Chapter 20.
Punish Me as Much as You Want, Your Majesty the Empress
“Are you out of your mind?”
Josephine ended up practically shouting at him.
“Who told you to toy with your own life? What do you think I’ve been saying to you all this time?”
Now she was angry. She couldn’t understand this man who insisted on throwing himself into danger, as if her efforts meant nothing.
“Why are you so upset?”
“How could I not be? Do you even know how potent the Alraune from the Bari Forest is?”
And yet she didn’t feel even a little grateful that he knew.
Why was she trying to save him in the first place?
After trying so hard not to let him be sacrificed in her stead, this was what she got—him deciding to trample on her last, best alternative.
He really must’ve lost his mind.
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
“Then why?”
“A prince abused by the Empress, is that it? Do you really think people will believe that if I’m merely in a coma? Lying in a warm room in this enormous palace, on a bed by the fireplace, being nursed with the utmost care?”
Siegfried calmly dismantled her plan piece by piece.
“Would you even buy that? Even your own lady-in-waiting has already started suspecting the relationship between us.”
“T-that’s different!”
Josephine felt as if he had struck a nerve she didn’t know was exposed.
“So what, you expect me to be beaten half to death and thrown in prison like Henrius?”
“If that’s what it takes, then yes. Even if you say you don’t want to.”
His expression was dead serious.
“If you really want to deceive them, you need to use me properly.”
Siegfried tapped at his own lips with a teasing smile.
“At the very least, you’d have to toss me into a cell while I’m on the brink of death. It’s not like you’re going to do anything to me while I’m here.”
“Just… shut up.”
“So throw me in prison. And feed me the Alraune. Anything will do as a charge, Your Majesty. I’ll even accept the crime of trying to consort with you.”
The young man’s clear, bright voice carried no hint of falsehood.
Yet the crime he named was dark and wicked—almost indecent.
Which only made it more tempting.
Even though she knew she should wake from this man’s vow to live for her sake—this dreamlike whisper made in the dead of night.
“T-this isn’t something so simple. If you take more than the recommended dose of Alraune…”
Fortunately, Josephine’s rationality was still intact. Intact enough not to be swayed by him.
Objectively, his plan was too dangerous.
And after her time training as a healer, there was no way she wouldn’t know that.
“You’ll go days without waking, wracked by convulsions and seizures. The poison grows worse until you take the antidote or fight it off yourself.”
“And in the worst case?”
Siegfried asked. Josephine bit her trembling lips—lips as pale as her own white knuckles.
“…You might never wake up again. Even if you do, your limbs might be paralyzed. You could be crippled for life.”
Just moments ago she had considered knocking him unconscious to save the negotiations—yet now she was panicking at the thought of him being in danger again.
She felt like a fool, small and pathetic.
“It doesn’t matter. This palace isn’t just your home.”
Siegfried shook his head without hesitation.
That snapped Josephine back to her senses.
Thinking of the other spies besides Haber who could be lingering nearby, she knew there were countless things still to guard against.
“Why… Why are you insisting on going this far?”
Josephine forced down the dark turmoil rising in her chest.
“Is it because of that cursed mark you said… you wanted to form with me?”
She wanted him to say yes, that he was doing this purely for his own benefit.
Only then would the guilt she carried torment her a little less.
It was a selfish wish.
“No. I just feel like this is the only way you’ll trust me.”
Siegfried answered brightly—too recklessly sincere for his own good.
“And besides, I hate that bastard Henrius.”
But when he spoke the name Henrius, his voice turned chilling.
“I despise the ones you hate too.”
His eyes glowed red with vengeance, as if asking whether any reason could be more convincing.
“I hope they die. No—better yet, I want them to live unable to die, in the most miserable way possible.”
In the next instant, his fingers wrapped around Josephine’s hand, slipping between her own before she realized it.
“I want them destroyed—not you.”
His desperate strength stole every last bit of Josephine’s resolve.
“So put me in prison, Your Majesty. Punish me as much as you want. Because that prison will be the safest hiding place in the world for me.”
Then—knock, knock.
A sudden knock shattered the air, which had grown increasingly taut.
Josephine and Siegfried froze at once.
Someone had been listening.
The same realization flashed in both their minds.
She had ordered the entire corridor cleared except for Haber—yet someone was here.
Something had gone wrong.
“Get in the bed.”
Josephine whispered sharply over her shoulder.
Siegfried obeyed instantly, like a well-trained dog.
The knocking continued.
Suppressing the surge of tension, Josephine drew in a breath.
Then she approached the door and opened it herself.
“G-greetings to Your Majesty the Empress.”
A thin, unfamiliar palace servant bowed stiffly, fear written across his face.
Understandable—the mistress of the vast Empress’s Palace was standing right before him.
I’ve never seen him before.
Josephine thought as she noticed the tray he carried, with a bowl on top.
“Medicine?”
She spoke first; the servant finally opened his mouth.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And why did you bring it? Where are the assigned palace staff?”
“This is a painkiller from the Imperial Medical Department. I was told the prince must take it before sleep, so…”
“You’re not part of the Empress’s Palace staff, are you?”
Josephine cut in smoothly, staring him down as he floundered.
“You clearly didn’t hear of the expulsion order placed on this palace tonight. That means you were working outside the palace buildings until this morning, weren’t you?”
The servant stayed silent. Josephine didn’t wait.
“Medicines brought into the Empress’s Palace are handled by a dedicated maid. Where is she, and why are you here instead?”
“I was newly assigned to the task as of tonight.”
He answered boldly.
“I did hear about the expulsion order, but the medicine arrived just now. And no one else was willing to bring it to you…”
“The medicine just arrived from the Medical Department?”
Suspicion flared in Josephine’s eyes.
“But the palace physician who saw the prince earlier already delivered everything to Haber.”
Her gaze drifted briefly to the heated bowls on the fireplace.
Haber had received those from the palace physician directly.
She didn’t fully trust Haber—but for now, he was the most reliable option she had.
If she needed medicine delivered with minimal outside interference, that was the safest method.
“There is also a prescription that came with the medicine.”
The servant produced a paper, as if prepared for her suspicion.
The seal of the Imperial Medical Department was unmistakable—authentic.
“How did you come to be carrying this…?”
“The head lady-in-waiting told us, Your Majesty. She said you already took all the medicine you needed, and anything else wasn’t necessary.”
Josephine’s eyes narrowed.
“So the others in the medicine storage, seeing that, called me over while I was cleaning the courtyard near the kitchen.”
“A mere low-ranked servant?”
Josephine frowned.
“And what did they tell you to do?”
“They said… that for Your Majesty’s sake, from now on I must discard any medicine or prescription sent for Prince Siegfried.”
