Episode 149
Elonia was furious. How long had it been since she felt this much anger towards Artius?
Artius raised his hands in surrender.
“…I won’t make excuses.”
“You shouldn’t!”
Elonia yelled. But her eyes were brimming with tears. Artius, flustered, approached her.
“Elonia, don’t cry—”
“Why wouldn’t I cry?! Do you know what I went through, coming here with a dagger in my hand?!”
She fumed. Artius finally noticed the dagger in her hand, the one he had given her for her fifth birthday.
A chill ran down his spine as he realized what he had done.
“…I’m sorry.”
“You always say you’re sorry, but you never change!”
Tears streamed down her face as she shouted. Artius tried to wipe them away, to apologize, but his apologies felt hollow, repeated too many times.
He believed actions spoke louder than words.
He gently guided her to the sofa and brought her warm milk tea and pudding.
Elonia, accepting the offering, devoured the pudding. She had barely eaten for five days, and the relief flooding through her made the simple dessert taste heavenly.
Artius watched her, his heart heavy with remorse.
“Even ten mouths wouldn’t be enough to apologize.”
“Then just tell me the truth.”
“…Alright. I’ll tell you everything.”
Artius recounted the events of the past five days.
It had happened when Elonia went to the border.
“Your Majesty, your meal is ready.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“But…”
“Leave me.”
He couldn’t eat while Elonia was at the border. Aaron, standing beside him, sighed.
“Your Majesty, starving yourself won’t appease Her Highness’s anger.”
“…”
“Eat. She’ll be thrilled to hear you starved yourself because of her.”
Aaron, the master negotiator who had often found himself caught between the two dragons, Artius and Elonia, finally persuaded him.
Artius nodded and began eating.
The meal was the same as always, but Artius was different. He usually had his food tested for poison, even his water, but today, his guard was down.
“Bringing the soup.”
A servant cleared the appetizer and brought the soup. Just as Artius listlessly lifted the spoon to his lips,
Clang.
He dropped the spoon.
“Your Majesty!”
Aaron and the servant rushed towards him. Amidst the panic, one person smirked.
A few hours later, Caroline burst into the audience chamber.
“Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this confinement—?!”
She had expected the worst, but Artius seemed fine.
She realized the situation and murmured,
“You weren’t affected.”
“No. But I did ingest the potion of luck. It was in the soup.”
“What?!”
Caroline’s voice rose. This wasn’t the time for complacency!
Artius, seeing her accusing gaze, quickly explained,
“I’m fine.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Of course, she wouldn’t. No one had ever survived the potion unscathed. Artius, his expression complex, added,
“It’s true. Elonia protected me.”
“Her Highness?”
Elonia had been at the border, then at the academy. How could she have protected him?
Artius pulled out a pocket watch. Elonia’s hastily prepared birthday gift from last winter.
Caroline immediately recognized its true value.
“It contains Her Highness’s magic.”
Artius nodded.
“Elonia might have anticipated this all along. She protected her foolish father.”
It wasn’t just mana. It was a protective spell, reacting to hostile forces.
It had protected him from the potion.
“Have you found the culprit?”
Artius nodded. Only the chef, the poison taster, and the designated servant could handle the Emperor’s food. It had been easy to identify the culprit.
“It was the chef. Fortunately, we could imprison him under the pretext of food poisoning.”
“Is the poison taster alright?”
“He’s fine.”
Poison tasters used animals, usually rats or birds, to test the food. The potion of luck didn’t affect animals with simple emotions.
That was why the taster hadn’t noticed the tampering.
Artius, wanting to change the subject, asked,
“When will the purification potion be ready?”
“Are you rushing me, old man? …It’s already finished.”
“Finished?”
Artius was stunned. It hadn’t even been a day since Elonia had given Caroline the research data.
“It was completed much faster than expected.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate the wisdom of Lucid Academy’s professors. I’ll send it to you later. You should take it as well.”
Artius nodded. Caroline, seeing her opportunity, asked,
“So, why did you confine the princess who saved you?”
Artius looked up, clutching the pocket watch tightly.
“To protect her.”
“Confining her is protecting her?”
“Yes.”
He explained his plan to Caroline.
It was a drastic plan, aimed at eliminating all potential threats at once. Caroline’s brow furrowed.
“Gathering all the nobles who might have been affected? Are you insane?”
Heilan’s methods were becoming increasingly cunning. Unlike the prayer altars, it was impossible to tell who had been affected by the potion.
And the affected nobles would flee or use their territories as hostages if they suspected Artius.
That was why he had devised this plan.
“I’ll gather the nobles, pretend to have been affected by the potion, and offer it to them. Of course, it won’t be the real potion. It’ll be the purification potion you and Elonia created.”
Ah. Caroline understood. Artius lowered his head, his voice filled with bitterness.
“It’s the craziest thing I can do right now. Because I resented Elonia so much in the past.”
The potion amplified the darkest emotions. And Artius’s darkest emotions were related to Elonia.
He didn’t resent her now. He resented his past self, the one who had blamed and resented her.
“It was the only way to protect Elonia while deceiving the nobles. I didn’t expect to be affected so soon, so I was planning to rush you. I’m glad you finished the purification potion quickly. Elonia won’t have to be confined for long.”
“…You didn’t consider how much this would hurt Her Highness.”
“Only the living can feel hurt, Professor Caroline.”
“…”
Caroline, though wanting to argue, agreed with him.
The quickest way to free Elonia was to proceed with Artius’s plan. She returned to the academy, consulted with the other department heads, and brought the purification potion to the Imperial Palace.
The purification potion was placed in identical ampoules, perfectly disguised as the potion of luck.
But they had to administer the purification potion to the palace staff and knights before summoning the nobles, so five days had passed.
“And that’s what happened, Elonia.”
“…”
Elonia stared blankly at the teacup in her hand. Her emotions were surprisingly calm, like the still surface of the tea.
Perhaps it was because she had cried her heart out earlier and eaten her fill.
But she warned him,
“Do you know how many people helped me escape? Don’t ever pull a stunt like this again.”
“Alright.”
“It’s not ‘alright’! Olivia and Simon were involved too!”
“…The Heilan princess and prince?”
“Yes! Simon broke out of prison, and Olivia escaped surveillance! Don’t you know how to manage your people?!”
Artius was being scolded by Elonia. His knights wouldn’t have been so careless. There was only one explanation.
“Ricardo Harriott, that…”
“Ethan helped Simon escape. Your knights were the incompetent ones. Don’t blame my knights.”
Artius was speechless. It stung, but he was also happy. Elonia seemed to be back to her usual self.
He looked at her.
She looked thinner, worn out. She must have suffered because of him.
He was proud of her.
“I’m glad you have so many people willing to defy the Emperor for you. It must be because you treat them with sincerity.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
Elonia blushed, her voice sputtering.
It was one thing to have the loyalty of her palace staff, but gaining the trust of the Heilan prince and princess was no easy feat.
Artius was genuinely proud of her.
The awkwardness subsided, and Elonia asked,
“What now?”
“We have to pressure Heilan.”
They couldn’t attack Tristan directly. So how would they pressure Heilan?
Artius, seeing her questioning gaze, smiled.
“Just like you escaped with the help of others, I’ll borrow their strength as well.”
“…?”
Elonia found the answer the next day.
A message arrived from Lucius, who had returned to the Luneus Duchy.
[Large quantities of the purification potion have arrived at the Luneus Duchy. We can finally breathe easier now.]
Vivian had also taken the purification potion.
“Your Highness, Vivian is back!”
Vivian, led by Alisa, bowed deeply, her face filled with emotion.
“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”
“Vivi!”
Elonia knew instantly. Vivian was back to normal! A bright smile spread across Elonia’s face.
Alisa, watching them, said casually,
“Now that Vivian is back and we’re all together, I should return to the Hellington estate. His Majesty has given me an important task.”
“A task?”
“Yes. I was appointed Marquis yesterday. I’m Marquis Alisa Hellington now.”
Alisa smiled sheepishly. Vivian and the other maids beamed with pride for their friend.
Most of the purification potion had been sent to the Luneus and Hellington estates, where it was needed most. But it was fine.
The Magic Towers and Temples throughout the empire, including the one at the Imperial Palace, had received the purification potion recipe from Lucid Academy and begun mass production.
The mages and clerics were now working tirelessly.
This was the help Artius had been talking about.