chapter 4.1

Psili slept comfortably for a long time. She had never slept in peace because she didn’t know when Elisha would call, or when Isilis and Greden would find her and shout. Psili stretched and woke up refreshingly which she had never felt in a long time.

Suddenly as if woke up from a dream, Psili jumped to her feet.

“Huh? It’s night. How long have I been sleeping?”

What Psili, who opened her eyes, saw was the moon, not the sun floating in the sky. Psili headed toward the window and tilted her head as she gazed at the moon floating outside the window. Then she started looking around.

“Uh… where is this?”

She had no room. There was a room for the maids next to Elisha’s bedroom, but there was no space for her to rest and no place to sleep. Her bed has always been grass, and she has been homeless and the night breeze was her blanket. Even in Ctia, she had lived her whole life on a futon, so homelessness did not matter for her. Rather, this cozy space and the fluffy bed were inevitably strange.

“Well, it’s comfortable though. People say that you should use a good bed.”

As inside the room was dark, Psili, who pressed down on the bed with her hands, shrugged her shoulders and relied on the moonlight to find the entrance to her place. Then she found the doorknob and pushed the door open with all her might. She stared at the empty corridor which was lightly lit up by the moonlight, hearing nothing but the creaking sound of the door. Psili, who was familiar with the moonlight that is softer than the bright light, carefully exited the room and looked around.

“Where on earth am I?”

Ever since coming to Pantheron from Ctia, her entire life radius has been the Harem Castle and the side palace, which she came and went every few days. She heard from Asil that the Imperial Palace was very large, but she didn’t have much time to wander around, so he told her about the geography of the palace.

“I should have listened well.”

‘Regretting, Psili decided to save everything she heard in her head from now on because you don’t know when and how it will be used. Psili, who carefully walked the unfamiliar corridor along the path, descended to the first floor, and standing in front of the building, she looked up at the strange building feeling gloomy. She seemed to have no idea where she was at all.

Leaving behind the palace she had never seen before, Psili began to walk in the direction of her feet cluelessly. No one would see her as it was night, and no one would know if she went back to the middle of the night. And with the curiosity and excitement about this freedom which she might not have again, Psili began to wander around the Imperial Palace of Pantheron, feeling the moonlight shining on her.

****

At the same time, a bedroom in Espa Palace, also known as Harem Castle, was filled with a deep bloody smell. Zed stood in the center with his shirt off.

“Get rid of it!”

Without looking at the concubine, bleeding red blood and breathless, Jed said a cold word. Then the soldiers from outside came in and wrapped the body of the dead concubine in a blanket and carried it out. Subsequently, the maids of the Espa Palace came in and began to clean up the bedroom where the owner was gone.

As if nothing had happened. Beichen, with a slightly puzzled expression, approached behind Jed as he left Espa. Even if Jed didn’t look back, he knew what Beichen’s curiosity was about, and laughed.

“Yes?

“Oh nothing, Your Majesty.”

Even if there was something curious about what Emperor Jed was doing, there was no need to rush to death by asking. How many people had died because they mispronounced a word? However, matter how wild and how easy it seemed to take a person’s life as if he was killing a fly, Jed had his reasons. Well, one of those reasons was very much about the emperor’s taste and personality.

Anyway, there must have been some reasons this time for what happened in the concubine’s bedroom earlier.

“Wasn’t there a concubine that died six months ago from an aphrodisiac?”

The words from Jed’s mouth hardened Beichen’s face. He didn’t feel or smell anything strange in the concubine’s bedroom. Besides, Jed’s complexion looked more normal than ever for someone who just got drugged.

“Your Majesty, did you take the drug? I will call a physician.”

“No, it’s ok.”

Jed shook his hand, saying there was a need to make a big fuss. But with a worried face, Beichen glanced at Jed’s face.

“Don’t worry. I am okay.”

As Jed frowned and spoke strongly, Beichen stepped back. But soon, he tilted his head as if he had a new question.

“It’s weird. When I entered the room, I didn’t smell anything at all.”

“If you feel it, you are already addicted.”

“Ah! I See.”

“And I left the door open like that, the scent wouldn’t remain.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Besides, there was a lot of blood, so the scent could be covered. Take a look at this.”

As he spoke, Jed handed Beichen a bottle of wine from the concubine’s bedroom. Beichen looked at the bottle with more than half of the wine still left and tilted his head.

“Is there any aphrodisiac in this?”

Even if he didn’t hear Jed’s answer, Beichen nodded, as if he knew the answer with his expression alone, and soon bowed to Jed and hurried away.

After Beichen left, the attendant Heinley and the maid Shannon approached Jed and knelt.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. I couldn’t see it properly.”

It was the responsibility of the two to bring and check things coming into the Imperial Palace. They said they were thorough, but there was no excuse for this to happen. Jed glanced at the two and sighed.

“If you know it was your mistake, then go and investigate what happened and give me an answer that I’m satisfied with. Bring the answer by noon tomorrow.”

It was an opportunity given to Heinly and Shannon because Jed was well aware of how faithfully they had been working. Upon receiving this precious opportunity, the two hurriedly got up and left.

“I will take you to the Asdan Palace.”

At Felix’s words, Jed looked in the direction of Asdan Palace, where his bedroom was and shook his head. Then he handed a gown to Felix and said.

“Burn it. It’s bloody. I am going to take a walk.”

“Then, I will go with you.”

“No. I’ll walk alone.”

Then Felix left with the soldiers holding a bloody gown from the dead concubine that Jed handed over. Jed, who was left alone, gazed at the moon that lit up the night sky, and then moved to the garden, not to Asdan palace. It seemed he had walked for a while, but the more he walked, the more unknown it was.