The taste of those lips
As his lord said, Asion spent two days eating and sleeping in the hospital room.
At first, he gritted his teeth because wanted to take revenge on Herhan, but after experiencing more than one enemy targeting Riella everywhere, he realized the true intention of Herhan who sent him here.
It wasn’t to watch her, it was to protect her.
Asion knows that Riella Blinite is a very important figure in bringing the Liotta kingdom to its knees.
‘But there seems to be something more than that.’
Originally, Herhan wasn’t the type to give attention to others easily.
However, when it came to Riella Blinite, his eyes were somewhat different.
Didn’t he act as if he already knew everything about the woman before they even posted their official report?
‘Is there something I don’t know between the two of you?’
‘There can’t be. I’ve stuck by him like a stick of gum 24/7 since the day we ran away from the imperial palace together, so there’s nothing I don’t know!’
Asion dismissed the suspicion so quickly.
Riella Blinite awoke the next morning.
Asion waited a little longer for Riella to recover before sitting down in front of her.
“Did you sleep well? I’ve been waiting for you. There are many things I want to talk about.”
“….”
Riela Blinite, who had finally regained her senses after a long night’s sleep, stared into the distance without answering.
Standing in front of those empty eyes, Asion was gloomy.
Even though Riella Blinite had awakened, he realized that it would still not be easy.
* * *
“It will be difficult, she won’t open her mouth.”
“It’s her first time, she’s scared, and technically she is on the side of the accused, so it’s natural for the sinner to be scared. If we give her a little more time and try to convince her, maybe she’ll talk…”
“No. It’s not that. Sir Carnell, you haven’t seen her in person….”
Asion calmed down his miserable mind and explained the situation to them. Actually, it wasn’t much of an explanation.
Riella Blinite doesn’t open her mouth, literally, she just doesn’t say a word, no matter what he did, whether it was persuasion or threats, she would not even pretend to listen.
“That’s strange.”
It was Herhan who muttered to himself in a low voice that broke the tense atmosphere.
Glad to see the reaction of his lord, who had only listened to him with a serious face, Asion suddenly raised his voice.
“Isn’t that right? If you keep quiet, you’ll only get closer to your own execution. This is not the way to vent your frustrations when you should be grasping at straws and letting go of your injustice it’s—”
“I can’t believe she didn’t say anything after seeing my face.”
“I know. How could she not tell you anything about—?…no…. what?”
Asion looked at Herhan as if he was dumbfounded, then asked back.
“That’s not the context, is it?”
“That’s the context.”
“What context is that? Then, in that situation, she should have clapped her hands and said ‘Wow, Your Majesty is so handsome!’, is that so?”
“Yeah. Well, sort of. Something like that…”
“What?”
Asion’s words were a joke, but Herhan’s answer didn’t seem like a joke.
Herhan stood up from his seat, and he began to wear the robe that Asion had taken off for a while. It was a robe distributed only to medical staff and investigators who were allowed to enter the hospital room.
“Your majesty. You’re not going to the hospital room yourself, right?”
Asion exclaimed with a fearful expression. The other member had the same face.
However, Herhan’s answer was clear without hesitation.
“You said that earlier, didn’t you? That’s because I couldn’t see her myself. So I have to come and see her.”
“Your Majesty—”
“Don’t follow me. I don’t want to publicize that the emperor is moving.”
Herhan gave such a bluff and left his room.
The protocol officers hurriedly followed behind Herhan. They asked to see all the papers before he left, including the royal schedule of banquets and meetings.
“… ”
Herhan, who stopped walking for a moment, only slightly turned his head and glared at the heavy document once, and then at the protocol officers once.
“Your Majesty, that is…Haven’t you already postponed all your official schedules for three days? We can no longer ignore the royal request…”
“…..”
“Ha, shall we postpone it for one more day?”
“…..”
“I will….”
The intimidation in Herhan’s silence was enough to make them lower their heads and step back.
Herrhan began to walk towards the east ward again.
As he walked to meet her alone, there was a cold glint in his eyes.
* * *
“Here. Medicine.”
The doctor of the royal family burst open the hospital room door and held out a cup containing the drug to Riella with an annoyed face.
It was a pity that The doctor, who was supposed to monitor the health of the royal family, was tied to a lowly sinner. Still, it was because of the special order of the princess that the doctor was patient and gave the medicine to the sinner.
‘That handsome investigator isn’t there. Why?’
The doctor crossed her arms when realized that the investigator, who had been keeping a watchful eye, had left the room.
It was a good thing because the doctor was getting impatient. Now she could say whatever she wanted.
“Do you like the fate of the sinner? Forgive you who was screwing up the reception ceremony even though the royal family has been working hard for weeks, treating you in the kingdom hospital room, and even giving you precious medicine in case you get hurt.”
the doctor gritted her teeth as if waiting for a response. Still, Riella didn’t budge
‘Did she hear me properly?’
“You eat it well, huh? That’s funny. You’re about to be executed anyway. You must want to take care of your health even if your head will be cut off, right?”
The Doctor tried again, in case she didn’t hear it properly, but Riella’s ignoring was consistent.
‘She was the woman who aimed at the emperor’s neck, but she is definitely poisonous. Or is she just stupid?’
“What an asshole.”
When Riella emptied her glass, the doctor just left the hospital room without looking at her.
It was comfortable that the sinner was calm and not rebellious. But the doctor felt worse.
‘It felt like dealing with a corpse, so it was disgusting and unpleasant.’
In a way, it was kind of strange.
Rumor has it that she is a fierce assassin, but isn’t that “Riella Blinite” wasn’t so fierce that she doesn’t respond to the doctor’s vitriol even a word?
Coincidentally, the chatter about Riella was in full swing in the next hallway, and the doctor quickly joined in.
“Is it gonna be better if she is blind? It’s a little creepy when I see her sometimes.”
“That’s right. She looks like she’s lost her mind, doesn’t she?”
“I’ve been watching her since she woke up, but she was just looking at the wall?? She hasn’t budged all morning!”
“It’s normal for her not to answer even if you call her. Rumor has it that she went crazy and became mute at the thought of being executed again.”
“Well. Now that she is awake, the execution will be discussed again soon.”
“Ah. Anyway, I want to get rid of her quickly. Ominous and irritating.”
The doctor was shuddering and complaining hard with her colleagues, so The doctor didn’t notice it. The fact that The doctor left Riella’s empty glass in the hospital room.
And even the fact that a man who was listening to them behind the hallway went into Riella’s hospital room and held the glass in his hand.
“I’ve become dumb.”
inside the hospital room.
Herhan’s gaze at the empty water glass in his hand was as cold as frost on a snowy mountain.
“I understand your struggle, but you can’t use that as an excuse to keep ignoring me.”
Taking a step towards the bed, he turned his gaze to Eiella.
She was sitting upright on the bed, staring straight ahead. Her slack pupils were dilated and she didn’t seem to notice the visitor.
“Hey”, he said again before he put down the glass.
“… … .”
And with that hand, he carefully grabbed Liella’s chin.
Herhan’s thumb brushed over Riella’s red lips. Her lips were still wet from the potion she drank earlier.
‘Is it because of the potion?’
Herhan’s fingertips burned as they skimmed over the smooth flesh, making his head tingle as if it were on fire, so he clenched his teeth together and pulled away.
Then he brought the tip of his finger back to his mouth and licked the residue from Riella’s lips. It tasted bitter, like something he recognized.
Something came into his mind.
After a while.
Asion, who had been waiting desperately for Herhan to return, was unable to say a word to him when he returned to the mansion.
Regarding Riella Blinite, Herhan did not say a word and called the protocol officer without hesitation.
“Schedule dinner tonight with the king and the princess attending too.”
“Ah? Are you sure? Yes! I’ll deliver it right away. The king must be very pleased. They say they’ve prepared everything, so if you go on time—”
“No. We are serving dinner. Tell them to prepare food with ingredients brought from the empire.”
“yes?”
“Since we are indebted to the royal family, we should treat them our way.”
The protocol officer looked puzzled, but anyway, he stepped down thinking that it was a good thing.
After the other members also withdrew one after another, it was only when Asion and he have left alone that Herhan asked a vague question in a slow tone.
“Asion. Do you remember the prisoners we took in Hanist, seven years ago?”
“yes. Do you mean the guys who covered their mouths with Clady poison and killed themselves? But why are you talking about it now?”
A moment of silence fell between the two.
Herhan did not answer, but Asion found the answer without difficulty and sighed low.
“Ah…”
Asion’s expression darkened.
The same color Herhan had been wearing since he returned from the ward.
* * *
“What to do with this glorious thing? I will be the first monarch to be invited to a meal prepared by the emperor himself!”
That evening, King Taran II laughed with great satisfaction at the dinner set up in the parlor of the annex.
But Greta was so pathetic and ashamed of her father that she was going crazy. To forget all the insults he’d been subjected to, and the Emperor wasted on a meal he prepared with pride!
“I need a long day’s rest.”
“Oh, yes, of course, we understand.”
‘What do you mean by understanding!’
It was a huge humiliation to not be present in all the banquets and reception schedules that the royal family had worked hard to prepare, while being publicly humiliated from the first day, saying that the management of criminals was a mess.
If he had stayed there for a few more days, the palace ministers and aristocratic society would have caused a riot. However, Greta could not guess at all the intentions of the emperor who was Suddenly being kind now.
‘There must be something sinister inside, but what the heck is that?’
“Well, are you comfortable with this palace?”
“Yes. The palace was very beautiful. Thanks to your care, I am living comfortably.”
“I’m glad to hear that!”
Even the atmosphere was unbelievably cheerful.
Most disturbingly, not a single word was said about Riella during the nearly hour-long conversation.
‘I think they were deliberately avoiding the subject? But why is the emperor? Didn’t you summon us to talk about Riella?’
‘You’ve been putting an investigator on it and monitoring it. Why pretend you don’t care at all now? What are you going to do…?’
Greta was very uncomfortable with the mysterious heart of Herhan. On the other hand, she also had expectations.
‘Since Riella hasn’t spoken up yet, he might have given up. Also, that’s the most appropriate…’
Greta, who was so alone in deep thought, suddenly raised her head and her heart almost sank.
She knew it, Emperor Herhan was looking at her with cold eyes. She didn’t even know when he had been doing that.
Greta let out a cough. Her heart throbbed and she panicked as if she had been doused with ice water out of nowhere. It was all the more because Emperor Herhan had a cold smile on his face as if he had heard all of her thoughts.
“Well. The princess must have been very nervous.”
“No… uhuk! sorry…ugh!”
“Bill. Give the princess a cup of tea.”
Greta coughed and coughed as hard as she panicked. A cup of yellow tea was soon placed in front of Greta.
“Here you go. It has an excellent calming effect.”
“Oh, thank you…”
She resented accepting Herhan’s favors, but she had no reason to refuse.
Greta swallowed a few more coughs before drinking her tea.
The emperor’s remark that the tea had a calming effect must have been true. The cough soon stopped, and her panic calmed down.
“Oh. refreshing tea.”
“Would you like to have a drink, too?”
“Yes. I feel honored to be served the tea that the emperor brought directly From Elschweig.”
Herhan leisurely laughed off Taran II’s flattery.
“It was imported from an island in the south, so it’s not exactly from the imperial land. I don’t know if you know. ‘Clady’…It is a poisonous plant.”
“khup…!”
It was then. The moment Herhan said the name of the tea.
Greta, who seemed to have calmed her cough, jumped up from her sit and spat out half of what she was drinking.
* * *
