days.
The demands from Duke Cassian were becoming more excessive as time passed.
At first, he considered it somewhat fortunate that the Duke’s requests were just the usual ones.
But as the intervals between medications became shorter, the subtle demands increased.
Once again, they gave him medication and made excessive requests.
[Postpone the execution of Roxis Cassian by a month.]
It was conveyed discreetly, leaving no time for separate discussions with the Duke.
Just unilateral orders or notifications.
Despite that, Thetman had no choice but to comply. He was already bound by Cassian’s leash.
‘I can’t do without the medicine.’
Refusing or expressing dissatisfaction would result in the supply of medicine being cut off mercilessly.
Having experienced it several times, Marquis Thetman had given up resistance.
During this, Countess Rivolain quietly made contact.
To his surprise, the countess knew about the poisonous beetles. Her next words were enough to further alarm the Marquis of Thetman.
[Her Highness the Crown Princess wishes to create an antidote. She needs your help.]
It was an unbelievable statement. Creating an antidote for the poisonous beetle was nearly impossible.
The medicine currently supplied by Cassian was all there was, and even that only provided temporary relief, far from a complete cure. It was impossible to claim freedom from the poisonous beetle.
If creating the antidote were such an easy task, there would have been no need for him to work tirelessly all this time.
Normally, Marquis Thetman would have dismissed the Countess’s words as absurd and ignored them.
‘But… even the Emperor was cured.’
The Emperor, who was turned away by a lot of physicians, was treated and healed.
He even came back from the brink of death.
Although the Crown Princess explained that the Emperor’s apparent death was a temporary reaction to the poison, Marquis Thetman, unfamiliar with medicine, could only see it as if the deceased person had come back to life.
In addition, Thetman learned through his wife, Raviette, how remarkable the Crown Princess’s skills were.
She had told him so many times how she had saved Erka’s life on the boat that his ears were beginning to scab over.
‘Is her medicinal skill truly that exceptional?’
To live stably, he had to compromise his values and beliefs, groveling under Cassian’s rule.
On the other hand, supporting the Crown Princess meant the supply of medicine would be cut off, and he would have to live in constant fear of unpredictable symptoms.
Faced with these two choices, Thetman spent days hesitating without making a decision.
Then, the day after the decision of Roxis Cassian’s execution was set, Graham Thetman was kidnapped.
‘Why has it come to this?’
He was leaving the palace after a meeting of the nobility.
Except for the peculiarly icy atmosphere of today’s meeting, it was an ordinary day.
After finishing the meeting, he walked out towards the palace square.
He took a moment to admire the beautiful sky.
And…….
‘Suddenly, someone attacked me from behind.’
A brutal and forceful hand swiftly immobilized him, covering his mouth and nose, preventing him from making any sound.
As he struggled, an inexplicable drowsiness washed over him, and that was the last scene that Thetman remembered.
Thetman felt the black fabric surrounding him, feeling as if his body was entirely enclosed in some kind of sack.
Although he wanted to shout something, he was afraid to provoke his captors, so Thetman chose to keep his mouth shut and only open his ears.
How much time has passed?
As he felt like entering an indoor space, he suddenly fell with a thud on the ground.
“Oof…!”
His rear end hit the floor hard, snapping Thetman back to his senses.
He squirmed to get out of the sack.
However, as he attempted to lift his head, he had to quickly retract his face back inside.
‘Why is that person here!’
No, the real question was why he was kidnapped in this place.
In a way, it amounted to the same thing.
But Thetman wasn’t mentally prepared for this.
He never imagined having such a sudden encounter.
“Marquis Thetman, do you want to play whack-a-mole?”
As Thetman remained frozen in place, a sly voice descended from above the sack.
Thetman cautiously raised himself a bit, showing his face slightly.
