10 Chapter 79

Afterwards, each of the ladies-in-waiting went to their usual business. Before I went to sleep, I lay in bed and stared at the alleged 'love potion.'

'What was the intent of the person who sent this?'

Did they pity me for losing my husband to Rashta? Or was it a poison?

Ah...right. Grand Duke Kaufmen graduated from the magical academy, so perhaps I could ask him. Prince Heinrey seemed to be good at using magic as well, but he was only a transfer, so he may be weak on magical theory...

☆The Next Day☆

There were discussions about diplomacy with Luipit to be had, so I took the bottle and went to one of the vacant rooms in the palace. I scheduled Grand Duke Kaufmen and I to meet here, and he soon arrived.

"I heard you were looking for me, Your Majesty."

"Have you written the export and import prospects we talked about previously?"

"About half..."

"Let me take a look."

"What are the total number of traders crossing from Hwa to the Wol continent?"

"I don't know if there are any traders who are really doing this."

"We need some meaningful numbers before we can create a state-led business. There needs to be a minimum guarantee of safety. We may want to make a preliminary deal first for market research purposes."

"Yes."

"Is there anything else you can trade from the Hwa continent to the rest of the world?"

At the suggestion of trading with other countries, Grand Duke Kaufmen furrowed his brow.

"I don't know."

"I'd like you to find out. Trade between the two countries is good, but we can create the infrastructure where our two countries become intermediate distributors between the continents and receive commission."

"I see."

After some more discussion, we finished the conversation, and I took the chance to tell him about the love potion.

"I heard that you were at the top of the magical academy..."

"Yes."

"You wouldn't happen to have knowledge of potions, would you?"

Grand Duke Kaufmen looked at me as if asking why I was talking rubbish. I suspected this man disliked me. He did recommend me as an important trade representative, and he did listen carefully to my opinions, but I could sense his opinion on other things. 'Perhaps he hate personal relationships?'

"...I know about potions."

"Ah. Yes."

Oh. I thought he had answered in the negative. The timing made my heart skip a beat. I pressed my hand against my chest, and then pulled out the sparkling bottle. "Will you take a look at this?"

Grand Duke Kaufmen lifted his eyebrows and took the bottle to inspect it.

"It came in as a birthday gift, and the note said it was a love potion." I explained.

He frowned even deeper.

"I don't believe it's true. And I'm uncomfortable because it was sent anonymously." I thought I must have looked foolish for keeping it, so I added that I expected no benefit from it. But there was no change in Grand Duke Kaufmen's expression. "But it's a gift, so I don't want to throw it away. If you don't mind, can you confirm whether it's harmful or not?"

With slightly dismissive look, Kapmen said something completely unexpected. "I don't know if this is harmful, but these potions are on the black market. It works to some extent."

"I've never heard of this potion before..."

"Even if it's only distributed on the black market, it's a genuine drug." Grand Duke Kapmen seemed quite interested, and he said "Wait" then shook the bottle. After that, he opened the lid and smelled it. After a few inspections, he spoke in a noncommittal tone. "It seems to have some effectiveness."

"Then if someone drinks this...?"

"They will fall in love with the first person they see. Well, it's not exactly love, but it gives them the physical symptoms of love—the heart beats faster, the face turns red... and so on."

I burst into laughter because it was so strange. Was the love potion given to me not out of malice, but out of pity that I lost Sovieshu to Rashta?

Grand Duke Kaufmen briefly glanced at me before continuing. "You can use it on Emperor Sovieshu if you wish. Just make sure that the first person he sees is you."

I was taken aback, and he shrugged as if he hadn't said anything strange. I smiled awkwardly and gave a murmured agreement.

It hurt my pride to attract Sovieshu's attention, and frankly speaking, I couldn't trust the potion itself. Grand Duke Kaufmen assured me that it was alright, but there had to be a reason why I never heard of it. Besides, a simple sniff test couldn't give that much information...

Did my face show signs of disbelief? When I reached out to take the bottle back, Kaufmen pulled it possessively back towards him. "You don't believe me..." he said, then opened the cap. "I'll prove to you the results."

"No, you don't have to—"

"I have the antidote."

"The antidote?"

Before I could ask why he had something like that, Grand Duke looked at me and took a sip. My eyes met his in surprise.

The door suddenly opened and someone came in.

"Empress?"