Chapter 25
Goosebumps rose from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
Frozen by this strange sensation I was feeling for the first time, I had no idea how to react.
“…….”
The only thing I could do… was breathe in short, uneven breaths like a herbivore cornered by a predator.
I could feel Sian’s golden eyes scanning every inch of me.
Trying to say something to break this unfamiliar tension, I opened my mouth—
“Kyah!”
Sian suddenly scooped me up like a doll and buried me straight into the bed.
“Sian, wait. Something’s wrong right no—”
“The Empress Palace is sealed. Until you recover.”
What? Right now? Here?
My mouth hung open. But Sian immediately summoned Loren and ordered her to bathe me in warm water and change me into clean clothes.
Since I had spat out so much blood and was left completely exhausted, I could only stammer while being dragged along.
Before I knew it, I had been washed with hot water, changed into new sleepwear, and laid down on the bed.
“Sian. We need to talk. How can you suddenly seal everything— cough!”
“If you say one more word, I’ll confine you so you can’t leave the bedroom.”
…What?!
I stopped coughing and stared wide‑eyed.
What was with him? This wasn’t his personality at all—talking about sealing and confining me?!
“Close your eyes.”
Afraid he might actually lock me in, I shut my mouth like a clam but glared at him in protest.
But Sian simply lay down right beside me and began watching me like he might devour me.
“Sleep. Your face looks terrible.”
He watched my every changing expression and warned me sharply.
Excuse me? How could he say someone’s face looks terrible!
I was dumbfounded, but… my body was tired.
After a warm bath and lying on a soft bed, my vision started to blur.
“Sian too… needs to sleep…”
But I couldn’t. My baby would only sleep well if I put him to bed. I even had new ASMR prepared.
“Stop being stubborn… when you wake up… you’ll…”
My heart was anxious, but my eyelids fell helplessly.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I fell asleep before him.
As I drifted off, I tried to make sense of the fragmented words echoing in my ears.
‘…Was Sian’s voice always this sweet?’
I vaguely wondered that as consciousness faded.
What on earth happened…?
I must’ve been exhausted—I fell asleep too deeply.
When I finally woke up late in the afternoon, something even more shocking than dawn awaited me.
“Her Majesty the Empress has awakened!”
“Are you conscious, Your Majesty?!”
Led by Chief Physician Murton, the imperial medical team swarmed me.
I stared blankly at the sea of white coats surrounding my bed.
“W‑What is this? And what are all those medical devices?!”
“His Majesty has confined the entire medical staff inside the Empress Palace until Your Majesty’s health is fully restored.”
“Wha—?!”
“We heard Your Majesty coughed up blood last night. His Majesty said that if you do so again, we will all have to cough up blood with you…”
The doctors wiped cold sweat from their foreheads.
“Your Majesty, all medical records will remain strictly confidential. Please tell us where you feel discomfort.”
“I—I’m not sick anywhere…”
As soon as I shrank back and hugged my blanket, the medical staff exchanged meaningful nods.
“As expected. Early symptoms are hard for patients to notice. Please trust us—we will make sure you recover completely!”
The tense doctors pledged solemnly.
“We will now begin the examination, Your Majesty.”
No! That’s not it!
But no matter how much I explained, it was useless.
Just like that, I became a terminal patient overnight and couldn’t leave the Empress Palace for two whole weeks.
“My butt feels like it’s fused to the bed.”
I muttered like a girl waiting for the last leaf to fall.
Rindo, who had brought me tonic medicine, simply shrugged.
“Well, since things turned out this way, think of it as nourishing your body.”
“How is it nourishing if I can’t even walk on my own…?”
Somehow, Sian made it impossible for me to walk more than three minutes before everyone panicked.
The guards insisted I take a carriage, and when I refused, a dozen of them lined up saying they’d carry me on their backs.
“At least His Majesty allows you to walk in the garden. And he brought the finest medical staff in Bermuth—and medicines so rare even emperors can barely get them.”
Rindo’s eyes sparkled.
Apparently it was a medicinal ingredient famous for restoring vitality—something even wealthy magnates or powerful rulers struggled to afford.
Yet Sian somehow acquired heaps of it and ordered me to eat all of it.
“You’re only banned from leaving the palace. You still get delicious meals, precious medicine, and anything you want.”
True.
It seemed Sian was so traumatized by seeing me cough up blood that anything that might upset me was removed.
Then he began flooding the Empress Palace with rare, expensive items—
precious jewels, beautiful dresses, rare flowers, and nutritious delicacies.
“But I’m not sick! And the antidote didn’t even test positive for toxins.”
No one could detect the antidote’s poison—the cause of my blood vomiting.
Only a genius pharmacologist could detect it, and fortunately, that genius happened to be Rindo.
“It was just temporary. Your body’s already recovered and perfectly healthy.”
Rindo packed up his tools, puzzled.
“Honestly, Your Majesty is healthier than anyone right now. But no matter how many times we tell His Majesty, he won’t listen.”
Sian’s behavior went beyond just keeping me inside.
He forbade me from lifting anything heavier than a fork, banned spicy foods, and even forced me to nap so I “wouldn’t strain myself.”
“Was he that traumatized seeing me spit blood? He’s treating me like I’m on my deathbed.”
Well… anyone would be shaken if someone coughed up a chunk of blood and fainted in front of them.
“His Majesty spent many years on the battlefield. He may be especially sensitive to blood.”
“Hm… that kind of makes sense.”
Since I could speak to no one except Rindo, I dragged him into planning our next steps.
“For now, let’s keep your body in perfect condition for taking the antidote. We can’t have His Majesty getting suspicious later.”
When the time came for my fifth check-up of the day, Rindo winked and fled after telling me to “enjoy myself.”
‘This bastard! Easy for him to say!’
Of course he didn’t mind—I was stuck here and Sian kept giving him rare medicinal ingredients!
I tried grabbing him by the collar to shake some sense into him, but the maids freaked out and stopped me.
“Your Majesty! We heard you ran just now!”
“Are your feet blistered?!”
“Are you short of breath? Are you sweating?!”
“I—It was literally three seconds of running!”
And so, smelling like medicine, I had to prove to deeply concerned doctors that I was perfectly fine.
“Sian.”
“What.”
I turned my back to him and pouted.
“Why won’t you let me play sound for you?”
“Because you stayed awake every night until I fell asleep.”
Sian propped up my pillow and spoke sharply.
I sat up, stunned.
“I only threw up blood because I was feeling off that day. You know that—the doctors all say I’m healthy!”
He didn’t even blink.
“If you cough up blood when you’re ‘a little off,’ you’d probably die instantly if you were actually sick.”
“…….”
I tried again to insist he didn’t need to wrap me up like some fragile porcelain doll—
“Don’t get angry. It raises your temperature.”
His firm hand brushed my cheek, then my forehead, then the back of my neck.
“Uhk—!”
I flinched at the sudden touch and lost my words.
Sian’s lips twisted slightly.
“You’re already blushing.”
Th‑That’s because you touched me…!
His hand moved slowly, lingering on my skin, tracing lightly with his thumb.
“I don’t know why no doctor can figure out what illness you have.”
Despite the countless times I said I wasn’t sick, he ignored it all and looked down at me like he might consume me whole.
“Sian. That’s because—”
Because I’m not actually sick—was what I meant to say.
“If I ever see you cough up blood again… I don’t know what I’ll do.”
His warm fingers brushed lightly over my soft lips.
Hik.
A strange, indescribable ticklish sensation shot through me, and I dove under the blanket without finishing my sentence.
“Until we identify your illness and remove all risks, you’re not allowed to put me to sleep.”
And you’re not allowed to leave the Empress Palace either.
Hearing his low voice through the blanket, I wanted to cry.
He was basically telling me not to do anything except eat and sleep!
“I’m going to suffocate with frustration! Why can’t I put you to sleep? You get headaches if you don’t sleep well!”
“I sleep fine.”
“Liar.”
Peeking out from the blanket to glare at him, I saw Sian watching me intently.
“…You’re right. I can’t sleep without you.”
“See? So at least let me—KYAA!”
I screeched when he suddenly grabbed me.
“W‑W‑What are you—?!”
“Sleep.”
His slow, low voice sounded above my head.
I stiffened like I might faint.
‘How am I supposed to sleep like this?!’
His beautifully sculpted, firm arm had circled my waist—
even if separated by a blanket.
