Chapter 112
* * *
I had a dream.
How did I know it was a dream? Well, because you were angry with me. That’s how I knew.
Oh, this is a dream, I thought.
Otherwise, Hadel, you would never look at me with such anger.
You wouldn’t be angry with me with such a sad expression…
“Asha.”
Like a voice heard underwater, your voice reached me as if something was blocking it.
I wanted to answer and opened my mouth, but no sound came out. As if an invisible wall stood between you and me.
“Please…”
Your face contorted. The corners of your eyes seemed to redden. I slowly reached out my hand. My hand rested on your cheek where tears were flowing.
Drop. Drop-drop. The sensation of clear tears felt intensely real.
Hot, cold, and sorrowful.
I must have been worried. That you would be angry with me.
That’s why I was having this dream. A dream where you’re angry and crying like this.
As I gazed into your pink eyes, tears welled up in them once more.
Then, the moment my name was called from your lips again.
“Asha.”
As if pulled up from beneath the water’s surface,
“Wake up, Asha. Please…”
That’s how I opened my eyes.
When I lifted my impossibly heavy eyelids, the first thing I saw was Hadel’s black hair.
Your small head, bowed low as you held my hand and dropped tears, looked nothing but adorable even in this moment.
“…del.”
I squeezed out your name with a voice that wouldn’t come. The severely cracked voice sounded very unfamiliar.
But Hadel understood somehow and quickly raised his head.
Relief washed over me from deep within my chest as those urgent pink eyes looked at me.
“…Hic.”
The moment our eyes met, Hadel’s expression crumbled.
He shed tears even more sorrowfully.
He buried his face in the back of my hand, then looked at my face again and cried some more.
Hadel carefully reached out and cupped my cheek.
And slowly, amid his sobbing, he called my name.
“H-hic. Asha. A…sha. Asha…!”
Stop crying, you fool.
I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t say anything. I’d thought it wasn’t a big deal, but seeing Hadel cry like this made a lump form in my throat.
I placed my hand over Hadel’s hand that cupped my cheek. His warm hand was trembling slightly.
He had been this frightened. I really… didn’t know it would be this bad.
“Ha…del.”
“Yes, yes, Asha. Call me, my name. Keep… keep calling me.”
Hadel’s pink eyes swirled with all kinds of emotions.
I stretched out my arms and embraced him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Asha, Asha… I really thought something had happened to you. If I had lost you again, I really would have…”
Hadel’s body, holding me, was hot. His even hotter breath settled on my shoulder.
I patted his back soothingly and said:
“I thought it would be fine since I’d wake up quickly from this. I was only asleep for an hour or two…”
At my words, I felt Hadel’s body stiffen. And then his low, beautiful voice quietly reached my ears.
“What… are you saying, Asha?”
Hadel loosened his arms around me. Up close, his face looked considerably gaunt.
Yes, as if…
“Asha, you didn’t wake up for two days.”
Like someone who hadn’t eaten anything for days.
“…What?”
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at Hadel’s words.
Two days? What was he talking about?
I was told it would only paralyze my body for an hour or two. They said I would wake up in less than half a day at most.
It was a paralysis symptom that occurred during the process of neutralizing the poison. Though all bodily functions would stop, there would be no health issues afterward—that’s why I had chosen this method.
But I never imagined I would remain unconscious like this for two days.
“I see. It was different from what you expected, Asha.”
Hadel frowned, seemingly having noticed my confusion.
Putting aside my muddled thoughts, I wiped away the tears pooled in Hadel’s eyes.
“For now… stop crying, Hadel. I’m really fine.”
Warm tears fell in drops, and Hadel’s face drew closer.
As his breath touched me, I closed my eyes.
The warm, soft sensation on my lips became the entirety of my senses.
* * *
The imperial physician, called in the middle of the night, spoke passionately with a face overcome with emotion.
“This is truly amazing, Your Majesty! My goodness, how could this happen!”
Seeing me awake, he was shocked once, examining me here and there, he was shocked twice… no, he was endlessly astonished.
“You’re completely fine! There’s absolutely nothing wrong! How could this happen so suddenly…!”
Hadel narrowed his eyes as he watched the physician making a fuss. He spoke with a skeptical voice, as if he couldn’t trust the physician at all.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty! W-well, her pulse is still a bit unstable, but that seems to be because she just woke up after being unconscious for such a long time. Still, just to be safe, I’ll check again in a few hours.”
At the mention of unstable pulse, Hadel’s eyebrows rose, but soon his face returned to its expressionless state.
The physician continued to make a commotion, saying he couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible.
Amid the noise, Hadel clicked his tongue and said one thing.
“You couldn’t identify the cause, and now you don’t know why she suddenly recovered. You truly are incompetent.”
At that casually dropped remark, the physician turned pale.
Knowing everything, I could only smile awkwardly, feeling terribly sorry for the physician.
In situations like this, it was best to send the physician away quickly and be alone with Hadel.
“M-more importantly, Your Majesty, I need to speak with you privately.”
Noticing my cue, Hadel, though displeased, gestured for the physician to leave.
The physician, looking at me as if he had discovered an oasis, brightened his eyes before bowing his head and hurriedly disappearing.
After confirming the physician was gone, Hadel clung to me again and asked:
“Asha, shall we rest for now? We can talk in detail when day breaks…”
“No, no. I’ve already delayed things too much by sleeping for two days.”
Before the physician arrived, I had explained to Hadel how I came to collapse.
Upon learning all the circumstances, he displayed a chilling determination to erase the Balkyrino ducal family from existence…
But when I told him not to ruin our plans and to wait just one day, he finally calmed down.
“Then what can I do for you, Asha? Just say it. I’ll do anything.”
Looking at those enthusiastic pink eyes, I held out my hand.
“First, a pen and paper. I need to write invitations.”
“Invitations?”
Hadel’s questioning expression was cute. I gave him a quick kiss on the chin and smiled.
The low sound of Hadel’s laughter was pleasant to hear, but that was enough for now.
When I waited for pen and paper without further explanation, Hadel, though curious, didn’t ask more and prepared what I needed.
And now, as morning broke and the sun rose high in the sky.
“Silver Lily enters!”
The doors to the hall where the tea party was being held opened. Along with the dazzling light of the chandelier, countless gazes were felt.
At first, these gazes made me extremely nervous, but now I’m so used to it that I might even miss the attention if I didn’t receive it. That’s how accustomed I’ve become to palace life.
As I walked in step by step, the hall grew quiet.
As the atmosphere settled, I approached the seat of honor. Then I quietly whispered into the ear of the handmaiden standing right beside me.
The handmaiden listened to my words and repeated them loudly.
“Silver Lily says: I’m truly happy that you’ve accepted my sudden invitation.”
Though it was a simple greeting, people seemed to take it heavily. Everyone was busy glancing at me with indescribable expressions.
They must find it very unfamiliar and strange that I wasn’t speaking directly but through a handmaiden. Add to that the black veil I was wearing, and their suspicions would only multiply.
Just then, a brave young lady threw a question at me.
“Thank you for inviting us, Silver Lily. It’s an honor. But… may I ask why you’ve covered your face? And why are you speaking through your handmaiden instead of directly?”
That bold question made people flinch here and there.
I quickly whispered into the handmaiden’s ear again.
After listening silently, the handmaiden relayed my words.
“She says she’s been a bit ill these past few days. As an aftereffect, she gets dizzy under bright light, so she’s wearing a veil. Moreover, she injured her throat, making it painful to speak loudly, so she’s speaking through her handmaiden.”
Some seemed to accept this, while others looked skeptical.
I continued to whisper into the handmaiden’s ear, and she faithfully relayed my words.
“I considered inviting you all after I fully recovered, but… rumors.”
Everyone was holding their breath, listening intently to my words—or rather, the handmaiden’s voice. I continued, closely observing Nella’s reactions.
“Absurd rumors have spread. That I was already dead.”
I paused for a moment. The young ladies’ shoulders flinched.
Originally, the rumor I had prepared in advance was ‘Silver Lily is in critical condition.’
Since I was planning to wake up within a few hours anyway, I had only prepared to that extent.
“That’s why I hastily arranged this tea party. I thought everyone would be worried.”
Who would have thought the rumors would grow like this?
Anyway, it wasn’t bad. I could make good use of it.
In the heavily sunken atmosphere, I smiled brightly and changed the topic.
“I’m fine now, so don’t worry. Shall we enjoy the tea party?”
At my signal, handmaidens entered, pulling trays.
Since Hadel had imprisoned all the handmaidens of Silver Lily Palace, handmaidens belonging to the Sun Palace served as my hands and feet.
“The first is chamomile. The scent is truly lovely, isn’t it?”
The fragrant aroma of chamomile began to spread throughout the hall.
History would later call this time ‘The Tea Party of Truth.’
