CHAPTER~21
Marriage Congratulation Delegation (5)
As I entered the study, my complaints vanished at the unexpected scene.
The first thing that hit my nose was the subtle scent of violets.
Bookshelves lined both sides of the walls, all perfectly organized, and stacks of documents were neatly placed on the desk opposite the entrance.
The atmosphere was completely different from the wedding chamber on the first night, decorated with petals and jewels.
I couldn’t help but glance around, momentarily forgetting my composure.
“There are tea leaves in that device.”
Kallio tapped my shoulder lightly.
Then he placed his hand over mine, covering it completely yet still leaving room.
“Did you come to serve me tea?”
“I… I did intend to.”
Although there was a curse as a safety measure, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I quickly withdrew my hand and walked to the desk prepared for work.
I placed Aisha’s device on the slightly lower side table.
I had already learned how to use the tea mug from Aisha before coming, and the tea was already brewed, so I just needed to follow through.
However, there was one critical problem here.
“Ugh, yuck!”
The taste of the tea I sipped was extremely bitter.
If I just served this, anyone could suspect I had tried to poison someone.
Just as I was about to take the mug back, Kallio snapped his fingers.
“Is that the device to control the brewing strength? A gift from the delegation?”
“It serves that purpose, yes. But it’s not a gift from the delegation; it was made by my Denebra.”
“Ah, the one you brought from the place with the fire?”
Kallio examined the mug and placed it back on the table.
“You haven’t brewed tea much, have you?”
“Ah, no, not really.”
“That figures. Brewing too long makes it bitter.”
Oh, that explains it. In my previous life, I drank mostly coffee, so I never paid attention to tea brewing.
I felt embarrassed for acting out of place.
“I’ll brew it myself.”
Kallio moved to another area and brought out the utensils to start brewing.
He quickly prepared two proper cups of tea.
Kallio handed me one cup.
I was grateful, but couldn’t help squinting slightly, remembering his attempt to feed me scorpion venom on our first night.
Kallio shrugged as if unaware.
“Drink it. No poison this time, so don’t worry.”
Since he was cursed, he wouldn’t dare poison me.
I frowned and sipped the tea he handed me.
Surprisingly, it was fresh and pleasant.
“Tasty, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, how did you make it? I doubt Your Majesty brews tea yourself.”
“Well, there was a time before I became Emperor, you know?”
Ah, he had an elder brother in the past.
The Empire followed primogeniture, so Kallio had a freer childhood while his brother trained to become the next Emperor.
But I knew what happened to that brother later.
“I used to brew tea often as a child because I liked it.”
“…”
“When my brother was alive, he once gave me poisoned tea as a courtesy. That was troublesome.”
Of course.
Kallio later poisoned that brother and ascended the throne.
He came to apologize but stepped on a landmine himself.
How could someone be so brazen as to casually mention his brother’s poisonous tea? Not something I would have created, but still.
In my debut work, I didn’t focus much on the male lead’s past or family.
The sub-male lead’s purpose was to add tension and trigger the male protagonist’s jealousy and caution.
Kallio, watching me intently, slowly sipped the tea and placed the cup back on the desk.
“Still, as Empress, you should know how to enjoy tea. Here, tea is consumed frequently, unlike in your country.”
Teaching me how to enjoy tea?
Tea is just tea; if bitter, add sugar or milk.
I liked food but wasn’t interested in tea, so I wanted to finish quickly.
‘I don’t need to learn how to enjoy tea. I’ll quit as Empress soon anyway.’
Yet Kallio seemed intrigued by the utensils, and retrieved other containers from a drawer below.
He first opened the saffron container and added some to the tea.
“Want to try?”
I drank, careful it wasn’t poisoned. Surprisingly, it was decent and smoother than before.
Next, he poured fresh tea and added rose petals.
It smelled fragrant, so I drank without hesitation.
Then, I wondered if he’d add sugar next.
Curiosity got the better of me, and when I peeked, Kallio covered his mouth and laughed.
“You really like food, don’t you?”
“Eh?”
“You were very cat-like just now.”
Cat-like? Me?
Embarrassed, I glared at him, and Kallio waved his hand dismissively.
“Just kidding. Now, open your mouth.”
“What are you going to feed me now?”
“No poison, don’t worry.”
He inserted sugar into my mouth. If it were only sugar, fine, but he also did something else.
He lightly touched my lips with his fingertip and withdrew.
I frowned immediately.
“Ugh!”
“Haha, you really dislike it.”
Human fingers are indeed unpleasant!
The taste of sugar mixed with something else lingered under my tongue.
Sweet and slightly nutty… Milk, maybe?
As I chewed, Kallio explained.
“It’s milk mixed with sugar. Hold it in your mouth while drinking tea; it tastes better.”
Following his instruction, I held the sugar and drank the tea. This one suited my taste best.
After the tea demonstration, Kallio spoke casually.
“So? You didn’t come just to amuse me, right? Is there a request?”
“There’s a request… but first, I have something to say.”
I clenched my fists and finally spoke.
“I… dislike you.”
“You came all this way to say that?”
“But I’m sorry for introducing my sister without your permission.”
“Ho?”
Don’t look at me like I’m a curiosity, Emperor.
I took a breath to calm down. Kallio was still dangerous, and I wanted to escape safely, but…
“I’ll be careful to prevent similar incidents.”
“Did I say I was offended?”
You got upset when I introduced Adania.
I glanced drowsily, and Kallio stroked his chin.
“Why apologize to me all of a sudden?”
“Just because I dislike you doesn’t mean I should act lowly too.”
“A very cat-like reason.”
Stop calling me a cat before I scratch you.
I scowled, and his long lashes moved up and down, giving an unintentionally delicate air.
“Since you apologized, I suppose I behaved nicely this time?”
“It’s unrelated.”
“But you seemed to like the tea I made.”
…Direct and annoying.
Kallio clapped his hands as if lost in thought.
“Then next time, try to like me even more.”
“…Why does it always come back to that?”
“If you like me because I acted nicely, wouldn’t you lift this annoying curse as well?”
What? His shameless declaration made me frown.
Kallio’s lips trembled, restraining a laugh, which made me even angrier.
But he still had his purpose. He seemed to anticipate mine and spoke first.
