I Became the Emperor’s Sleeping Pill - Chapter 63

Schedule: Tuesday and Friday

Chapter 9 – The Hunting Festival

Time passed, and the Hunting Festival approached. Participating alongside Luigia, Lysei envisioned the original story’s events and planned her counter-strategy to the Empress and Luigia’s schemes. Of course, with the current situation diverging so much from the original, the Empress’s faction wouldn’t be able to use dark magic so blatantly to trap Luigia. Since they knew Luigia could see dark magic, Lysei suspected they would employ different tactics. Moreover, their target wasn’t just Luigia anymore; they also wanted Lysei dead.

The day before the festival, Lysei, Luigia, and Zerga inspected the entrance to the monster-infested forest where the hunt would take place. With the shadows confirming the area was secure, they could finally leave the Rose Palace and explore the forest, albeit only the area near the entrance. They meticulously examined the hunting grounds for any traces of dark magic or anything unusual.

Despite their thorough investigation, they found nothing amiss. No dark magic. Perhaps the Empress planned to let the festival pass peacefully. After all, knowing Luigia could detect dark magic likely deterred them from using it.

“It seems there’s nothing unusual.”

As LyseI spoke, Zerga, who was marking something on a map, nodded and asked, “No sign of dark magic either?”

“No. Now that they know Luigia can see it, I doubt they’ll risk using it against her.”

“I see. Then we’ll just reinforce security. I’ll assign more shadows and guards to both of you.”

“Thank you. We appreciate that.”

Luigia, who had been listening to their conversation, tilted her head, puzzled. Zerga was asking Lysei about dark magic, even though Luigia was the one who could see it. And Lysei answered without hesitation. She had told them she hadn’t seen any dark magic while with Lysei, but their conversation implied Lyse could see it too. Then, meeting Zerga’s gaze, Luigia saw him quickly avert his eyes, a look of flustered embarrassment on his face. She realized why he was speaking to Lysei that way. Ever since she’d proposed they spend the night together for her omega awakening, Zerga had found it difficult to meet her eyes.

***

The day of the Hunting Festival arrived. Lysei and Luigia became the first women in the history of the Imperial Hunt to wear trousers and shirts instead of dresses. Lysei wore Trey’s clothes, altered to fit, and Luigia wore Zerga’s. Edin had insisted, with a stern face, that Lysei wear his clothes. However, altering the Emperor’s attire was out of the question, so she settled on Trey’s, the first set of trousers she had borrowed.

The choice of attire was partly a diversion. While Nyxna couldn’t participate in the hunt, with most of the manpower deployed for the event, Lysei and Luigia couldn’t be left alone in the Rose Palace. Inevitably, their ambiguous position would draw whispers and stares. If they were going to be the subject of scrutiny, Lyse reasoned, it might as well be about their clothing.

More importantly, despite Trey and the other guards’ protection, there was always the possibility of a life-threatening situation. Dresses would only be a hindrance. She had already nearly died at the hands of Seiren.

“Even for lowborn, ill-mannered young ladies, to appear at the Imperial Hunt dressed like that…”

Anticipating potential objections, Lysei had secured Edin’s permission beforehand, a wise decision, as it turned out. A young noblewoman, seemingly close to the Empress, criticized Lysei’s attire in front of the Empress and all the other ladies. Lysei promptly silenced her by mentioning the Emperor’s approval.

“His Majesty the Emperor has granted his permission. To criticize my attire is to criticize His Majesty himself, is it not?”

“…Wh-What…!”

As the noblewoman stammered, flustered, Luigia let out a small, amused snort. The other noblewomen’s faces stiffened, and the Empress’s expression turned sharp.

“Very well. Since His Majesty has given his permission, let there be no further discussion of their attire.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The noblewoman, hiding behind her fan, agitatedly waved it while glaring at Lysei and Luigia. Seiren, who had tried to kill Lysei, also glared. Lysei felt a chill down her spine but firmly pressed her lips together. Facing someone who had attempted to murder her was understandably frightening.

However, she wasn’t one to be easily intimidated. Working as a club guard, she had dealt with countless threats and intimidation from deranged individuals. She wouldn’t be cowed by a man who had lost an arm failing to kill her.