CH 1.23

“Your Majesty!”

“Are you alright?!”

Frantic voices pierced through the ears of the newly awakened Emperor Johannes III. With a dazed expression, Johannes soon remembered what happened as he looked down at his own body, muttering, “Thank the heavens… I survived.”

“Your Majesty, how many times must I implore you not to venture beyond the palace walls!” Count Shobek exclaimed, welling up with tears.

Baron Galt, who had covertly accompanied them, released a heavy sigh and remarked, “You truly faced grave danger this time.”

Johannes nodded his head in agreement. The heart attack had been far more severe than any previous episode. As he lost consciousness, the fear of impending death had consumed him. “Indeed. My complacency led me to venture outside the palace because I hadn’t experienced an episode in over six months.”

Despite his penchant for reckless behavior, the Emperor lacked the audacity to venture beyond the confines of his palace while his heart condition persisted.

It was not of courage, but rather, shortsightedness. The reason he decided to undertake this careless endeavor wasn’t only because of Princess Morina, but also because his illness had significantly improved, convincing him that it would be safe to leave the palace.

But how could such a severe heart attack occur? Baron Galt speculated on the possible cause. “It’s likely due to the reduced dosage of your medication.”

“Is that so? Then we need to increase the dosage of the medication again.”

“Yes, if you resume taking the medication at its previous dosage, it should prevent any recurrence of such episodes.”

“I don’t like it, but it can’t be helped.” Johannes frowned. The medication that effectively controlled his episodes had been excessively potent, necessitating a reduction in dosage. However, now he had no choice but to increase it again.

“Will I be fine?”

“Based on the examination, there appears to be no issues with Your Majesty’s health, thanks to the timely ingestion of the blue pill.”

Johannes paused at Baron Galt’s words. “Blue pill? Did I take that?”

“Yes, you’ve taken two pills exactly as prescribed.”

Johannes shook his head. “But I’ve never taken that medicine before?” He was sure of it. He distinctly remembered attempting to retrieve the blue pill, only to succumb to unconsciousness.

However, the physician showed him the pill bottle. “No, Your Majesty, you definitely took it. You even took two pills precisely as prescribed.”

There were eight blue pills in the bottle. Originally, there were ten pills, so exactly two were missing. “It can’t be… I’m sure that I…”

In the midst of his confusion, a sudden memory flashed through his mind. ‘I can still save him! I have to save him!’

It was a voice that he’d vaguely heard while on the verge of passing out. It wasn’t just a voice, though. Someone had clearly put pressure on his chest and breathed air into his mouth.

Although his consciousness was hazy, he vividly remembered the sensation of lips touching his own. It was surprisingly soft, akin to that of a woman’s.

“So it wasn’t a dream?”

“Come again, Your Majesty?”

Johannes recounted the fragmented memory to the physician, explaining he’d collapsed before taking the blue pill, but that someone had apparently come to his aid.

Upon hearing this explanation, the physician sighed in relief.

“Ah, I see. It must’ve been the grace of God.”

“What do you mean?”

“With all due respect Your Majesty, if it weren’t for that person, you wouldn’t have survived.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, given how critical your condition was. Do you happen to remember what kind of first aid that person gave you?”

Johannes shared the vague details that came to his mind. The more Baron Galt listened to it, the more impressed he became. “How remarkable! It’s an impeccable display of emergency treatment. It seems that your full recovery was possible thanks to that person’s exceptional response.”

Johannes listened to the physician in silence.

“We may not know who gave first aid to Your Majesty, but I know that their medical competence is on par with mine.”

Johannes nodded. If that person possessed skills comparable to those of a royal physician, he could rest assured that he’d be fine.

However, he had one question. ‘So, does that mean that the lips that breathed into me were not those of a woman? I distinctly remember the sensation of its feathery touch.’

Since it was unlikely that someone with medical skills comparable to that of a royal physician could be a woman, he thought that he might’ve been mistaken.

“It truly was a miracle. To think that such a skilled physician was nearby when I collapsed.”

“Yes, it seems like a divine intervention.”

“I must express my gratitude. Who’s the renowned physician who saved my life? Is he a physician of the Eastern Empire?”

If they saved his life without any problem in such an emergency situation, then that person must be a renowned physician.

Thinking so, Johannes asked for them.

However, the physician just shook his head and said, “There’s no one else.”

“What?”

“The only person who was present at the scene was the maid who witnessed Your Majesty collapsing.”

“Only a maid?” Johann was puzzled. “I don’t understand. Call the maid here,” he ordered, wanting to find the person who saved him.

Meanwhile, Marie’s face turned pale as she was summoned to Johanne’s chamber. ‘Wait, what? He’s Emperor Johannes III of the Western Empire?!”

The dark-haired man’s true identity had already spread throughout the imperial palace. Even without the commotion, a lot of people were already suspicious of his identity, so it was only a matter of time.

‘Why does this always happen?’ Marie’s face was full of despair. She was glad to have avoided the crown prince, but now it felt like she was struck by a lightning!

She’d dodged a lion, only to stumble upon a tiger.

Johannes III.

An autocratic emperor that ascended the throne at the young age of 15. Within 10 years, he stabilized the lawless Western Empire. However, that didn’t mean that he’s a kind-hearted saint.

The bloodshed he spilled in stabilizing the Western Empire was by no means less than that of Crown Prince Rael—no, on the contrary, it was way worse.

On the day he was crowned emperor, it was well known throughout the continent that he’d beheaded a duke and burned his territory for acting disrespectfully towards him.

Like Rael, Johannes III was a ruthless ruler who did not hesitate to use any means to achieve his goals.

‘Why do I always get involved in these kinds of things?’ she cried inwardly.

Every time she did something, it always seemed to be related to the Crown Prince of Blood—and this time it was related to an emperor of another realm.

All she wanted was to live quietly without anyone noticing her. She really felt like crying.

“I greet his Majesty, the Emperor of the West Empire. My name is Marie and I am the maid.”

Johannes, who was leaning on the bed, smiled brightly at Marie.

“So, you’re the maid I saw before. Did you wash my vest well?”

Marie was taken aback by his friendly tone. She was very anxious about meeting the Emperor of the West Empire, but he was surprisingly cordial. Moreover, why is he addressing her with honorifics even though she’s just a maid?

“May you please speak down to me, Your Majesty. It’s difficult for a lowly person like me to bear.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s just a habit. I don’t speak comfortably to people who aren’t apart of my inner circle yet.”

His inner circle? It sounded like it carried a significant meaning. Marie had no choice but to bow her head and say, “Your Majesty’s vest has been cleaned and stored in the palace.”

“Yes, thank you. The reason I called you here Marie, is because I have a question to ask.”

Marie swallowed nervously. ‘I need to snap out of it. The person in front of me is none other than the Emperor of the West Empire.’

Although he was speaking softly and using honorifics, she didn’t let her guard down.

On the contrary, his behavior made her even more alarmed. She knew all too well what kind of emperor he was.

A ruthless ruler who was no match to the Crown Prince of Blood Rael. That was the true identity of the ‘kind’ man before her.

If Rael, the Crown Prince of Blood, ruled over his enemies with overwhelming terror, then Johannes had a similar danger lurking within him.

In other words, if Crown Prince Rael is a predatory beast, Johannes is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Beneath his gentle black eyes, there was a cold-bloodedness that was no less than that of the Crown Prince. If she wasn’t careful, he could easily caught her.

“I heard that Miss Marie found me unconscious. Have you seen anyone else at the time?”

“If I saw someone else?”

“Yes.”

Marie answered in a calm tone, “No, there was no one else at the time. Your Majesty was alone on the balcony.”

Johannes tilted his head at her response. ‘No one else? Can that be true?’

If there was no one else, it meant that the person who saved Johannes had left without calling for further assistance—a logic that was difficult to understand. Even if the emergency treatment had been successful, it was common sense to call for further medical attention to ensure the patient’s full recovery. It was hard to believe that someone with such exceptional medical skills would be so irresponsible as to leave the patient behind.

‘It wouldn’t have been difficult to call someone else.’ Thinking so, Johannes looked into Marie’s eyes.

‘She’s not lying, is she?’ However, there was no indication in Marie’s eyes that she might be lying.

‘Well, there’s no reason to lie. What could it be then?’ Johannes pondered, lost in thought.

‘Someone definitely saved me. But why didn’t the maid see anyone? It doesn’t add up.’

His intuition, honed from years of struggling for the throne, were calling out to him, insisting that something was off.

He reflected back on that day, going over every detail thoroughly, not missing a beat.

‘I can still save him! I have to save him!’

He recalled the voice he’d heard that time, the hands that were pressing against his chest, and the breath that came through his lips.

The sensation of the hands came clearly to mind. ‘Come to think of it, the hands that was pressed against my chest were dainty. A woman’s hand, perhaps.’

The more he thought about it, the more something felt off. Was he really remembering things correctly?

As he was thinking this, the sight of Marie standing politely before him entered his eyes—more precisely, her hands and lips.

t/n: im sorry but men can’t have soft lips now? johannes is definitely more perceptive. rael keep up!!!