The employees turned a deadly pale color and fell to their knees. Even though they wanted to beg and deny, no one there dared to answer honestly. Schuden went straight down to the first floor. In an instant, the general butler and the housekeeper were called in front of him and were given the cookies in question.
“Explain. Depending on your answer, it will be difficult even for you two to preserve your neck.”
Paul and Sarah’s faces turned slightly pale. They exchanged glances about what to do. In the end, Paul spoke up.
“Your Grace. Those cookies…were made by Madam.”
“What?”
Valia?
Schuden’s forehead frowned at the unexpected answer. Paul hesitated and continued.
“These days, in high society, it has become a trend for a lady to bake cookies for her lover and present them as a gift… Madam tried to make some, but as the result was not satisfactory, she told us to secretly bring it to her office.”
Valia was baking the cookies right before Schuden returned. After hearing that he would be a little late today, she hesitated before heading to the kitchen. However, as soon as Valia had just taken out the cookies, a messenger came saying that Schuden was on his way home.
In the end, Valia hurriedly left the kitchen without even having time to cool down and taste the cookies. When she left the kitchen, she said to Paul to bring the cookies to her office later without Schuden’s knowledge. Anyone could tell that the cookies were terribly messed up, however, Valia was not good at throwing away food, so she planned to keep and eat them in her office.
“…”
After listening to Paul’s explanation, Schuden picked up a cookie. It was the first time he had seen such cookies that had both burnt and raw parts in a single cookie. Schuden looked at a cookie and took it into his mouth. Each time he chewed slowly, the blood of the employees slowly dried up. Schuden silently swallowed the cookie.
“Everything.”
“…”
“Take everything to my office.”
“…Pardon? Yes, Your Grace. Certainly.”
The employees hurriedly took the cookies. Schuden stood up and said.
“Keep your mouth zipped about this.”
Then, he went up the stairs to the third floor.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The next day in Schuden’s office.
The aide had just brought in new documents. As Schuden had been staying in the Imperial Palace for work related to the Eastern Kingdom Union’s delegation, the documents required to report and receive approval were quite thick. In some cases, the number of documents to be processed increased because it was the end of the month.
“Is this all?”
“Yes, Your Grace. Attached references are marked separately.”
Schuden hummed and flipped through the documents. There were already quite a few documents piled up on his desk, there were more than usual because it was the day to receive the report of the trading company. And since there was no place to put the documents anymore, he thought it would be better to give his approval right away.
“Sit down for now.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
The aide sat down on the sofa. A servant who was standing by in Schuden’s office brought out tea. As the aide drank the tea, he saw the colorful lumps on the table. When he looked closely, it looked like cookies for tea.
‘What is this? Is this for me to eat?’
It was the cookies for Valia that Schuden brought the day before. As there was no space on the desk, it was temporarily placed there–but the aide had no way to know about that. Curious, he stretched out his hand. He had just touched the gold-rimmed bowl.
“Don’t touch that.”
“Ah… My apologies.”
The aide was startled by Schuden’s cold voice and pulled out his hand.
‘Even though it looks like that, is it a very expensive cookie? But no matter how expensive it is, His Grace is someone who would share it.’
How delicious would it be if Schuden did not even allow other people to touch it? The aide left the office after only smacking his lips.
“Sir Shaun, His Grace told you to wait in his office for a while.”
“Sure.”
Similarly, Shaun, who had to report to Schuden, went into the office. He had often waited alone in his office before. Shaun entered the office he was familiar with and sat down on the sofa located to the right. The servant likewise left some tea for Shaun, though he did not even touch the teacup. He was just rechecking the things he was going to tell his liege in his mind but something caught his eye.
‘What is this?’
It was a lump of flour in a very strange shape. Shaun would normally receive tea or refreshments in Schuden’s office but would not even touch them. It was his own rules of conduct—No eating when coming to report work to his liege. However, the strange shape he saw for the first time in life caught his attention. Shaun tilted his head and picked up one. The texture was definitely of a cookie. Shaun took a good look at the cookie and ate it. Some time passed.
‘…Is it poisoned?’
Shaun quietly lifted his teacup. It has been a long time since he had been on the battlefield with Schuden but it was definitely the first time he has had this taste. Shaun emptied his cup of tea, not knowing why his liege’s office had something like that.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
“Viscount Canute.”
It was a starry night. There was a group of people sleeping under the pouring moonlight. It was the delegation of the Eastern Kingdoms Union, they were sleeping outside for the last time before arriving at the capital of the Gel Empire. A knight belonging to the Eastern Kingdom and a subordinate of Leo reported.
“Tomorrow we will arrive at the capital of the Gel Empire.”
“Are we finally arriving?”
Leo raised his eyebrows. They would have arrived much earlier if they had used the road warp. But as it was the King’s will, they did not. The King did not trust the Gel Empire as much as he trusted the hind legs of an ant.
[What if they cut the magic from the other side while you’re using the road warp? Your body and soul will be separated and you will die just like that.]
Road warp was operated by sorcerers. The sorcerer at departure and the sorcerer at arrival must use their powers together. Therefore, most of the road warps connecting the countries had different nationalities.
The priests had abandoned their nationalities, but not the sorcerers. Outstanding sorcerers were cited as important talents in each country, and The King was concerned that the Gel Empire, which was wary of Leo, would use vile tricks. As soon as Leo boarded the road warp, the King thought the sorcerers belonging to the Gel Empire might cut off their powers.
In Leo’s opinion, the Gel Empire would not use such an extreme method no matter what happened but the King was still against it. Leo was that important to the Kingdom. The East was able to grab victory in the war with the North because there was an outstanding tiger named Leo, he was the hero of the East. As the King was so against it, in the end, Leo had to travel this long road without the road warp.
‘Well, I guess I will have to concede this much.’
Even when Leo said he would personally go to the Gel Empire, the King was completely opposed to his idea. Leo was able to join the delegation as the representative only after he revealed his intention to receive the title of succession that he had refused so much. Until then, Leo had received nothing but a title for commander on the battlefield.
“Yeah, so that guy is married?”
Leo asked while biting some meat jerky. The subordinate, who was familiar with who ‘that guy’ referred to, answered.
“Yes, my lord.”
After nodding his head, he proceeded to say.
“But, my lord, you can say that now, but you must never call him that way after entering the Gel Empire. As I have told you several times, Marquess Garth holds more power and authority than a Duke, even among the nobles of the Gel Empire. Also, for his outstanding achievements, he earned the respect and awe of the knights…”
“Sure, sure. I know.”
Leo replied roughly and continued to chew and swallow his jerky. The knight who served his meal quickly brought his medicine. There was a bitter smell coming from the light brown potion. Leo drank the medicine given by the knight without hesitation.
“My lord, there’s candied fruit, why don’t you…”
“No need. Bring me some water.”
‘Why does the Viscount never eat sweet things?’
His follower brought water while pondering that old question. Usually, when someone ate such a bitter medicine, they would rinse their mouths with something sweet but Leo just rinsed his mouth with a glass of water. Leo put down the cup and raised his eyebrows because the knight was staring at him.
“You must be thinking that you’re taking care of a patient because I always take my medicine.”
“No! I didn’t think of that!”
“The mirror?”
“Here it is.”
Leo received a mirror the size of his palm from the knight, his face was reflected in the mirror. Leo slowly closed his eyes and opened them. A vivid red light was overlaid on his eyes that had faintly shimmered purple. It was definitely difficult to get used to that. Leo blinked a few more times. His eyes had totally turned red.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“My apologies.”
The knight quickly bowed his head and asked cautiously.
“By the way, my lord, how long do you have to take that medicine?”
“Well, I will probably have to keep taking it for the rest of my life.”
“That medicine is not a common herbal remedy, is it? I heard that it was a drug invented by sorcerers.”
“You’re right.”
“Then, isn’t it harmful to your body?”
“It’s definitely not good.”
“Then, why are you eating it?”
Leo frowned.
“…Because it’s awful.”
“Pardon? I can’t hear you.”
“Just go and do your work!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Leo clicked his tongue as he looked at the knight running away quickly. He murmured.
“Damn it.”
His red eyes contorted. The knight was correct. This medicine made by the sorcerers was cutting Leo’s lifespan little by little, but it did not matter. Since a long time ago, ever since the former Marquess Garth forced him to take the medicine, Leo’s lifespan was fixed.
It was when he got the purple eyes. The former Marquess Garth found Leo’s red eyes offensive. The reason was that he looked too much like Schuden. Whenever Marquess Garth saw Leo, he seemed to be reminded of the fact that the blood of a prostitute flowed through the body of his heir.
‘There’s not much time left.’
It was easy to make a poison but difficult to find the remedy. In particular, the name of the poison made by the former Marquess Garth was unknown. Leo knew it by word of mouth but the doctors could only shake their heads. The only certainty was that Leo’s death was not far away. Few people knew about this, even the King did not know about the fact.
Not many doctors knew about the poison. But as he was the King of a country, Leo could get help if he asked and described the poison in detail. But he stayed silent, for he thought that if the King knew about the poison, he might even find out about the source.
Leo did not want that.
“…Schuden Garth.”
A voice came out like a sigh. A promise to his dead little brother. Leo’s head was throbbing, he felt a familiar headache and closed his eyes. His red-covered purple eyes were immersed in darkness.
The employees turned a deadly pale color and fell to their knees. Even though they wanted to beg and deny, no one there dared to answer honestly. Schuden went straight down to the first floor. In an instant, the general butler and the housekeeper were called in front of him and were given the cookies in question.
“Explain. Depending on your answer, it will be difficult even for you two to preserve your neck.”
Paul and Sarah’s faces turned slightly pale. They exchanged glances about what to do. In the end, Paul spoke up.
“Your Grace. Those cookies…were made by Madam.”
“What?”
Valia?
Schuden’s forehead frowned at the unexpected answer. Paul hesitated and continued.
“These days, in high society, it has become a trend for a lady to bake cookies for her lover and present them as a gift… Madam tried to make some, but as the result was not satisfactory, she told us to secretly bring it to her office.”
Valia was baking the cookies right before Schuden returned. After hearing that he would be a little late today, she hesitated before heading to the kitchen. However, as soon as Valia had just taken out the cookies, a messenger came saying that Schuden was on his way home.
In the end, Valia hurriedly left the kitchen without even having time to cool down and taste the cookies. When she left the kitchen, she said to Paul to bring the cookies to her office later without Schuden’s knowledge. Anyone could tell that the cookies were terribly messed up, however, Valia was not good at throwing away food, so she planned to keep and eat them in her office.
“…”
After listening to Paul’s explanation, Schuden picked up a cookie. It was the first time he had seen such cookies that had both burnt and raw parts in a single cookie. Schuden looked at a cookie and took it into his mouth. Each time he chewed slowly, the blood of the employees slowly dried up. Schuden silently swallowed the cookie.
“Everything.”
“…”
“Take everything to my office.”
“…Pardon? Yes, Your Grace. Certainly.”
The employees hurriedly took the cookies. Schuden stood up and said.
“Keep your mouth zipped about this.”
Then, he went up the stairs to the third floor.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
The next day in Schuden’s office.
The aide had just brought in new documents. As Schuden had been staying in the Imperial Palace for work related to the Eastern Kingdom Union’s delegation, the documents required to report and receive approval were quite thick. In some cases, the number of documents to be processed increased because it was the end of the month.
“Is this all?”
“Yes, Your Grace. Attached references are marked separately.”
Schuden hummed and flipped through the documents. There were already quite a few documents piled up on his desk, there were more than usual because it was the day to receive the report of the trading company. And since there was no place to put the documents anymore, he thought it would be better to give his approval right away.
“Sit down for now.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
The aide sat down on the sofa. A servant who was standing by in Schuden’s office brought out tea. As the aide drank the tea, he saw the colorful lumps on the table. When he looked closely, it looked like cookies for tea.
‘What is this? Is this for me to eat?’
It was the cookies for Valia that Schuden brought the day before. As there was no space on the desk, it was temporarily placed there–but the aide had no way to know about that. Curious, he stretched out his hand. He had just touched the gold-rimmed bowl.
“Don’t touch that.”
“Ah… My apologies.”
The aide was startled by Schuden’s cold voice and pulled out his hand.
‘Even though it looks like that, is it a very expensive cookie? But no matter how expensive it is, His Grace is someone who would share it.’
How delicious would it be if Schuden did not even allow other people to touch it? The aide left the office after only smacking his lips.
“Sir Shaun, His Grace told you to wait in his office for a while.”
“Sure.”
Similarly, Shaun, who had to report to Schuden, went into the office. He had often waited alone in his office before. Shaun entered the office he was familiar with and sat down on the sofa located to the right. The servant likewise left some tea for Shaun, though he did not even touch the teacup. He was just rechecking the things he was going to tell his liege in his mind but something caught his eye.
‘What is this?’
It was a lump of flour in a very strange shape. Shaun would normally receive tea or refreshments in Schuden’s office but would not even touch them. It was his own rules of conduct—No eating when coming to report work to his liege. However, the strange shape he saw for the first time in life caught his attention. Shaun tilted his head and picked up one. The texture was definitely of a cookie. Shaun took a good look at the cookie and ate it. Some time passed.
‘…Is it poisoned?’
Shaun quietly lifted his teacup. It has been a long time since he had been on the battlefield with Schuden but it was definitely the first time he has had this taste. Shaun emptied his cup of tea, not knowing why his liege’s office had something like that.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
“Viscount Canute.”
It was a starry night. There was a group of people sleeping under the pouring moonlight. It was the delegation of the Eastern Kingdoms Union, they were sleeping outside for the last time before arriving at the capital of the Gel Empire. A knight belonging to the Eastern Kingdom and a subordinate of Leo reported.
“Tomorrow we will arrive at the capital of the Gel Empire.”
“Are we finally arriving?”
Leo raised his eyebrows. They would have arrived much earlier if they had used the road warp. But as it was the King’s will, they did not. The King did not trust the Gel Empire as much as he trusted the hind legs of an ant.
[What if they cut the magic from the other side while you’re using the road warp? Your body and soul will be separated and you will die just like that.]
Road warp was operated by sorcerers. The sorcerer at departure and the sorcerer at arrival must use their powers together. Therefore, most of the road warps connecting the countries had different nationalities.
The priests had abandoned their nationalities, but not the sorcerers. Outstanding sorcerers were cited as important talents in each country, and The King was concerned that the Gel Empire, which was wary of Leo, would use vile tricks. As soon as Leo boarded the road warp, the King thought the sorcerers belonging to the Gel Empire might cut off their powers.
In Leo’s opinion, the Gel Empire would not use such an extreme method no matter what happened but the King was still against it. Leo was that important to the Kingdom. The East was able to grab victory in the war with the North because there was an outstanding tiger named Leo, he was the hero of the East. As the King was so against it, in the end, Leo had to travel this long road without the road warp.
‘Well, I guess I will have to concede this much.’
Even when Leo said he would personally go to the Gel Empire, the King was completely opposed to his idea. Leo was able to join the delegation as the representative only after he revealed his intention to receive the title of succession that he had refused so much. Until then, Leo had received nothing but a title for commander on the battlefield.
“Yeah, so that guy is married?”
Leo asked while biting some meat jerky. The subordinate, who was familiar with who ‘that guy’ referred to, answered.
“Yes, my lord.”
After nodding his head, he proceeded to say.
“But, my lord, you can say that now, but you must never call him that way after entering the Gel Empire. As I have told you several times, Marquess Garth holds more power and authority than a Duke, even among the nobles of the Gel Empire. Also, for his outstanding achievements, he earned the respect and awe of the knights…”
“Sure, sure. I know.”
Leo replied roughly and continued to chew and swallow his jerky. The knight who served his meal quickly brought his medicine. There was a bitter smell coming from the light brown potion. Leo drank the medicine given by the knight without hesitation.
“My lord, there’s candied fruit, why don’t you…”
“No need. Bring me some water.”
‘Why does the Viscount never eat sweet things?’
His follower brought water while pondering that old question. Usually, when someone ate such a bitter medicine, they would rinse their mouths with something sweet but Leo just rinsed his mouth with a glass of water. Leo put down the cup and raised his eyebrows because the knight was staring at him.
“You must be thinking that you’re taking care of a patient because I always take my medicine.”
“No! I didn’t think of that!”
“The mirror?”
“Here it is.”
Leo received a mirror the size of his palm from the knight, his face was reflected in the mirror. Leo slowly closed his eyes and opened them. A vivid red light was overlaid on his eyes that had faintly shimmered purple. It was definitely difficult to get used to that. Leo blinked a few more times. His eyes had totally turned red.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“My apologies.”
The knight quickly bowed his head and asked cautiously.
“By the way, my lord, how long do you have to take that medicine?”
“Well, I will probably have to keep taking it for the rest of my life.”
“That medicine is not a common herbal remedy, is it? I heard that it was a drug invented by sorcerers.”
“You’re right.”
“Then, isn’t it harmful to your body?”
“It’s definitely not good.”
“Then, why are you eating it?”
Leo frowned.
“…Because it’s awful.”
“Pardon? I can’t hear you.”
“Just go and do your work!”
“Yes, my lord!”
Leo clicked his tongue as he looked at the knight running away quickly. He murmured.
“Damn it.”
His red eyes contorted. The knight was correct. This medicine made by the sorcerers was cutting Leo’s lifespan little by little, but it did not matter. Since a long time ago, ever since the former Marquess Garth forced him to take the medicine, Leo’s lifespan was fixed.
It was when he got the purple eyes. The former Marquess Garth found Leo’s red eyes offensive. The reason was that he looked too much like Schuden. Whenever Marquess Garth saw Leo, he seemed to be reminded of the fact that the blood of a prostitute flowed through the body of his heir.
‘There’s not much time left.’
It was easy to make a poison but difficult to find the remedy. In particular, the name of the poison made by the former Marquess Garth was unknown. Leo knew it by word of mouth but the doctors could only shake their heads. The only certainty was that Leo’s death was not far away. Few people knew about this, even the King did not know about the fact.
Not many doctors knew about the poison. But as he was the King of a country, Leo could get help if he asked and described the poison in detail. But he stayed silent, for he thought that if the King knew about the poison, he might even find out about the source.
Leo did not want that.
“…Schuden Garth.”
A voice came out like a sigh. A promise to his dead little brother. Leo’s head was throbbing, he felt a familiar headache and closed his eyes. His red-covered purple eyes were immersed in darkness.
