The moment she saw it, Mia’s heart sank with a thud. Adilot, seemingly oblivious, remarked indifferently,
“Haven’t seen this tea before.”
The attendant who had brought the tray replied,
“They used new herbs, as Your Majesty seemed fatigued.”
“Oh? What kind?”
“Cinnamon, apple, blue hawthorn berries, and…”
The attendant added slowly, with a deliberate pause,
“…a somewhat unusual type of thistle.”
The moment the attendant finished speaking, Adilot, who had been lifting the teacup, locked eyes with Mia.
His red eyes were oddly cold. But Mia didn’t catch the meaning behind it. To her, it only looked like Adilot was about to drink the tea.
In that instant, Mia shot up from her seat like lightning.
“Don’t drink it!”
Without thinking, she swatted the teacup from Adilot’s hand.
*Thud. Clatter!*
The teacup flew across the room, shattered on the floor, and silence flooded the room in an instant.
“Your Majesty!”
Mia, panting heavily, quickly grabbed Adilot’s face.
“What do we do, what do we do…! Spit it out! Now!”
Her face was twisted in distress.
“Let go.”
In contrast, Adilot remained eerily calm. He didn’t seem surprised by her sudden outburst.
“Please, spit it out! Don’t swallow it!”
“…You’re being short with your words?”
“You idiot, throw it up now!”
“Huh…?”
“Mouth-to-mouth!? Do I need to do it!? Or the Heimlich!? Wait, does that even work for liquids!?”
Adilot sighed.
“Mia.”
Immediately, Mia’s frantic movements froze. She blinked down at him, dazed.
“…Huh?”
“Get down. You’re sitting on the Emperor right now.”
Mia could only blink, unable to form a response. It was the first time Adilot had ever called her by her name.
Just her name.
For some reason, she felt strangely embarrassed. But she quickly snapped out of it and shouted,
“That’s not the point right now!”
“If Per saw this, he might kill you.”
“Ghk!”
Even though she knew Ferdinand wasn’t here, her body stiffened reflexively. Adilot grabbed her waist and effortlessly set her down beside him. Mia fidgeted, unsure what to do.
“Adil, I know you don’t trust me, but just this once, please believe me…! Okay? There might be poison in the tea! I mean, it was supposed to be medicine, but… I’m not completely sure, but we should call a doctor…! Ah, but not the Imperial physician…!”
“I know.”
“Huh?”
“Your Majesty. The antidote.”
At that moment, Joachim stepped forward, holding out a small vial—one for Adilot, and one for Mia.
“And Lady Mia, you should drink this too.”
“…Me?”
“It’s an antidote. You applied something to your hands, didn’t you?”
“No? I didn’t… Oh.”
She had. The burn ointment Embra had given her.
Joachim smiled apologetically at Mia’s dumbfounded expression.
“It’s a poison absorbed through the skin. Not lethal, so don’t worry too much. And since this was my idea, please don’t blame His Majesty.”
Mia numbly took the vial and drank.
*Clink.*
Adilot also calmly drank his and set the vial down.
“Do you really think I’d let something meant for the Emperor’s lips be handled so carelessly?”
Mia’s eyes darted around the room.
Adilot, unbothered.
Joachim, looking troubled.
The attendant, still standing politely.
Stammering, Mia spoke.
“So… you knew about the ‘purple-root thistle’…”
“That’s why the color was off. Though when I was a child, it would’ve made me sick. Now, it just numbs my fingertips.”
“Then Embra too—”
Before she could finish, Adilot flicked his fingers. A bookshelf behind his desk slid open, and Embra stepped out.
“Aha! Suspiciously beautiful physician, making her entrance!”
The green-haired chief physician smiled apologetically and nodded at Mia.
“Sorry about that, miss.”
“Embra…?”
Mia blinked, still processing.
“You weren’t the Empress Dowager’s spy…?”
“Pfft! Of course not. I’m trusted enough to be in His Majesty’s private office, you know!”
“But… the Imperial Medical Office is under Chrysor’s control, right?”
“Exactly! So, the fact that the Empress Dowager’s personal physician is actually the Emperor’s ally—you’ll keep that a secret, right?”
Embra winked playfully, though her expression remained apologetic.
Adilot spoke up, watching Mia’s bewildered face.
“By the way, that ‘suspicious physician rummaging through weakness records’ you saw? Also an actor I prepared. Well, Joachim did.”
“…How did you know I’d go to the Medical Office?”
“I’ll answer that,” Joachim said.
“Lady Mia, are you aware? There are several places in Levantor where the Empress Dowager’s influence is strong. The Imperial Medical Office is one of them.”
“Yes, vaguely…”
“Right. If you had been Chrysor’s ally, we had measures in place for every location you might visit.”
“So you were going to drink it to…”
Mia trailed off as she realized the answer.
*‘To see if I’d stop you or not.’*
Meanwhile, Adilot rested his chin on his hand, staring at her.
“If you’d wanted to harm me, you wouldn’t have stopped me. But you did.”
At that moment, Mia’s expression darkened.
“Is that… all you have to say?”
—
Her gaze was sharp enough to pierce through a person. Seeing Mia trembling, biting her lip, Adilot could easily guess her fury.
*‘She has every right to be angry. I doubted her and even poisoned her.’*
It wasn’t unexpected. But seeing her large, round, jelly-like pink eyes well up made his chest feel uncomfortably tight.
He turned his face away from her.
“I’ll apologize for the poison. A servant’s mistake is the master’s responsibility.”
“That’s not it!”
“Then what is?”
Mia clenched her fists. Her face, already red with distress, flushed deeper.
“I know the situation you’re in, Adil! I know you can’t trust people easily, but… don’t do this, please!”
“An Emperor is supposed to—”
“Not that!”
She seemed to be holding something back, gritting her teeth, before finally exploding.
“Why do you treat your own body so carelessly!?”
Adilot’s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Joachim looked equally stunned. Only Embra watched Mia with a complicated expression.
Amid the silence, Mia glared at Adilot, her voice trembling.
“If you really thought of yourself as the Emperor, as someone precious, you wouldn’t have drunk it! Why would you do that? What if something had gone wrong!?”
“But, miss, I was here to—”
“No talking for the liar!”
“Eep…”
Embra quietly retreated.
Adilot, who had been staring blankly, finally spoke.
“So you’re not mad about being tricked, but…”
“Of course I’m mad I fell for it!”
Mia shouted, her small frame radiating intensity.
“I was so worried because of it! And now that I know, I’m upset! But I get it! You didn’t have to actually drink it! You could’ve just pretended!”
Adilot took a moment to process her words before replying.
“…You’re getting angry over weird things.”
“It’s not weird!”
And then, finally, Mia burst into tears. Adilot nearly shot to his feet on reflex. His mouth went dry from sheer panic—something that hadn’t happened in years.
“I thought—I thought you might die…! That because I couldn’t stop you, you’d die…!”
Mia’s shoulders shook violently. She cried as if genuinely heartbroken.
Thick tears, gleaming like pearls, soaked into the carpet. But Adilot remained stiff, unable to speak. He didn’t know what to do.
Then, Mia abruptly held out her hand to Joachim.
“…?”
When he looked at her in confusion, she glared through her tears.
“Handkerchief!”
“Ah. Here.”
Joachim, unusually flustered, handed her one.
Mia sniffled as she wiped her tears, then suddenly yelled again.
“I’m not giving it back since you lied to me! I’ll use it and stomp on it and throw it away!”
“…As you wish.”
“I’ll wipe something dirty with it and stuff it into Adil’s pillow!”
“……”
The woman who had so effortlessly flustered the so-called “Iron-Blooded Chancellor” now sniffled miserably again.
“Seriously… how can you be like this? Adil never cares about himself…! If you keep this up, someday someone you love will cry tears of blood, and I won’t care! I won’t forgive you!”
Adilot barely managed to force words out.
“Why would you need to forgive—”
“No talking for the liar!”
“…I’m the Emperor.”
“I’m the Emperor’s pet!!”
“Ah. Right…”
Adilot was just as bewildered as Joachim. He had never seen someone speak to him so bluntly before.
Another tear, large as a chicken’s egg, rolled down Mia’s face.
“I’m going to bed!”
With that final shout, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
Silence followed her exit. The three left behind—two men and one woman, all rendered speechless—exchanged stunned looks.
After a moment, Joachim laughed awkwardly.
“…Did she see through it? Or is she really not aligned with the Empress Dowager?”
“You’re writing a report either way.”
