Vellian was startled to hear a word he could not have imagined.

“Flower?”

“Yes, it was definitely a flower, according to our investigation.”

The investigator looked at him with a puzzled look, as if wondering why he was so surprised.

“Uh, what kind of flower?”

The investigator didn’t seem to find the young duke’s actions suspicious in the slightest.

“It was not poisonous or anything special. They said it was a flower in a pot.”

“Wasn’t it a flower used as a medicinal herb or something like that?”

At Vellian’s urgent question, the investigator shook his head.

“No, as far as I know, but… … . I don’t sure. I heard it wasn’t a poisonous flower, so I didn’t look into it in detail.”

The investigator isn’t even a pharmacist, so he wouldn’t have been able to find out if it was a herb.

“Did anything else look suspicious?”

“No, it was probably just a noble family’s hobby.”

The investigator still didn’t seem very interested in the duke’s actions.

Vellian looked at him blankly.

‘How can this person be so insensitive as an investigator?’

Vellian, who had sent a pathetic gaze to him, then realized.

The fact that Astelle had extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs was known only to a few who followed the journey, including Vellian.

Without knowing that, it was understandable that the investigator was not interested in hearing that the empress’ brother had bought flowers from a faraway area. Because it was not even poisonous.

However, it was hard for Vellian to take it for granted.

“About the pharmacist that the empress keeps close to, did you find out anything about her? Is she particularly suspicious?”

Vellian had asked him to investigate that woman as well.

“Not much. That woman, the pharmacist, went from place to place selling medicine. From what we found out, there was no mention of selling suspicious drugs, and there was no particular problem.”

“… … really?”

“Yes, and besides, I’ve been living in the Empress Palace for the past few days, so I couldn’t keep an eye on everything.”

Vellian continued his worries as he touched the tip of his chin.

When the emperor collapsed, the empress kept him in her palace. Meanwhile, the young duke suddenly ordered a strange flower from the South.

The flower has not arrived yet. Before the flower arrived, the emperor recovered from his illness and returned to his palace.

‘Well… … .’

It’s definitely suspicious.

Maybe… … .

The empress tried to kill the emperor under the guise of illness.

The pharmacist may have developed a drug that would make him die as if he had a disease.

The flower ordered by the young duke was an important ingredient in the medicine. However, there was difficulty in obtaining it.

So the emperor had recovered before the flower arrived.

‘Is that too much of a guess?’

He couldn’t be sure because there was no evidence.

With a sigh, Vellian gave the last order to the investigator,

“Watch the pharmacist more. And the herbs brought by the young duke… … . No, I mean, find out more about the flower.

* * *

Astelle and Theor are now in the greenhouse located at one entrance to the palace garden.

It was made of transparent glass from the ceiling to the walls, so on a clear day, the sun shines through.

Delicate patterns are engraved on the surface of the glass wall.

They couldn’t come here because it was hot in summer, but since it’s getting colder, it’s perfect to spend time here.

“Blynn, catch it!”

Theor threw a ball toward the fountain. Next to the flower bed in the clear sunlight, Blynn jumped and ran after the ball.

After rolling a ball made of cloth for a long time, Blynn went to the flowerbed.

“Come on, here it is.”

Kaizen waiting on the other side picked up the ball again and threw it to Theor.

Both Theor and Blynn chased the ball and started running again.

Seeing that, Astelle let out a sigh.

“Your Majesty, really, don’t overdo it.”

It’s been a few days since he recovered, and only four days since he returned to work. Despite being busy with his work, Kaizen tried to play with Theor whenever he had time.

He walked over to Astelle and muttered sadly, “I’m not overdoing it at all… … .”

“You’re already busy with work. You should rest during your recovery period.”

Kaizen sat across from Astelle.

“I didn’t know you were such a strict guardian. You were strict to Theor, but even worse to me.”

It contained complaints about Astelle, who nagged him to rest every now and then, but in a tone that teased her.

“Your Majesty and Theor are different.”

“Does that mean that I’m less obedient than Theor?”

“More or less.”

Kaizen laughed upon hearing Astelle’s calm reply.

Astelle laughed too and poured tea for him.

White porcelain teacup filled with fragrant tea aroma. Looking into the red tea, Astelle remembered the conversation she had with Gretel yesterday.

Astelle put on a bright expression trying not to show her complicated mind.

–

Last night, the second detoxifying herb from the South arrived at the palace, and then Gretel hurriedly made a new medicine with that.

Kaizen drank the newly made medicine. He was then examined by the doctor.

Outwardly, nothing had changed. Kaizen looked as healthy as before taking the medicine.

“Your Majesty seems to have recovered, but… … .”

The doctor reported with a slightly confused look.

“Is the poison still there?” Astelle asked nervously.

The doctor did not answer easily.

Instead, Gretel, who examined with him, hesitated and gave an answer.

“I think we should wait a little bit.”

“… … .”

Astelle realized the truth in her hesitant answer.

The poison is not completely detoxified.

A sense of despair ensued. Even though Kaizen drank two detoxifying herbs, the poison had not completely dissipated.

“Astelle, I’m fine.”

Kaizen, who was listening to the three of them, reassured Astelle.

“I feel a little refreshed after taking this medicine one more time. So don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

Astelle smiled with relief when she heard it. No, it wasn’t really a relief.

It was because she was sorry that she kept showing her melancholy to Kaizen, who tried to comfort her somehow.

Astelle went out to see Gretel off and went into a small room for a while.

“If… … What if we can’t detox the poison forever?”

Gretel answered, looking at her with a dark expression.

“The poison was originally a poison that would put you to sleep and death in a few days. The poison was almost completely removed with the detox herbs, so now the toxicity is barely noticeable.”

“Are you saying that the toxicity might come back one day if you don’t completely remove it?”

Gretel’s face grew darker.

Astelle could know the answer without hearing it directly.

Gretel remained silent for a moment and added an explanation.

At the very least, even if the toxicity doesn’t appear suddenly, in this poisoned state, you will die earlier than your original lifespan.

–

“Mom, Your Majesty.”

While looking into the teacup, Theor ran to the two of them, holding a small bowl in his hands.

“Hannah brought it. Eat this.”

Inside the bowl are colorful candies.

Hannah with a tray followed.

“You don’t call me Dad anymore now?” Kaizen asked, looking at the candy bowl Theor was offering.

Theor lowered his gaze slightly, a little embarrassed, and placed the bowl of candy on the table with both his hands.

“I shouldn’t have called Your Majesty that way.”

“Who said that?”

“Grandpa.”

Kaizen just kept his mouth shut. It was, after all, against the rules.

Astelle patted Theor’s hair and said, “Then you can call him Father.”

At that, Theor turned to Kaizen again and took a small caramel candy from the bowl.

“Father, eat this.”

“It’s okay to call me Dad,” said Kaizen as he received Theor’s candy.

“Really?”

“Yes. You can call me whatever you want.”

His gaze fell on Astelle for a moment.

“You call Astelle Mom, it’s weird if you call me Father.”

Astelle just laughed upon hearing that.

Theor raised his head and looked at the two in turn with his clear eyes, and then laughed.

“Why are you laughing?”

Theor looked up at the two with a happy smile.

“My mom and dad seem to get along well.”

* * *

A cold wind blew through the worn windows.

Through the cracked glass filled with cobwebs, the setting sun could be seen.

‘How dare you leave me in a place like this.’

Locked in the room, the Duke of Reston frowned as he stared at the dusty window sill.

Every time he became aware of the passing of time, his anger exploded.

As soon as he was brought to the imperial palace, he was imprisoned in this old palace. This place was a dreary little palace that was abandoned a long time ago and hadn’t been cleaned, so it was all dusty.

He thought they wouldn’t be able to officially execute him, so they would lock him in a place like this, poison him, and make it look like he killed himself.

However, there was no news even after waiting a day or two.

By then there was a little hope.

‘If I’m lucky, I’ll be imprisoned somewhere forever… … .”

After all, he is the empress’ father and the crown prince’s maternal grandfather.

Besides, the poison the emperor ate was not an ordinary poison. Even if he wakes up for a while, you never know when he will fall again.

With such vague hopes, he waited for the emperor’s order. It was a terribly tedious wait.

It was a decision that put his life at stake, so he had to suffer even more.

The duke passed the time day by day with a feeling of nervousness and anxiety. However, after waiting several days more, there was still no news.

Now that he couldn’t wait any longer, his anger grew.

How many more days do you want me to stay in this gutter-like place?

Unable to contain his anger, he threw the bowl in front of him through the window.

clink.

The bowl flew through the window and shattered as it hit the window sill. A dilute soup spilled on the floor through the broken glass. It was his untouched dinner.

“Duke, what are you doing?”

Hearing the noise, the knight guarding the entrance opened the door and entered.