“Pardon?”
“I know you financed the rebellion of the Celestial Count family.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Ah, I see?”
Feridian frowned slightly, while Mia wrinkled her nose with a sullen expression.
“That wasn’t really my intention… But doesn’t His Majesty know about this as well?”
“His Majesty knows everything.”
“Then why did His Majesty spare my life?”
“I wouldn’t dare to presume to know His Majesty’s intentions.”
“Oh, so you don’t know…”
At Mia’s muttering, Feridian’s brow twitched.
Oh no, it must’ve sounded like I was mocking him.
Mia quickly raised her hands with a bright smile.
“But, Marquis! I…”
“Even so, I still dislike you.”
At that moment, Feridian took a step closer to Mia. His calloused hand, befitting a swordsman, had already moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“The daughter of a traitor. It’s almost unthinkable that you’re still alive…”
His low, menacing voice made her breath catch.
Am I going to die?
But contrary to her thoughts, Feridian didn’t draw his sword. It wasn’t in line with the Emperor’s wishes, whom he faithfully served. Instead, he issued a slow, heavy warning.
“If you ever become a threat to His Majesty, you will have to be prepared.”
“…”
Mia gulped in the tense silence, looking like a frightened rabbit. As Joachim, the Chancellor, had claimed, she didn’t appear to be lying.
But this is the woman who built up the Miromis Trading Company. I can’t afford to let my guard down.
With an icy gaze as cold as the northern winds, Feridian turned and walked away.
“Make sure you behave yourself.”
The back of his uniformed figure grew smaller as he strode off.
—
Mia was left alone in the middle of the Revenitor Garden. Feridian hadn’t bothered to escort her away.
As she stood there, lost in thought, someone waved at her from a distance.
“There you are! Over here!”
Looking closely, she saw it was the green-haired physician she’d met at the infirmary. The woman ran up to her and immediately bowed deeply.
“I committed a grave offense!”
“Pardon?”
“I failed to recognize someone so distinguished…!”
Mia silently looked down at the woman, noticing her trembling hands on the ground. She seemed nervous, but Mia didn’t let her guard down.
If she’s Chrysor’s personal physician, she’s likely aligned with Chrysor.
In that case, it was better to observe her for now. Mia feigned ignorance, reached out her hand, and helped the woman stand.
“Oh, distinguished? Not at all! I’m just a pet!”
“To be His Majesty’s pet is a tremendous honor! And His Majesty isn’t one to trust easily, so for him to keep you close—how remarkable!”
…That’s not it. I’m under surveillance.
Mia awkwardly smiled, unable to hide her dismay, and quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!”
The green-haired woman beamed brightly as her hair shimmered.
“I’m Embra Theta, my lady! Chief physician of the Imperial Infirmary!”
“Wow, the chief!”
Mia clapped in admiration but then felt a bit puzzled.
Chief physician? Wasn’t the chief in The Serenity of the Rose Garden someone else?
Well, she’s probably resigning soon. Happens to everyone.
Mia dismissed the thought.
“Nice to meet you, Embra! I’m Mia. I do have a family name, but it vanished with the rebellion!”
“Oh, that’s no problem! Such things don’t matter nowadays!”
“So, did you come here just to apologize?”
“Oh, no! I felt terrible for mistaking you for one of our interns earlier, and I wanted to make it up to you…”
“Hmm, it’s fine by me!”
“No, no! I can’t let it go like that! If you’re free, why not visit the infirmary? I’ll serve you some delicious tea! We also have cherry blossom candies from New Mini’s latest collection!”
Mia, about to decline, hesitated when her ears perked up at the mention.
“New Mini’s… latest collection?”
“Yes! I love sweets, so I ordered it a while ago, but it took forever to arrive because it’s from Treverium!”
With a cheerful smile, Embra continued,
“So, how about it? Would you forgive me over tea and some cherry blossom candy?”
“Ugh…”
She didn’t want to go, but cherry blossom candy!
Truthfully, Mia had a sweet tooth. Her brainwork often led her to crave sugar, and the only things she ever bought while running the Miromis Trading Company were desserts.
In the end, she nodded.
“…Fine, I’ll come!”
“A splendid choice!”
This is definitely not me falling for a bribe. I’m just investigating the Dowager Empress’s domain, Mia rationalized as she followed Embra.
—
Embra led Mia to her private office inside the infirmary. The room was shockingly messy.
The central table, in particular, was a chaotic mess of papers, trash, kettles, and herbs.
On the floor… for reasons unknown, there were clothes.
The disarray was overwhelming, but Mia just smiled brightly.
“So cozy!”
“Right? Being the chief comes with a private space!”
Mia looked around cautiously and sat down in the chair Embra had offered her.
“I need to think of this as building connections for the future…”
She firmly told herself that it wasn’t because she was lured by the tempting cherry blossom candy from New Mini.
“Alright! Please wait just a moment!”
Embra started rummaging through items on the console filled with kitchenware.
Then, with her back turned, she spoke,
“Oh, miss! Could you move the medicine kettle over there? I’m short on space.”
“The medicine kettle?”
Mia looked around and spotted a round, flat, teapot-shaped ceramic object.
“This one?”
The moment Mia absentmindedly picked up the kettle—
“Oh, be careful! It’s hot!”
“Ah, hot!”
Clang!
Mia dropped the kettle. A sharp pain surged through her palm.
“Ouch…”
“Miss!”
Embra rushed over to check on her. Mia’s right palm was reddened—it was a burn.
“This is terrible! Come here! We need to cool it with cold water!”
Wincing in pain, Mia was led by Embra to the sink. Despite the commotion, a faint unease stirred within her.
“Just now… it felt like she warned me deliberately late. No, that can’t be, right?”
Mia glanced at Embra’s face, looking for clues. Embra appeared genuinely worried.
“I’m so sorry! Since we often boil medicines at the infirmary, we use a brazier connected to the table. It’s second nature to us, so I forgot to warn you in time…”
The explanation wasn’t incomprehensible, which only left Mia more confused.
After cooling the burn under running water, the treatment was complete. Embra seated Mia and applied a cooling ointment to the burn.
As an apology, she tried to give Mia an entire bag of cherry blossom candies, but Mia had lost her appetite.
“How are you finding your stay?”
As Embra gently spread the pale green ointment, she asked.
“Adil has been treating me well, so it’s been fine!”
“Oh my! You called His Majesty by name…”
Embra blushed and lowered her head deeply, causing Mia to realize her slip-up.
“Ah, it’s just that I’m used to calling him by name since he’s the male lead…”
Mia quickly changed the topic.
“More importantly, does that mean you also look after His Majesty?”
“Well, no, not exactly!”
“Huh?”
“His Majesty doesn’t receive treatment from the physicians at the Imperial Infirmary.”
“Then who treats his injuries…?”
“We don’t know either! He seems to have a personal physician and priest, but their identities are kept secret.”
Listening to Embra, Mia recalled the novel she’d read.
“In the story, it only mentioned Adil being treated by a physician when injured. So it wasn’t someone from the Imperial Infirmary.”
She had always found it strange that Adil would entrust his body to someone possibly influenced by the Empress Dowager. What she had dismissed as a plot hole seemed to be merely unexplained details.
“Just like how the Count of Celestial turned out to be backed by Empress Dowager Chrysor…”
Mia sighed. Even though she had entered a world from a story she’d read, there was still so much she didn’t know.
“Did something happen with His Majesty?”
Embra asked while attaching a thin gauze over the ointment.
“Not really! I just feel like I might’ve underestimated things…”
“Underestimated?”
“I wanted to be helpful to His Majesty, but it’s not going as well as I thought!”
“Hmm…”
Mia glanced at Embra’s expression as she replied lightly. She seemed to be deep in thought. Once the treatment was complete, Embra closed the medicine box and gave a cheerful smile.
“Miss, the world is full of unknowns, Mia. Even physicians make a lot of mistakes when they’re just starting out.”
“Mistakes?”
“Yes! Especially for physicians, mistakes can be fatal. A wrong mixture of medicine can turn something harmless into poison.”
“Oh, I see! So there’s a fine line between medicine and poison?”
“Exactly! It can even depend on the person’s constitution. But how could anyone know that from the start? It’s all trial and error.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! For instance…”
Embra paused and glanced around. The room was empty.
“When His Majesty was very young, he once suffered after taking medicine brewed from purple thistle root. If only we had known earlier…”
“Purple thistle root?”
That sounded familiar. Mia furrowed her brows.
“The physician was nearly executed back then. Fortunately, His Majesty woke up and said it was alright, so they were spared… Anyway, no one knows everything. You have to ex
perience it to understand!”
Embra’s voice faded from Mia’s awareness.
‘Wow, such a fascinating color for a thistle! The root is purple?’
Suddenly, Mia remembered the suspicious physician she had encountered at the infirmary.
