Chapter 16
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Chapter 16 : Even Good Medicine Tastes Bitter (2)
“Good for the body.”
Larousse looked down at the teacup, which, no matter how he examined it, seemed to contain something harmful to the body. He swallowed dryly and shifted his gaze to Legina. Legina’s violet eyes, which appeared to be smiling brightly, were deeply sunken. It was tea poured by the daughter who, last winter, had drawn a firm line with him, declaring she would live as she pleased and that he shouldn’t concern himself with her.
He didn’t know her motive, but… The Emperor glanced at his chief attendant, who couldn’t bring himself to look at him, then slowly reached out and picked up the teacup. If it were harmful, the chief attendant would have stopped it beforehand.
…I won’t die, will I?
She had acted as if she would sever ties with her father, but Legina, who understood her position as an Imperial Princess better than anyone, likely wouldn’t do anything reckless.
Upon closer inspection, it’s even more horrifying.
The mix of red, blue, and white was truly unappetizing, but Larousse, trying to appear nonchalant, brought the teacup to his lips.
“Cough!”
And almost spat it out. His tongue felt not just numb, but utterly rotten and decaying. No, did someone truly make this for a person to drink and bring it here? If he hadn’t heard the news that Legina had visited the kitchen early this morning, he might have immediately ordered the beheading of the person who made this. He managed to swallow a mouthful of the tea, which threatened to regurgitate, and spoke.
“Th-The taste is… unusual.”
His voice trembled unattractively, but Legina didn’t mind. The important thing was that he drank it. As for the rest, she would just make him drink it somehow, she thought, and replied in an indifferent voice, “Things that are good for the body tend to taste bitter.”
“What nonsense is that?”
The Emperor set down the teacup, subtly pushing it away. Legina, deciding to overlook this once, turned her head to look at Theore, who wore a sulky expression.
“Why, what?! D-Do you think I’ll be s-scared if you look at me like that?!”
As he spoke, he rapidly darted his eyes, checking her hands and the hands of those who accompanied her. Legina, realizing what her brother was looking for, chuckled and reassured Theore.
“I left that behind. Even you, I imagine, wouldn’t want to be clubbed during breakfast.”
What Theore was nervously looking for, what Legina had left behind, was the club specifically for Theore, born just a few days ago from the hands of the imperial furniture artisan. Made of Dacon wood as Legina had ordered, it had been faithfully used for its intended purpose since it came into her hands.
“Is your bottom alright?”
“You old witch…!”
“You’re not thinking that just because that’s not here, I can’t do anything to you, are you?”
“Ugh!”
Theore flinched, seeing Legina stroking the back of a nearby chair with her hand. He was convinced that his crazy sister would throw that chair, whether the Emperor was there or not. It wasn’t just a casual conviction. It was a conviction etched into his bones from personal experience.
Legina approached the instantly subdued Theore. She set down his teacup and filled it with the medicinal tea made from Danilan flowers.
“Drink it.”
“Are you telling me to drink this garbage?”
“The ‘garbage’ you’re calling it right now, His Majesty has already drunk it, you know?”
“Ah, so what am I supposed to do about it?!”
He shouted with irritation, but his eyes darted to check the Emperor’s reaction. Legina thought that her brother still had a long way to go to become a ‘competent’ troublemaker, and gently pushed the teacup closer to him.
Theore, seeing his father, who, unlike usual, wasn’t taking his side, and his sister, who was ignoring their father and only looking at him, racked his brain. From the look on the Emperor’s face just now, he could roughly guess the taste of this awful beverage. If it were his usual self, he would, of course, have thrown the cup, overturned the table, and caused a ruckus, but…
Then she’ll definitely come looking for me with that club!
His persistent sister would never tolerate that. Theore squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, glaring at Legina. Seeing the rebellion in his violet eyes, Legina could naturally visualize what would happen next.
“I’m not drinking it!”
Theore, jumping up from his seat, kicked open the dining room door and fled. Since he was a small troublemaker who never cared about his princely dignity anyway, his behavior wasn’t surprising. Before her regression, she would have chased after him, nagging him that he shouldn’t run away, even if an overwhelming situation arose. However, the Legina who had returned knew that running away wasn’t always a bad thing. Because if he could survive that moment by fleeing, he could meet a tomorrow he might have lost otherwise. Legina had learned that with the blood price of those who followed her.
“There’s no reason to stop him if he’s willing to face the consequences later.”
Legina nodded lightly, ordering Selma to set aside Theore’s portion of the medicinal tea. She also gently threatened that if it spilled by accident, she would make the tea from scratch again. As she sat down, servants began bringing out the food.
“By the way, it tastes even worse when it’s cold.”
The Emperor, caught trying to subtly remove his teacup, lightly cleared his throat.
“Ahem. So, how have you been lately?”
“Your Majesty’s eyes and ears must be watching me everywhere, so do you really need my answer?”
His intention to change the subject was obvious, but Legina feigned ignorance and began to eat the soup placed before her. She strongly disliked dining alone with the Emperor, but if she skipped the meal because of it, she would only be harming herself.
“Well, if you still want to know. Yes, I’m doing well and enjoying myself.”
A perfunctory answer. The Emperor felt stifled, looking at his daughter who wouldn’t meet his gaze. It was because this was the exact behavior he had always shown her. Still, Legina was at least answering his words, so she was better than the Emperor of the past who had ignored her very existence.
And regardless of what the Emperor was thinking, Legina was thoroughly displeased with the current situation. Since when did this man, who called himself her father, care so much about her that he kept trying to talk to her…? Just being in the same space for a short while was enough to make her lose her appetite. So Legina decided to shut the Emperor up.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“The meal, a little slowly…”
“No. The medicinal tea I served. It’s good to drink it before your meal.”
Legina’s gaze fell on the teacup placed before the Emperor. In the meantime, the medicinal tea had cooled to lukewarm.
“Th-That is…”
“I woke up early this morning for Your Majesty’s health. I personally chopped it, and personally brewed it with all my sincerity.”
The Emperor’s lips began to tremble, seeing his daughter emphasizing that she had personally and sincerely made it, looking at him. The Emperor, who had looked back and forth between Legina and the teacup for a long time, reached out with a trembling hand, as if making a decision, and grasped the teacup’s handle. He didn’t want to drink it, but a strong premonition swept over him that if he refused this, he might truly never see his daughter’s face again. The Emperor slowly lifted the teacup to his lips. The unpleasantly shaped ‘tea’ and the faint, sweet aroma that wafted from it caused cognitive dissonance, making him feel disoriented.
However, the Emperor did not stop and swallowed it all. Legina, watching him, involuntarily gasped in admiration, then quickly covered her mouth. Fortunately, the Emperor seemed not to have heard Legina’s gasp, as he was writhing from the tea’s bitterness.
There are actually people who drink all of that.
Before her regression, when she didn’t know that the Witch’s Tear didn’t harm women, Legina had personally tasted it. Thanks to that, Legina knew better than anyone how bitterly cold it was, enough to cause chills throughout her body. She had purposely poured it to the brim of the cup, calculating that some would be left or spilled, yet he drank it all…!
Well, it’s not a medicine that causes problems if overdosed.
On the contrary, if it helped prepare for poison, it wasn’t bad. Legina organized her thoughts and rose from her seat.
“Cough, wh-where are you going…?”
“The meal is finished.”
“The main course hasn’t arrived yet…”
“I tend to eat lightly in the mornings.”
That he could wriggle from the bitterness yet maintain his posture truly showed he was the Emperor, but that wasn’t important to Legina.
“If Your Majesty has nothing more to say, I shall take my leave. I need to attend to Theore.”
“R-Right. Then…”
“Tomorrow, Selma will bring the medicinal tea to Your Majesty. I trust you will drink it all, just as you did today.”
“T-Tomorrow too?”
“Yes, things that are good for the body need to be consumed frequently, little by little, every day.”
Though it was an antidote prepared in case of poisoning, it was a tea that was harmless to drink regularly. The medicinal components accumulated in the body would even help prevent the progression of the poison until the antidote could be fully utilized. Therefore, drinking it every day, at least until Theore’s birthday banquet, was a good thing for the Emperor, who had an assassin scheduled to visit him that day. However, from the Emperor’s perspective, unaware that he would slowly die from poison in the near future, it was a proposal with absolutely no appealing aspects.
“I, I am healthy, but…”
“You must become even healthier. Then, I will take my leave.”
To reiterate, good medicine tastes bitter. Larousse’s dislike would not make her stop even one bit. Legina politely bowed to the Emperor, who was frozen with a pale face, and exited the dining room. Now, it was time to make her beloved brother drink this medicinal tea, overflowing with her ‘love.’
“Selma, follow me. Una, go to my room and bring the club.”
Legina’s footsteps were remarkably light as she smiled and walked to find the fleeing Theore, speaking those words.
– Mochinuna.
