~Chapter 4~
Well past midnight, Kair headed not to his bedroom, but to his study.
The study in the Eastern Palace—used by Kair as his office—was the largest among the four main sections of the imperial palace: the Main Palace, Eastern Palace, Western Palace, and Southern Palace.
Anyone in Astum’s court knew that Kair had been obsessed with books since childhood, having lived in the Eastern Palace from a young age.
At first, it had been an ordinary study. But as books gradually accumulated, they began to take over neighboring rooms. Eventually, renovations were carried out, transforming the space into something more akin to a grand library.
By the time he finished reviewing the documents that had arrived that day, it was already deep into the night. Though weighed down by heavy fatigue, Kair—plagued by habitual insomnia—could not easily leave the study.
Only when the faint blue light of dawn began to seep in did Kair finally rise from his seat.
“Your Highness, even if you only sleep for thirty minutes, you must lie down in bed.”
It was something the palace physicians always reminded him, worried about his insomnia.
Kair knew well that if his sleep quality continued to worsen, it would eventually damage his health. Though he expected no real rest, he still made his way to the bedroom.
After bathing, he lay down in the silent room. Then suddenly, his green eyes flashed sharply in the darkness.
“That smell. It’s definitely that smell.”
It was the scent that had lingered in the former emperor’s chamber before his parents passed away. And at some point, it had begun appearing intermittently in Kair’s own bedroom as well.
The very cause of his insomnia.
Kair shot upright and began searching the room, but he couldn’t determine where the smell came from—or even what it was.
It was incredibly faint and subtle. Worse still, he seemed to be the only one who could detect it.
The first time he noticed it had been a year ago, on a late night after returning to the palace at the emperor’s summons.
The moment he entered his bedroom after leaving the study, he recognized it—the same strange scent that had filled the former emperor’s chamber in the days before his parents died.
That very dawn, Kair had summoned Pico. But no matter how much he tried to explain, Pico insisted he couldn’t smell anything at all.
“I only smell the faint scent of wood from the furniture.”
As Pico said, it did resemble the natural smell of wood. But there was something mixed in—something heavier, something different.
Kair had never been able to shake the thought that his parents’ deaths might not have been due to old age.
The most skilled palace physicians had examined them, yet none could determine the cause of their sudden decline.
Everything connected to them had been investigated—their food, their clothing, even the servants attending their chambers. All were replaced.
Yet nothing suspicious was found.
Still, Kair remained certain.
The moment he detected that same scent in his own room, he became convinced—
His parents had been murdered.
And now, someone was trying to kill him.
“You truly cannot smell it, Pico?”
“No, Your Highness. I have no idea what smell you’re referring to… Honestly, I didn’t know you had a nose like a dog.”
Pico had grumbled this after being summoned repeatedly at dawn over Kair’s obsession with the scent.
“A dog’s nose?”
“Yes, since you keep going on about smells…”
Pico shrank back, thinking Kair might be offended.
But instead, a thought struck Kair.
If I had a dog’s sense of smell… perhaps I could identify it.
“Pico, find a way for me to become a dog.”
“Pardon?! What on earth are you saying?!”
“I must find out what this smell is.”
And so, after a year of searching in secret, Pico finally found Lorienne—a mage capable of creating a potion that could turn someone into a dog.
Kair flung open the bedroom door. The guards stationed outside stiffened in surprise.
“Your Highness, is something wrong?”
One of the knights approached, then flinched at the sight of Kair’s bare upper body.
His tightly honed physique was intimidating enough—but the fact that he was only half-dressed made the moment even more startling.
“Did anyone enter my bedroom today?”
“Only the maid who came to clean during the day, and your attendant who checked the room again in the evening.”
Kair’s expression twisted.
It was always the same answer.
Very few people were allowed into his chambers. Even the maid who cleaned was supervised by the head attendant at all times.
Damn it.
Kair threw open all the windows. The cold dawn air rushed inside.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t grasp what the scent was.
Faint, unfamiliar yet oddly familiar—it teased his senses before vanishing again.
What in the world is that smell? I must find out as soon as possible… I need that potion. The potion to become a dog.
Lorienne had stayed up all night since the customer who threw her a pouch of gold coins had left the previous day.
Not only did she have existing orders to complete, but she also had to create two perfect “dog transformation” potions within a single day.
Such potions required far more care than ordinary ones. They also consumed a great deal of magical energy.
Her already dry complexion had worsened overnight—dark circles formed under her eyes, and her skin had become rough.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Lorienne flinched.
“Looks like I really drained all my magic… I look practically half-dead.”
She brushed a hand over her pale, sunken cheeks.
Growl…
Her stomach rumbled.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten a single meal yet.”
The sun was already beginning to set.
Lorienne went into the back and grabbed a piece of stale bread from the small kitchen. It was so dry that it didn’t break cleanly even after a bite.
She had barely taken two bites when—
Knock, knock.
Hearing the sound, she set the bread down and returned to the front.
Customers had come nonstop all day, leaving her completely drained by evening.
She had planned to catch a bit of sleep during the day to make up for the night she’d missed—but that chance had slipped away. Her eyelids felt unbearably heavy.
“Maybe I’ll close early… after that fake archduke shows up…”
Despite feeling unwell, Lorienne couldn’t shake her anxiety over losing even a single evening of business.
No matter how bad she felt, earning money came first.
Expecting Kair to arrive late at night, she opened her ledger on the long worktable and began recording yesterday’s sales and new orders.
It was something she should have done the previous night, but she had been too busy rushing to make the potion after Kair left.
“Still… thanks to that fake archduke, my income went way up. Not enough yet, though.”
A faint smile spread across her face—yet there was something lonely and fragile about it.
Trying to shake off the sinking feeling, Lorienne shook her head vigorously.
“Feeling sad won’t solve anything. One minute of sadness is one minute wasted not making potions, Lorienne. Right now, my brother is…”
Her words trailed off.
Thinking of her brother, still living as a slave in Rixir, her eyes reddened.
Gritting her teeth, Lorienne tightened her grip on the pen. Then, as if making a declaration to no one, she spoke aloud.
“I’m not weak! I’m incredibly strong! This great mage Lophi, who lives for today, will never be discouraged!”
She bit down hard on her full lower lip.
If her resolve faltered, everything would collapse—
Her belief that her brother was still alive, her goal of rescuing him, and her daily struggle to keep going despite exhaustion.
Whenever she felt her resolve weakening, she would raise her voice like this.
Even if no one was there to hear it, she declared it loudly, biting her lip as if to snap herself back to reality.
At that moment—
Knock, knock.
Someone was at the door.
