Chapter 88
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88.
A brief silence settled between us.
Even though Cassian Artez was in a period where every second counted, he graciously waited for my quiet contemplation.
Because of that, it didn't take long to sweep away the lingering wisps of doubt that clung to my mind.
I held his gaze—those trustworthy violet eyes—and finally spoke.
"The Imperial Physicians should be able to determine it."
"Then the real problem is how to slip this information to them without raising suspicion. I do hope they've already identified what poison His Majesty was exposed to before we tell them."
I had faith that Cassian Artez, ever the cunning schemer, would handle that part smoothly as always.
"Once we know the name of the poison, we can deduce the antidote formula as well. It would have been better if the instructions had gone that far."
"If the guide had been that thorough, Roselita wouldn't have been frustrated every time she looked at it."
At that casual remark from Cassian Artez, I felt a wave of clarity wash over me.
I had finally identified the source of my persistent unease.
All the information I possessed was frustratingly incomplete.
I was no original author, and even if this were some divine revelation applied in the form of the original work, the fact that it was only half-formed didn't change.
For someone like me who valued clarity, this was a fundamentally incompatible trait.
"So, what's next—the signal code?"
"And there's one more thing. The Second Empress whispered something to me alone."
She had deliberately mentioned the Side Consort who died in a riding accident at that very location, along with the evidence.
And she had given me information suggesting that the First Empress was the one who destroyed that evidence.
"I suspect the Second Empress was operating purely on intuition, though."
"You can't ignore the instincts of someone who's spent years in the Imperial Family—especially not someone born a princess."
"Exactly."
Cassian Artez nodded in agreement and pointed to the scroll as well.
He meant that it hadn't appeared by mere chance.
"So we need to decode the signal first. It seems to indicate a location."
Cassian Artez explained that the signal code created by the Second Empress resembled those frequently used by the Snow Kingdom Knights on the battlefield.
He mentioned he'd noted it down before, quickly retrieved the notebook with the signal codes, and then departed the Winter Palace.
His purpose was to deliver the poison information directly to the Imperial Physicians.
And I immediately began examining the signal notebook.
Carefully recalling the Second Empress's signal code in my mind once more.
As a result, I was able to decipher the combined message.
"The Queen of May, between rainbow-hued ceilings...?"
As I studied the keywords carefully, I soon moved with quickening pace.
'How audacious of you, Second Empress.'
It wasn't for nothing that the updated file noted 'princess-born temperament—doesn't hide well'.
The Queen of May meant roses, and what the rainbow signified was unmistakable.
A pavilion with distinctive crystal pillars at the end of a garden where roses bloomed in profusion.
The ceiling wasn't the pavilion's ceiling itself, but rather what lay between the pillars and the roof.
So wouldn't the evidence she wanted to convey to me be hidden there?
I recalled the Second Empress's temperament, which I'd observed only briefly until now, and visualized the situation from that time.
'She probably lost one of the pieces of evidence she'd collected directly, but she was born a princess, and Snowland's internal affairs weren't entirely smooth either.'
She wouldn't have created just one evidence document.
The problem was that it was located in the Rose Palace.
As I walked, wondering whether I should bribe one of the Rose Palace's attendants with money, a sudden gust of wind swept past, and the surroundings grew warm.
'Huh?'
At the same moment, the path I was walking on changed.
Just like when I'd traveled with Cassian Artez during the time the Late Empress was alive.
I, who had just stepped out of the Winter Palace, was startled and quickly hid my body among the overgrown bushes.
'No, isn't this cheating? How am I supposed to manage when you just dump someone like me, who's barely surviving day-to-day, here...!'
I don't have the ability to evade knights by nimbly running across roofs like Cassian Artez does.
At least give me a warning, you crazy original work!
To make matters worse, I heard footsteps, and my racing heartbeat grew even louder.
Wasn't the Winter Palace supposed to be a place where people normally didn't go?
Why was it organized last time, and why is someone walking around this time...!
I desperately hoped not to be discovered, but I was just an ordinary person, not a master like Cassian Artez....
"...Are you a Countess Attendant newly assigned to the Winter Palace?"
The person who entered spoke to me.
I was flustered at being suddenly called out while facing away, but soon I realized that voice was quite familiar to me.
As I slowly turned my body to see her face, I quickly bowed in a manner similar to the other attendants.
"Yes, Your Highness the Concubine."
"How did you know I am a Concubine...."
"Pardon?"
I call a Concubine a Concubine—what else would I call her?
As I looked at her in confusion, she spoke as if she understood.
"...It's fine. There's no need to be so fearful of merely the Fourth Concubine like me."
Now the Second Empress, Trisha, clicked her tongue briefly and murmured that it wouldn't last more than a few weeks.
"Still, it seems you're not entirely without concern for your master."
"...Yes?"
"Seeing you rummaging through the grass at this late hour, it seems you're looking for some helpful medicinal herbs."
"...It's my duty, after all."
At my vague excuse, Trisha's rigid expression softened somewhat.
Then she threw a pouch at me.
"If a strange cook comes to the kitchen, make sure he takes one every night—keep it well, and don't let it be noticed."
"Understood, Your Highness the Concubine."
"No, it seems our time is not so different."
"Yes?"
I asked back with a note of confusion, but Trisha didn't answer. Instead, she turned away immediately, leaving only one final remark.
"If you want to leave unscathed, pretend you never saw me come, and that you never received this. ...Even the Sixth Prince Joel mustn't know."
Her tone was blunt as could be, yet I sensed genuine kindness beneath it.
Without another word, she began walking away at a brisk pace.
I stood there for a moment, watching the direction she was heading.
It wasn't toward the Lilac Palace where she resided.
'...Toward the Rose Palace.'
In that same instant, I made a clumsy deduction.
'Could today be the day the First Empress hid that document?'
Now that I thought about it, her reaction had been strange when she recognized I was a Concubine.
Late into the night, I fumbled through my memories and finally grasped what I'd missed.
'She used formal speech when she first asked if I was a Countess Attendant.'
And because it was so dim, and the uniform was unfamiliar to me, it had taken a while to recall.
'...She was wearing the old servant uniform that changed five years ago.'
When I first arrived at the Imperial Palace, the servants only wore the old version when cleaning places so filthy their clothes had to be discarded afterward.
So she had questioned me back—how did I recognize her as a Concubine when she was dressed as a servant?
'If I follow the First Empress now and secure the documents from the past, could I still be holding them when I return to the present?'
Perhaps the system was signaling it would grant me that much kindness.
Considering how it whisked me back to the past just when I was struggling with how to extract the documents from the Rose Palace.
And it was even late at night, so I wouldn't be easily noticed.
But I couldn't move.
In my hand lay the medicine the First Empress had entrusted to me.
'...If I go searching for documents like this, then probably.'
Cassian Artez would be in danger because I wouldn't take this medicine.
He had said he was frequently poisoned in his childhood, and each time the First Empress had helped him through it.
Ah, truly.
'I should have asked the Emperor about it.'
Whether there had ever been an arrogant but incredibly powerful person appearing in the past.
If so, I could have known whether what happens when I'm pulled into the past like this affects the present or not.
I gripped the medicine pouch tightly.
One must never reverse the order of priorities.
'...The documents—His Majesty will find a way to obtain them anyway!'
So I resolved to save Cassian Artez in the present moment first.
Even if this were merely a fixed replay of the past, I had no intention of stepping into such a dangerous gamble.
*
The year of the Concubine's fall from her horse was 1743, when Cassian Artez was around seven years old.
So it was the same age as when the adorable Sixth Prince Joel guided me to the Lilac Palace.
I desperately hoped that Cassian Artez at this age did not yet possess that monstrous sense of presence, and I crept carefully toward the Winter Palace bedroom.
'...Come to think of it, I've never actually entered the Emperor's bedroom or any other bedroom in the Winter Palace in my original life.'
And yet here I was, committing such an intrusion in the past.
My apologies, but since I'm trying to save him, I hope you'll overlook this invasion of privacy.
Though I forced myself to maintain such light thoughts as I approached, my heart only grew heavier with each step.
The sound of a small child whimpering grew louder and louder.
And the moment I saw the bed, I nearly collapsed right there.
It was far too shabby to be called a prince's bed.
I could understand all too well what it meant to be treated as if one didn't exist—he lay there whimpering, clutching a worn and threadbare blanket.
'Really, why must it be this way.'
Your life has been so difficult, hasn't it?
I quickly retrieved the medicine and placed it in the child's mouth, then poured water down his throat.
He seemed momentarily unfamiliar with it, but the child swallowed the medicine eagerly with the water, as if the water itself was a precious gift.
'...I will disappear soon.'
That's what Cassian Artez had said—that not long after conversing with the Emperor, he returned to the present.
The First Empress Trisha had told me to hide what I possessed, but that was an impossible situation.
After deliberating, thinking I had no other choice, I slipped the medicine pouch beneath the child's pillow.
It was then that young Cassian Artez suddenly opened his eyes.
In those clear violet eyes, I felt as though time itself had stopped.
But in the next moment, young Cassian Artez smiled sweetly even through his pain, his beautiful, innocent face radiant with affection.
"-Am I... today... going to... die?"
My heart made a sound as though it were crumbling.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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