Episode 27

Episode 27. You Speak As If I’m a Stranger

In the drawing room of the Empress’s Palace—

“I was just about to go thank you myself, so you’ve surprised me by coming here first.”

I said to Cedric, who sat across from me.

“I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

“That’s thanks to your help.”

“I simply did what I was supposed to.”

He gave me a small smile.

“If I was able to help Your Majesty in any way, then I’m glad.”

“You helped a great deal. I was worried you might’ve overexerted yourself with all the magic you used that day.”

“The magic… wasn’t difficult.”

Cedric lowered his gaze slightly as he spoke.

“If anything, it was harder to control my strength so I wouldn’t show an unsightly side of myself to Your Majesty…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. I only meant that I wasn’t tired because of the magic.” He shook his head. “But more importantly, it looked like a serious situation. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s a relief… no, wait. What happened to your wrist?”

Ah.

I should have worn something with draped sleeves. The short sleeves didn’t quite cover the bandages wrapped around my wrist.

I quickly moved to conceal it and replied casually.

“It’s nothing. The maids already applied medicine.”

“Still, it might leave a scar.”

Cedric furrowed his brow slightly.

He looked more distraught than I did, as if he were the one injured.

I tried to soothe him in a calm voice.

“It’s just a bit of skin scraped off. It’ll heal in a few days.”

“…Please excuse me for a moment.”

He reached out his hand toward me.

“Blessing of the Earth…”

His low voice recited a spell.

Immediately, his entire body glowed with a greenish light.

The glow, like a halo, traveled down his arm and gathered at his fingertips.

“This may sting a little.”

Cedric brought his glowing hand to my injury.

It felt like plunging my arm into cool spring water.

When the green light finally faded completely, he gently unwrapped the bandage from my wrist.

My skin underneath was smooth—without a trace of the wound.

“Oh my…”

A gasp escaped me at the miraculous sight.

“That’s incredible.”

I knew that magic and mages existed in this world, but this was my first time seeing it up close.

“How do you feel?”

“Completely fine. Are all mages this amazing?”

At my innocent awe, Cedric gave an awkward little laugh, though there was a flicker of pride in it.

Was it not that magic was impressive—but that he was especially gifted?

“Are you in any discomfort elsewhere?”

“Not at all.”

It wasn’t just the wrist—pain from other scrapes I’d gotten from grass and tree bark had vanished too.

His magic must have affected my whole body.

“I used to wonder how you became the Imperial Mage, but now I can see you’re an extraordinary one.”

“Didn’t I say so already?”

He looked puzzled.

“I never really heard the full story. Honestly, I was worried at first that you might be faking it when you said you were the Imperial Mage.”

At my blunt honesty, Cedric’s eyes widened.

“F-Faking? Me?”

“Yes. Just to see the flowers.” I nodded. “I mean, I never actually saw you use magic. And when we first met… well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly ordinary.”

Who would believe that a powerful mage had snuck into the palace just to admire flowers?

Even after he introduced himself as the Imperial Mage, the doubt lingered.

Whenever I saw him, he was either sitting alone in the garden gazing at flowers or presenting me with one he just happened to find.

“That night, I did waste a good bit of magic hiding myself for flower-viewing. Concealment spells take quite a toll on your mana.”

“Ah, so that’s what it was. Anyway, I’m glad to know you’re a real mage.”

“…So Your Majesty was worried about me all this time?” he asked quietly.

“I even came up with an escape plan just in case you were exposed.”

“You really didn’t trust me, did you?”

“I was just worried. Who would have guessed that someone who spends all day staring at flowers was an actual mage?”

“You have a point.”

We both laughed heartily, letting go of the past misunderstanding.

“But I really was surprised—to see you there, I mean.”

“I happened to be nearby gathering herbs and flowers.”

Cedric then asked:

“But what about you, Your Majesty? What brought you to that forest?”

“Sir Leonard said he had something to show me. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen.”

“Are you close with the knight commander?”

“I owed him a favor. That’s the only reason I went.”

Hearing that, Cedric’s expression darkened.

“This may be presumptuous of me to say, but…”

“Hmm?”

“Those bandits… they didn’t seem like ordinary criminals. I think you should be careful.”

“Not ordinary? What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain, but… I had a feeling there’s someone pulling the strings behind them.”

A hidden force behind the bandits?

I tilted my head, unsure what to make of it, when Cedric suddenly leaned in.

“Please promise me, Your Majesty. That you won’t do anything reckless again.”

His tone was serious, and he held out a pinky.

I couldn’t help laughing.

“Is this payback for before?”

“Promise me.”

The tips of his ears had turned slightly red.

“Alright.”

I hooked my finger with his.

Only then did a gentle smile return to his face.

That innocent expression of his looked oddly endearing for a moment.

“Then I’ll take my leave now, Your Majesty. Please call me if you ever need my help.”

Just as Cedric turned to leave—

“Your Majesty.”

A cold voice echoed through the room as another guest arrived.

“We need to talk.”

…Oh no. Why him again?

What on earth is this?

Why did he come looking for me?

I sighed internally as I looked at the man now seated across from me.

A man with the platinum blond hair that marked him as imperial royalty.

The Emperor—Jerome.

But now that he was actually here, he wasn’t saying much. Just sipping his tea with his usual emotionless face.

Then why bother coming in the first place?

I couldn’t help wondering.

Surely he didn’t come here just to have tea.

Ah—come to think of it, the maids did say…

That he came looking for me while I was out.

Why? Was there something so important that he came again?

Eventually, unable to hold in my curiosity, I asked first.

“I heard you came while I was out. Did you need something?”

“…Where exactly did you go?”

I asked a question, but he threw one back.

“What do you mean?”

“Your maids told me you were out on some ‘important personal matter.’”

His voice was cool as he continued.

“So? What was so important that you didn’t return until late at night?”

There was something sharp in his tone, as if he already knew the answer.

Truthfully, I had no reason not to tell him.

It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong or had something to hide.

But something about the way he barged in and started interrogating me rubbed me the wrong way.

So I didn’t tell him.

“Do I need to report that to Your Majesty?”

“You’ve no reason to hide it, have you?”

A crooked smile played at his lips.

“Unless you’ve got a guilty conscience.”

“Even if I did, what does that have to do with Your Majesty?”

“…You speak as if I’m a stranger.”

“Because this is between you and me.”

Jerome’s brows furrowed.

I smiled sweetly and asked:

“Do I ask you about your appointments with the imperial concubine?”

“……!”

He fell silent at my biting words.

Just when the silence was starting to feel suffocating—

“I’ll take my leave.”

He finally stood.

Good. Please do.

I was relieved to see him go.

But then, just as he brushed past me with that usual cold air about him, he suddenly stopped.

“…That’s a relief.”

The quiet murmur made me turn toward him.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

…Was it just my imagination?

I could have sworn he was looking at my wrist.