Chapter 89
“An antidote, you mean?”
Cyan asked in surprise. Sylaria slowly nodded and spoke in a careful tone.
“Basically, something similar to the one Euclid and I take, but it should also help support heart function. I need a medicine that can protect Ellie, so that even if she were to drink poison, her life wouldn’t be in danger.”
“Ah. If that’s the purpose, then I understand.”
Cyan nodded as if he’d grasped her intention. With a thoughtful expression, he lowered his gaze for a moment before lifting it again.
“Understood. I’ll begin reformulating it starting with today’s dose.”
“Thank you, Cyan.”
“It’s my duty.”
Cyan replied with a faint smile. Sylaria gave a small, relieved smile in return and asked,
“How is Euclid these days?”
“Wouldn’t Milady know better than I do? You see him every day, after all.”
“That’s true. But Euclid’s been taking painkillers. Or rather, it would be more accurate to call them anesthetics.”
“How did you know that…?”
Cyan’s usually composed face showed rare surprise. Sylaria pressed her lips together before answering quietly.
“I can feel his pain synchronize with mine. That’s how I know he’s been taking them. But… I can’t help but worry whether it’s all right for him to dull the pain like that.”
“It isn’t ideal. Pain is the body’s way of sounding an alarm.”
Sylaria agreed with Cyan’s words. Pain was a warning sign, the body’s way of saying it had been hurt.
Yet Euclid, who took medication to dull his senses, couldn’t recognize when he was injured.
When he’d returned from the Shastir Gorge, his body had been covered with cuts and bruises of various sizes, wounds that had appeared without her even realizing it.
When she expressed her concern, he’d brushed it off lightly. He said it didn’t hurt, so it was fine.
But was it really fine?
Euclid needed to learn how to protect his body, not how to erase the pain.
“Even if I tell him to stop taking that medicine, he won’t listen, will he?”
“It’s something he takes for your sake, Milady. So, most likely not.”
“…Stay by his side and look after him, Cyan. Make sure he doesn’t take on anything too dangerous.”
“I will.”
Cyan looked at Sylaria with gentle eyes. At some point, the tone of his voice—once purely formal—had softened noticeably.
* * *
Gerard sat alone in the Noble Council’s meeting room, watching the image displayed on the projection stone with a grave expression.
The meeting had long since ended, but he remained, saying he wished to review the materials further.
On the screen, the same scene replayed again and again.
The First Prince gathering divine power and thrusting it into a gaping black rift.
Since the incident at Shastir Gorge, the First Prince had led several more expeditions against the ‘Maw’, and each time, he had proven his hypothesis true.
The ‘Maws’ were no longer untouchable curses. They were merely phenomena that could be subdued through human strength.
‘If His Highness the First Prince were to become Emperor…’
Gerard stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes. From what he had observed, the First Prince possessed every quality befitting an emperor… completely unlike the Second Prince, whose recent conduct had been deeply disappointing.
If there was one thing lacking, it was that the First Prince had no powerful relatives to back him.
But depending on perspective, that too was a strength. It meant there was no risk of corruption through familial influence.
The Noble Council’s majority still overwhelmingly supported the Second Prince. However, Gerard and the other progressives had begun to turn their eyes toward the First Prince.
They remained silent only to avoid provoking the Empress.
Ever since the Emperor had taken to his sickbed, the Empress had effectively ruled in his stead.
To support the First Prince, her stepson, over her own son would mean immediate punishment.
So there might be others, even beyond Gerard’s circle, who shared his thoughts. In truth, any noble who truly cared for the Empire’s future would have to think the same.
The world of the conservatives was outdated.
The Empress’s reign, rotten to the core.
Without a word, Gerard turned back to the projection stone. On the screen, the dignified figure of Euclid stood illuminated.
And a faint smile touched Gerard’s lips.
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