“Even you, Serdis……”

He laughed good-naturedly at the Empress’s resentful voice.

“It’s understandable to feel uncomfortable in this place after leaving the palace long ago. Don’t be too harsh.”

“But look at how he speaks to me.”

“Didn’t you first accuse him of poisoning you? If you hadn’t, Hertian wouldn’t have talked back to you like that. Right?”

Serdis even winked at Hertian. As if yesterday’s enemy had become today’s colleague. Suddenly, it was unlikely that Serdis would think of Hertian as a brother. It seemed he had some ulterior motive.

“Serdis is right. How long will you live at odds with that boy? The Empress should know there’s a limit to how much I can pretend not to notice.”

“Your Majesty…!”

The Empress’s position became awkward due to everyone’s criticism. Even her own son Serdis urged the Empress to apologize. The Empress’s face turned red as she pursed her lips, which were painted red. She didn’t seem to intend to apologize.

“I’ll have to decline the apology on my end.”

Eventually, Hertian, unable to bear it anymore, stopped him.

“I’m grateful that you, being so open-minded, understand. Still, if we leave like this, we’ll only be left with uncomfortable feelings. Just have one more cup of tea before you go.”

Hertian didn’t answer Serdis’s question. He turned his head and asked me.

“Anette, you’ll do that, right?”

I couldn’t bring myself to leave in this atmosphere either. In the end, I sat down again.

“Hertian, let’s just have one cup of tea and leave.”

“……Alright.”

Fortunately, the truly open-minded Hertian understood.

“Then, I have some tea that I received as a tribute last time. Let’s drink that. Come, bring fresh tea.”

Soon, the maids bustled about and brought newly boiled tea water.

As people moved about busily, the atmosphere that had been frozen like ice thawed a little.

The newly prepared teacups were filled with steaming tea water.

It was a tea with a subtle green tint.

“It’s called peppermint tea. When you hold it in your mouth, it feels refreshing and cool. Try it quickly.”

As I stared blankly at the tea, Serdis added an explanation on his own.

“The scent is unique.”

But I couldn’t hastily drink the tea.

This was because I could sense a peculiar scent beneath the strong mint aroma.

It was a scent I knew.

‘They mixed something in here.’

“It’s on a different level from the tea we had before, right? Just take one sip.”

Seeing Serdis’s subtle urging, I became certain.

“Lady Anette, it’s truly a precious tea, so just try one sip.”

The Empress chimed in. She seemed unaware of what had been added to it.

I stared at the tea with eyes that couldn’t hide my expression, then picked up the teacup.

“I’ll drink it gratefully.”

As I brought the cup to my lips, I could see Serdis’s expectant gaze.

I took a big sip of the tea, living up to that expectation.

“As His Highness said, the aroma is nice.”

He scrutinized my reaction. He seemed to be hoping for something to happen, but there was no unusual reaction in my body.

“R-Really? Then drink a lot, Anette.”

“I’ll drink it gratefully.”

I emptied the cup in one go, as if to prove a point.

“I drank it well.”

Seeing my normal state, Serdis’s gaze became complicated. Soon, a sharp gaze was directed at one of the servants.

“Your Highness should have a cup too.”

I calmly offered tea to Serdis.

Whatever reaction he wanted could be confirmed by trying it himself.

“Seeing how deliciously the young lady drank it makes me want to try it too. Give me a cup as well.”

The Empress asked for tea first.

This isn’t bad either.

Serdis didn’t stop her, thinking the wrong tea had been brought.

“It’s a scent I can’t get used to no matter how many times I smell it.”

The Empress tilted the teacup just like that.

Perhaps her throat was burning from earlier, she drank quite a lot of the tea.

‘I wonder what will happen.’

I stared at her blankly.

Having only smelled it, it was hard to gauge what reaction would occur since it wasn’t just one or two herbs mixed in.

At least they wouldn’t have intended to kill me.

And after about ten seconds had passed.

“Huh?”

The Empress let out a groan.

“My body……”

She writhed her body, then soon collapsed on the floor.

“Doctor! Call for a doctor!”

In an instant, the Empress lost her composure and lay on the floor, sweating profusely. Her straight back curled up into a ball. And she clutched her stomach with both hands.

“My stomach…… My stomach…… Help me……”

Sweat beaded on her forehead and moans escaped through her slightly parted lips. She was suffering from severe abdominal pain.

“Mother……?”

Seeing the Empress suddenly collapse, Serdis’s face crumpled like paper. Soon he held his mother in his arms.

“Mother. Take deep breaths.”

And just as the court physicians came running, the Empress looked comfortable in Serdis’s arms.

“As you said…… It seems to hurt a little less.”

She clung to Serdis as if he were an oxygen tank, gasping for breath.

Only then did I realize.

Serdis’s real purpose.

‘He was trying to show me, with my weak body, that he was a necessary presence.’

I couldn’t even laugh.

I couldn’t even ask why he did such a thing.

Instead, I dropped my teacup on the floor. The sound of the cup shattering drew everyone’s attention.

“Someone has poisoned Her Majesty the Empress’s tea!”

[This is the timeline separator]

The Empress returned to her room to receive treatment.

Those who remained in the banquet hall couldn’t move.

It was because of my poison statement.

“The silver cup has turned black!”

“Are you truly saying it’s poison?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Poison was found in the tea. To be precise, it was an herb that causes silver to discolor, but due to its low toxicity, it only causes pain. However, only Serdis, who added the drug, knew this fact, so he couldn’t bring himself to say it wasn’t poison.

“The young lady drank the same tea but shows no symptoms. And we can’t examine the cup separately since it’s broken……”

I did well to break the cup on purpose.

If my tea had been tested for poison, it would have surely turned black.

“The poison must have been applied to the teacup. That way, it could only be given to the intended target.”

“How are you certain it’s poison?”

The Emperor’s gaze turned to me.

“Right after Her Majesty collapsed, I saw a scene just like this before my eyes. The entire palace became a mess trying to find the culprit.”

I laid out the answer I had thought of in advance.

“Anette. What do you mean you saw something?”

Serdis, unaware that I had met the Emperor before, asked.

“The future.”

“The future……?”

I answered calmly.

“I sometimes see the future. His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Grand Duke know about this.”

His complexion turned pale. If I were to say that poison was found in the Crown Prince’s palace, he would be immediately suspected.

“Her Majesty the Empress will recover soon without any aftereffects.”

“Did you see the culprit?”

“That……”

I trailed off and turned my gaze to Serdis. When our eyes met, he averted his gaze.

“I didn’t see them. But it’s certainly someone who lives in this palace.”

I didn’t specifically point out Serdis.

His target was me, and he didn’t intend to kill with poison.

This much should have been enough of a threat.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was well into the evening when we could finally leave the palace.

“It was His Highness Serdis who added the drug.”

I clung to Hertian in the carriage and vented my frustration.

“Isn’t it really annoying? He tried to make me drink that to show off that strange ability!”

I understand why Serdis was rejected by Anette.

He must have intended to keep Anette under his control with that paralysis ability.

“I thought something was off. Suddenly congratulating and all that, it was completely different from usual.”

“……I thought so. He probably intended to make you drink it originally.”

Hertian’s answer, which had been silent all along, surprised me.

“How did you know?”

“I knew when I saw you sniffing the teacup. You have a habit of sniffing when drinking herbal tea. I expected there would be something else in it.”

Hertian spoke as if it were nothing. As if he knew me well.

“How do you know that?”

“Ah.”

He rolled his eyes. I grabbed him and pressed for an answer.

“Then did you also know I wouldn’t be affected by drinking the tea?”

“Yes. I knew.”

It was a brazen answer.

“Did you investigate me or something?”

“I told you then in the hospital room. I said I would do my best to help cure your illness. So I asked the Count various questions about your condition. Even the small details.”

Actually, even if he had investigated, I couldn’t say anything.

I knew Hertian’s weaknesses too, so he had the right to know about me.

“I’m sorry, I was being sensitive.”

At my quick apology, he shook his head. His dark eyes, looking especially sorrowful today, held my reflection.

“I should be the one apologizing for today’s events.”

He spoke in a heavy voice.

“What does Hertian have to be sorry for?”

“I showed an unsightly side in front of you.”

It was an uncharacteristic self-reproach for Hertian.

“If you call this unsightly, my family would be too ashamed to show our faces in public.”

I continued as if it were no big deal.

“Every family has different circumstances and different ways of accepting them. Whether it’s His Majesty the Emperor or Her Majesty the Empress. I don’t care as long as I have Hertian.”

No matter how dysfunctional the family might be, it didn’t matter as long as Hertian was by my side.

“You are amazing.”

Finally, he seemed to be a little relieved and smiled softly.

“Right? I think I’m awesome too. I didn’t expect Her Majesty the Empress to roll around on the floor. That’s what she gets for not having a kind heart! It’s punishment for saying bad things to Hertian.”

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind being scolded a hundred times.”

“But I don’t like Hertian being scolded?”

“It’s just a figure of speech.”

A soft laugh gently filled the carriage.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hertian smiled gently at Anette, who was waving her hands enthusiastically at the mansion door.

As soon as she disappeared, he erased his expression. A knight approached him.

“His Majesty the Emperor has ordered you to be brought to the palace.”

“Let’s go.”

He immediately mounted his horse.

The palace was quiet.

It was bearable when Anette was around, but without even that, he wanted to leave this place quickly.

“You said you were late due to work, but you were rummaging through your father’s library?”

The Emperor spoke as soon as Hertian entered, as if he had been waiting.

“It was the most important work.”

“This one and that one……”

The Emperor rubbed his temples as if he had a headache.

“What was so important that you had to steal it secretly instead of just asking?”

“I can tell you what it is, but I can’t return it.”

Taken aback by his son’s brazen response, the Emperor let out a hollow laugh.

“Did you steal land deeds or something?”

“It’s an ancient book about the Markaba tree.”

While searching for a way to cure Anette, he came across an interesting story about Markaba. If there was even a slight possibility, it was worth investigating, so he visited the Emperor’s library.

“Markaba? Do you want to re-enroll in the academy because I sent you to war before you even graduated?”

“Think of it that way.”

He answered halfheartedly and turned around.

Then, recalling the earlier incident, the Emperor continued.

“Hell will unfold when you return to the Grand Duchy.”

“My life was already hell.”

“It will be an even lower hell. A territory without Calyx is like a territory without a shield. Just like the current empire.”

It was a concern tinged with bitterness. But for someone who grew up without the shadow of a father all his life, it couldn’t sound pleasing.

“I’m not incompetent like some people. I will protect both Anette and the territory.”

“If you’re going to protect them, do it properly. Make sure Serdis doesn’t pull stunts like today.”

As Hertian turned his head, he met the Emperor’s cold eyes. The Emperor already knew the true culprit of today’s incident. And why he did such a thing. Yet he did nothing. Just like always.

“This family game ends today. Please continue to not care, as you have until now. I’ll handle it myself.”