“…”
There was a reason why ginger juice tasted different. Lasilia frowned, remembering the spicy and foul taste of the ginger juice that Flota gave her. When Flota made the juice, she either meant it for herself, or she didn’t have any hopes for a quick recovery. So, the sweet and warm ginger tea she was drinking now went down her throat smoothly, but lukewarmly stuck somewhere in her heart.
-I told you to make it delicious.
Because you have to feel like it’s delicious to eat it. Because he hoped so.
“…I don’t know.”
Sweet.
Lasilia set down her second cup. She felt like he might get the wrong idea if she continued like this, so Lasilia covered herself up with the blanket. She forced herself to sleep, hoping the blanket would cover all her thoughts with white. The next day, ridiculous information was relayed to the imperial chef that the Empress of Eliadan’s favorite food was ginger.
* * *
“Isn’t this a bit harsh?”
Lasilia muttered as she looked at the dishes that filled her table. All dishes had ginger on top. It was the first time she learned that there were so many different ginger recipes in the world. Yvette, who had one of her arms bandaged, lowered her head in embarrassment.
“I think so too, Your Majesty…”
“…It’s ridiculous, but it’s delicious.”
Laslia smiled bitterly and moved her fork.
“I guess you can make jam with ginger. I didn’t know.”
“In fact, you can make anything, Your Majesty. We also make cookies and cakes. And again… No, I didn’t mean it was nice.”
Yvette, who was about to list the things she knew out of habit, suddenly closed her mouth in the middle. Yvette, who was fiddling with the hem of her skirt, could not overcome her guilt and added his words cautiously. That was… She was just saying that Her Majesty drank ginger juice for her cold… It seemed that somehow it was misrepresented.
So, Yvette thought it was her fault that the table looked like this this morning.
“It is not so. If there’s anything wrong, it’s my fault for emptying two cups of ginger tea.”
Even though she was dumbfounded, she couldn’t help but laugh. Considering the Emperor who made this sadal because he drank sweet tea, it was inevitable.
“Ah… Well, then it’s not that bad?”
“It’s worth eating at least once. But it’s better to say something so it doesn’t happen every time.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Yvette moved briskly and served the meal with a lighter expression on her face.
“It’s fine. The princess was hurt. I will eat it.”
“No, it’s just a look and it doesn’t really hurt. I have already received all the treatment. But…”
Her face, which had become lighter at first, became dark again.
“Her Majesty… Are you really okay…? So I really did that… ”
“I’ve told you several times, but it wasn’t your fault.”
“But I’m like that… I did something ridiculous. I can’t even put it into words…”
Yvette bit her lip. Lasilia put down her fork and patted the back of Yvette’s hand.
“It happened to Lord Sigress too. There would have been no way to avoid it since it might be ancient magic. I’m glad the princess is safe.”
“Your Majesty the Empress…”
Yvette cried and looked at Lasilia. Feeling like the conversation that had already ended would be repeated again, Lasilia picked up her fork again.
“I want to finish eating first. Don’t worry about that anymore.”
“Oh, I understand… Ah, but why did you make her take off her clothes?”
Yvette was smart. She did not lose sight of the fact that this work had a definite purpose.
“No matter how much I think about it, it’s so strange. I’ve been thinking about her all this time, but I think there can only be one reason.”
Sweet.
The fork hit the plate and made a small noise. Lasilia took a sip of water to hide her agitation.
“What do you think that is?”
“It’s a sign. Wouldn’t the only reason to do such a thing to Her Majesty the Empress be a sign?”
Yvette, who was speaking, shook her shoulders.
“Because the mark is in a place where it can never be easily seen. I don’t know what they were trying to do with the mark… I think this is a very serious matter, Your Majesty.”
“… I know.”
Now that Yvette has noticed, others will soon notice as well. As Yvette said, there was only one reason to forcibly remove the Empress’s clothes: to check the mark.
“Lord Horsed said there may have been ancient magic used. Then the culprits must be snakeheads… Then I don’t think the temple is completely unrelated.”
“…well.”
“What on earth is going on? Why did something like this happen to Her Majesty the Empress…?”
“Princess Shryden.”
Lasilia interrupted Yvette’s thoughts at that point. Yvette was already approaching my secret. At this rate, the reason why she refused to take a bath and always changed out of her undergarments on her own might have been linked to the sign. There were only a few steps left before Yvette faced the secret.
“As I said, that is the job of His Majesty’s Guard. I want to finish my meal.”
“Oh, I was presumptuous. Forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Yvette closed her mouth and stepped back.
“…”
Lasilia continued to move the fork without saying a word. Now was the time to really try something.
‘How can she no longer be the empress? You have to think about that.’
What could such a thing be?
* * *
A slightly different crowd than usual gathered in the emperor’s office. Decan and Fifi were there to replace Serven, who had been demoted to the lowest knight and was standing guard at the main gate of the empress’ palace.
“Uh, this is my first time seeing it… First time meeting you… isn’t it?”
It was Ryan’s first time seeing Pipi. She heard she was a phoenix, but her figure was so small that the honorifics didn’t come out well.
“Very, um… Are you young?”
“Beep!”
Pipi shook his head, shaking one of his wings.
“What is he saying now?”
Ryan looked at Decan in confusion. Decan, who had also been demoted to the lowest knight, stood with his hands folded respectfully behind Ryan’s back.
“Ah, let’s stop saying useless greetings and talk about something important.”
“Oh, do you understand all that?”
“No. I don’t understand it clearly. It’s about reading body language using the power of magic.”
“Still, it’s amazing… By the way, what should I call you? Can I just call you Phoenix? That’s a bit strange.”
“Beep!”
“I think you’re saying it has a name. However, he says he doesn’t like it when humans speak carelessly.”
“Ah… You have strong tastes.”
Ryan nodded her head with a somewhat sad look on her face.
“Beep! Beep!”
As if she was so irritated, Pipi flew out and hit Ryan on the bridge of his nose with its wing.
“…He tells me to concentrate.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry.”
Ryan readily apologized and adjusted her posture to sit down. Actually, there was no need to do that because Lescal had not arrived yet, but that little bird made the humans notice for no reason.
“What about Your Majesty?”
“You’re still talking to the chef.”
“Right.”
There was never a chance for the emperor to meet the chef in person. Still, neither Ryan nor Decan could say anything. As bad things happened to the Empress one after another, the Emperor was on edge. He was willing to do anything to make the empress feel better. With security inside the imperial palace tight, Chamberlain Persson was busy searching for a new tailor and ordering a new necklace for the Empress from a jeweler. Meanwhile, Rascal did not forget to give a gift to the empress’s maid. It was a repayment for the Empress telling her about her favorite food, but many believed that it was too much to repay her for only saying a few words.
“What are you going to do to the chef?” …I think if Her Majesty the Empress had even said one word about how delicious it was, she would at least grant her castle.”
Ryan muttered without thinking.
“Beep!”
Then she got slapped on the other cheek as well.
“The Emperor told us not to complain about pleasing Her Majesty.”
“No, I’m not pouting…”
“Sweet!”
“Yes-yes. All right.”
Ryan quickly raised both her hands. The Phoenix was a snot-sized subject and had an unusual temperament. He was the type of person who would fly in and give him a beating.
“You won’t lose your temper.”
“Oh, I guess that’s right. I don’t know if it’s a gem. It may be a matter of how big it is.”
While these words were being exchanged, Lescal arrived. Decan and Ryan greeted the Emperor with a restrained attitude, as if they had just chatted.
“It’s okay to say hello. Just sit down.”
Lescal skipped over the trivial matters and ordered a report straight away. No matter how you look at it, he did not look like a pathetic wife who had heard that the Empress was happy eating the new dish she had tried.
“The Royal Guard confirmed the tailor’s food. All of the family members were dead, and only the youngest son was missing, and he was found dead this morning.”
Ryan quickly opened her mouth.
“Has there been any information about who killed him?”
“Unfortunately, that is the case. Those kids were so thorough that they didn’t leave a single witness.”
“Is it true that Saint Malik did it?”
“I’m not sure about that either, Your Majesty. The cause of death on the discovered body was a common stab wound. I’m pretty sure he was stabbed to death. There was nothing to tie it to the Malik guys.”
“…I feel helpless.”
Lescal’s low, angry voice made the knights around him suffer.
“I apologize, Your Majesty.”
“Anything else?”
This time, Decan stepped up.
“We need to find evidence, but I think we also need to consider the purpose of this incident. It’s strange that they used a tailor. If power could be used without restrictions on the medium, there would have been an easier way. For example, a chef.”
“…”
Lescal’s eyes sharpened.
“This is just an example, Your Majesty. Anyway, if the purpose was to harm Her Majesty the Empress, it would have been better. It’s a simple matter if you poison your food, right? Considering that Sir Sigress was available, the Royal Guard would not have been difficult to control.”
“However?”
“But I used a tailor. There was something a tailor could do.”
“…It means that the purpose was to strip the empress of her clothes.”
“Maybe they were aiming for a mark.”
Lescal pressed his thumb between his eyes.
“A mark is literally just a mark. It is only proof that the Empress is my companion, and the mark itself has no power.”
“Then maybe they were trying to transfer the mark to another body? If only it were possible with ancient magic.”
“It was witchcraft that created that mark. Is it possible to engage in witchcraft using ancient magic?”
“I don’t know about that. I know that witchcraft and magic are different forces that operate in different ways, but it would be possible if a greater power destroys a lesser power.”
“Let’s say you were aiming for a mark. So what do they get?”
“…I’m sorry, but I don’t know that much.”
Decan expressed his sadness in an uncharacteristic way.
“There is very little research into ancient magic, so what we can find out is limited. If only I could at least know what kind of power he was using…”
“Beep?”
At that time, Pipi intervened.
“What?”
“Yes?”
As Lescal and Decan reacted, Ryan, who was the only one who could not understand what Pipi was saying, shook her head with a tearful expression on her face.
“Beep. Beep, beep?”
“Ah…”
Decan, who was surprised, then showed his anger.
“I guess that would be a way too. It’s a good idea.”
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on December, 17.
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