ATMM 11

Chapter – 11

Before going to pay my respects to the Empress, I had a light breakfast and then heard from Yulion that Ares had woken up.

“Were there any other abnormal symptoms?”

“That does not seem to be the case. Would you like to go see him?”

“Of course. After I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress first.”

If it were up to my heart, I would have gone immediately to check on Ares’s condition. But if Yulion had already delivered this news to me, then the Chief Physician who managed the Royal Medical Bureau would surely have known long before that.

There was no telling how the anxious Chief Physician might react.

He was extremely reluctant to let me look at Her Majesty’s medical records.

Which meant there was a high probability that he himself knew there was a problem with the prescription he had given the Empress.

I rose to my feet at once.

“I’ll get ready, so could you wait outside for a moment?”

“Understood.”

After confirming that Yulion had completely left, I headed to the small makeshift dispensary I had set up in the adjoining room.

When one moves while assuming the worst, there are fewer failures.

I hope I won’t have to use this.

I opened a drawer in the dispensary and took out a violet potion bottle.

I had hastily prepared it that morning, just in case.

A medicine I hoped would remain unused.

If the Empress trusted me and entrusted her treatment to me, there would be no need for it.

For a moment, I imagined the conversation I would have with the Empress, then tucked the potion bottle into my bosom.

After checking one last time to make sure there was nothing else I needed, I stepped outside.

Yulion was standing beneath the sunlight with an indifferent expression.

He had been exchanging a few words with an attendant behind him, but upon seeing me, he smiled brightly.

“You are exceedingly beautiful today as well, Lohiriel.”

From any angle, he was the very image of a crown prince in love.

It was almost impossible to believe he was the same person I had secretly infiltrated the Crown Prince’s Palace to meet.

I gently curved my lips and took the hand he offered.

“Thank you.”

The gazes of the attendants, maids, and knights standing nearby were burdensome, but precisely because of that, I looked at Yulion steadfastly and smiled with him.

“Do you know what happened in the office today?”

“Something interesting must have happened.”

“Yes. I opened the window, and a bird…”

As we headed toward Tishurit Palace, we chatted like an affectionate couple.

It was mostly trivial daily talk.

As I responded and let various thoughts run through my mind, before I knew it, we had entered the garden of Tishurit Palace.

Naturally, I shifted my gaze toward the palace entrance—and saw a familiar face.

“Chief Physician?”

Yulion called out to him, sounding surprised.

The Chief Physician also seemed flustered, as though he had encountered an unexpected situation, and bowed.

“I greet Your Highnesses.”

“We meet here again, Chief Physician.”

When he raised his head, his face had regained its composure.

“Yes, Your Highness. I was just on my way back after examining Her Majesty the Empress.”

“…You have worked hard.”

“Not at all. Her Majesty places steadfast trust in me. Even if I were to devote my entire body, it would not be enough.”

Unlike yesterday, his expression and tone were quite respectful.

However, the moment I met his snake-like brown eyes, I knew.

He’s been whispering something to the Empress.

When I glanced at Yulion, his complexion was not good, as if he had reached the same conclusion.

“Then I shall take my leave.”

With a smiling face, the Chief Physician bowed again and left the garden.

Watching his retreating figure shrink into a dot, I let out a small sigh.

“I suppose today we’ll have to limit ourselves to simple greetings.”

“We should have come a little earlier.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The Empress had likely heard a great many unpleasant things about me.

Still, as a woman who once dominated high society, she would not blindly trust everything the Chief Physician said. But she was currently extremely exhausted, both physically and mentally.

In such a state, if she had to choose between someone who treated her while telling her pleasant things, and an unanticipated daughter-in-law from a rival family, she would naturally choose the former.

I tightened my grip on Yulion’s hand and stepped forward.

“Let’s look for another opportunity. Her Majesty’s illness won’t worsen drastically in just a day or two.”

As expected, the Empress’s response was cold.

She leaned back against her chair, her eyes filled with clear annoyance and hostility.

“You need not come to pay your respects every day.”

“Mother.”

“I am tired as well. I must care for His Majesty and manage the Inner Palace. The Crown Princess must be busy too. Once a week for morning greetings will suffice.”

The Empress’s golden eyes passed over Yulion and turned toward me at his side.

The sudden chill reminded me of my first impression of Yulion.

They really do resemble each other.

Perhaps dissatisfied with her reaction, Yulion did not respond, so I spoke instead.

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. Still, if you ever need someone to talk to, please call for me anytime.”

It was too early to mention the Empress’s eye disease.

I did not know what sweet words the Chief Physician had fed her, but one thing had become entirely certain.

He knew that his prescription for the Empress’s illness was wrong.

“There are plenty here to keep me company. There is no need to worry. I wish to rest now, so you may withdraw.”

“…Yes, then.”

“Please rest, Your Majesty.”

With a stiff expression, Yulion turned around.

As I followed him out, my eyes met those of Head Maid Blanche by the door.

Her dark blue hair was neatly braided and coiled up, her attire so immaculate it seemed not a speck of dust could land on it—enough to reveal her usual disposition.

But what caught my eye more than anything was the corner of Blanche’s lips.

One side was slightly curled upward.

She was unmistakably sneering.

The problem was that there was an inexplicable sense of relief mixed into that sneer.

It made sense that she would be pleased to see me coldly treated, since she disliked me—but why relief?

Something is definitely strange. I should tell Jenid to hurry the investigation.

I trusted the instincts I had honed while living at the Cassian Ducal House.

This might be connected to something bigger than I thought.

“I’m sorry. Mother is not usually so prejudiced.”

Yulion’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I quickly lifted my head.

“Oh, it’s alright. Caring for a sick person for so many years isn’t easy, and now that she herself has fallen ill, she must be very exhausted.”

“Thank you for saying that. Then what do you intend to do now?”

“I’ll go to the Royal Medical Bureau to see Sir Ares.”

“I know that. I mean regarding Her Majesty the Empress.”

Yulion’s expression was quite serious.

He seemed troubled, perhaps fearing that we would not be able to treat his mother’s illness.

I lightly patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Evil always receives its punishment.”

“Suddenly, what do you—?”

Seeing Yulion blink in confusion, I smiled sweetly.

“So, just wait and see.”

Yulion returned to his office, saying he still had work to do, and I headed toward the Royal Medical Bureau.

To get there from Tishurit Palace, one had to pass by a side path near the Imperial Garden. Under the pretext of looking around, I stepped into the garden.

The Imperial Garden was divided into two areas.

One was a public garden open to anyone.

The other was the Forbidden Garden, accessible only to the imperial family.

The cure for my illness—Aperium—was in the Forbidden Garden.

“Jenid, I’d like to be alone for a moment.”

“Yes, Your Highness. We will wait here.”

Leaving the maids behind, I slowly walked into the Forbidden Garden.

Dense leaves and hanging vines obscured my view.

The entrance was narrower than expected. But once I pushed through the vines, a wide-open flower field spread out before me.

“Wow…”

I had come to find Aperium, but even aside from that, I had been curious.

A garden enjoyed only by the imperial family—how beautiful would it be?

I had vaguely imagined many rare plants.

But what was this?

“What kind of garden is this, so desolate?”

A wide flower field. Trees growing wildly.

That was all.

There were plants and flowers of all kinds gathered here, but most were on the verge of withering, and some had already died.

Is there no gardener managing this place?

At this point, I began to worry whether Aperium was even safe.

I hurriedly searched around the Forbidden Garden.

A flower with clusters of blossoms blooming from a single stem in brilliant colors. The inside of its petals was pale yellow, and as it bloomed, the color gradually changed so that the tips shimmered with a luminous sky blue.

Its shape lay somewhere between a rose and a tulip—at first glance common, yet upon closer inspection distinctly unique.

“Honestly…”

The more I looked around, the more speechless I became.

Anxiety crept up from my toes toward my heart.

Just as unease was steadily growing, a sky-blue color like sunlight caught my eye at the far end of the Forbidden Garden.

There it is!

I rushed closer. As expected, the flower was indeed Aperium.

Though it looked weak and slightly wilted, true to its tenacious vitality, it was still usable.

“This should be fine.”

Aperium does not have a fixed blooming season.

True to its rare nature, it blooms as it pleases—known to fully blossom one month after germination and to wither fifteen days later.

What I needed were fully bloomed petals.

Unfortunately, there were only a few fully blossomed flowers available for immediate use.

The rest were still growing, and some were already fading.

First, I bent down and brought my face close to the Aperium.

Its fragrant scent tingled at the tip of my nose and lingered deep in my lungs. I liked that sensation.

After inhaling the scent for a moment, I plucked a few petals and placed them in my mouth.

The first taste was bitter.

But as I crushed them lightly with my tongue, a sweetness like honey water melted throughout my mouth.

I feel oddly guilty.

It was said to be a flower the Emperor cherished. If I were caught plucking and eating it at will, who knew what kind of punishment I would face.

Of course, that Emperor was currently bedridden with illness.

Even so, if anyone else saw, there would surely be an uproar.

All the plants here belonged to the Emperor.

With that thought, I lifted my head to glance around—

“…!”

The first thing I saw was black hair swaying in the wind.

And beneath it, golden eyes gleaming.

Indifferent yet cold, unreadable golden eyes were quietly looking down at me.

I stood up awkwardly and called his name.

“Yulion.”