“Hmm……”
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Marquis Medus did not immediately agree with Renato’s suggestion. After all, it was too risky to stop making Snake’s Breath in a situation where his foundation was shaken.
If it was known that he had no medicine, the nobles forced to support the Marquis to treat their precious ones like sick family members and lovers would leave.
Snake’s Breath played an important role in helping Marquis Medus draw in and control the nobles. There were also many people lining up to buy Snake’s Breath at this moment. Stopping making it now was tantamount to abandoning the most effective way to stay in power.
Of course, many diseases could be cured even without the help of Snake’s Breath. Marquis Medus was one of the most respected doctors and pharmacists in the Empire, and a disease he couldn’t cure was as good as no other doctors could cure.
However, even the Marquis’ excellent medical skills couldn’t create a definite effect in a short period of time like Snake’s Breath which contained fairy blood. Especially if the patients had a rare disease.
“I don’t think we have to go that far, though……”
After hesitating for a bit, Marquis Medus expressed his objection. He knew everything could go awry, but it was still hard to give up the fairy blood.
As expected, he reacts like this.
Renato pressed his lips at the expected rejection. In the past, he would have meekly obeyed, no, he wouldn’t have brought up the suggestion in the first place. But he was no longer like that.
“Actually…… his highness the grand prince saw the blood drawing mark left on my arm.”
Renato deliberately mentioned Khalid in a hesitant tone this time. He had predicted that Marquis Medus would not easily give up the fairy blood. Therefore, Renato also prepared a different trick.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“On the way to the Khan Kingdom, there was a problem with the camping equipment we prepared, so I shared a tent with his highness. Then he found the wound on my arm and asked how it happened.”
“Ah.”
Marquis Medus groaned as he heard Renato’s explanation. Upon recalling, he remembered hearing reports that the tents and cold protection equipment did not function properly, so they received help from the Khan Kingdom side.
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“I said it was a wound from a health check-up, but…… As you know, there are famous stories about fairy blood. He asked if a check-up was done even though I wasn’t poisoned or ill, and remarked that an imperial family member’s body was treated too harshly.”
“So how did you answer?”
“I said it was because there was a need for a blood test. Fortunately, his highness didn’t ask any further questions…… but he was probably anxious. It was somehow passed at that time, but to prepare for the wedding ceremony, I have to keep meeting with his highness.”
“Hmm.”
“Now that His Majesty the Emperor may investigate Snake’s Breath, if his highness sees a trace of blood draw again……”
“I understand what you mean.”
Marquis Medus interrupted Renato with a stiff face. He painfully sighed and said unwillingly.
“As Your Imperial Highness said, I think it would be better to stop making Snake’s Breath for the time being and observe the situation.”
The Marquis agreed with Renato’s opinion and smacked his lips with a bitter expression. After mentally counting the number of Snake’s Breath remaining, he sighed. He had some spare left after drawing Renato’s blood once before his trip to the kingdom, but it would not last long.
Should I just draw his blood once more today?
The Marquis, seized with a momentary strong impulse, looked at the doctor’s bag placed next to him. But recalling Renato’s meeting with Khalid in the evening, he soon abandoned that idea.
“The problem is after using all the remaining Snake’s Breath……”
Marquis Medus murmured worriedly. He had thought he only needed to be careful with Tristan, but now he must pay attention to Khalid as well, making things become twisted up. Faced with an unexpected dead end, the Marquis felt a headache rising and groaned.
After marriage, Renato would leave the Imperial Palace to live with Khalid. Then there might no longer be an opportunity to draw his blood other than now.
However, even if he explained the situation to Khalid, he still couldn’t trust the man completely. Khalid liked Renato, not Blanche and Marquis Medus. It was obvious just looking at what happened yesterday. The Marquis recalled back when he called the two to the Empress’ Palace for a conversation after they returned to the Empire.
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Yesterday afternoon, Khalid maintained his courtesy in front of Blanche and Marquis Medus till the end. However, he never showed any kindness or intimacy toward them. On the contrary, it felt as if he had built up an invisible wall.
Khalid secretly revealed during their conversation that he treated them with courtesy because they were family members of the person he liked, but he did not intend to get closer than that.
Marquis Medus noticed that Khalid was not favorable to him from his tone, expression, and behavior that were implicitly expressed. He could somewhat guess the reason. Perhaps Khalid knew how Renato was treated in the Empire.
In fact, it was an issue he couldn’t have not known. In a marriage between nobles, investigating the person who would soon become a companion was one of the basics. To Khalid, they must not have been a very good mother and maternal grandfather.
So when he heard from Renato that Khalid had questioned about the blood draw mark, he couldn’t be more greedy. Marquis Medus thought the man would likely dislike the idea of drawing Renato’s blood to make medicine.
Who in the world would approve of hurting their companion’s body?
The deeper his affection for Renato was, the stronger Khalid’s opposition to blood draws would become. The man would never look at the Marquis favorably even if he was compelled to allow it, and in the worst case, they might drift apart before he could get close to Khalid.
When his thought reached that far, he became frustrated as if a stone had sunken on his chest. At a loss of what to do, Marquis Medus furrowed his brows and fell into thoughts.
Changing Khalid’s perception and improving their relationship seemed to somehow work out if he proceeded slowly through Renato, but he couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem of being unable to make Snake’s Breath for at least several months.
I succeeded.
Renato pretended to cautiously glance at the anguished Marquis, then furtively lowered his gaze. He was worried that Marquis Medus would not back down even when he mentioned Khalid, so this was fortunate. This meant that his blood would not be drawn for a while.
Of course, Renato had no intention of providing fairy blood again. He wouldn’t lose anything more to Marquis Medus.
* * *
“What are you up to?”
“……Pardon?”
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Looking down at the cooled teacup, Renato raised his head when a voice as sharp as a pointed thorn pierced his ears. Then he saw Blanche sitting in a slanted posture.
He had expected that Blanche, who would normally have left the Prince’s Palace with Marquis Medus when the man returned, had a separate matter to talk about as he remained here alone and stuck to his seat. As it turned out, Blanche suddenly wanted him to answer what he was up to.
“Are you ignoring me?”
Blanche frowned when Renato didn’t answer his question right away.
“No, I didn’t understand what you were asking, so I was thinking about it for a bit.”
Renato quickly responded when Blanche seemed about to start screaming and breaking things at any moment. If Blanche got seriously annoyed, the one getting exhausted would be him.
“What do you even need to think about? I’m asking because you’re being suspicious.”
“I?”
“Yes, do you think I don’t know?”
“What did I do?”
“You……!”
As Renato asked back with a face that seemed not to understand his question, Blanche was momentarily at a loss for words and could only open his mouth. There was definitely something, but when he tried to put it into words, he couldn’t find what to say.
“Your Majesty?”
Renato called Blanche to urge for an answer when he didn’t say anything.
“Never mind that, but in any case, you…… don’t think about pulling a trick for nothing.”
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Unable to find the right words in the end, Blanche gritted his teeth before warning in a low voice. Renato was suspicious, but he had no evidence to accuse him nor the wit to pressure him.
“Trick? I never did anything.”
Hearing Blanche’s warning, Renato looked at him with a wronged gaze. He counter-argued, bringing up Marquis Medus.
“You can’t really be thinking that I’m coming up with a scheme, right? I don’t have that kind of talent. And if I had done something suspicious or planned to do so, would the Marquis have stayed still a while ago? Isn’t he someone much keener and sharper than others?”
“Father is……!”
Blanche barely held back the words ‘…completely blinded by you now’ that reached his throat. Saying so with his own mouth was similar to admitting that Marquis Medus’ attention was now on Renato.
“Damn it!”
Blanche uttered swear words nervously and lifted his teacup. The heat was rising to the top of his head, making him thirsty.
Where the hell did it go wrong?
With a flushed face, Blanche breathed out and agonized. He was easily irritable and often angry lately. There were also times when he was suddenly overwhelmed with incomprehensible anxiety.
Whenever that happened, the palace doctors only repeated that his nerves seemed to have become more sensitive due to stress. Thinking this shouldn’t continue, he consulted Marquis Medus, but only a cold response came back. Recently, the Marquis had considered Blanche more pathetic than ever before.
Fuck.
Blanche gulped down the tea, remembering how the Marquis interrupted his words mercilessly some time ago. Even though he was at this age, his father still treated him as a useless idiot and an idiot who couldn’t do anything.
At those times, his anger would soar, making him want to shout not to disdain him, but he eventually backed off without a word today as well. Blanche hated himself for that.
But it was inevitable. Whenever Marquis Medus looked with a pathetic gaze or clicked his tongue, his throat was clogged as if someone was strangling him, making him unable to breathe properly.
“Hmm……”
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Marquis Medus did not immediately agree with Renato’s suggestion. After all, it was too risky to stop making Snake’s Breath in a situation where his foundation was shaken.
If it was known that he had no medicine, the nobles forced to support the Marquis to treat their precious ones like sick family members and lovers would leave.
Snake’s Breath played an important role in helping Marquis Medus draw in and control the nobles. There were also many people lining up to buy Snake’s Breath at this moment. Stopping making it now was tantamount to abandoning the most effective way to stay in power.
Of course, many diseases could be cured even without the help of Snake’s Breath. Marquis Medus was one of the most respected doctors and pharmacists in the Empire, and a disease he couldn’t cure was as good as no other doctors could cure.
However, even the Marquis’ excellent medical skills couldn’t create a definite effect in a short period of time like Snake’s Breath which contained fairy blood. Especially if the patients had a rare disease.
“I don’t think we have to go that far, though……”
After hesitating for a bit, Marquis Medus expressed his objection. He knew everything could go awry, but it was still hard to give up the fairy blood.
As expected, he reacts like this.
Renato pressed his lips at the expected rejection. In the past, he would have meekly obeyed, no, he wouldn’t have brought up the suggestion in the first place. But he was no longer like that.
“Actually…… his highness the grand prince saw the blood drawing mark left on my arm.”
Renato deliberately mentioned Khalid in a hesitant tone this time. He had predicted that Marquis Medus would not easily give up the fairy blood. Therefore, Renato also prepared a different trick.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“On the way to the Khan Kingdom, there was a problem with the camping equipment we prepared, so I shared a tent with his highness. Then he found the wound on my arm and asked how it happened.”
“Ah.”
Marquis Medus groaned as he heard Renato’s explanation. Upon recalling, he remembered hearing reports that the tents and cold protection equipment did not function properly, so they received help from the Khan Kingdom side.
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“I said it was a wound from a health check-up, but…… As you know, there are famous stories about fairy blood. He asked if a check-up was done even though I wasn’t poisoned or ill, and remarked that an imperial family member’s body was treated too harshly.”
“So how did you answer?”
“I said it was because there was a need for a blood test. Fortunately, his highness didn’t ask any further questions…… but he was probably anxious. It was somehow passed at that time, but to prepare for the wedding ceremony, I have to keep meeting with his highness.”
“Hmm.”
“Now that His Majesty the Emperor may investigate Snake’s Breath, if his highness sees a trace of blood draw again……”
“I understand what you mean.”
Marquis Medus interrupted Renato with a stiff face. He painfully sighed and said unwillingly.
“As Your Imperial Highness said, I think it would be better to stop making Snake’s Breath for the time being and observe the situation.”
The Marquis agreed with Renato’s opinion and smacked his lips with a bitter expression. After mentally counting the number of Snake’s Breath remaining, he sighed. He had some spare left after drawing Renato’s blood once before his trip to the kingdom, but it would not last long.
Should I just draw his blood once more today?
The Marquis, seized with a momentary strong impulse, looked at the doctor’s bag placed next to him. But recalling Renato’s meeting with Khalid in the evening, he soon abandoned that idea.
“The problem is after using all the remaining Snake’s Breath……”
Marquis Medus murmured worriedly. He had thought he only needed to be careful with Tristan, but now he must pay attention to Khalid as well, making things become twisted up. Faced with an unexpected dead end, the Marquis felt a headache rising and groaned.
After marriage, Renato would leave the Imperial Palace to live with Khalid. Then there might no longer be an opportunity to draw his blood other than now.
However, even if he explained the situation to Khalid, he still couldn’t trust the man completely. Khalid liked Renato, not Blanche and Marquis Medus. It was obvious just looking at what happened yesterday. The Marquis recalled back when he called the two to the Empress’ Palace for a conversation after they returned to the Empire.
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Yesterday afternoon, Khalid maintained his courtesy in front of Blanche and Marquis Medus till the end. However, he never showed any kindness or intimacy toward them. On the contrary, it felt as if he had built up an invisible wall.
Khalid secretly revealed during their conversation that he treated them with courtesy because they were family members of the person he liked, but he did not intend to get closer than that.
Marquis Medus noticed that Khalid was not favorable to him from his tone, expression, and behavior that were implicitly expressed. He could somewhat guess the reason. Perhaps Khalid knew how Renato was treated in the Empire.
In fact, it was an issue he couldn’t have not known. In a marriage between nobles, investigating the person who would soon become a companion was one of the basics. To Khalid, they must not have been a very good mother and maternal grandfather.
So when he heard from Renato that Khalid had questioned about the blood draw mark, he couldn’t be more greedy. Marquis Medus thought the man would likely dislike the idea of drawing Renato’s blood to make medicine.
Who in the world would approve of hurting their companion’s body?
The deeper his affection for Renato was, the stronger Khalid’s opposition to blood draws would become. The man would never look at the Marquis favorably even if he was compelled to allow it, and in the worst case, they might drift apart before he could get close to Khalid.
When his thought reached that far, he became frustrated as if a stone had sunken on his chest. At a loss of what to do, Marquis Medus furrowed his brows and fell into thoughts.
Changing Khalid’s perception and improving their relationship seemed to somehow work out if he proceeded slowly through Renato, but he couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem of being unable to make Snake’s Breath for at least several months.
I succeeded.
Renato pretended to cautiously glance at the anguished Marquis, then furtively lowered his gaze. He was worried that Marquis Medus would not back down even when he mentioned Khalid, so this was fortunate. This meant that his blood would not be drawn for a while.
Of course, Renato had no intention of providing fairy blood again. He wouldn’t lose anything more to Marquis Medus.
* * *
“What are you up to?”
“……Pardon?”
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Looking down at the cooled teacup, Renato raised his head when a voice as sharp as a pointed thorn pierced his ears. Then he saw Blanche sitting in a slanted posture.
He had expected that Blanche, who would normally have left the Prince’s Palace with Marquis Medus when the man returned, had a separate matter to talk about as he remained here alone and stuck to his seat. As it turned out, Blanche suddenly wanted him to answer what he was up to.
“Are you ignoring me?”
Blanche frowned when Renato didn’t answer his question right away.
“No, I didn’t understand what you were asking, so I was thinking about it for a bit.”
Renato quickly responded when Blanche seemed about to start screaming and breaking things at any moment. If Blanche got seriously annoyed, the one getting exhausted would be him.
“What do you even need to think about? I’m asking because you’re being suspicious.”
“I?”
“Yes, do you think I don’t know?”
“What did I do?”
“You……!”
As Renato asked back with a face that seemed not to understand his question, Blanche was momentarily at a loss for words and could only open his mouth. There was definitely something, but when he tried to put it into words, he couldn’t find what to say.
“Your Majesty?”
Renato called Blanche to urge for an answer when he didn’t say anything.
“Never mind that, but in any case, you…… don’t think about pulling a trick for nothing.”
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Unable to find the right words in the end, Blanche gritted his teeth before warning in a low voice. Renato was suspicious, but he had no evidence to accuse him nor the wit to pressure him.
“Trick? I never did anything.”
Hearing Blanche’s warning, Renato looked at him with a wronged gaze. He counter-argued, bringing up Marquis Medus.
“You can’t really be thinking that I’m coming up with a scheme, right? I don’t have that kind of talent. And if I had done something suspicious or planned to do so, would the Marquis have stayed still a while ago? Isn’t he someone much keener and sharper than others?”
“Father is……!”
Blanche barely held back the words ‘…completely blinded by you now’ that reached his throat. Saying so with his own mouth was similar to admitting that Marquis Medus’ attention was now on Renato.
“Damn it!”
Blanche uttered swear words nervously and lifted his teacup. The heat was rising to the top of his head, making him thirsty.
Where the hell did it go wrong?
With a flushed face, Blanche breathed out and agonized. He was easily irritable and often angry lately. There were also times when he was suddenly overwhelmed with incomprehensible anxiety.
Whenever that happened, the palace doctors only repeated that his nerves seemed to have become more sensitive due to stress. Thinking this shouldn’t continue, he consulted Marquis Medus, but only a cold response came back. Recently, the Marquis had considered Blanche more pathetic than ever before.
Fuck.
Blanche gulped down the tea, remembering how the Marquis interrupted his words mercilessly some time ago. Even though he was at this age, his father still treated him as a useless idiot and an idiot who couldn’t do anything.
At those times, his anger would soar, making him want to shout not to disdain him, but he eventually backed off without a word today as well. Blanche hated himself for that.
But it was inevitable. Whenever Marquis Medus looked with a pathetic gaze or clicked his tongue, his throat was clogged as if someone was strangling him, making him unable to breathe properly.
