Chapter 62: The Emperor Thinks I’m Dying of Love

No way.

The medicine couldn’t be gone. There had to be some mistake.

Fria pulled every book from the shelf one by one, peeling back their back covers. Only one book had ever concealed a secret compartment. There was no way another hidden space would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

The books revealed nothing but densely packed lines of print, offering him no answers.

‘Did Judith throw it away?’

Even though he knew Judith would never have taken something without knowing what it was, Fria desperately clung to that tiny possibility. He stood there in a daze, listening to the cruel answer from his beloved head maid.

“Lord Fria, are you all right? Your face has gone completely pale.”

Now there was no medicine left, except for the single pill he had kept in his personal belongings. Though the weather was still warm, an icy chill crept up from the tips of his fingers. It felt as though someone had struck the back of his head.

The room spun, and his vision blurred. Judith was standing right beside him, yet her voice sounded distant and muffled.

“…Lord Fria! Are you with me? You must have been terribly startled by the mouse…”

Urgh.

His stomach lurched violently. Covering his mouth, Fria rushed out of the room, Judith hurrying after him in alarm.

Watching the commotion, Isabel frowned at Olga, who had also risen from her seat.

“He’s awfully delicate, isn’t he? Like some pampered princess.”

Not only had a male consort beaten noble ladies from foreign duchies to earn the emperor’s favor, but he had even been given a magnificent new residence. Aside from being exceptionally handsome, he didn’t seem particularly special. The whole thing was baffling.

“He looked unwell. I should go after him too.”

As Olga started after the flustered male consort and his head maid, Isabel scoffed.

“Leave them to sort it out themselves. What help could you possibly be? What if there really is a mouse?”

“There might be something I can do.”

Speaking firmly, Olga reached the entrance to the inner room and stopped. She bent to pick something up from the floor, immediately catching Isabel’s attention.

“What’s that?”

Joining her, Isabel pointed at the gold chain. Resting in Olga’s palm was a circular object.

“A locket? Whose is it? Open it.”

The size of the gemstone and its brilliance alone marked it as no ordinary trinket. There were many women in the palace, but none of the lower-ranking maids could possibly own something so valuable. It certainly wasn’t Olga’s, nor Isabel’s. That left only Judith or their master.

The imperial crest suggested it belonged to Fria, though perhaps he had given it to the head maid he doted on. Either way, if it contained the portrait of some secret lover, Isabel intended to have a great time gossiping about it.

If the consort harbored feelings for another man, or even another woman, it would make for delicious scandal.

Olga merely stared at the object in silence until Isabel finally snatched it away.

“We have to know who it belongs to before returning it.”

Click.

The clasp sprang open.

Seeing whose portrait was inside, Isabel deflated.

“How boring. What a disappointment.”

She had hoped the consort might secretly be seeing someone, but it was merely the emperor’s portrait. How dull. Portraits of the emperor hung all over the palace already, why wear one around your neck?

Once upon a time, Isabel herself had dreamed of catching the emperor’s eye and becoming empress, but those ambitions were long forgotten. An emperor infatuated with another man? She wanted nothing to do with that.

Better to play the role of attendant for a while and use the position to secure a respectable marriage.

‘Handsome or not, he’s still a man.’

Watching Olga gaze almost entranced at the emperor’s portrait, Isabel felt an odd irritation.

‘She still hasn’t come to her senses. Honestly, unless she’s reborn as a man, she has no chance. And even if His Majesty changed his tastes, who would ever notice such a gloomy maid?’

“I’ll return it to Lord Fria.”

“Go ahead.”

Having already lost interest, Isabel waved dismissively and sat back down. She would rather retire early, but with the consort making such a fuss, she couldn’t very well leave first. Olga bowed politely and headed toward the inner room.

****

“Lord Fria, how are you feeling? Is the dizziness gone? Are you still nauseous? Shall I summon the royal physician?”

Even after Fria’s brief bout of nausea had subsided, Judith continued to fret. Reclining in a chair, he waved reassuringly.

“I’m fine. I was just startled because I really hate mice. Go get some rest, Judith.”

“How can I rest after seeing you turn white like that? If that horrible creature shows up, I’ll kill it myself! I’m standing guard by your side tonight.”

“Have you ever actually caught a mouse?”

“…No. But how hard can it be? Hit it hard enough and it dies.”

Her tiny fist clenched with determination, drawing a smile from Fria. A little while ago, darkness had nearly swallowed his vision, but after drinking some cold water he felt steadier.

“Mice are fast. For you to catch one with your bare hands, it would have to eat enough to grow as big as a puppy.”

“Just imagining that is disgusting! Should I call the guards?”

“No. I never even saw a mouse. I just thought I’d lost something.”

“What were you looking for? Things have been moved all over the place since we came back. If I’m not here watching, this always happens. I shouldn’t have taken leave at all.”

“But it was nice seeing your parents and siblings again, wasn’t it? You could have stayed longer.”

“I see them all the time anyway. I cried because I missed your face, Lord Fria!”

“My face? Not me?”

“They’re inseparable! Your face is your essence! Your masterpiece! Your completed form!”

“So my face is that important?”

“Of course. Though I would still like you even if you looked different. Decorating you just wouldn’t be as much fun.”

As Fria calmed Judith, who seemed ready to summon the palace guards over an imaginary mouse, he gradually regained his composure.

He had expected this day to come. It had merely arrived a little sooner.

He had one pill left in his belongings… and suddenly remembered another hidden beneath the floorboards under the attic bed. First he would take the pill in his possession and buy himself two weeks. During that time he needed to find a way back into the attic to retrieve the last one.

And after those two weeks…

“I’m quite good at catching mice. Just call for me if you need help.”

The voice came from behind them.

Both men turned. Without anyone noticing, Olga had entered the room.

“You’ve caught mice before, Lady Olga?” Judith asked.

Olga nodded.

“Yes. My family didn’t have enough servants.”

“Please teach me! As long as it isn’t the size of a puppy, I’ll help.”

Growing up, Fria had roamed mountains and forests with Gir. Whenever food was scarce, they hunted small animals.

At first he had refused to eat them out of pity, but Gir had taught him that everything eventually returned to nature, and that one day people too would offer their bodies back to the beasts of the wild.

The true expert hunter was standing quietly among them, yet these gentle women had resolved to protect him from mice.

There would never be any more “mouse droppings” to worry about.

Watching them with a faint smile, Fria saw Olga approach and extend something in her hand.

“Lord Fria, you dropped this.”

Resting in her palm was the locket the emperor had given him. Afraid Judith might notice it while he changed clothes, he had removed it and tucked it into his pocket, only to drop it in the confusion.

“That belongs to Lord Fria? I’ve never seen it before!”

Judith knew every possession Fria owned, from jewelry down to mismatched socks. Her eyes widened at the unfamiliar treasure.

“…Ah. Thank you, Olga.”

Fria tried to conceal it in his hand before Judith could inspect it, but the gemstones sparkled too brightly.

“What is it? Where did you get this?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? This is absolutely something! Look at the size! The shine! The imperial crest! Anyone could tell from a mile away that it’s a gift from His Majesty! The emperor gave it to you, didn’t he?”

“…Yes.”

Fria reluctantly nodded. Judith’s enthusiasm immediately reignited.

“So this is what you thought you’d lost! Lord Fria, may I open it? Please?”

“Go ahead.”

Whether he refused or not, there was no escaping Judith’s persistence.

The instant he gave permission, she snapped open the locket. The emperor’s miniature portrait inside made her squeal with delight.

“I knew it! I absolutely knew it! Matching lockets? How romantic!”

‘It’s a dog collar.’

Fria looked on with a bitter expression as Judith’s eyes sparkled.

“You exchanged them with each other, didn’t you? You always said you hated portraits, but love changed your mind! You gave His Majesty one in return too, didn’t you?”

‘No. Absolutely not.’

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