CH 56

−Poisonous?

Yi-Gyeol asked in surprise.

Sethian leaned his back deeply on the chair and surmised Zair’s intention as he recalled his face.

Idello’s petals were famously known as a special remedy and panacea for trauma comparable to evello’s tea leaves.

Regardless, that story is only possible when all the flower’s ‘stamen’ that contains its toxins were removed. However, the idello in the center of Crown Prince Sethian’s Emerald Castle’s garden was still a poisonous herb that has never had its stamens removed.

The merchant who visited from a foreign country offered authentic expensive products not only to the emperor but also to the Imperial family members who had the right to succeed the throne. Someone was gifted with one of the only five gems in the world, someone received a splendid ornament, and a cape made from the skin of a rare animal was given to another one.[1]  Finally, he dedicated the seeds of idello to Sethian. To wish him a long life.

Each of Sethian’s siblings that were present at that time laughed at him.

As the merchant’s outspoken words, its petals are famous for being the finest medicine there is, but before that, it was still the most poisonous weed among poisonous weeds. Combined with Sethian’s cruel nature, there was a rumor that was implicitly spreading within the populace that he is an evil spirit who tore the Empress’ belly when he was born. And upon hearing such rumors, the merchant mocked Sethian despite the fact of being the only prince born of the Empress but did not become the crown prince, and deliberately prepared such an authentic gift in order to stand in the eyes of the Imperial family who were closer to the throne and were hostile to him.[2]

The merchant’s intentions were immediately perceived by Sethian as well.

‘I also heard a rumor that idello grows well when fed with humans.’

These were Sethian’s words in the presence of those Imperial family members who were all grinning with mockery as he grasped the seeds of idello within his hand with an unusually small smile that was very unlike him.

The next day.

The merchant’s group met a band of bandits on their way back to their country while leaving the Imperial city and everyone was brutally exterminated. Among them, the merchant’s body was nowhere to be found, and it is said that there was a long trail of blood going in the direction of the Imperial Palace.

That same night, it was also said that a strong scent of blood prevailed on the flower bed in the center of the Emerald Castle where the idello was planted.

Whether the truth could be found within Sethian’s words, the idello grew healthy and speedily blossomed in the blood-filled soil. This plant is considered rare because of its seeds, only a few sprouts and once it blooms, it doesn’t die until it breaks its neck for only a couple of years. Despite this, the idello in the center of the Emerald Castle’s garden was surprisingly still brazenly blooming.

The idello’s venomous stamen was deliberately not removed. It was like the symbol of the deadly Sethian, and so the other Imperial family members regarded it as such.

Sethian recalled Zair’s face and twisted the corners of his eyes crooked with ridicule.

Perhaps Zair intended to secretly receive the petals that would have been stained with the poisonous pollen of the stamen from the ignorant Yi-Gyeol, and poison someone to make trouble for himself or use it personally to falsely accuse him. But since he wasn’t someone who could be easily swayed by such things, perhaps the person to be falsely accused is Yi-Gyeol.

Sethian’s eyes touched the faint presence in front of him. He could instinctively feel that he was looking straight into Yi-Gyeol’s eyes.

“What do you want to do?”

−What do you mean…what do I want to do?

With his arms folded and his head slightly tilted, Sethian said.

“If we hand over idello’s petals to Zair, he’ll surely use it to plot a scheme against me.”

−Scheme….

Yi-Gyeol’s voice instantly dropped.

“Nonetheless, there’s no need for you to worry. It’s easy to understand what Zair is going to do and we can just prepare a counterplan ahead of time. So just do as you please, and do what you want.”

As long as they know in advance that Zair is targeting the idello’s petals, there are plenty of ways for them to counterattack. Or perhaps they can also make a way to trouble him the other way around.

−….

Yi-Gyeol remained silent without a single word. Sethian thought he was worried about him so he opened his mouth to ask if he should give Yi-Gyeol more detailed countermeasures but,

−Then the crow…, Did Zair lie to it? That it’s not really effective in treating traumas, but it’s toxic?

Yi-Gyeol’s voice was rather calm and cold.

“The poison is the stamen of the flower and the pollen from it. It is indeed true that its petals are great medicine for treating wounds but since they’ve been exposed to the pollen for a long time, if you use them as they are, you would be poisoned and die.”

−Can’t we just remove its stamen or pollen?

“It’ll survive if we remove it, but I don’t intend to remove the toxicity of the idello which is my symbolic representation.”

−I’m sorry to keep asking, but why is it your symbol?

It was a pure question that Yi-Gyeol really doesn’t have any knowledge of. And soon after, an infuriated voice containing Yi-Gyeol’s uncontrollable emotion followed.

−Why do you use idello’s poison as a symbol? Who stuck those words…!

Yi-Gyeol swallowed his raised voice. He seems to be calming down his enraged emotions. Sethian thought that such a response from Yi-Gyeol is pretty interesting.

Yi-Gyeol looked into Sethian’s eyes and desperately tried to suppress the anger that kept rising to his throat.

It was obvious that Sethian’s siblings demeaningly and defamatoryly stuck those words on him. That’s why Sethian also describes toxicity as his symbol in order not to lose to them.[3]

‘Without even knowing much about Seth….’

The same goes with Zair, and as well as his other siblings. Why do they hate Sethian so much when they don’t even know him that well. On the contrary, Sethian is a person who is much more suited to idello’s other name which is, ‘the finest medicine.’

While Yi-Gyeol was busy resenting Sethian’s siblings who he had never even met properly except for Zair, Sethian was motionlessly watching him with his chin placed on the top of his hands. In his head, he was imagining Yi-Gyeol’s possible expression. At the same time, he was having this desire to leave the office and immediately head to his bedroom.

What expression is he making? What emotions were contained within those eyes? Or is he biting his lips and has a frown between his brows. It’ll surely be worth watching since he easily turns red whenever he gets emotional.

Sethian felt a tingling sensation as if something was tickling his entire body.

A faint smile appeared on his lips, who had been imagining Yi-Gyeol’s appearance.

⋆♚⋆♛⋆♚⋆

−Zair-nim!

The crow that came through the open window flew in front of Zair who was reading a worn-out book. Then it displayed the light purple petal that it was clasping with its two small claws.

−I got it!

It flapped its wings and pulled its small head towards Zair as if wanting to receive a compliment. Zair inserted a flat rod-shaped bookmark made of thin metal between the books and closed it. Meanwhile, his sharp eyes arrived at the rolled petal that was being clasped by the crow’s feet.

Zair stood up and stroked the crow’s head a couple of times with his fingertips, brought some white gloves, and a glass bottle with half transparent water. Zair received the flower petal from the crow with his gloved hand and looked at it carefully as he turned it around.

“Are you sure he took it secretly from the flower bed?”

−Yes, I saw it myself. The big knight who was with him didn’t even notice.

The crow verbally reported what it had seen.

After Yi-Gyeol changed his clothes, he straightaway headed to the garden with Kirsty, who was guarding outside. The soldiers who were rigidly watching the garden in the name of protecting the flower, to the point that even birds couldn’t get any closer, as a result, didn’t make a single movement as they recognized Kirsty escorting Yi-Gyeol.

As it flew in the sky and followed them from afar, Yi-Gyeol, who was pretending to look at the flowers secretly picked a petal of the fully blooming idello once he reached the center of the flower bed and hid it within his arms. After that, it was only until they returned to the room that he took the petal out of his arms, and all he had to do was hand it to the crow that was standing proudly by the window.

−He really doesn’t have any idea about the toxicity. He just grabbed and picked it up with his bare hands. As it stands, if he unconsciously sucks even just one finger, the road to hell will be the only way left for him. He’s really stupid!

The crow twitched and laughed. It’s also holding the petal in its claws bare, but it didn’t seem to care much since it was just a temporary body for him anyway.

Zair, who was looking at the petal, put it in a glass bottle after hearing the crow badmouth Yi-Gyeol. Then he covered its entrance with the cap and shook it around in a circle. The rustling water soon engulfed the petals.

−By now, that idiot probably….

“Well, we’ll find out. Let’s see if he’s really an idiot or not.”

Zair’s voice interrupted the crow. His keen eyes touched the idello’s petal that was completely mixed within the transparent liquid.

“Is it simply because of natural variables that Sethian’s symbol-the idello’s poison-was removed, or whether Joo Yi-Gyeol, who we thought was naive and ignorant, made a move in a short period of time?”

Zair looked into the unchanging liquid and clean petals, called a servant that was waiting outside, and threw the bottle over.

“That’s the petals of idello that have been detoxified. I don’t need it so bring it to the one who used to be His Majesty’s servant. Those wrists covered in pus will probably get a little better with that.”

The servant who received the glass bottle opened his eyes wide and swallowed his dry saliva. He was aware that a single poisonous petal from idello costs millions of gold on the market. He really wanted to click his tongue, thinking that it was ridiculous to give such a thing to a servant.

“Understood.”

“Go and tell him. He should get better soon for His Majesty’s sake.”

He doesn’t have any affection for his father emperor, but it would have been a ray of sun for the servant whose wrist was cut off by Sethian. Sending idello’s petals, which is an expensive cure, and adding words pretending it’s for both him and the emperor, could spark his resolution a little more.

Toxic petals or not, it doesn’t matter in the first place. Either way, they will be poison for Sethian.

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