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Chapter 44
“That’s not possible.”
“But….”
“From now on, I’ll forbid that tea and all ingredients containing that substance from being brought into the Imperial Palace. It’s not something I particularly need anyway.”
Kaiserten almost said that he could treat her tangled qi-blood himself, but then closed his mouth.
Unlike himself, an unfamiliar fear quietly lifted its head. He felt as though, if he fixed her broken wings, she would spread them wide and fly far away from him.
Then, suddenly, a thought crossed Kaiserten’s mind.
“Ah, now that I think about it. I told you to bring flower tea, but what you brought was Tlain tea, wasn’t it?”
‘Huh? I’m sure I passed on that it was flower tea.’
Roabellin’s eyes widened. Meanwhile, Kaiserten took on a thoughtful expression.
“Does anyone know the condition of your qi-blood?”
“Pardon? Ah, no. I’ve never told anyone. I don’t even know it exactly myself.”
“Then was it just a simple mistake…? Who prepared the tea in the kitchen?”
At his words, Roabellin quickly glanced at Kaiserten’s face.
“Ah, um… are you going to punish that person?”
“Well.”
A moment ago, her condition had been urgent and he had no time to think, but now that things had settled, anger rose in Kaiserten. To be honest, he wanted to give the one who had nearly killed Yuli the harshest punishment.
The more intensely he was angry inside, the colder he became on the outside. With a cold face and low voice, Kaiserten replied,
“What do you think? Do you want them punished?”
“N-no! I think it was just a mistake… I don’t want them to be punished.”
Of course, Roabellin didn’t particularly like Bomira either.
But this was the Imperial Palace. She knew well that even small mistakes were not tolerated for those who served the emperor. She was afraid that Bomira might receive an excessively heavy punishment for what was merely an accident.
“A mistake? If I hadn’t been in the next room, you might have died.”
When he imagined Yuli dying so absurdly, Kaiserten’s expression grew grim without him even realizing it.
Watching his face change in real time, Roabellin thought about Bomira.
Even if Bomira had deliberately given her a different tea from what was requested, she probably hadn’t intended to make things this dangerous. There was no way she could have known Roabellin’s condition.
It seemed she had only wanted to give her a little trouble out of jealousy, and understanding that, Roabellin didn’t feel like punishing her harshly.
“I heard that punishing every small mistake severely isn’t the way for a ruler to establish dignity….”
As Roabellin hesitantly watched his reaction, Kaiserten felt the anger rising from his core abruptly subside.
“This was food presented to the emperor. Even if it was a mistake, the facts must be investigated clearly. We’ll hear her out, and if it truly was a simple mistake, the punishment will be very light. So tell me who it was.”
At some point, his tone had softened as if he were coaxing her. After hesitating a little longer, Roabellin finally answered,
“I-it was a maid named Bomira.”
Judging by his expression, it seemed to be an unfamiliar name to Kaiserten. He pulled the cord and summoned an attendant.
“Contact the Palace Inspection Department and have them take a maid named Bomira, who is in charge of the Imperial Palace kitchen. Interrogate her about why she sent a different tea from what I ordered today. Say that my guest suffered serious trouble due to the side effects of the tea.”
If he said outright that Yuli had nearly died from it, her magical power and present physical state might be revealed, so he deliberately kept it vague.
“And call the cleaning staff to tidy this place up.”
Kaiserten pointed to the broken teacups and scattered dish fragments on the floor. At that, Roabellin hurried forward.
“Ah, Your Majesty, I’ll take care of that….”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t look like you’re in any condition to work right now.”
After dismissing her words simply, Kaiserten turned to the attendant.
“As you can see, I made her drink this tea, and she’s the one whose body didn’t agree with it. But there’s no need to speak of what you saw here outside this room, is there?”
“Ah, yes! Of course.”
The attendant, who had been listening with curious eyes, flinched and bowed deeply.
After giving a few more instructions about Bomira’s disposition and sending the attendant out, Kaiserten extended his hand to Roabellin.
“Take it. You still look weak.”
Roabellin felt uneasy about touching him again and again. But the pain that had pounded her whole body still lingered a little, and she was extremely tired.
After hesitating briefly, she reached out to him. At once, he slid his hands under her back and behind her knees and lifted her up easily.
“Kya—Kai?!”
Startled by his sudden action, Roabellin let out a small cry. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, but the room was dim, so she didn’t notice it.
“You look like it would be hard for you.”
Speaking quietly, Kaiserten carried her from the study to the bedroom.
When Roabellin realized they had arrived in the bedroom, she panicked again.
“W-why are we here…?!”
“Didn’t I say it? Because it looks hard for you.”
Kaiserten gently set her down on the wide bed. For a moment, she nearly lost her balance and fell back, but she quickly propped herself up with her arms and sat upright. She felt that if she lay down, the atmosphere would become strange.
“Your body still hurts, doesn’t it? Let me treat you a little more, and then stay here and sleep.”
He said it casually, but Roabellin’s face instantly flushed.
“W-what?! Sleep here? Th-that’s… what are you… I…!!”
Even though they had already spent one night together, saying it so openly was still embarrassing. Roabellin shook her head reflexively.
Yet despite her reaction, Kaiserten’s expression didn’t change.
“This pain won’t disappear on its own just by resting a little. It will only go away if I carefully inject mana to calm your still-raging qi-blood.”
‘But… is he really only trying to treat me?’
She had asked him yesterday to “play with her and throw her away,” but Kaiserten had never clearly promised that. If he said he would take her as a concubine, she would be trapped. And this was the emperor’s bedchamber—if they slept together here, other palace servants might notice their relationship. If that happened, there would be no turning back. Unless the entry of attendants and cleaners had been restricted beforehand, she couldn’t feel at ease.
After hesitating, Roabellin finally asked resolutely, though still timidly,
“Y-Your Majesty… um… I’ll ask directly. You’re not… suggesting that we… sleep together now, are you?”
Hoping her tone didn’t sound too challenging, Roabellin cautiously watched Kaiserten’s face. At her words, he spoke with a displeased expression.
“Kai.”
“Ah, yes. Kai.”
“I didn’t intend that, but now that you ask, I’m curious about your thoughts. What do you want to do?”
When she raised her eyes to look at him, Kaiserten slightly nodded as if telling her to speak comfortably. Gaining courage from that, Roabellin carefully opened her mouth.
“Well… right now, like this… it would be difficult. If you ask what I want, today… I was so shocked… I’m very tired.”
Hiding behind the excuse that her body wasn’t well, Roabellin gently refused him. Kaiserten looked at her for a moment without changing his expression.
In truth, there was no one who would criticize him if he forced “Yuli” into his arms, whether by power or by strength. He was even the kind of man who would take responsibility for his actions.
But to him, more than legal or moral issues, her feelings were what mattered.
He wanted Yuli’s heart. Her body was always ready to go to him, but he decided to wait until she felt the same way he did. Since her heart had once opened to him, he believed it would open again someday.
“Fine. I’ll respect your wishes. But that 마음—someday, it will have to change. The sooner, the better.”
‘Huh…?’
That he would back off so easily was completely unexpected for Roabellin.
‘I thought he might get angry or try to force something.’
She looked up at his face quietly. With the bedside lamps lit here and there, the bedroom was a little brighter than the study, so they could see each other’s faces clearly.
Hiding his complicated emotions behind a blank expression, Kaiserten spoke,
“Undress.”
“Y-yes?! Th-that… you just said you’d respect my wishes….”
His way of cutting straight to the point left her wide-eyed.
To her stammering, Kaiserten continued in an indifferent tone,
“I need to treat the qi-blood in your body. There must be nothing between my hand and the qi-blood points.”
‘Ah… so that’s why he took my clothes off earlier….’
Roabellin understood, but Kaiserten hurriedly added in case she doubted him,
“That’s what the grand archmage of the palace said. I didn’t make it up.”
“Ah, I see. Then… how much should I take off…?”
Embarrassed by her own words, Roabellin avoided looking at him and turned her gaze elsewhere. Because of that, she didn’t see his face redden deeply at her question.
When Kaiserten didn’t answer right away, Roabellin looked up at him cautiously with a flushed face.
After avoiding her gaze for a moment, Kaiserten finally answered slowly,
“…Just take off the outer maid uniform.”
Relieved at least by that, Roabellin stood up and unfastened the buttons of her maid uniform one by one. After removing the outer garment, she neatly placed it on the bedside table and returned to the bed.
When Kaiserten unconsciously turned his head toward her and saw her in only her underclothes, his vision swam.
‘I thought I’d be fine….’
He had to forcibly drag his memories back from “that night” and anchor them in the present. Taking a quiet deep breath so it wouldn’t show, Kaiserten suppressed his surging emotions and spoke stiffly,
“Lie down. We’ll start from the lower abdomen.”
