After soaking twelve tissues with tears, Zenid finally managed to calm her crying.
Seeing Zenid unable to control her emotions to this extent was a first for me, so my nose also tingled, making it difficult to hold back my tears.
The day when my mother and Genid appeared in my sight together had come again.
It still didn’t feel real to me.
Even though Mother looked at Zenid with a dry gaze, just having her breathing next to me felt like a dream.
“I’m really glad you’re safe.”
Zenid sniffled and wiped her eyes.
Then, she suddenly noticed the bag she had been holding tightly in her arms.
“Oh, look at me; I completely forgot.”
“What’s this……?”
“It’s… strawberry cream bread. I’ll prepare some tea to go with it.”
Zenid skillfully took out the bread and set it on the table, then brewed some tea.
The refreshing scent of strawberries and the savory smell of the bread made my mouth water involuntarily.
“Since it’s not mealtime, I thought a quick snack would be nice. Unfortunately, all we have is this tea…”
Because it was a rundown inn, rosemary tea was the only tea available.
Just common herbal tea and bread bought from the market.
But it looked much more delicious than the expensive desserts we had at the palace.
Mother, too, seemed drawn to the sweet and fragrant aroma, subtly sparkling her eyes as she looked at the bread and tea.
‘At least there’s some improvement.’
Mother had never shown interest in anything before.
The only thing she had was a desire to sleep.
[I must sleep now…]
[It’s still a little while before night; are you very tired?]
[I need to sleep.]
[Alright. Since we can’t sleep on the road, try to hold on just a little longer.]
After escaping from the Duke’s mansion, Mother insisted on sleeping even though it wasn’t yet dusk.
It was the first and only time she had ever spoken up for herself, so I hurried to find an inn, worried that she hadn’t slept for a while.
But Mother’s sleep seemed endless.
She slept for at least ten hours a day, sometimes even fifteen.
Fortunately, the meeting place with Zenid was close by, so we could arrive without difficulty. But…
Even just counting the time Mother slept for the past four days, it totaled over sixty hours.
‘Still, just being with her like this…’
I was so happy.
I gazed at her sleeping face for a long time, cautiously touching her hand.
‘If she were awake, I wouldn’t be able to indulge in these feelings.’
Not only that, but I could also easily perform a thorough examination.
Drawing blood, preparing blood test reagents, and closely examining her condition.
The results were somewhat shocking.
[Mordheim’s poison……?]
The test reagent contained Mordheim poison.
Either the Duke hadn’t fully cured Mother or deliberately left her untreated.
Either way, her body was full of Mordheim poison.
‘How did he wake her up?’
With this much poison in her body, she should have fallen into a coma-like state, just like the Emperor did.
That’s what her diary said.
Even Mother herself fell into a coma and was buried in her tomb.
To wake her up, the Mordheim poison had to be completely detoxified and successfully treated.
‘Did they use some kind of trick?’
It wasn’t long ago that a skilled pharmacist appeared in Cassian.
That means it’s only been a short time since mother woke up and was able to properly practice medicine.
The thought flashed through my mind that perhaps Mother had been trapped in the laboratory under the clock tower all this time.
I barely suppressed the rising anger and observed Mother’s current state more closely.
When she went to sleep, she slept like the dead and woke up without a sound.
After waking up, she would sit there blankly and give brief answers to the questions asked.
But even those answers were within a very limited range, and she remained silent to personal questions.
For example…….
[What’s your favorite food?]
[…….]
[Do you like chocolate?]
[…. Choc…olate?]
Her knowledge-based memories hadn’t disappeared, so she shouldn’t have been unfamiliar with chocolate.
But she shook her head and didn’t answer easily.
I handed her one of my chocolates and asked her to try it, and she hesitantly put it in her mouth, her eyes widening slightly.
[It’s sweet.]
Mother had a particular fondness for sweet desserts.
Even though her memories and emotions had vanished, it appeared that her taste hadn’t changed, as she seemed to enjoy the chocolate.
‘Wait a minute. She said she liked it?’
When emotions disappear, so do preferences.
But she seemed to develop a preference after tasting the food she liked.
Taking this into consideration, I tried feeding Mother a variety of foods she used to like and dislike.
[This is mango ice cream; try it.]
[This is custard cream; it’s very sweet.]
[This cake is made from an oriental mugwort herb…]
[Try some carrot juice.]
She tasted the mango and the custard cream and kept eating them.
But she didn’t touch the mugwort cake or carrot juice again after trying them once.
When I suggested trying the mugwort cake and carrot juice again later, she hesitated.
The same was true for other things.
She started to look forward to the time when she would receive new foods while traveling and staying at the inn.
‘She’s developing emotions.’
While it was possible to eliminate existing emotions, it was natural for humans to develop emotions in response to new stimuli.
So it seemed that the Duke kept Mother hidden and minimized external contact as much as possible.
‘I have to keep exposing her to new things somehow.’
Through this, her emotions might become richer again, and perhaps…
‘Is there any hope of recovering her memory?’
Nothing is certain yet.
But at least I had an idea of how to approach the situation.
It seemed beneficial to create medicine that could elevate emotions and stimulate memory.
“You should have some too. You like it.”
As I pondered the events that had transpired with Mother up to this point, Zenid handed me a fork.
The strawberry cream bun was cut into a perfect size for eating and placed on the plate.
Mother held a fork and stared at me, her eyes resembling those of a fledgling bird seeking permission.
Perhaps it was because I always said, “Try it” first.
I was about to reassure her that she could eat whatever she wanted without asking for permission, but I stopped myself.
‘What if she eats something poisonous or strange somewhere?’
Currently, my mother’s state is like that of a toddler taking their first steps.
Of course, she was quieter, less curious, and more manageable.
“Try it. It will probably be very tasty.”
“Tasty…….”
Mother took a small bite of the strawberry cream bun, swallowing it with a gulp of saliva.
I also took a bite.
The soft bread, pink strawberry cream, and strawberry inside created a refreshing and sweet taste.
It had the same taste as when I used to buy it at the market and eat it with her when she had no appetite.
“What do you think? Is it good?”
Mother slowly moved her mouth as if savoring the bun.
Then her eyes opened wide.
It was the strongest reaction I’d ever seen, and I looked at her in surprise.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
The atmosphere in the palace has been tense for the past few days.
The Emperor and Empress were pleased to see the Duke of Cassian captured by Julion, nearly bloody, but it was short-lived.
Upon hearing the news that the whereabouts of the Crown Princess could not be found, the imperial couple’s expressions turned serious, and a heavy atmosphere descended upon them.
It had been three days since the order to search for the Crown Princess was issued across the empire.
“Is this all we have to deal with today?”
Julion was once again buried in his work today, as if possessed.
From the moment he woke up, he practiced, barely ate, and then locked himself in his office, immersing himself in his tasks.
Even after dealing with hundreds of documents, he still demanded more work from Paleson.
Despite it still being midday, Julion had already finished all the tasks he had to do for the day.
“That’s all for now, Your Highness. All that remains is the meeting of the nobles in two hours.”
“With so much to deal with in Cassian’s affairs, why is this the only paperwork that has come to me?”
“Your Highness, we are still investigating.”
“It’s been days already! Why are we still just investigating?”
Frustrated, Julion suddenly grabbed his temples as a throbbing headache hit him.
His vision blurred, and the surroundings seemed distorted.
Pailson looked at Julion, who was furrowing his brows deeply, and sighed.
“Please rest, Your Highness. You might fall ill if you continue like this.”
“…Perhaps that would be quicker.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
Pailson asked incredulously, and Julion’s mouth twisted in a self-deprecating smile.
“If I were to fall ill, would that be enough to summon her?”
Julion’s eyes, now tinged with irony, no longer sparkled as they once did.
The brilliant gold that always glittered in his eyes had dimmed, clouded by a deep darkness.
The darkness that had settled over them made Pailson nervously bite his lower lip.
“We’re continuing the search. There should be news soon, Your Highness. Please, just a little more patience.”
Despite their once-close relationship, Pailson couldn’t fathom why the Crown Princess had suddenly left.
He could only hazard a guess that it might have something to do with Duke Cassian’s rebellion, which caused the Crown Princess to renounce her title.
“How is Duke Zikriesen Cassian faring?”
Julion asked wearily.
He wished he could rest now. Pailson could only answer, feeling helpless as Julion once again sought out more tasks.
“He’s still not fully conscious. But he’s hanging on, for now.”
“He’s quite resilient. And what about the nobles?”
“…They’re the same. They’re insisting that Duke Cassian be treated, even if it’s just for the sake of the investigation.”
While they used the investigation as a pretext, their true concern was likely the antidote for the poisonous beetle.
If Duke Cassian died like this, they would never be free from the poison threat. So, by now, the nobles would probably be restless, eager to see action.
Julion frowned and rose from his seat.
“We execute ‘that’ today. Prepare for it.”
