Chapter 61: The Missing Medicine

“When did he come?”

When Fria had awakened that morning, the other side of the bed had already been empty. Unlike him, who tended to rise late, the emperor always started his official duties early.

When the chief attendant brought breakfast, he also relayed Owen’s message that Fria was free to return to his own residence.

‘Was it really all right to leave like this?’

As he looked around the attic and the imperial bedchamber where he had spent the past two weeks, Fria found himself unexpectedly sentimental. They had lived together for what felt both like a brief and a very long time.

The emperor’s decision to send him away without even a proper farewell somehow seemed perfectly in character, and Fria could only smile wryly.

‘He said we wouldn’t see each other often anymore. Then why did he come?’

“Your Majesty.”

As Fria started to sit up, Owen motioned for him to stay where he was.

With the firelight behind him, the emperor walked to the bed, lifted the satin covers, and slipped beneath them as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Then he calmly rested his head on one edge of the very pillow Fria was using.

“…Your Majesty?”

Owen simply raised a hand and covered Fria’s eyes.

‘Is this a dream?’

Half-asleep, Fria’s eyelids drifted shut, and he sank back into slumber.

****

When morning came again and he opened his eyes, he was alone.

He glanced instinctively at the place where the emperor had supposedly been lying, but it was empty.

Leaving the bedroom, he stepped into the sitting room. At the sound of the door opening, all three attendants turned toward him.

“Lord Fria, you’re already awake? We were just about to come wake you.”

Judith approached, playfully jingling the little silver bell she held. Olga silently offered her morning greeting while pouring water into a white basin. Isabelle, carelessly holding a folded linen towel, also curtsied.

“Did you sleep well, Lord Fria?”

“When did His Majesty leave?”

The attendants exchanged puzzled looks.

“His Majesty hasn’t come here at all.”

“He hasn’t?”

‘Then… was I imagining things? Was it only a dream?’

Seeing his strange expression, Judith spoke as though comforting a child.

“Don’t worry, Lord Fria. After giving you such a beautiful palace, I’m sure His Majesty will visit soon.”

“It’s not that I’m worried. I could have sworn I saw him last night.”

“Unless His Majesty climbed down through the chimney or came in through the window, there’s no way we would have missed him. Shall I ask the guards, just in case?”

“There’s no need.”

Fria shook his head vigorously.

‘Perhaps spending so much time together has gotten to me. I’m even imagining things now.’

****

“Lord Fria, you heard it yesterday too, didn’t you? They said this was once the residence of the emperor’s most beloved consort. At first I thought they were just flattering you, it’s beautiful, but not particularly large. But all the windows overlook the lake, the kitchens and dining hall are excellent, there’s a proper reception room and even a small ballroom. I worried because it had been abandoned for so long, but every room gets plenty of sunlight. There isn’t a trace of mold anywhere. Even the baths are spacious, with several on each floor!”

Judith eagerly dragged Fria around the estate, praising everything he had been too tired to inspect the previous evening.

Hadn’t she been complaining about the décor yesterday?

“Have you all chosen your rooms already? Which one did you take, Judith?”

“The biggest room on the third floor, along with the one next to it. The view from there is gorgeous. Isabelle claimed the three rooms at the end of the corridor, and Lady Olga chose one on the second floor.”

Fria’s own bedroom, private sitting room, and reception room occupied the second floor.

The first floor contained the formal reception hall, a modest banquet room, the kitchens, and the dining room.

The maids responsible for daily management were divided between the upper floors, while the servant girls slept in the attic. Since Fria was technically an imperial consort despite being a man, the male attendants and guards were housed separately in another building.

The gardens surrounding the villa overflowed with flowering and fruit-bearing trees planted generations ago. Elegant gazebos stood throughout the grounds, perfect for enjoying tea outdoors.

Yet the lake was the true centerpiece.

The white palace shimmered upon the blue water while flocks of swans drifted peacefully across its surface. Even the marble fountain in the gardens could not compete with the lake’s natural beauty, beyond which stretched a lush birch forest.

“They call it Swan Castle! Swan Castle! Quite an upgrade from Swallow Palace, wouldn’t you say?”

Walking beside Fria alone, Judith chattered excitedly.

Now that there were more attendants, she normally had to share his company, but today Fria wanted to spend some time with his oldest companion.

“You must be sad to be separated from Livron.”

“Oh, not really. It’s not as though we’ll never meet again. Once she becomes a viscountess, she can always visit the palace if you invite her.”

“I’ll send a letter inviting both her and her husband.”

Thinking of Judith losing her closest friend made Fria uneasy. Since Livron had been about Judith’s age, perhaps it was time to find Judith a good match of her own.

“What kind of person do you like?”

“Me? Someone like you, Lord Fria.”

“And what exactly does that mean?”

“Well, first of all… someone beautiful, kind, and gentle.”

“Do they have to be beautiful? What does ‘beautiful’ even mean?”

“Seriously? Just look at your reflection in the lake. Are you a person or a woodland spirit?”

With a snort, Judith pointed to the shimmering water.

“Judith… are you close with Byron?”

Her talk of spirits unexpectedly reminded Fria of another acquaintance.

Judith eyed him suspiciously.

“I have to ask… nothing happened between you and Sir Byron, did it? I certainly didn’t raise you to become such a terrifying consort.”

“What kind of rumors are going around?”

“They say you and Sir Byron were having a secret rendezvous when His Majesty caught you. Then the two of them dueled, Byron was soundly defeated and badly injured, and now he’s recovering at home. After that, the emperor, mad with jealousy, dragged you into his bedroom and spent days and nights… having conversations with you.”

‘Conversations of the body. I’d certainly like to know what sort of ‘conversation’ they imagine that was.’

“So that’s the rumor? Byron’s perfectly fine.”

There had simply been too many witnesses. No matter how much Byron tried to keep things quiet, stories had spread.

“I’m glad his sleek little-weasel face is still intact. I warned you over and over to be careful around unrelated men. Lord Fria, you really need to become aware of how attractive you are. Who could possibly look at this and not fall in love?”

She pointed once again to Fria’s reflection in the lake.

Watching the rippling image, Fria wondered where he might ever find a kind, patient nobleman worthy of Judith. His eldest brother back in Alphenia might know someone, but that homeland was now impossibly far away.

He certainly couldn’t ask the emperor for advice.

Byron and the chief attendant had the widest social circles he knew. With those ridiculous rumors circulating, visiting Byron would only make matters worse.

‘I’ll speak to the chief attendant when I get the chance,’ Fria decided.

****

“Judith! Judith!”

After dinner, Fria had gone into his sitting room alone to read. Now he rushed back out, calling desperately for his head maid.

The attendants in the reception room stared in alarm. Olga and Isabelle had served him for quite some time now, yet neither had ever seen him this flustered.

“Lord Fria! What happened? Did a mouse appear?”

Judith hurried back from the hallway, where she had been assigning tasks to the servants.

“A mouse?”

Fria blinked.

“Oh, don’t even mention it! I heard from the maids that while they were moving your belongings out of the Swallow Palace, they knocked over a bookcase and found a whole pile of mouse droppings underneath!”

“Mouse droppings?”

Isabelle recoiled in disgust.

“I can’t believe we lived somewhere so filthy. I’m having my room cleaned again immediately.”

“…Where exactly did they find these droppings?”

Fria’s face had gone pale.

“Apparently beneath a bookshelf! They said there was an enormous pile of them. Absolutely horrifying! And they claimed they were huge, about the size of rabbit pellets. We cleaned that place every day, so who knew mice had been living there? Since this palace is even older, they searched every corner while cleaning just to be safe. But… did you actually see a mouse?”

‘Those weren’t mouse droppings.’

Taking down the hollowed-out book where he kept his emergency medicine, Fria had immediately sensed that it felt lighter than usual.

With mounting dread, he peeled back the false cover and looked inside.

The hidden compartment that should have contained its round black pills… was completely empty.

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