Duchess Shire was completely overjoyed.
Even after returning to the tea room, she stuck right by my side, refusing to leave. She was so caught up in excitement that she didn’t even hear Eloise apologizing.
“I’m sorry, Duchess. I think I may have encouraged you to eat too much—”
“Your Majesty, I’m so grateful! As a token of my appreciation, I’d love to invite you to my home! What do you think?!”
Eloise, unintentionally ignored, looked a bit flustered.
“Oh, if the opportunity arises, I’d be happy to visit.”
I smiled warmly at the enthusiastic Duchess Shire before smoothly returning to my conversation with the others.
Honestly, I had caught Eloise’s eyebrow twitching earlier, so I planned to step back and let the two of them bond now.
I had learned from experience as a child—when someone felt like their chosen friend was being “stolen,” things got messy. Even if I had no intention of doing so, it was best to avoid trouble.
“Lady Eloise, you’re the Empress’s cousin, right? You two look so alike—it’s fascinating!”
“Oh… I hear that a lot. By the way, I heard you have an older brother, Duchess. Do you two resemble each other?”
Fortunately, the two of them soon fell into a pleasant conversation.
Good. That worked out nicely.
With that settled, I went on to enjoy the tea gathering with everyone, making small talk and sharing laughter.
It was an exceptionally peaceful teatime.
****
“You know… I think we need to fix Xian’s berserk tendencies.”
That evening, I mumbled while lying next to Lindo, who was brewing a bubbling potion.
“Are you talking about what happened at the hunting grounds?”
“Yeah. I knew Xian was sensitive to blood, but I didn’t realize he could lose all rationality like that.”
I fiddled with the red book in my hands and continued.
“When he smelled the blood I spilled to use this book, he was fine. But at the hunting grounds, the moment he smelled someone else’s blood and then bled himself, he completely lost control.”
From that, I could deduce that he became dangerously unstable when exposed to other people’s blood, and even more so when he was injured himself.
It seemed that his own wounds triggered a stronger response than those of others.
“You know that prophecy about Xian destroying the empire if he ever gains emotions? It turned out to be nonsense, but if you interpret his berserk state as ‘rage,’ it kind of fits.”
An emperor who “feels” anger and then “destroys” the empire—something like that.
So far, it hadn’t been a major issue because Xian was a war hero, a crown prince raised in battle. But if this kept happening, things would get dangerous.
“I need to fix this before he gets branded as a real tyrant. Could it be war trauma?”
“Hmm. Well, ever since Your Majesty started putting him to sleep, he has been much more stable. Should we try medication?”
Lindo nodded in agreement and started brainstorming with me. But that alone wasn’t enough.
“We need something more fundamental.”
“Why not ask that red book? It helped calm His Majesty before, didn’t it?”
At Lindo’s suggestion, he handed me a silver needle with a meaningful glance. He said he had some research questions he wanted to ask anyway.
Sigh. This was the only way, huh? Using this book always felt like some sort of blood sacrifice, which made me tense every time.
“Shall I do it for you?”
“You’re awfully eager when it’s not your own finger.”
I shot Lindo a glare as he smirked foxily, then pricked my own finger.
A bright glow erupted from the book.
What is it that you wish to know, my master?
The man whose soul is bound to mine—there are times when he loses control at the sight of blood. Tell me how to fix it.
As I carefully wrote, a few dots flickered on the page as if in thought before the answer appeared.
As you have done before, tame him with your power, Master.
That phrasing was way too misleading.
“So His Majesty is into that sort of thing? I had no idea.”
…Just like this. I ignored Lindo’s perfectly straight-faced remark and scratched my cheek.
Tame him? What was that supposed to mean? My mind unhelpfully conjured up an image of myself brandishing a leather whip in a very peculiar manner.
How do I tame him? Explain in detail.
If you claim the same energy that clung to you today, your power will lead him to stability.
Huh?
“Did I get something on me today?”
“Not that I noticed?”
I immediately turned to Lindo, but he looked just as confused.
This book really had no idea how to give straightforward answers.
In the end, I had to sweet-talk and negotiate with the roundabout red book, stabbing all ten of my fingers in the process, before I finally got a concrete clue.
“Duchess Shire’s necklace?!”
Lindo, who had been diligently applying ointment to my poor fingers, promptly spoke up.
“I’ve heard it’s an heirloom of the Shire family. The Duchesses of Shire have always been princesses from Helios, and this gemstone necklace has been passed down through them.”
Now that he mentioned it, I recalled seeing Duchess Shire wearing a ruby necklace at the tea party!
“Ohh. So I just need to get that necklace?”
Luckily, she had taken quite a liking to me. But would I really be able to obtain a noble family’s treasured heirloom?
Is there any other item with the same energy as that necklace?
The jewels that amplify the Master’s power always exist in groups. If you find one, others will be nearby.
That was promising. The letters flickered briefly before disappearing—the book had reached its daily limit.
Just before it shut down completely, I quickly slipped in Lindo’s research question, squeezing out every last bit of usefulness from it.
“I guess I’ll have to visit the Shire estate soon. If I can’t get the ruby necklace, I’ll have to find another gemstone there!”
Lindo, just as excited as I was, eagerly revised his research notes while handing me the finished antidote.
“By the way, Your Majesty, until His Majesty stops suspecting that you’re terminally ill, it would be best to use separate bedrooms.”
“Huh?”
As I packed away the antidote, Lindo casually offered his advice.
“Since the poisons are accumulating in your system, your bouts of coughing up blood will become more frequent and unpredictable. If you continue sleeping together, he may witness it again.”
Ugh. If that happened, his overprotectiveness would get even worse. He already treated me like I was made of paper.
Xian was strange—he found me a nuisance, yet he constantly interfered with everything I did.
“Alright. I’ll make it happen as naturally as possible.”
I nodded, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling crawling up my spine just from imagining it.
****
The sunlight was warm.
That day, as always, Xian sat in his office with an expressionless face, working.
Bermut was peaceful, and so was his daily routine.
Ever since he had crushed Duke Simand, Cedric Sylvester, and the other nuisances who had dared to overstep, he had been sleeping much better.
‘If only I could stop her from wandering around with that weak body of hers, things would be even better.’
Xian subtly furrowed his brows.
Leah, who was already pale to begin with, had been walking around everywhere despite coughing up blood.
She claimed to enjoy social gatherings, so she diligently attended every single one—even the ones she could easily skip.
If only she would just stay in her room reading that red book she liked so much, conserving her energy, he wouldn’t have to worry so much.
‘At least tea parties aren’t so bad.’
Since she spent most of the time seated, it was somewhat acceptable.
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, an unwelcome image popped into his head—Leah, eyes sparkling, chatting happily with male nobles.
Snap.
“…What?”
Xian frowned as he looked at his hand.
The quill had broken.
For some reason, it had snapped in his grip, splattering ink across his desk.
“I-I’ll clean that right away!”
His attendants rushed in, quickly wiping his desk and hands while replacing the quill and ink.
Xian watched them in cold silence as three attendants—handpicked from the Empress’s palace—handled the mess.
‘S-so terrifying…’
These three handsome young men, recently reassigned to serve the Emperor, trembled slightly under his gaze.
Though the misunderstanding about them “serving” the Empress during her harem days had been cleared, it was clear the Emperor still wasn’t pleased about them receiving her favor.
Despite having plenty of other attendants, Xian deliberately summoned these three to the palace, often just to keep them in check.
His grudges were long-lasting indeed.
“Enough. Leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
We survived another day!
The attendants practically fled the office, suppressing sighs of relief.
Xian picked up a fresh quill, brushing off his previous thoughts as if they were nothing.
‘A commander naturally pays attention to their weakest soldier.’
A proper general protects their subordinates.
So, as a former war hero, it was only natural for him to be concerned about Leah.
That was his conclusion—Leah was simply the most fragile soldier under his command.
‘If I can strengthen my weakest subordinate, the overall power of my forces will improve.’
With a sense of responsibility, he made a firm decision—he would find a way to make Leah healthier, no matter what.
Of course, he failed to realize that no normal superior obsessively tracked their subordinate’s daily schedule in such detail.
“Your Majesty, a visitor has arrived from Helios.”
Several hours later, as he worked through his documents, his chief attendant knocked on the door.
Ah, right. That was today.
Glancing at his schedule, Xian gave a curt nod.
“Send him in.”
“Your Majesty, I, Kaibel Helios, greet you.”
A striking red-haired man strode in with a friendly smile.
Xian, still flipping through his papers, barely acknowledged him.
“I thought you were heading straight to the Shire estate.”
“I had to stop by and pay my respects first. His Late Majesty always encouraged us to stay in touch, after all.”
At Kaibel’s smooth reply, Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, finally looking up.
“Besides, I was also curious about how you were doing, Your Majesty.”
Kaibel met Xian’s icy golden gaze with ease, smiling faintly.
Kaibel Helios was the second prince of the Helios Kingdom, a nation founded by a distant branch of the Bermut imperial family.
That made him Xian’s cousin.
He was also the older brother of Duchess Ruby Shire and had come to Bermut to visit her.
The previous emperor, disapproving of his own son, had once considered adopting Kaibel as his heir instead.
It was only after Xian achieved an overwhelming series of victories on the battlefield that the late emperor finally designated him as crown prince.
“Are you really going to make your cousin stand around after such a long time? I came all this way to personally congratulate you on your marriage.”
“There’s nothing entertaining about my marriage. You’d best not waste your energy here.”
Of course, from Xian’s perspective, Kaibel was far from a welcome guest.
