No drinking, no smoking, and…
“I guess I’ll have to do a detailed checkup. your majesty.”
How is Herhan, who should have been dead by now, still alive?
Jess couldn’t find an answer no matter how much he thought about it, so the special measure he took was a ‘checkup.’
Asion was slow to realize what was happening, but he was quick to adapt to the situation.
As soon as the words ‘checkup’ were mentioned, he and Jess started to coordinate Herhan’s schedule.
“He just finished the monthly meeting, so he doesn’t have any urgent plans right now.”
“What about the meeting he was supposed to attend with the Duke of Tarien in three days?”
“I’ll have to check, but I think we can postpone it.”
“good. Then, clear his entire schedule and change his diet as usual.”
“I need to replace all the curtains in the boudoir with blackout curtains right away.”
“Okay. Get ready right now. Asion.”
Herhan couldn’t help but swallow a sigh of exasperation as he watched the two of them work as well as each other.
After quickly finishing their discussion, the eyes of the two people turned to Herhan at the same time.
“your majesty. Precautions for detailed examination—”
“I know very well.”
It’s not the first time.
Herhan stood up, holding down his throbbing temples.
Even if he pretends to be calm, the person who will be most nervous right now is Herhan, who is the person involved.
Jess and Asion couldn’t help but worry, but they didn’t stop him as he left the lab.
* * *
While walking back to the main palace in silence, Herhan kept thinking about his ‘disappearance’.
The fake medicine was plain water.
He thought about where the fake medicine had led him, and what might be at the end of the road.
Jess talked about death, but Herhan somehow felt it was far away.
‘Is it just me?’
Herhan never thought he was going to die.
‘It was really strange. At one time, death felt close to me, as if I had a premonition of tomorrow.’
‘Am I just acting like a kid? I don’t want to die now.’
Herhan burst out laughing, even though he clearly knew that he was now in a more dangerous situation than ever.
It was then that he stood in front of the inner room and made eye contact with a guard.
“There is a guest inside.”
The only ones who can enter the empty inner room without the emperor’s permission are Asion and Jess. And if not those, then…
“your majesty.”
It was just her.
“Riella…”
Herhan approached Riella, softly calling her name.
Riella, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room with an upright posture, smiled very sweetly and said again, ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’ she answered obliquely.
The moment Herhan’s eyes met Riella’s warm gaze, he suddenly realized.
The way she looked at him with such trust and warmth, as if she were looking at the strongest and most reliable being in the world, that made him realize he would never die.
“Are you worried about me and come to check if I’m alive?”
Herhan said something playful on purpose to hide the pounding in his heart.
Riella pursed her lips as if she knew he would do that.
Squinting her eyes and even giving a quick glance was a habit she had recently learned from Herhan.
“No.”
“Lie.”
“Really. Now, I am ‘officially’ here to give you a work report. I have written it.”
“Report?”
What Riella presented to him, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, was a letter she had received from the Liotta royal family.
“I received a reply from the Kingdom of Liota. With my letter of appointment, which Your Majesty obtained through ‘threats.’”
“ah…”
Herhan looked at Riella’s eyes, wondering if he had been caught.
Fortunately, Riella only smiled once and did not reprimand him.
“Also, a letter from Her Majesty the Princess has arrived and I am planning to send her a reply. Is it okay to write a reply like this? I have to report it to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but before that, please make sure I haven’t made any mistakes.”
“You’re afraid of reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, so you’re having me edit your report? Me? the emperor?”
“The only person I can ask is Your Majesty. Sir Carnell’s visiting hours are over, and Sir Jess will only be angry with me.”
“No matter what, that’s true.”
This time, Herhan burst out laughing at Riella.
However, as soon as he looked at the princess’s letter and said, ‘Okay, let’s take a look,’ his smile disappeared.
The smile that filled Herhan’s eyes disappeared, and was replaced by a hint of anger and concern for Riella.
“How dare she come here, with such a great fiance.”
“yes.”
Herhan looked at Riella’s complexion and spoke seriously.
“Should we close the borders? Or should we send troops?”
“What? For what?”
Riella opened her eyes wide.
Herhan felt frustrated because she seemed to be trying her best to pretend to be determined.
Riella seemed to have sensed Herhan’s feelings and let out a small exclamation, “Oh.”
Riella’s beautifully rounded lips soon formed a comfortable smile.
“I’m fine. your majesty.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to pretend like that in front of me.”
“I’m telling you. I’m really fine, to the extent that I’m amazed by myself. I wrote a reply like this.”
Riella was right. Riella’s reply was very neat and concise.
But just because she was able to endure her pain so well, it didn’t mean Herhan wasn’t worried about Riella.
“The princess is coming to harass you.”
“I know.”
“So why….”
“Even though I know, it doesn’t really bother me. As it is, I don’t think it will hurt me to see the princess or Fabian again. There’s only one thing that’s hurting me right now.”
Riella’s eyes sharpened.
Herhan somehow seemed to know what Riella was trying to say.
“Your Majesty.”
He had expected it.
Riella’s words touched Herhan’s heart. Like ripples in a calm lake.
“I’m afraid he’s wearing his tie too tight again, and he’s struggling to breathe on his own somewhere. That’s the only thing I’m worried about, nothing else.”
Riella even laughed playfully.
The bold appearance of taking revenge on this opportunity for being teased so far was as bright as a star.
Herhan eventually put down the princess’s letter and pressed his body against Riella’s body.
“your majesty…!”
“If you want to faint, do it. There are beds everywhere.”
“Your Maje—”
Herhan pressed Riella’s lips to his before Riella called him again. There was a sweet taste on Riella’s lips.
Herhan’s body was on top of Riella’s body which was stretched naturally on the long sofa in the living room.
The sofa was too narrow for two people to lie down together. So even more so, Herhan hugged Riella deeply.
Pressed by the heavy body and suffering from persistent kisses, a hot and excited breath burst out from between Riella’s lips that were barely parted for a moment.
It was at that moment that a very harsh knock was heard outside the bedroom door.
“your majesty. outside…”
“Never mind.”
Herhan ignored the knock and explored Riella’s lips again.
Tok, Tok, Tok!
The person who was knocking the door as if he was going to break it eventually burst inside without the emperor’s permission.
“your majesty! I knew it—!”
It was Asion who walked in, gritting his teeth.
‘I should have locked the door.’
Herhan sighed resignedly and got up from the sofa. Riella was also startled and stood up.
Asion walked up to the two people and first bowed his head to Riella.
Asion’s face was redder than Riella’s, who was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do.
Still, he carried out his duties brilliantly, even though his earlobes were red.
“I’m so sorry. Miss Riella. I mean no offense Miss Riella, You know how I feel, right?”
“What? yes….”
After asking Riella’s understanding, it was toward Herhan that Asion snorted and became angry.
“Your majesty! Are you really going to do this? Don’t you know the precautions before getting a checkup? Don’t overdo it, just lie down as much as possible and no drinking, no smoking.….is an abstinence!”
‘Why is Asion suddenly barging in and getting angry, and why is his Majesty avoiding Asion’s gaze, looking at the wall like a guilty person? What is a checkup and what are the precautions?’
Riella couldn’t understand anything, but she still knew what the last word ‘abstinence’ meant.
“It’s been less than an hour since I turned around, but you can’t stand it any longer! I heard that Miss Riella went to the inner room, so I came just in case! You don’t even think about us who are upset and act like this!”
Asion frowned at Herhan, but then turned his head towards Riella and politely apologized again.
“I’ll say it again, I have no intention of attacking Miss Riella.”
“Yes, yes….”
Even though Asion said it wasn’t her fault, she lowered her head.
Everyone’s faces were red.
There was such an embarrassing silence in the inner room for a while.
* * *
“I see…..If the fake medicine is… Doesn’t that mean there’s something seriously wrong with His Majesty’s health?”
“Yes. We’re having a checkup to make sure of that. It’s not the first time, we used to do it once a year, but ever since His Majesty was crowned, we’ve been putting it off because of his busy schedule.”
“Well, it’s understandable, since there are so many guidelines to follow before getting a checkup….”
After hearing the situation explained by Asion, Riella carefully read the dozens of ‘instructions’ he showed her.
The ‘checkup’ was developed by Jess, who had studied Herhan’s body throughout his life, and was a test that used all kinds of special drugs and magic tools to measure the internal injuries accumulated in Herhan’s body.
It was said that the test results are precise and accurate and it’s also extremely sensitive and can be affected by even the slightest physical or mental change, which is why, for at least a week before the test, Herhan had to pay close attention to every aspect of his life.
Don’t look at the sunlight. Take the medicine along with digestible food. Avoid doing anything that may cause fatigue to your body.
Stay lying down as much as possible. Anything that causes a stir in your mind is strictly prohibited. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t smoke.
In particular, abstinence is essential.
“I’m sorry, but Miss Riella, it would be better not to go to the inner room at all for a week. I’m not saying His Majesty is going to do anything to Miss Riella. The guidelines here say to refrain from meeting people if possible.….”
Asion muttered some other excuse, but Riella understood his intentions well enough to nod shyly.
Embarrassment was nothing. What shook Riella’s heart was something else.
“His Majesty…he will be okay, right?”
“yes. He will be okay. He is having a checkup because it’s weird that he looks so fine that I don’t understand.”
“But if he was fine without medicine, is it possible that His Majesty’s illness has been completely cured?”
Riella’s round eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
Asion wondered whether or not he should tell the truth in front of those innocent eyes.
‘My lord’s illness is not something that can be cured as you hope.’
“Well. We need to see the results of the tests. Anyway, please cooperate.”
Asion ultimately chose to remain silent, and Riella responded courageously, unaware of Asion’s sad feelings.
“Yes. I will do anything to make His Majesty feel better ”
* * *
Herhan was not okay at all.
“A week is too much. It’s okay to see her face. I’ll never do anything else to Riella.”
“I don’t believe you, after what I’ve seen.”
“If you are a knight who does not trust your lord, you should lay down your sword.”
“Yeah yeah. After this checkup, I plan to retire and go back to farming.”
Herhan was in awe of Asion, who did not flinch and stayed by his side even when threatened with dismissal.
It’s already been three days.
Herhan stayed in bed all day and only ate meals and medicine brought from outside.
He couldn’t take a step out of his bedroom, and he couldn’t look out the window because all the windows had blackout curtains.
‘It was okay since I wasn’t busy with government affairs, but the thing that bothered me was Riella.’
“You do know that the princess of Liotta is planning to visit the imperial family soon, right? And you’re expecting her to prepare for it all by herself? I haven’t even prepared all the people for the embassy yet.”
So, he came up with a reason to meet Riella somehow.
But Asion was sharp again this time.
“If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry.”
“Why?”
“Ah. Didn’t I tell you? She’s a little preoccupied with government affairs.”
Asion stretched leisurely and continued speaking.
“As of yesterday, Miss Riella’s new aide has arrived, the man you ordered to enter the palace, El Weiss. He’s working with her now, and he’s very good.”
* * *
