Episode 72

Lian seemed to have a lot of free time now that he had gone from being the empire’s chancellor to a kidnapper.

As soon as breakfast was cleared away, he barged into my room uninvited, pestering me.

“I’m not feeling well. Call a doctor.”

I spoke to him as he casually sat down in the chair opposite me without permission.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“My whole body aches. I think it’s because of that medicine you gave me.”

“That medicine shouldn’t have any side effects.”

“Well then, maybe someone beat me up while I was unconscious. It feels like I got hit all over.”

I had asked for a doctor to see if I could get an outsider into this isolated castle, but I was genuinely in pain too.

Not having slept well the night before made it worse today. Every joint in my body hurt.

Lian looked at me for a moment before rummaging through his pockets and speaking.

“Riding in a rush probably didn’t make the carriage very comfortable.”

He then placed a small glass bottle on the table.

It was filled with a bright yellow liquid.

“What is this?”

“It’s a pain reliever. Take half after meals.”

“How can I trust the medicine you give me?”

“Can you trust the doctor I call for you?”

He smiled slightly as he slid the bottle toward me.

It seemed like he wasn’t planning on calling the doctor after all.

I sighed and took the bottle, and Lian crossed his long legs, resting his clasped hands on top as he spoke.

“Well, shall we continue our unfinished conversation?”

“I’ve got nothing to say to a lunatic.”

“You’re becoming more foul-mouthed by the day, but fine. I’ve already told you what I want, so it’s your turn to answer, my lady.”

He shamelessly continued the conversation on his terms, as if he had even decided on the order of the discussion.

And that ridiculous title again—was he using it just to irritate me?

I turned my head away and clamped my mouth shut, but Lian pressed on with a teasing tone.

“If I die, will you cry for me, my lady?”

I knew ignoring him was the best course of action, but even though my mind knew this, my insides were boiling with frustration.

“If you had asked me not long ago, maybe I would have. But not now.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know what you did?”

“Is it that different from causing the death of Marchioness Senwood to causing the death of His Majesty the Emperor? Was it because he was your husband? Did you love him?”

What kind of absurd nonsense was he spouting now?

I couldn’t even figure out where this idiot was getting his misguided assumptions from.

The marquis, Bonita, Henry, and even the Emperor Nerian—weren’t they all tragic victims of the serpent’s power? What difference did it make?

I didn’t know how to respond, so I just stared at him.

That’s when Lian’s nonsense became even more colorful.

“I find it curious that a bond between husband and wife could form in just one day, but then again, you felt maternal love for your stepdaughter in that same amount of time. So, is it safe to assume you decided to kill me for revenge on your husband?”

“This idiot…”

“Pardon?”

I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, causing Lian to look at me with a dumbfounded expression.

I wasn’t sure where to even start correcting him, so I decided to tackle the last bit of nonsense first.

“I didn’t try to kill you. I tried to punish you because you did something wrong.”

“But you let it slide when Bonita died, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t let it slide, and you weren’t blameless either. The only reason I didn’t punish you is because I thought I didn’t have the right. She did it for me. She gave her life for my sake! But that turned out to be a lie.”

“It wasn’t a lie.”

Lian had gone from the empire’s chancellor to a kidnapper, yet somehow he seemed to have more free time than ever.

As I confronted him, I spat out, “So you’re telling me you didn’t silence Bonita to keep the truth about your snake’s curse from coming out in court?”

The usually smooth-talking Lian fell silent at my accusation.

Oddly, seeing him admit to it without his usual shameless lies made me feel even worse.

I was on the verge of tears, but I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or sadness, so I couldn’t let them fall.

Gritting my teeth, I spoke coldly, as if to drive a nail into my own heart.

“Not only did you lie and avoid punishment by claiming it was all for Lothania and me, but you also won my sympathy.”

Lian, who had been silently thinking, finally tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“I can’t say whether it was more about wanting to avoid being implicated in the emperor’s assassination or wanting to win your sympathy. I suppose I can’t deny either.”

His voice, emotionless despite talking about matters of the heart, sent a chill down my spine.

“I might have been in a hurry because it seemed like the eagle was starting to suspect something.”

He even nodded in acknowledgment, admitting to the suspicions I had.

That day, when Aiden and Vitrain barged into the detached palace on the Day of the Serpent, Aiden had claimed he’d captured a witness who could testify that Bonita had killed the emperor and tried to assassinate me.

At that moment, Lian had demanded Bonita’s immediate execution, while Vitrain had kept quiet with a troubled expression.

Vitrain hadn’t encountered Bonita before, so he wouldn’t have noticed anything unusual, but he would have been at her trial.

And with the eagle’s eyes, he would have immediately seen that Bonita had been poisoned by the snake’s venom.

That’s why Lian had gone to the Senwood March’s estate that night. He had already calculated everything.

A fresh wave of revulsion washed over me at his cold, meticulous cruelty.

Even though he sat close enough that our knees almost touched, the distance between us felt insurmountable. His false smile sent shivers down my spine.

“I should’ve dealt with it faster. I had no idea the dog would become so obedient so quickly.”

“Why are you dragging Aiden into this again?”

“I went to all the trouble of creating evidence, but he wasted time and let it slip through his fingers. Even when I handed him a witness, he didn’t bite, so I had to step in.”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but the ominous feeling it gave me was unmistakable.

The fact that this involved Aiden made me even more reluctant to listen.

I stood up, trying to signal that I wanted to end the conversation, but Lian’s next words made me freeze.

“You never did find the forest keeper’s body, did you?”

Why was he bringing up the forest keeper, whose body we never found? And why did he sound disappointed that Aiden hadn’t found it?

In the back of my mind, a piece of the puzzle finally clicked into place.

“So the ‘high-ranking person’ who promised to buy the forest keeper a mansion… was you?”

“The forest keeper probably died thinking it was the Senwood March who hired him. How could a mere forest keeper kill the emperor? It was the Senwood March who snapped the emperor’s neck and staged it as an accident.”

“What…?”

“A man in love commits many sins.”

Lian winked at me with his beautiful face.

I had been halfway out of my chair but collapsed back into it, strength draining from my body.

It was horrific enough that the Senwood March had killed the emperor for his wife, but what was worse was Lian’s gleeful recounting of the whole horrific tale.

I hid my trembling hands beneath the table and asked.

“You manipulated the Senwood March and Bonita into killing the emperor, hoping Aiden would take care of them for you? Is that why you created false evidence about the forest keeper?”

“A loyal dog ought to seek revenge for its master. I simply gave him the opportunity. I thought he’d go mad with rage, but it seems he wasn’t as loyal as I expected.”

Lian wore a disappointed expression and muttered, “He used to wag his tail so eagerly before the emperor.”

Madman.

Could this lunatic actually be serious?

Then again, considering who he was, he probably was.

I wished he would stop talking, but it seemed like he was enjoying himself more and more.

“I thought the dog had fallen hard for you, so I threw him a different bait, but he didn’t bite. It seems he’s just a useless mutt.”

“Wait… you sent the assassin, didn’t you?”

“I was worried the dog might get distracted. I’m glad nothing happened to you, my lady.”

He placed a hand over his heart and made an exaggerated expression of relief.

At this point, nothing surprised me anymore.

I had long passed through shock, anger, and fear, leaving me with a strange, eerie calm.

“You must’ve bribed one of White Shadow’s members too, didn’t you?”

“He probably thought it was Senwood March’s money.”

Lian nodded brightly, leaning closer to me as if sharing a secret.

“It took more than money to buy him off. He was stubborn. I should’ve saved my strength back then. Looking back now, it feels like such a waste.”

“You put the snake’s curse on him too, didn’t you?”

Lian responded with a wide grin, and his pupils narrowed vertically like a serpent’s.