ITETD 40

Chapter 40

I simply chose to play the role of the gentle comforter.

“You were really worried, huh?”

“I was. I was really worried. It hurt so much… I wished I could’ve died instead of you.”

I patted his back gently and began to steer the conversation.

“Well, now that I’m awake…”

I cupped Calix’s cheeks, pulling his puffed-up, tear-streaked face up to look at me.

“You need to sleep.”

“…What?”

“You said you haven’t slept in a week. So sleep now. Right here, beside me. Come on, lights out.”

“Me… sleep?”

“Yeah. You.”

I coaxed him like a child and laid him down beside me. Like a tame little lamb, Calix lay back and looked up at me.

“Aren’t you sleeping too?”

“I slept for a week, remember? No way I’m sleepy now.”

I reached out and gently covered his eyes with my hand.

“Stay next to me. Don’t go anywhere.”

Calix grabbed my wrist and looked up at me with watery eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t worry. Just sleep.”

I softly stroked his shoulder as I reassured him. And then, just a few minutes later…

Ta-da! Calix was asleep.

He hadn’t been lying about not sleeping—he was out cold within minutes. I looked closely at his face as he breathed softly in his sleep. He looked so tired, the exhaustion written all over his features.

I stared at him for a while, then lay down beside him.

“I’m sorry.”

I whispered it to myself again.

It broke my heart to see Calix say my apology made him feel miserable. I wiped the tears from my eyes onto the sleeve of his clothes.

Then I hugged him tightly. He hadn’t bathed in days, so he just smelled like… Calix. It might sound strange, but that scent was uniquely his. The cologne he always wore had faded too.

It was oddly comforting. I nuzzled into his chest and closed my eyes.

Next time I wake up, we’ll need to talk about something else.

“Like, how to deal with the gutsy bastard who tried to poison me.”

That was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep.

But again—I was wrong about something.

I’d thought “everything’s okay now,” even if just for a moment. But my body, awake after a week of unconsciousness, had been pushed too hard. A few hours later, I started running a fever.

We weren’t able to talk again properly until late that night, after I’d been bedridden with a high temperature.

Of course, it had to be Calix, who was sleeping while hugging me, that first noticed something was wrong. When I started moaning from the fever, he woke up in a panic—again.

That’s what the knights who had come after hearing I was awake later told me.

“You must’ve had a rough time.”

‘Instead of me,’ I thought, but didn’t say it aloud.

“No, Lady Rena had it harder.”

“Of course! All we did was stay at our posts—it doesn’t even count as hardship.”

The knights replied good-naturedly.

“If you’re done talking, maybe it’s time to go. Rena needs rest,”

Calix chimed in from the corner, arms crossed as he watched us. He hadn’t relaxed until I’d taken medicine for my fever, had a doctor check me again, and been declared okay.

“Ah! Sorry for disturbing your precious time together.”

“If you know that, then scram.”

My face flushed.

“We’ll take our leave now.”

“Rest well.”

Once the knights had gone, Calix came back to my side.

“Are you really okay? You’re not overdoing it, right?”

He placed the back of his hand against my cheek and forehead, fussing over me like the most devoted caregiver ever.

‘Was he like this with the original female lead too?’

I stared up at him, a strange feeling swirling in my chest. Then I blurted out a question without thinking.

“If I had really died… would you have moved on to someone else?”

“What?”

Calix’s face instantly turned stormy.

“Rena, did you not listen to anything I said?”

“I did. I did listen… I just wondered, that’s all.”

“Then how could you even ask something like that?”

He looked genuinely offended. As if I’d accused him of cheating on me or something equally unforgivable.

“Yeah, I get it. That was a harsh thing to say. I’m sorry.”

I apologized, but his expression didn’t soften. It was the first time he’d reacted so strongly. Maybe he really took it as an insult, or as me asking, “So if I die, are you just gonna hook up with someone else?”

“I know. I’m sorry. Don’t worry. If you do cheat…”

I wasn’t sure this would help, but I tried anyway:

“I’ll leave her on some distant island and lock you in a room where only I can see you.”

“Really…?”

His eyes immediately sparkled. So clearly, that worked.

“Really.”

I nodded, indulging him. Calix replied like he was doing me a favor.

“You can lock me up now, if you want. As long as only you can see me.”

“No. Not until we catch the bastard who tried to poison me.”

My answer made his expression suddenly serious.

So I changed the subject.

“By the way, what happened after I collapsed? You said the palace was sealed off. Then what?”

At last, Calix seemed ready to follow my lead and shifted gears.

“They’ve been tearing through the imperial palace trying to find the one who poisoned the wine, but there’s been no news yet.”

“What about the nobles who were there?”

“No one’s left. Since the poisoning happened right in front of the emperor, they’re assuming he might’ve been the target. So everyone’s stuck here under investigation.”

I thought back to that moment.

The wine glasses were randomly selected. The bottles, too. No one could’ve known who would get what.

Calix nodded along with my thoughts.

“The servant who poured your wine is being held. But he claims he just picked a bottle from the pile and poured it. Everyone there saw that too, so we’re stuck.”

It was true. That servant had done everything properly—no suspicious movements, nothing out of place.

‘And Calix drank from the same bottle, right next to me.’

Everyone around us had gotten wine from the same bottle.

‘Then why was it only me?’

“Could it have been the wine glass?”

“Possibly. But… didn’t we all pick our own glasses?”

He was right. We all chose our own glasses off the tray. The servants didn’t touch them.

‘What the hell…?’

It could’ve been a random attack. But it happened to be me? That was too neat to be a coincidence.

“Who could the culprit be?”

“The emperor, obviously.”

Calix spoke like the words left a bad taste in his mouth.

“He’s the one investigating the incident—do you really think the real culprit will ever be found? Even if they do, will it be the truth?”

At those words, I suddenly remembered a moment—right before I collapsed, the emperor had smiled at me.

I hadn’t told Calix that part.

But now I said it, all at once:

“I actually made eye contact with the emperor at the party.”

“What?!”

Calix sprang to his feet.

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?!”

“It just slipped my mind. But that’s not the point.”

I recalled that smile.

“The emperor isn’t the culprit.”

I’d thought it strange even back then. But now, I was sure.

That smile he gave me—it was one of satisfaction. Like he’d finally gotten something he wanted.

It didn’t feel like someone about to murder me. It felt like someone claiming ownership.

“He looked satisfied. Like he’d finally gotten something valuable. Like…”

I finished the sentence, grimacing:

“…He was looking at me like I was some kind of priceless treasure.”

Putting it into words confirmed it for me. To the emperor, I was the key to the dragon.

No proof—just a hunch. But my instincts screamed it was true.

Calix’s expression turned grim. He looked furious, probably cursing a thousand things in his head.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

He spoke bitterly after a long pause.

I tried to lighten the mood.

“Well, we’re already here. What can you do?”

But Calix had already made up his mind.

“Then let’s leave. Right now.”

“Didn’t you say the palace is locked down?”

“I’ll say there’s an emergency in my territory. No one’s going to accuse a poisoning victim of being the culprit.”

“Fair enough. But…”

Was running away really the only option?

“Aren’t we going to find out who did it?”

“Not here. We’ll go back to the capital first—it’s too dangerous here.”

‘Dangerous… yeah.’

He had a point.

The emperor who looked at me like I already belonged to him, and the poisoner who actually tried to kill me—both were here.

But maybe staying was our best chance to uncover both truths.

When I suggested that, Calix looked like he might faint.

“You don’t have to risk your life just to figure this out!”

“…”

Then, realizing how loud he’d gotten, he took a deep breath and said again:

“None of that matters. You almost died.”

“I know. I get it.”

But…

Do I have to do what Calix says?