CH 127

“…Ha, ha, hahaha….’

The Emperor laughed out loud while holding his forehead with one hand.

“Kkk, hahaha…”

Then, he began to burst into laughter at one point, and a creepy feeling was felt through his exposed teeth.

Knock knock. Just in time, the head maid came in, put down water, tea, and simple refreshments, and then left. 

The Emperor gulped down the water. 

And yet, his face seemed to be dull. Serdel held out her glass of water.

Without hesitation, he drank it out at once.

“Since you put it off without answering my question, I thought that the Lord would say the same thing as is it now—”

The Emperor deliberately dropped the empty glass on the floor. 

It didn’t break due to the carpet being laid, but the blatant expression of displeasure chilled her spine.

“The process of telling the truth is too long. I lost my memory, and it all got tangled while returning. That’s why I don’t know who killed Your Majesty—” 

The Emperor pointed his hand at his head.

“Lord and I are really on the same boat now. So let’s not brainstorm each other. We don’t have to be tired to find someone who may be a common enemy. Even if you say you don’t know, I won’t doubt your words.”

Through this contract, the Emperor showed too many appearances and even offered a precious existence that shouldn’t be put on hold.

The bottom of the floor was all exposed, but now she couldn’t believe it and doubted Serdel.

So, no more fooling around, the Emperor quietly warned.

“Now that I think about it, I was impatient. They killed the Emperor and no one else. There is no way that they would have revealed their true identity after committing an act that could be considered treason. I don’t know if someone deliberately figured it out. Judging by the Lord’s reaction, it seems that there was no such person.”

The Emperor drank moderately cold tea.

Thanks to that, the anger that happened just now subsided, and it seemed to have calmed down a little. His glistening eyes also became silent.

“Say what the Lord knows. I will believe whatever the Lord says.”

The Emperor took the first step in trust. 

“…I know that you have enjoyed drinking Atra root-dried tea for a long time.”

The Emperor’s hand paused. 

Usually, the Imperial Family kept secrets about what they enjoyed eating and drinking in case of danger.

He ate a few bites of the food he didn’t like, and even when the food he liked came out, he didn’t get to eat it too much.

Therefore, most people didn’t know what the Emperor really liked or disliked, except for the Chamberlain or head maid. 

The Emperor put down his cup. 

“Atra root is a very calming herb.”

“I have suffered from frequent headaches since childhood. I tried drinking potions each time, but the pain only subsided for a while. The headache started again within ten minutes.” 

The divine power of the priest was also temporary.

He didn’t even speak a word to Wizard Tower because they didn’t have a good relationship. 

During the time of Queen Consort Velia, she repeatedly asked him to meet the wizards, but he kept his pain a complete secret.

“Mysteriously, only atra root worked well for headaches. However, the effect gradually diminished due to prolonged use, and in the end, I had to drink more than six cups a day.” 

To make matters worse, the more the amount increased, the more abnormal symptoms appeared.

“One day I lost sight of one eye, and the other day I lost strength in my legs.”

Only then did he realize it was a side effect of herbs and took herbs that could neutralize them. 

It was fine for a while.

It couldn’t be relieved because the energy of the atra root had accumulated so much in his body, but he was satisfied with just the pain.

“From the reference to the roots of Atra, as expected, the tea that I drank before I died and the piled-up on my body didn’t match. If that’s the case, then the Chamberlain and the head maid must have been dealt with.” 

It seems to be one of the results he has already thought about countless times. The Emperor raised his head in despair and stared blankly at the light from the chandelier.

“The headache must have been a curse, and in the end, they worked with the intention of harming me for a long time…” 

“You’ve thought too far.” 

The Emperor’s headache was neither a curse nor anything.

It was because of the curse. 

He couldn’t resolve the pain caused by mental pressure with potions or divine powers. 

Atra roots were also very effective in relieving tension.

‘It’s also completely non-toxic.’

No matter how much he took, it didn’t accumulate in the body. Of course, once he gets used to it, the effect diminishes, but that was the same as any drug. As a side effect, such symptoms also didn’t appear. 

“Perhaps someone noticed that Your Majesty was taking atra root before the symptoms started to appear in the body. The curse was most likely at that time.”

“Did I get worse because of the curse?” 

“Yes.”

To disguise his death from a side effect of the tea he often takes. It was a black tea that the Emperor drank just before he died.

In it, a little bit of leto grass juice, a tasteless and odorless hallucinogen, was added.

With a safe grass that has no effect on life, the Emperor probably complained of pain somewhere at the time.

It must have been a small amount added to alleviate it, but rumors that he had been poisoned had spread all over the place.

“The number of tea drinks must have been one of the rituals that triggered the curse.”

For example, if a restriction was placed on the trigger condition, ‘He must drink ten cups of tea to die’, the curse would have reacted correctly on the tenth cup.

It is not known from the original story or from the past as to who the Emperor died for and for what reason.

For this reason, the imperial court released the only information Serdel knew.

‘Atra root, neutralize herbal medicine, leto grass juice and black tea….’

The day she returned from Elbash Forest and formally met the Emperor.

Serdel thought for a moment to help prevent the death of the Emperor.

It was because she had taken Radun’s power, so Falden couldn’t use that ability, and she was afraid that he might not be able to ascend the throne safely. 

If the Emperor would support Falden, that alone would be of great power.

So she was momentarily worried about the process of the Emperor’s death.

The answer at the end was this.

‘Cursed murder disguised as poisoning.’

“After Your Majesty’s death, Her Majesty the Empress has captured and imprisoned Chamberlain and the head maid.”

The Chamberlain was fine, while the tortured head maid’s condition can’t be put into words.

While avoiding their eyes, she pointed to Queen Consort Debor, the mother of the third prince, as the one who instigated the poisoning. 

It was natural that there was a bloody wind. 

“The Chamberlain is fine, but the head maid is a mess. I think you’d better watch out for the Chamberlain.” 

Serdel nodded and asked the emperor.

“Are you okay now?”

“Do you mean the headache? It’s still severe.”

He only pretends to be taking a tea made from Atra root. Then, after waking up again, the Emperor pressed his temples, saying that he had not even touched them.  

“I’ll find something to eat instead.”

He stopped moving as he was giving himself a massage between his eyebrows with his hands.

“Will you do that?”

“If only Your Majesty is okay with it.” 

“Okay. I will trust the Lord and wait.”

Serdel turned her head and looked through the window.

It was getting dark before she knew it.

“I think I’ve been away too long. I’m going to leave now.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. I will follow soon.” 

“Please take care of me in the future. Your Majesty.”

“Yeah, take care of me too.” 

When she left the office, the Chamberlain, Viscount Chapelta, was waiting.

Duke Belters approached just as he was about to lead the way back to the banquet.

“I have something to share with Lord Serdel, so don’t disturb me.”

Taking a look, the Chamberlain steps back. 

“I’ll escort you.”

The Duke Belters stretched out his arm.

‘What do you want to talk about?’

As soon as Serdel placed her hand on it, he sent his voice through his mind, so that only she could hear it. 

[You don’t have to limit yourself. What I saw and heard about the Lord in the Elbash forest, I didn’t tell His Majesty.]

“Can I trust you?”

Serdel whispered very quietly.

“You can believe it. My mouth is very heavy.”

The way he smiled as he looked down at her was fascinating.