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Chapter 37
It only lasted a second, but I definitely locked eyes with the Emperor.
And in that brief moment, he smiled at me. A smile that no one else seemed to notice.
“…!”
The Emperor quickly turned his head and started speaking, but I couldn’t hear a word of it.
It was such a short moment that it almost felt like I imagined it. But no—
He smiled at me.
Why?
It was like cold water was poured over my head.
What did that smile mean…?
It was definitely…
Then, a young man’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
“To celebrate today, I’ve brought a wine made the year I was born.”
It was the Crown Prince.
The situation was so surreal I almost laughed.
‘It’s not even his birthday. What’s with the wine…?’
Right after he spoke, servants entered with trolleys full of crystal-clear wine glasses and started handing them out. Calix and I got ours too.
I looked up and saw the Crown Prince—he was young and smiling as he scanned the room.
‘Is he handsome?’
If he is, then by this world’s standards, he’s at least second-lead material.
He wasn’t ugly.
‘He looks like the Emperor.’
Which makes sense, since they’re father and son.
Then came dozens of wine bottles. Servants went around pouring the deep red wine for everyone.
Even the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and I received the same wine.
I stared at the half-filled wine glass—so red it looked like blood.
Calix whispered to me:
“If you don’t want to drink it, just pretend.”
“It’s not that bad.”
The Crown Prince raised his glass high.
“May the gods bless the Loravan Empire, and may His Majesty, the sun of our empire, shine forever.”
Behind him, the Emperor smiled softly as he watched his son.
But it was different.
‘That smile isn’t the same as the one he gave me.’
Definitely not. That smile was gentle, almost motherly. But earlier…
‘That smile…’
I bit my lip.
The nobles started shouting something too. They lifted their glasses and took a sip.
“To His Majesty!”
I was so distracted, I only repeated the last part.
Like everyone else, I brought the glass to my lips.
I took a sip. Then another.
“How is it? Are you okay?” Calix asked.
“…My throat’s burning.”
I answered quietly so only he could hear. He gave a soft chuckle like he thought I was being cute.
I frowned.
“And my stomach’s burning too.”
“Is the alcohol that strong?” he asked, tilting his head.
That’s when it hit me—
A wave of nausea surged.
I quickly covered my mouth.
It wasn’t just my throat.
My stomach, chest, and even my head felt like they were on fire—like I was being burned from the inside.
“…Lena?”
Calix’s voice slowed, like everything was in slow motion.
Another wave of burning pain rushed through me.
“…! …!”
I doubled over. Calix was saying something, but I couldn’t hear him.
My throat felt like it was boiling.
Suddenly I coughed—
No, it wasn’t just a cough.
Dark red blood—almost the color of wine—splattered in front of me. My mind went blank.
Poison.
My instincts screamed: This is dangerous.
My heart pounded wildly.
“Lena!”
“Lady Lena!”
I tried to reach for Calix’s arm, but my hand had no strength. My head felt like it would explode.
My body collapsed. With a loud thud, I hit the ground—partially caught by Calix’s arms.
‘Why…?’
Cough! His deep navy coat was stained with my blood.
Screams rang out around us.
“No…”
I tried to grab his arm again, but my hand kept slipping. My entire body burned in agony. It was too much to bear.
‘Why…?’
Why would the Emperor try to kill me now?
He hadn’t even gotten what he wanted yet…
I vomited blood again.
“Your Majesty!”
“Protect the Emperor!”
Voices shouted from somewhere.
“Aaaah!”
The sound of wine glasses smashing echoed around the room.
But in front of me, Calix didn’t make a sound.
Then—our eyes met.
His face was pale, frozen in shock, unable to speak. He wasn’t even breathing.
“Don’t…”
With the last of my strength, I got out a word.
‘Calix…’
Don’t panic.
That’s what I wanted to say. But everything went blurry.
The last thing I saw was his face—emotionless, like a statue, as if all feeling had been drained from him.
* * *
Inside the greenhouse, everyone had been handed wine glasses randomly from the same trolley.
The wine was poured the same way—one glass at a time. Once a bottle was empty, a new one was brought in.
Everyone—nobles, Emperor, and Crown Prince—got the same wine. They raised their glasses:
“To His Majesty!”
Everyone drank. It seemed like a normal scene. People praised the wine’s taste.
Then something strange happened.
The girl the Duke of Heretrio brought—the commoner—suddenly covered her mouth and staggered.
‘A commoner, huh? Maybe she just drank too much.’
Some might’ve thought that at first.
But then she trembled, and blood sprayed from her mouth.
At first, people mistook it for wine.
But those near her realized it was something far worse.
“Aaaah!”
A scream from someone nearby.
“Lena!”
The Duke caught her, but she collapsed before he could hold her up.
“Lady Lena!”
A few knights in Heretrio uniforms rushed forward—people realized they were the Duke’s men.
“Gah!”
The woman twisted in pain and coughed again.
Bright red blood splattered on the floor. Her dress had been almost white, and her red hair made the scene even more shocking.
Everyone could see clearly—the blood on her dress and the floor.
Panic spread. People started throwing their glasses away.
“Your Majesty!”
“Protect the Emperor!”
The Emperor’s guards stepped forward.
But Duke Heretrio stayed where he was, holding the woman as if the rest of the chaos didn’t exist.
The Crown Prince trembled and dropped his glass.
“How—how could an assassination happen here?! In the Imperial Palace, with His Majesty here?!”
He looked to the Emperor, begging for help.
But the Emperor didn’t even glance at him.
He only looked at the collapsed girl—and at Calix Axel Heretrio.
The Duke stared down at her, his whole body shaking.
“My Lord!”
“Please pull yourself together. You can’t stay like this!”
Heretrio’s knights stepped in.
“Call a doctor!”
“Let me out of here!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Help!”
Their cries were drowned out by screams and chaos.
The Crown Prince shouted:
“We must find the assassin who dared attack Her Majesty! How dare someone try to assassinate her here, in the heart of the Empire?!”
In the middle of the chaos, the Emperor finally spoke, calm and clear:
“Cancel the party. And…”
Everyone fell silent and turned to him. Everyone but the Duke, who still focused only on the girl.
The Emperor saw it all.
Then came his next order:
“Seal the palace. We will catch whoever dared attempt an assassination where I stand.”
* * *
I had another dream.
This time, I was a witch.
People tied me to a stake and shouted for me to be burned.
‘Idiots.’
I looked down at them and laughed.
‘They’ve never even seen a real witch.’
They lit the fire. I laughed like a madwoman as flames rose around me.
…
Then I was me again.
The version of me before I came to this world.
Just a regular office worker.
Click, click. Pretending to work, mindlessly clicking the mouse.
“Miss Jung!”
“Yes!”
…
Then I was a farmer, harvesting potatoes, feeling proud.
…
A soldier on the battlefield, stabbed by an enemy sword.
…
‘What’s the point of life?’
A philosopher, watching people starve, jumped from a tower.
…
“I don’t like her face. Execute her.”
A tyrant gave a death sentence with a flick of his finger.
…
Then once again—
I was falling.
Falling.
Falling.
And like always, what welcomed me were two giant golden eyes.
Blink.
Blink, blink.
I opened my eyes.
Within seconds, everything came back.
The wine.
The blood.
The screaming.
The chaos.
