IOECP~03

Chapter 3

Early morning, as the first shadows of dawn began to fall.

The man stared intently at his cold bed. Only an empty medicine bottle sat there, solitary and stark.

“…….”

He shifted his attention and clenched his hand. A slight fever remained, but his body felt refreshed, devoid of the common aftereffects of a rampage.

To think that such a painful night could be resolved so easily.

He began to retrieve the memories of the previous night’s fever, one by one.

Cold skin, white hair, the sound of steady breathing.

The liquid in the empty bottle had certainly been what quelled the rampage, but strangely, other things flickered in his mind.

As he recalled the silver strands that were particularly vivid among the afterimages of his memory, he felt the illusion of a scent lingering faintly at the tip of his nose.

It had been a long time since his last rampage, and he had prepared himself for significant aftereffects. This situation was utterly foreign to him.

Normally, he would have been bedridden for days until his body was completely worn out. At least, for someone like him who had no Guide.

His long fingers flicked the medicine bottle. His expressionless face remained cold, but his breathing was still shallow due to the lingering fever scattered throughout his body.

“Slek.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As the low-resonating voice cut through the air, an immediate response emerged from the darkness.

It was Slek, the Emperor’s aide, who had been waiting like a shadow in case of any emergency.

“That woman. Who is she?”

As if anticipating Demion’s question, Slek spoke immediately.

“Hailey Calienesha. A genius who graduated at the top of the Imperial Academy, and it is said that no one in the Empire possesses knowledge of pharmaceuticals that rivals hers. She serves as an assistant to Robencia, Your Majesty’s personal pharmacist.”

A pharmacist with such a lack of presence that he felt he might have glimpsed her once in passing.

Demion rose from the bed and spoke as he adjusted the tie of his robe.

“Is this the first time I have taken her suppressant?”

“Yes. Due to Pharmacist Robencia’s absence, it seems she brought the medicine she crafted, unlike the usual routine.”

Demion felt an unprecedented curiosity toward a human he had never cared about until now.

He moistened his throat with cold water from the nightstand and continued.

“Her movements since entering the Imperial Palace?”

“There are no anomalies. If anything, she spends so much time in her laboratory that even I had almost forgotten her existence.”

“No confirmed contact with other factions?”

“None. However, we cannot be complacent. She may simply be waiting, never moving until the moment she is absolutely needed.”

Holding the water glass, Demion perched on the windowsill and gazed outside.

Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought. He would simply suspect and be wary of everyone, as he had always done.

The problem was that the efficacy of last night’s medicine was too outstanding to be easily ignored.

A memory from long ago suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Long ago, a single sentence driven into Demion’s heart had made it impossible for him to live as a normal Esper.

‘Trust no one. If you give away your heart, you will die too.’

With those words, Demion’s older brother bid farewell to the world. All because of a betrayed love.

That was when it began. Demion’s hatred for Guides.

After his brother’s death, Demion developed an extreme aversion to the act of guiding itself.

When the signs of a rampage became clear, he had to receive guiding, but the moment he did, he felt a sensation as if his stomach were churning, and goosebumps would break out across his entire body.

Simultaneously, he had to suffer through a terrible pain, as if the inside and outside of his body were being scraped with sandpaper.

Thus, he turned his attention to other methods that could replace guiding.

Unfortunately, commercially available suppressants could not perfectly inhibit a rampage. Furthermore, the side effects that followed the medication were also problematic.

In the first place, no one sought suppressants when there was a convenient and perfect method like guiding.

Left with no choice, he hired skilled pharmacists to research suppressants, but there had been almost no practical progress.

It felt as if a solid wall stood in the way, as if a perfect suppressant simply could not exist in this world.

However, yesterday’s effect was enough to stimulate Demion’s interest. As he retraced the events of yesterday—which he could barely remember—he felt a fluttering sensation in his heart.

Perhaps it was the anticipation that he might finally get his hands on a perfect suppressant.

“Bring that pharmacist to me.”

Regardless, it seemed he needed to meet that woman once more.

‘Wow, damn, his face is no joke.’

First of all, the man I faced had a face that was terrifying in several different ways.

First, he was excessively handsome.

A blonde man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, he possessed a face that was overly neat yet captivating. Like someone who had stepped right out of a fairy tale.

However, beneath the thin-rimmed glasses that seemed to repel even the warm sunlight, the man wore an expression more desolate and cold than the plains of Siberia.

‘Is he a statue or something?’

Even in this awkward situation, I couldn’t help but be interested in the man’s unrealistic appearance.

It’s instinct, pure instinct!

“Did you say your name was Lady Hailey?”

Huh? Did I tell him my name? I’m still feeling awkward with that name myself.

Of course, that didn’t mean I intended to throw cold water on the fact that he had initiated the conversation.

“Yes.”

Since he was someone who radiated an overbearing atmosphere just by looking at him, a polite answer came out naturally.

“As you may know, I am Slek, the Emperor’s aide.”

Trash? The moment I heard his name, I barely managed to hold back a burst of laughter.

“Tra—…”

“Slek.”

“It is a fine name.”

I bit my lower lip hard, which helped hide the rising laughter.

“Did you personally craft the suppressant used last night?”

“Uh… yes.”

Probably?

“I see you resided in the Oslan border region before coming to the Imperial Palace.”

“Um… yes.”

Honestly, I had no idea what he was talking about, but I answered in the affirmative anyway.

I thought I had glimpsed a similar place name in the woman’s diary. I felt like I should look into these details more deeply once I returned to my room.

“Have you become well-adjusted to life in the Imperial Palace? How is it?”

Honestly, it didn’t seem like this woman was doing particularly well, but I felt that saying ‘no’ might put a crack in my professional life, so I gave a vague answer.

“Yes, well…”

The man’s steady pace came to a dead stop. He turned back to look at me as I followed awkwardly behind.

Ah, that’s a displeased look.

He was looking down at me expressionlessly, but it was clear he was offended by my lack of sincerity in the answer.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Now this is awkward.

If he’s the Emperor’s aide, he’s definitely higher ranking than me, right? Which means… if I get on his bad side, my head and body might be separated.

I need to be more careful with my future answers.

“I am adjusting… very well.”

The corners of my mouth twitched awkwardly as I forced a smile, but it was the best I could do.

At my murderous(?) smile, the man slowly averted his gaze.

“This is the Emperor’s office. You may enter.”

Oh, he just stopped because we arrived. I got scared for nothing.

When the aide knocked twice on the large door, permission to enter was granted from inside.

Thump, thump. My heart raced. Is this, after all, fear…?

“Welcome.”

—No, it was because my heart was racing recklessly at the reunion with the incredibly handsome male lead.

I hate to admit it, but he is too handsome.

But where did that rough voice and manner of speaking that made my heart pound last night go?

I found myself fluttering again at the refined voice flowing from his lips.

Is this what they call ‘gentle by day, wild by night’…? Yeah, I know it’s not that at all.

I carefully approached the sofa the Emperor pointed to and sat down. The plush leather supported my body comfortably.

“I called you here because I wished to express my gratitude for last night.”

It is a very strange experience to face a character from text who is now breathing and alive.

Hearing the Emperor’s manner of speaking, which seemed almost polite, I realized once again that he was indeed Demion, the protagonist of the novel.

He was exactly as described in the book. Not just the leopard-like aura, but especially that face that smiled like a mask.

He would bind Joshua with a melting smile and a soft voice, kill the ministers who got in his way, and then play the part of the benevolent Emperor to the citizens of the Empire.

Yes, exactly like the psychopath described in the keywords.

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the Emperor sat opposite me.

Actually, this reaction from the man was unexpected. In the novel, he didn’t seem to trust people much, nor did he seem like the type to be grateful for trivial things.

Is there a need to call me here just to express gratitude? If I’m a pharmacist working in the Imperial Palace, didn’t I just do what I was supposed to do…?

And strictly speaking, shouldn’t I be the one more grateful for surviving after taking a deep sleep in the Emperor’s bed?

“Last night was one of the most impressive nights I’ve experienced since ascending to the throne.”

An impressive night… Hmm. He’s speaking in a way that’s just perfect for others to misunderstand.

Come to think of it, it was quite impressive for me too. I accidentally fell asleep in the arms of a sculpted beauty and woke up to find out I’m in the world of a novel!

“Right, a hot and shocking night…”

Gasp! I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand at the words that flew out without passing through a filter.

‘What nonsense did I just mutter? I didn’t mean it like that, your body was…! No, anyway, don’t misunderstand!’

I quickly scanned the face of the man who was the Emperor. Our eyes met, and he smiled.

I didn’t know what kind of light his pupils held beneath those curved eyelids, but at the very least, his eyes and the corners of his mouth formed a smooth arc.

“Indeed. One could put it that way.”

Ah, my heart.

Fearing I might actually die from the impact of his beauty, I clutched my pounding chest tightly.