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Chapter 21
“Uh… you don’t have it?”
“I was going to make it, but I ran out of ingredients, so I couldn’t make a single one.”
Chobi confessed innocently.
Just because her tone was cheerful didn’t make the situation any less frustrating.
I grabbed both of Chobi’s shoulders and shook her.
“Ugh… Saint, I’m feeling dizzy.”
“Then, what other options do we have?”
I had eaten it by accident, but if the aftercare works like this, it’s a problem.
No, Chobi originally wanted to give it to His Majesty, right?
Then she must have had some alternative to the antidote in mind; otherwise, why would she have done such a thing?
“Is there no other way to counteract the effect besides the antidote? I’m in serious trouble right now.”
“The fastest method in the current situation is…”
Of course. Chobi had a plan all along…!
“You’re going to wait for the effect to wear off, right?”
Nothing.
Is this some kind of “time heals the pain of lost love” nonsense?
Time might heal it!
The problem is that it’s an indefinite wait.
What I needed was a solution to restore my condition immediately.
“Chobi… you were so confident saying, ‘The effect lasts only 24 hours!’ Today is the third day.”
“Already three days have passed?”
“Yes, they have.”
Chobi’s feigned surprise annoyed me, so I answered bluntly.
For three days, every single day of mine had been a battlefield between my mind and body.
Ugh… give me back my beloved.
Chobi started firing questions like a doctor conducting an examination.
“Are your symptoms still the same as you mentioned earlier? For example, does thinking of Captain Levarthen make your heart race, your cheeks flush, or your face feel dizzy before bed?”
“…Chobi, are you teasing me right now?”
“Oh, no, I’m not.”
Chobi quickly shook her head, but I saw it.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she asked the questions.
She looked like a child excited by a new toy.
Chobi is a researcher, so she must be science-minded.
This is why science people…!
“You’re asking questions knowing full well, aren’t you? Fine. My heart races, my cheeks flush, and my face keeps appearing in my mind… and… and…!”
It didn’t just appear in my mind—it appeared in my dreams!
Who? Who else but Captain Henkel…
In the dream, the captain approached me, undoing his cufflinks—!
I can’t even say what happened next.
‘What is this.’
The life plan I had laid out, intending to spend my life in Zendal, wasn’t supposed to include this!
I grabbed my head.
“It’s all screwed.”
“That’s strange.”
Chobi sat with her arms crossed, tilting her head.
“…What is?”
“The ‘Love Potion’ formula is always the same. None of the researchers who tried it lasted more than 24 hours. It was fine for me in a single day.”
“You tried it too? With whom? Or how did the effect disappear? Did your feelings fade gradually? Or all at once?”
Chobi had experience with it.
I asked with a sliver of hope, but all I got in response was Chobi’s “Hmm…” mixed with contemplative admiration.
“There’s always individual variation, but for the same formula to have such different durations is impossible.”
“Then… what about my situation…?”
“Perhaps…”
Chobi’s next words cast a shadow of foreboding over my heart.
The god Seikan created humans.
So that they could love each other.
“….”
The god Seikan created emotions.
So that they could love each other.
“Ughhhh.”
A picture book I found while cleaning contained something like this.
I gasped and threw the book, which had a picture of two people hugging.
I had been mesmerized by its title: ‘What is Love?’
“This is totally dangerous.”
I closed the book with the end of the broom handle held upside down and carefully slid it back to its place.
It was a motion careful enough to rival a bomb disposal team.
“Perhaps… this is true love?”
“Love? Nonsense.”
I shook my head, rejecting what Chobi said yesterday.
“My heart, don’t flutter.”
My fake love might actually be real.
Right now, giving my pink-brain this sliver of hope was extremely dangerous.
Stay alert.
This pink is artificial coloring.
“You’ll regret it when the effect wears off. Don’t even dream of crossing the river with Captain Henkel.”
…With the captain?
Thunk.
I hit my forehead with the broom and finally felt a little more conscious.
I didn’t really believe Chobi (probably), but as time went on, my unease was inevitable.
Even on the fourth day, the symptoms persisted.
Today, Captain Henkel’s lunch had been tomato chicken stew and three pieces of baguette.
If this turns into true love, I…!
“Hehe, at this rate, you’ll wear out your forehead.”
Priest Raul, who had stepped out briefly, walked over to me.
I stopped the broom aimed at my forehead and turned my head.
“Oh, welcome back.”
“Thank you. And… ahem. Hmm.”
“Hm? Do you have something to say?”
Priest Raul cleared his throat a few times, like someone who had something to tell.
“Last time, it seems an old man made a mistake with the Saint.”
“A mistake?”
“It seems the Saint has her heart on Captain Henkel of the Imperial Guard, not His Majesty the Emperor…”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.”
“Then, is it His Majesty after all?”
“Not that either…!”
I broke into a cold sweat.
How far had the rumors spread for even Priest Raul, who couldn’t care less about worldly matters, to say something like this?
Raul handed me an item.
“The young men outside said you should be given this, Saint.”
“…What is it?”
It was an envelope resembling an invitation.
At the triangular flap, a few small flowers were tucked in, and a sweet scent suggested perfume.
“I don’t know either. They insisted it must be shown only to the Saint. Hehe. Open it and see for yourself.”
…What is this?
I took out the letter and unfolded it.
To the Captain of the Imperial Guard,
Henkel Levarthen Investigation Report
Huh?
From the very first line, I was deeply unsettled.
I read the words with eyes wide as if they were shaking.
Henkel Levarthen.
Age 26.
Third son of the Levarthen Count family.
…
Graduated second in his class from Caliskan Academy.
…
Serious charm, swordsmanship that could impress even other men.
…
“You seem engrossed; it must be important information.”
Wh… what is this?
The letter was two pages.
The first page contained Captain Henkel’s personal details, favorite foods, and charm points.
The second page detailed his daily schedule.
On the back of the second page…
*We support the happiness of the Saint!
-
All of the Saint Church*
“….”
“Hehe… so it was something made by the young men inside the palace.”
Priest Raul, who had come close, chuckled amusedly.
My hands trembled holding the letter.
It was surprising enough that an organization like the Saint Church existed, but what on earth was this?
A report on Captain Henkel.
Captain Henkel’s…!
“Saint?”
I wanted to tear it up immediately, saying I didn’t need this.
But look at the handwriting—every stroke was full of effort.
“…This is all sincerity.”
Sigh. I can’t throw this away…
With tears welling up, I folded the letter neatly and tucked it into my chest.
“Your Majesty, I found the head researcher.”
Upon Evon’s report, Allend looked up from the documents he was reviewing.
A person was dangling into the room, arms bound by two knights.
Pink hair disheveled, white coat dirty in several places.
“Leave her be.”
“Yes, Minister Haiben.”
After the knights left and the door closed, only Allend, Evon, and Chobi remained.
Allend called out to Chobi, who was kneeling on the floor.
“Head researcher.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You seem to have gone for a night stroll.”
After the Saint’s symptoms were discovered, she had been confined by the Emperor for two nights and three days.
Chobi, who attempted escape, was brought in after just one day.
“Everything I did was to help the Saint…”
“I know. That’s why I said, if you develop the antidote, you may go.”
Chobi broke into a cold sweat.
She couldn’t make the antidote. She had no ingredients.
Waiting for the effect to wear off wasn’t an option either; the place she was confined was too dreadful.
Next to the main palace’s conference room.
A room built with temporary walls was poorly soundproofed.
The voices of the high-ranking officials could be heard all day.
High spiritual power, high status.
For Chobi, there was no need for torture.
Unable to endure it, she had run out.
While collecting items at the lab, she had encountered the Saint.
The next dawn, disguised in a cloak, she tried to escape the palace but was caught by a guard.
‘If only my feet weren’t visible, I wouldn’t have been caught.’
If it weren’t for the contract with the Emperor, she wouldn’t even need to be here…
Chobi glanced at the Emperor.
Even someone who dislikes people could see that the Emperor was very handsome.
No wonder the Saint went to such lengths just to see him smile once.
The Emperor always smiled, so I didn’t understand why she wanted more.
Even now, isn’t he smiling at her?
“Head researcher, if you lack confidence, you may resign.”
A word like refreshing rain after a drought.
Chobi, who had no sense of responsibility, immediately answered.
“Y-Your Majesty. I’m sorry, but I’m not confident in making the antidote.”
“Understood.”
I never expected him to accept it so readily.
‘I should have just said I couldn’t do it from the start. I wasted two nights and three days listening to annoying nobles.’
Chobi’s heart raced imagining returning to her beloved lab.
Naturally, the Emperor didn’t stop speaking there.
“Instead, we’ll need someone to make the antidote. We cannot leave the Saint like this.”
The Emperor’s expression was serious.
“Isn’t that right, Minister?”
“Yes.”
The Emperor and Evon exchanged words as if discussing a matter of great importance.
Chobi alternated her gaze between them.
“Then I must tell you the formula.”
“The formula… sir?”
“You’ve waited patiently, haven’t you? You said the head researcher could make the antidote.”
To make the antidote, you need the formula.
That makes sense, but…
‘I’m doomed.’
I couldn’t reveal the formula to the Emperor.
Could I say I’d try again?
The Emperor was not the type to tolerate someone reversing their words.
‘If he finds out what the Saint ate…’
I might lose my head.
Chobi swallowed hard, her mind spinning.
Seeing her unusual expression, Allend narrowed his eyes.
“…Chobi, what have you done?”
