In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 96

Bellona composed herself and concealed her discomfort. Her condition wasn’t the priority right now.

Soon, standing upright, she looked toward the imperial physician and spoke to Caelus in a calm voice, “Your Grace, wouldn’t it be good if the Grand Duchy had someone as skilled as the imperial physician?”

Instead of answering, he looked at her with concern, then soon joined the act Bellona had begun.

“Hmm, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. They’re just a drain on the national treasury anyway—if we say we’ll put them to use in the Grand Duchy, His Majesty would probably be pleased.”

“But if their skills aren’t up to par…”

As she trailed off, Caelus smirked and pressed the man further.

“If he can’t even tell apart a simple poisonous herb, he ought to step down from his position. But now… he’s heard something he shouldn’t have. What should we do?”

The imperial physician’s eyes widened in terror.

With a bright smile as if to say not to worry, Caelus kindly explained what might await him.

“We can burn his ears and cut out his tongue before throwing him out. Killing him for something like this would be too harsh, don’t you think?”

Watching the man collapse to the floor, Caelus gave a nod to Akon, who had been waiting behind him.

Without saying a word, the man was dragged away to the underground prison by Akon. Bellona let out a small sigh as she watched.

At that moment, Caelus—who had remained composed throughout—hurriedly helped her sit down and asked with concern.

“You’re pale. Are you truly unwell?”

“I’m fine. I just got a little dizzy from standing up too fast.”

Taking his worried hand in hers, she whispered gently as if to soothe him.

“There’s no time to worry about me now. You should hurry to His Majesty. If the maid doesn’t arrive in time, the Empress might notice. I’ll look into what was in the medicine.”

“I’ll take care of it from here, so you just get some rest.”

“I’m really fine, though?”

“I’m not fine. Do you know how many times you almost collapsed in front of me today?”

His cold voice didn’t feel upsetting—oddly, it made her heart ache.

Because she didn’t dislike his concern. Because that coldness felt sincere.

Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to rest peacefully.

“Then what about the imperial physician? And the maid?”

“Akon will handle it. You just stop worrying and get some sleep.”

“Your Grace…”

“If you’re thinking of keeping me here, go ahead and keep being stubborn like this.”

Knowing all too well how stubborn he could be, Bellona had no choice but to nod.

“Alright. But if anything happens in there, you have to tell me.”

“Do I look like some helpless fool you’ve sent off? Can’t believe my wife doesn’t trust me.”

Only then did she fall silent, pulling the blanket over herself.

“Sleep well. Don’t think about anything.”

“Yes…”

Lying down obediently, she looked up at him with an awkward expression. Only then did he smile faintly, carefully tucking the blanket around her before rising.

“I’ll be back.”

Suddenly struck by a thought, Bellona urgently called out to him as he turned away.

“Your Grace!”

She called him in haste, but once he looked back, the words caught in her throat. She was afraid she might give him unnecessary reason to suspect.

After a brief hesitation, she let out a short sigh and spoke.

Right now, saving the Emperor was more important than hiding her identity.

“The chamberlain—he’s also one of the Empress’s people. So you have to take care of him first.”

“…Alright.”

She had feared he might press her on what she meant or how she knew—but instead, he answered calmly and left the room.

Staring at the closed door for a while, she finally let out a sigh and pulled the blanket over her head.

She didn’t have time to be lying around like this.

Even if the imperial physician and maid were left to Akon, there were still many things to do.

She needed to meet the captured sorcerer, confirm whether Graeme had returned to the palace, further investigate Impes’ condition and his relationship with the Empress, and wrap up the hunting festival matters.

Just lying here when so much remained unsettled made frustration rise in her chest.

There were mountains of things to verify, but not a single thing had been dealt with—at this rate, sleep was out of the question, and her headache would only worsen.

But she couldn’t sneak out either…

Of course, if she really wanted to, she could easily sneak out.

But she didn’t want to deceive him unnecessarily.

It was already hard enough to bear deceiving him with an unforgivable past. Whether intentional or not, there would surely be more times ahead when she would have to deceive him.

But for something she could endure a little longer, she didn’t want to act hastily and break the trust he had placed in her.

‘Right. Nothing will change just by confirming it now.’

Letting out a series of sighs, Bellona quietly closed her eyes. Remembering the concerned look in his eyes, she felt that sleeping, even a little, might help him.

She needed to recover quickly and get back up cheerfully so he wouldn’t worry.

She tried to empty her mind and fall asleep, but suddenly her stomach churned.

‘Ugh, what’s wrong with me? Is it because I haven’t eaten? Or is something really wrong with my body?’

As she tried to shake off the discomfort and close her eyes again, a memory flashed through her mind—something Eshil had said not long after she woke up here.

“Knight! I bought yours while getting mine! I washed it clean and left it in the drawer, so feel free to use it!”

She shot up and hastily began counting dates on her fingers.

Bellona’s face, already pale, quickly went completely rigid.

“Oh no…”

***

After checking on the sleeping emperor, Caelus exited and stood in the palace garden, his expression hard.

Seeing his father growing more frail each day made his anxiety grow.

He had a foreboding feeling that if he returned to the Grand Duchy now, he wouldn’t be able to protect his father, just like in the past.

To be honest, he wanted to take his father to the Grand Duchy, but he knew all too well that would be a path to ruin.

If the emperor left the palace, Violentia—who had been waiting for such a moment—would seize the palace in an instant.

Then, under a false pretext, she would surely attack the Grand Duchy.

If she declared that the emperor had abandoned the country and defected to Camirus, the nobles would follow her regardless of whether it was true or not.

As long as their own safety and interests were secured, those nobles didn’t care who sat at the top of power.

Therefore, the emperor had to remain in the palace at all costs. His very presence was the foundation of the state and its justification.

But Caelus couldn’t stay in the palace forever either. If he lingered too long, it could be misinterpreted as plotting treason.

So far, he had managed to stay under the pretext of the hunting festival, but once the emperor declared the incident over, he would have to leave immediately.

Though quiet for now, it was only a matter of time before Violentia urged the emperor to cover up the incident.

And then, she would slowly lead him to his death—feeding him poison all the while.

He had to find a way to protect his father before that happened.

But it was difficult, since he couldn’t tell who among those around the emperor was an ally and who was an enemy.

Perhaps they were all already Violentia’s dogs.

“Your Grace, have you been waiting long?”

As the awaited voice reached him, Caelus’ gaze, lost in thought, turned cold and focused.

Composed again, he spoke to the chamberlain standing behind him without turning his gaze from the garden.

“This garden has remained the same over the years.”

“His Majesty dislikes change. The gardener has put in great effort each day to maintain this scenery.”

“I didn’t know that. If I had, I would have praised the gardener’s unwavering loyalty.”

A brief silence fell.

Turning around slowly, Caelus quietly looked at the chamberlain, whose face had grown deeply lined with age.

“Your Grace, please don’t worry too much. His Majesty has simply been overburdened with state affairs lately—”

“Did you know?”

Interrupted mid-sentence, the chamberlain struggled to compose himself and looked straight at him.

“That when I was young, I trusted you more than His Majesty. At one point, I even wished you were my father.”

“How could I not know? I, too, often felt more affection for Your Grace than for my own children, whom I rarely saw.”

A gentle smile formed on his deeply wrinkled face.

It was the expression Caelus had always liked best on the chamberlain.

“I see.”

Wearing a bitter look, he briefly looked down before raising his head again with a hardened expression.

“Then, let me ask you something, as someone you valued more than your own blood.”

The chamberlain’s face also stiffened at the weight of his words.

“There are rumors that Impes has lost his mind. I’m thinking of not missing this opportunity.”

“What do you mean…?”

“What if I just kill him now?”

“Y-Your Grace!”

The startled attendant looked around with wide eyes.