Chapter 88

Lehan was gasping, unable to breathe properly, as if he would die at any moment. In addition, his eyes turned bloodshot, his eyelids swelled up, and red spots appeared all over his skin.

“Why isn’t the Imperial Doctor here yet!”

“Someone ran for him a moment ago, please wait a moment, Your Majesty!”

“Wait? Can you say that after seeing the state this person is in?”

Edelis hugged the collapsed Lehan and murmured into his ear that he would be okay, that the Imperial Doctor would come soon, and to just hold on a little longer. But it didn’t seem to have any effect. A moment later, someone ran in and opened the door. It was the Saintess.

“Move aside!”

The Saintess pushed Edelis away and placed her hand on Lehan’s chest. A white light emanated from her hand, and Lehan’s labored breathing became steady.

“Lehan! Are you okay?”

“Hmph, I, I told you not to call me Lehan…”

It was Lehan, who was so close to death, who was pointing that out, but even that was a welcome sign. She really thought he was going to die just a moment ago. Tears welled up in Edelis’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and Lehan raised his hand to wipe them away.

“Keirhan, are you okay?”

“…Saintess, why are you here?”

“I heard you were urgently looking for the Imperial Doctor, so I ran here, and this is what happened.”

“Did you use your divine power to heal me?”

The Saintess nodded.

“Thank you. Sincerely.”

“Not at all. I’m glad I could help. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t been here.”

For once, Edelis had no choice but to be grateful for the Saintess’s presence. She had no divine power, so she would have had to watch him helplessly.

“Your Majesty, it would be better for you to go inside and rest.”

“…Alright. I’ve caused you to worry, too.”

“Then, can I take care of the mess here?”

“Yes, please do.”

Edelis helped Lehan get up.

“Investigate the food His Majesty ate. Find out if it was poisoned, and whose hands it passed through to get to the table.”

“Yes.”

“And all those who have entered this palace must be detained until the investigation is complete.”

“Understood!”

As Edelis gave the order, the guards who were at the entrance came in. And as Lehan took a step, the Saintess followed to support him. But Lehan took a step back from her and staggered. The Saintess immediately grabbed him, but Lehan coldly refused.

“I’ll get support from someone else.”

“It’s okay. Lean on me.”

“No, you’re going to be detained anyway.”

“What? What do you mean…”

“It’s exactly as Her Majesty said. The entire palace is under investigation, excluding Her Majesty, so you must cooperate with the investigation.”

“I only came here to heal Your Majesty!”

“That’s what you can state in your testimony. I’m grateful that you came quickly, but it was a bit strange that you came faster than the Imperial Doctors who were waiting inside the palace.”

“T-that’s. I was here for dinner, so I was nearby!”

“Yes, but I don’t quite understand why you were still in the Emerald Palace after you left.”

“…Are you doubting the person who just healed him?”

“I just said you’re a subject of the investigation.”

“Keirhan, please say something. This is unfair.”

At Edelis’s firm words, the Saintess clung to Lehan. Her expression was strangely confident.

“Of course, there is room for consideration since you healed me, but that doesn’t mean you are exempt from the investigation.”

“How can you do this to me?!”

“There are no exceptions in an assassination attempt on the Emperor.”

“No, that’s… Then, can’t the Empress, who ate with you, also be excluded?”

“What?”

Edelis looked at the Saintess in disbelief. In the meantime, the Imperial Knights rushed in. Frache was among them. She wondered if she should leave the investigation to Frache, but before she could say anything, Lehan spoke first.

“No. The Empress is not a suspect.”

“Didn’t you say there were no exceptions?”

“You can have Sir Frache investigate me separately.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“No, it’s better to be thorough. It seems some people won’t accept the results otherwise.”

“…”

“It seems the conversation is over. Sir Frache, please escort His Majesty to his room.”

“Yes, understood.”

“I’ll be counting on you.”

At Lehan’s words, Edelis nodded and burned with determination. Even though Lehan’s memory was not intact and he had changed, he was still Lehan. But the Saintess had put him in such a state. She intended to catch her and make her pay for her sins. 

The maids, servants, and chefs in the palace. And even the servants who had prepared the food on the table, even if they were not in the palace now, were all summoned. Their movements were investigated, and the food Lehan had eaten and collapsed from was also investigated. 

Surprisingly, there was no poison in the food. No poison was detected in the toxicology test. They even wondered if there was a poison that wasn’t detectable but was harmful to the human body, but the chef said he had eaten a small amount to taste it, and there had been no problem. 

The Imperial Doctor’s opinion was that there might be a food that was not compatible with Lehan’s constitution, which was harmless to others but was like poison to Lehan. 

So the investigation was no longer about poisoning but about ‘how food so incompatible with the Emperor’s body could have ended up on the table.’

“It was an ingredient that was difficult to obtain even within the Empire! But it somehow made its way into the kitchen.”

“We didn’t even know how to prepare it!”

“It wasn’t supposed to be on the menu today. But we were told that it was best to consume the ingredients as soon as they arrived…”

And the answer to all those questions was the Saintess. The Saintess had received the rare ingredient as a gift from the Eastern Continent. The Saintess had heard from the Eastern Continent’s envoy how to prepare it. The Saintess had asked for it to be cooked today. How could they not be suspicious of the Saintess?

“There’s no way I would try to kill Keirhan.”

“But how did you know to put that particular dish on the table?”

“Even if it wasn’t today, the chef would have cooked it someday.”

“I don’t know about that. They didn’t even know how to prepare it.”

“No. They would have.”

“How can you be so sure? Are you going to bring up a divine revelation again?”

The Saintess chuckled at Edelis’s sharp words.

“Your Majesty. I am no longer a prisoner. I am the Saintess who represents the Holy Empire, so you should greet me with proper respect.”

“You may not be a prisoner, but you are a suspect in the attempted assassination of the Emperor. First an attempted assassination on the Empress, and now an attempted assassination on the Emperor.”

“If it weren’t for me, you would have to investigate an assassination of the Emperor, not an attempted one, wouldn’t you?”

“If it weren’t for you, we would have finished dinner peacefully and gone for a walk.”

“Anyway, it’s useless to investigate.”

“I’ll decide that.”

Edelis knew that she couldn’t exile or execute the Saintess for this incident. She hadn’t used a poison that left a physical trace, and she could just claim that she ‘wanted to share a gifted ingredient’ and ‘didn’t know it would have such a bad effect.’ 

But what if she were to firmly gather circumstantial evidence and present it to Lehan? At least he wouldn’t say, ‘The Saintess wouldn’t do that!’ as he did when the last incident occurred. And even if it wasn’t intentional, she was a person who almost killed him, so he wouldn’t harbor feelings for her.

“Alright, then tell me. Why were you still lingering near the dining room after you left?”

***

Edelis was only able to finish the investigation late at night. The reason it ended quickly was that no poison was detected, so many servants and maids were excluded from the investigation. 

She ordered the findings to be compiled and sent to Lehan and then went to find him. It was already past bedtime, but she was worried about his health. She saw a soldier guarding the door and put her finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet, and then she quietly pushed the door open. 

Lehan’s face looked much more peaceful than when she had seen him in the dining room, but he was sweating a little. Edelis took out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead to wipe away the sweat, and at her touch, Lehan opened his eyes.

“Lehan! Are you okay?!”

“Empress.”

“…Your Majesty. Are you feeling well?”

“Yes.”

“Then that’s a relief. It seems I disturbed your sleep, so I’ll leave now. Please go back to sleep.”

Edelis took her hand away from his forehead. Lehan’s gaze, which had noticed her caring for him, wouldn’t leave her. Edelis was about to get up and go back to her bedroom. It was Lehan’s voice that stopped her.

“The letters. You told me to tell you my thoughts after reading them.”

“That’s true, but why are you… Just rest for now.”

“The Saintess said you should be investigated, but I am certain you would never do such a thing. That’s my thought.”

“…”

“I cared for you very much, and I know that you do too.”

The word “cared for” couldn’t express everything. She felt a little sad about that, but she was happy that he trusted her.

“And I know that what I said to you while I was under a misconception must have hurt you.”

“Which one? The one about me breaking into the bedroom, the one about not calling you Lehan, or the one about you not trusting me and releasing the Saintess?”

“…You are truly different from the you in my memory.”

“I think I’m different from my old self, too.”

Before, she had been gentle, soft, and had avoided conflict while receiving Lehan’s affection. But now she knew that she was the only one who could protect herself, and she didn’t want to be pushed around. Perhaps because of that, her personality had changed a lot. But would that be okay? She was sure Lehan would say he liked this too.

“I like the you of now much more than the you in my memory.”

“…Then that’s a relief.”

“You would probably like the old me better.”

“I can’t deny that.”

She couldn’t even compare them. Yes, perhaps this was what the Saintess was feeling. That the person she had so firmly believed loved her had turned his back on her. But Lehan’s love for the Saintess was only in the book, not in reality.

“So, do you still need time to think?”

“What?”

“The words I said about starting over. Do you need time to think about them?”

“…Do you want to get your memory back?”

“I think I’ll regret it if I get my memory back.”

“About getting your memory back?”

“About hurting you so much.”

Lehan’s voice was so small that Edelis spoke to him more playfully.

“If you don’t get it back here, I think you’ll be even more hurt.”

“Then to not regret it more, I’ll have to make an effort to find my memory. It also bothers me that I have a gap in my memory.”

“You should get your memory back quickly.”

“Do you know a way to get my memory back?”

“Yes. I found out with Sir Frache before.”

“What is it?”

There were several ways. She had looked through many books with the single-minded goal of bringing back his memory. There weren’t many methods that seemed effective, but they were worth a try. But it wasn’t a method to be used on a patient who had just collapsed.

“First, it’s late, so please go to sleep.”

“What about you?”

“I should go to sleep too.”

“Where are you going at this late hour?”

“What?”

“You’re my wife. Sleep here.”