Chapter 35
When Kartian heard that Lia had collapsed, he dropped everything and rushed to her room.
He hurriedly opened the door and saw Lia lying on the bed, struggling to breathe, her face flushed.
A physician was examining her at her side.
“What happened?”
The thought of Lia collapsing made Kartian’s whole body tremble.
Had he been too careless?
He should have considered that someone might target her.
It felt like this was all his fault, and Kartian couldn’t escape the guilt.
“It seems to be an allergy,” the physician said.
“…An allergy?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. If she takes medicine, she will recover quickly.”
“I see.”
Kartian felt some relief that it wasn’t serious, but he still didn’t understand why Lia was showing allergic symptoms. He hadn’t even known that she had allergies.
After the physician left, Kartian sat beside Lia’s bed. His hand holding hers was pale.
On Lia’s face, which looked almost lifeless, small red spots from the allergy had appeared. Her lips were also slightly swollen.
To some, she might have looked unpleasant, but to Kartian, she still looked beautiful.
What mattered to him wasn’t her appearance—it was her condition right now.
“…I’m sorry.”
If she had heard him, she might have scolded him for saying it again. But in front of Lia, this was all Kartian could say.
Even if he said “I’m sorry” as often as he breathed, it would not erase his past mistakes. He would not be forgiven.
“I should have protected you. Why do I always realize things only after you get hurt?”
He shivered at his own incompetence.
At this rate, he couldn’t be sure if he was a proper emperor, if he truly liked her, or if he was truly her husband.
Nothing went the way he wanted. He had never been able to protect her.
He always realized the truth too late—only after she had already suffered—and then tried to protect her.
Kartian’s eyes reddened as he looked at Lia.
“Your Majesty.”
The door quietly opened, and Baron, the Emperor’s guard knight, entered.
Kartian turned his gaze toward him.
Despite the tears in his eyes, his face hardened as he looked at Baron.
“Today, Her Majesty had a light tea time with the marquis’s daughter,” Baron reported.
Kartian already knew that.
Everything that happened in the palace reached his ears.
The real question was—who dared to do this?
“She ate the cookies and drank the tea that the young lady brought,” Baron continued.
“What kind of tea and cookies?”
“The cookies were brought by the young lady. The tea was the one Her Majesty usually enjoys.”
If Baron was correct, the tea was fine. That meant the problem must have been the cookies.
But they didn’t know exactly which food caused the allergic reaction, or what Lia was allergic to.
“And what did the young lady do?”
At this moment, the most suspicious person was the marquis’s daughter. If the tea was fine, the cookies she brought must have caused it.
But was it intentional, or an accident?
If she knew about Lia’s allergy, it was intentional. If not, it was a mistake.
Either way, it couldn’t be forgiven.
Even if it was an accident, she had made Lia suffer. How could that be taken lightly?
“She is currently detained.”
After Lia collapsed, the young lady had panicked, insisting she knew nothing. But since her preparations caused Lia to collapse, they couldn’t just let her go.
They hadn’t sent her to the underground prison, out of consideration for her noble status.
If there was proof that she had done it on purpose, she would face severe punishment.
“Make her explain everything, even the smallest detail. How it happened and under what circumstances.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
Reading the sharp mood in Kartian, Baron nodded obediently.
Concern for the Empress was also visible on Baron’s face.
He couldn’t instantly change all his old impressions, but he had become somewhat more favorable toward Lia.
He had come to understand why she had acted the way she did, and the things she had done afterward had changed his previous thoughts about her.
After Baron left, Kartian quietly looked at Lia with a devastated expression.
He felt hopeless, thinking there was nothing he could do for her.
She was suffering like this.
If only he could suffer in her place. If only he could take everything on himself.
But no matter how much he wished, it couldn’t happen.
Even as Lia struggled on the bed, he could only watch.
The feelings it brought were heavy and dark.
He had thought like this many times before.
Whenever he saw her in trouble, he felt guilty. He hated his own incompetence.
But none of that compared to what he felt right now.
How could he earn her forgiveness? He would give her everything he had if needed.
There was nothing more precious to him than her.
If giving everything to her would make things better, he would do it gladly.
If she wanted, he would even give her the throne.
“So… please.”
Kartian spoke desperately.
She had only fainted, yet he couldn’t calm down.
It felt as if he might lose her like this.
He feared that after she woke up, she would say this was all his fault and leave him.
Yes, even he would do that.
Lia was like this because of him. Yet he had lost his memory and was clinging to her, seeking affection without knowing anything.
He always only appeared after something had already happened, offering help too late.
Sometimes, he even wished he would regain his memories. Then maybe he could understand why he treated her that way and apologize properly—even if it was only with excuses.
Right now, his apology was only a half-apology.
But at the same time, he was scared.
He was scared of how he might change once he regained his memories.
What if he returned to the way he was before?
“…Mm.”
While Kartian was lost in painful thoughts, he heard a soft groan from Lia.
He looked at her urgently.
But after that small sound, Lia only frowned, keeping her eyes closed.
