CH 56

Chapter 56. Touch Of The Lips

“It’s poison!”

Elodie’s sudden covering of his nose and mouth caused Adenmir to stumble backwards, stopping his breathing for a moment.

But the more he tried, the more Elodie clamped down on him.

‘Poison?’

A poison.

Even repeating Elodie’s words over and over, he couldn’t make out what she was talking about. She must be referring to the smoke in the bedroom.

Then Adenmir suddenly realized something was wrong.

……No, wait.

If she’s saying it’s poison, why is she plugging his nose but not hers?

If it really is poison, she is getting poisoned herself.

He was about to purse his lips to point that out.

“Shhh.”

Elodie narrowed her eyes and pressed her hand against his face. Adenmir’s lips pressed seamlessly against Elodie’s palm.

The soft touch of his lips against her skin made Adenmir’s throat tighten.

Something, something was wrong.

With such a sudden sense of crisis taking over his mind, Elodie’s sparse face leaned closer.

“…….Try not to breathe.”

Her voice mingled with his breath, tickling Adenmir’s skin. He could do nothing but stare into Elodie’s face.

Gently removing her hand, Elodie drew a handkerchief from her bosom and pressed it into Adenmir’s hand.

“Use this to cover yourself.”

Elodie’s steady gaze was too serious to be misunderstood.

Once he had covered his mouth and nose with the handkerchief, Elodie stepped back and began to examine the Emperor’s bedchamber in earnest.

The first thing she did was to lift and sniff the censer, which continued to emit acrid smoke.

“Princess, now–”

Alarmed at her recklessness, Adenmir tried to stop her, but Elodie was quicker.

“Your Highness, I told you to cover it with your handkerchief, I’ll be done in a moment.”

“…….”

He felt like he was being scolded.

Worse, he found himself unable to disobey Elodie.

He did as she said and covered his mouth and nose with the handkerchief again. She looked away, relieved.

The handkerchief she was carrying had a sweet scent. It was the same scent he usually smelled whenever he was close to her.

Something floral, something fruity…….

‘Ha. I’m not some perverted trash.’

A wave of self-doubt washed over him.

He hadn’t meant to, but he felt like a perv, like Beltran, sniffing someone else’s handkerchief.

Adenmir was seized with the urge to return the handkerchief to its owner as soon as possible.

Unaware of the man’s anguish behind her, Elodie busied herself.

First she extinguished all the flames in the censer.

Next, she drew the thick curtains that blocked all sunlight from entering the room, tied them tightly, and threw open the tightly closed windows.

***

I opened the opposite window for a breeze, and the smoke that had filled the bedroom quickly dissipated.

‘The ventilation is complete.’

With the unwanted smoke gone, I felt my head clear a bit.

This lent further credence to my theory that the incense in the bedroom was poisonous.

But there was still a lingering feeling.

“I’ve ventilated it, so it’s okay now.”

After securing the window, which was about to close again due to the wind, I made eye contact with Adenmir, who had been watching me the entire time.

He walked slowly towards me.

“What do you mean, poison?”

“It’s…….”

The moment I realized that the smoke was poison, my hand went out first, fearing that the person in front of me might be poisoned.

I acted without thinking about the consequences.

‘I had to convince the other person that it was poison, after all.’

“I thought the fumes were poisonous.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because…….”

After hesitating for a moment, I pulled out a trump card. That’s right–

“Don’t you remember who I am?”

“……Who?”

“Themis Perdia, the best poisoner on the continent, is my mother.”

Selling the name of the Duchess of Perdia.

It was the best excuse I could come up with now, since I couldn’t invoke the powers of purification, nor could I remain silent.

Elodie, the illegitimate daughter of Themis Perdia, might have learnt how to make the poison by looking over her shoulder.

‘I’m so sorry, madam, I’m so, so sorry for selling your name……!’

I repeatedly apologized to the Madam in my mind, sneaking a glance at Adenmir’s expression.

This excuse might not work, I feared, but to my surprise, Adenmir seemed to understand.

“I can well believe that.”

“Right?”

“So, you’re saying the incense is poisonous?”

“I think so, but there’s a bit of a catch…….”

I glanced at the bed where the Emperor slept. Even in the midst of all this commotion, the Emperor was asleep as if he were dead.

Adenmir asked, “‘Something wrong’?”

“Yes. Do you happen to know how long that incense has been burning?”

“Well……. I think it has been a few years.”

“Do you know who and why someone might burn it?”

“I have no idea about that, as it is entirely within the authority of the chamberlain of the castle to manage the residence of the emperor.”

I gave a small nod. No fool would be so brazen as to poison the Emperor, so it shouldn’t be that easy to find out who was behind this.

‘Several years.’

This meant he’d been exposed to the poison for at least a year.

If that was the case, then the culprit would be someone who could expose an unknown poison slowly, steadily, and long enough for no one to notice.

I remembered the original story.

At the time of Estelle’s betrothal to the First Prince, Adenmir was still a prince, which meant that the Emperor’s life would be safe until about three years later.

The problem came after that. The Emperor dies in his bed, and a battle for the throne ensues.

‘When was that?’

It wasn’t clear exactly when. The story was about Estelle’s healing of the family, so political connections and the emperor weren’t a big part of the story.

In any case, it seemed clear that the Emperor’s death was caused by poisoning, not a medical condition.

I looked up at Adenmir, who was waiting for me to speak.

“I think His Majesty was poisoned by long exposure to the poison.”

“If incense is the cause of poisoning, then why am I fine? Moreover, the chief chamberlain who occupies the room next to him is fine.”

“That’s the ‘catch’ I was talking about.”

There was definitely poison in the air. I breathed it in myself, using myself as a poison detector.

But the toxicity wasn’t that strong, judging by the mild dizziness that accompanied the headache.

It’s likely harmless to the average person.

Exposure over time would not have been fatal.

Nevertheless, the Emperor’s health deteriorated.

“When poison meets poison, it sometimes causes a greater reaction.”

My eyes darted around, and my attention was drawn to the Emperor’s medicine bottle on the table.

The vial was empty, as the Emperor had already taken his medicine, but a few drops remained.

I stalked over and poured the rest of the vial into my mouth.

“……Princess!”

Adenmir, who had been watching to see what the hell she was going to do, gasped and grabbed Elodie’s wrist.

“Spit it out.”

Adenmir brought his hand to the corner of Elodie’s mouth, but she had already swallowed the medicine.

The throbbing pain in my heart convinced me that it was.

‘This is it.’

The pain wasn’t as severe because it was a small dose.

I giggled at the fact that my prediction had been correct, and Adenmir roared in a fit.

“Are you laughing now? Spit it out.”

“But…… I already swallowed it.”

“Ha. Why the hell would you take that? You should have left it to be investigated.”

“It wouldn’t have come up as His Majesty’s medicine if it was going to be investigated. I had to try it myself, and that was after I inhaled the incense smoke.”

“It doesn’t have to be the lady.”

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Ah.

Realizing my momentary slip of the tongue, I replied, avoiding Adenmir’s gaze.

“I’m immune to the poison, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Immunity? Lady, why is that?”

“It’s in my constitution, I believe. Well, rather than that, what should we do now?”

***

Adenmir glanced down at Elodie as she changed the topic back.

‘I’m used to it…….’

Besides… ‘I’m immune.’

Having trained in poison resistance from a young age, Adenmir knew all too well the harsh cost of developing it.

It was not common to be immune to poison, even if it was considered the hallmark of the Perdia family.

At that moment, Adenmir’s mind flashed back to the many vials he had seen in Elodie’s bedroom.

When he took one of the vials with the lid open and showed it to the imperial apothecary, he said, “It’s poison.”

Poison.

Worse, it was a poison that would destroy the respiratory system with just one drop.

Familiarity. tolerance. And the fact that she possesses poison.

Something clicked, but it was still vague.

Adenmir gave up on pondering. Elodie Perdia was one of those people who, the more you knew about her, the less you knew what she was thinking.

Releasing his hold on Elodie’s arm, Adenmir sighed.

“Lady, please don’t do anything reckless.”

It felt like his life span was shrinking.

She kept closing her mouth, and drinking the poison without hesitation.

He couldn’t tell her how many times his heart dropped.

In any case, Elodie’s condition seemed to be fine, thankfully, confirming the truth that small doses are fine.

Adenmir looked around the Emperor’s bedchamber, which was now brightly lit.

It was an odd feeling to see the place so brightly lit.

As he looked at the face of the Emperor as he lay in his bed, sleeping like a dead man, Adenmir realized that his complexion looked more relaxed than usual.

‘An illusion.’

Regardless, he couldn’t ignore the fact that the Emperor of a nation had been poisoned. He would order a full investigation immediately.

In fact, he had a theory as to who might have done it.

All that was needed was incontrovertible proof.

“We need to start an investigation immediately.”

“No.”

Elodie replied quickly, her face serious.

Adenmir studied her face, then nodded curtly.

“……I see.”

He understood Elodie’s words.

This had to be investigated as quietly as possible, without anyone knowing.

Not even the chamberlain.

If there was an investigation, whoever was behind it would have their tails cut off.

However, if that happened, there would be a fatal problem of letting the emperor continue to be poisoned. Otherwise, you will arouse the suspicion of the other person.

As if reading Adenmir’s mind, Elodie came up with an obvious solution.

***

“I have a talented pharmacist in my family who can create an antidote.”

I did not reveal that the pharmacist was none other than myself.

After all, I could make an antidote.

“It is a poison that even the pharmacists of the Imperial Palace have not been able to identify.”

“I told you before, I’m a Perdia.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll send you a steady stream of it every week, as well as the incense in that censer and the medicines His Majesty is taking.”

It wasn’t a very toxic poison. He’d just been addicted to it for too long.

‘So I could make an antidote for this, and the duchess wouldn’t even notice.’

Adenmir looked at me in silence. I, who interpreted that as concern for his father, smiled softly to reassure him.

“He won’t get well right away, of course. His Majesty has been addicted for a long time……. But I think he’ll get better with consistent doses.”

Despite the affectionate tone, Adenmir asked with a stern face.

“……Why would you go to such lengths?”

Elodie had no reason to go out of her way like this, and no one could blame her if she didn’t.

“Because it is my duty as a subject of the Empire.”

“I didn’t realize the Lady was so loyal.”

“Mmm…….”

I cleared my throat and considered.

Certainly Adenmir had reason to be suspicious. My past self had been a selfish person with little regard for others.

But now I had power.

There was no reason why I shouldn’t do what I could to save someone who was being poisoned right in front of me.

With a little effort, I could save a life.

‘Because if I pretend I didn’t see it, I’ll feel like shit.’

In other words, it wasn’t a selfless act because I was doing it for my own peace of mind, regardless of the outcome.

I, who hadn’t planned to tell Adenmir this, joked casually.

“Shall we call it alimony, then?”

I looked up at him, smiling broadly.

***

Adenmir felt a little taken aback as her eyes locked with his.

Why does she look so pretty, with those cruel lips that speak of breaking up the engagement, and this face of a fiancée that speaks so out of character?

Adenmir involuntarily avoided her gaze.

‘I think I must have gone mad for a moment.’

Yes, that was why.

It had to be.