Chapter 89

“Pardon?”

“My mother died from Nelpiram poisoning.”

Nelpiram poisoning…

Karentina swallowed dryly. This was something that hadn’t appeared in the original story. Ignis, wearing a frighteningly cold expression, turned his gaze toward the river.

‘Leah.’

[ Yes, Lady Karentina? ]

‘Do you know anything about Nelpiram poisoning?’

[ …Nelpiram is an herb that gets rid of headaches and helps with nausea. If used correctly, it’s helpful, but it can be deadly if abused. It also contains a component that can suffocate an unborn baby, so it’s especially dangerous for pregnant women. It must be handled very carefully. ]

She caught her breath.

[ As far as I know, noblewomen used it to get rid of maids or courtesans who became pregnant out of wedlock. It tastes just like Derkan, the medicine for morning sickness, so people take it without suspecting a thing. At first, there are no symptoms, so people eat it without worry, but by the time the poisoning becomes severe… it kills both the child and the mother. ]

Karentina’s face went stiff.

In the original story, his mother was said to have died from premature labor, but it turned out to be poison. And there was only one person who would stoop that low. The sheer pettiness of it was revolting.

“There was only suspicion, never any evidence.”

As Ignis, who had been silent, quietly began to speak, a dreadful suspicion began to slither up her mind.

“Then, could the reason His Majesty the Emperor collapsed also be… the Imperial Consort’s…”

Karentina instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth. It was as if she had just uncovered all the ugly secrets of the palace that she was never supposed to know.

“That’s right. But it’s not the same as the poison that killed my mother. No physician has been able to cure it, not even with divine power. Nobody knows if it’s a disease or some kind of poison.”

He gazed out into the distance with a devastated expression.

She realized she could never truly understand just how many years of loneliness and rage he had carried. She knew there was nothing she could say that would truly ease his pain.

As her eyes traced Ignis’s profile, she spoke softly.

“You will become a great emperor one day, Your Highness.”

A faint light slowly returned to his seemingly empty eyes.

Ignis gave a soft, humorless laugh. It didn’t seem like he truly believed her words.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to be a good emperor, just as you wish, my lady. I was planning to just get rid of anyone who annoyed me.”

She met his gaze, sensing the edge in his voice.

‘Liar. He doesn’t actually want that.’

In the original novel, he turned into a ruthless tyrant who killed everyone after the emperor’s death. She couldn’t stop thinking about how he suffered, day after day. That was why he grew obsessed with Ceria and ended up confining her when she tried to run away.

Karentina wished for both Ignis and Ceria to avoid that tragic path. All she hoped for was that they would truly love each other and finally find some happiness, without fate tearing them apart.

“I believe Your Highness will overcome it all.”

“….”

He started to say something but closed his mouth without a word.

She stared out across the river. She could feel Ignis’s gaze on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn toward him.

“Karen!”

A cute little voice called out from the distance, making her turn. Karentina opened her arms and caught Stella as she came running into her embrace.

Ignis’s fur cloak slipped to the ground in the commotion, but Karentina just laughed, sharing a warm smile with Stella.

Zion rushed over, gently brushed off Ignis’s fur cloak, and handed it back to him with a polite bow. Then, returning to his master, he slipped his own coat over her shoulders.

“….”

He stood there silently, absentmindedly holding the coat Zion had given him. His gaze never left Karentina.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

Night had fallen completely over the Stium River.

Karentina sat a little ways away from the rest of the townspeople while undercover palace knights stood nearby, quietly keeping guard. Dimly glowing magic stones floated down the calm current of the river.

She held Stella’s little hand and led her down to the river’s edge.

“So pretty. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Stay close and hold my hand tight. It could be dangerous.”

“Okay!”

When Stella’s face lit up with a bright smile, Karentina forced an awkward smile in return. For some reason, it was hard to control her expressions today. The conversation she’d had earlier with Ignis kept swirling in her mind. She glanced over at him, standing some distance away.

“So now we just send the magic stones out on the river?”

“….”

Stella tilted her head, then gave Karentina’s hand a gentle tug.

“Karen?”

“Ah! Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment…”

She covered it with a laugh.

Along with sharing a galette, here was another special New Year’s tradition in the North.

They collect used-up magic stones and set them afloat on the river, offering a prayer for a safe and peaceful year ahead. In this world, magic stones were a powerful energy source, but once spent, they turned back into ordinary stones again. Floating them down the river was a way of returning them to the gods.