Tiago’s saint hesitated to stand in front of me. Whatever Queen Rosé whispered in her ear, her eyes were filled with determination.
I double-checked the item I had hurriedly uprooted earlier in the morning.
‘I told Dwayne it was for research, but I was planning to sell it on the way back to replenish my funds.’
“Please close all the curtains. It needs to be darker.”
Kyle then cast a glance at the attendants, and the Queen’s room quickly went dark.
I opened the package and took something out. It was a White Rotunia with roots.
I could see the Queen’s brow furrowing.
“I think the pharmacists know what this is.”
The pharmacists’ eyes widened. It was rare to come across a beautiful white rose that cost 500 francs per plant and had no medicinal properties from exotic mountains.
“I can also see the flower’s subtle glow.”
“A flower that emits light? Don’t joke around.”
Alberto tried to stymie me, but all of the pharmacists agreed with my answer.
The Emperor’s heavy gaze was on me.
“White Rotunia is a flower that shows its light to those who have strong sacred or divine powers. It’s a little-known fact, but I’m sure the pharmacists are aware of it.”
Alberto looked dissatisfied, but he couldn’t deny the truth.
“And Tina, Tiago’s saint. If you have real powers, you’ll be able to see it with your eyes.”
She replied to my words with subtle shaking eyes,
“O-of course.”
She shouldn’t be a woman with no divine powers, but only with a degree of it. It was pretty strong, too. So, it would have been possible to heal someone.
“The pharmacists should grind this flower well to make tea, and also prepare White Sand flower, which contains the worst poison in the empire.”
Kyle’s face stiffened at my words.
White Sand flower is a rare plant that resembled a white rose and had a lethal poison on its petals. You won’t be able to tell which of the two flowers is made from Rotuia if you grind them both.
I still continued nonchalantly,
“Because Rotunia is a mysterious flower, you can tell which tea is made from Rotunia if you’re a saint.”
“……”
“It’s a very simple test.”
“Saintess.”
The Emperor opened his mouth,
“So you mean we can tell which is the fake saint by choosing the Rotunia tea.”
“No.”
I grinned.
“That’s not enough. Shouldn’t you have the courage to drink and die if you choose the wrong tea? Then the result will be clear.”
I could see Tiago’s saint’s face hardening.
“Are you worried about it?”
“No way.”
Saint Tina from Tiago replied unwaveringly.
Alberto looked puzzled even when his face was stiff.
He knew Ariel was an ignorant woman, so I could tell he was thinking about why I was making such a suggestion by the way he shook his head.
“What do you think, Your Majesty the Queen?”
I gave the Queen the authority to decide on this test.
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the Queen, who lay on the bed with one hand on her stomach.
“I want to reveal the truth to the Queen, who is working tirelessly to uncover the fake saint even during her pregnancy. But if it interferes with prenatal education, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
She flinched at my words.
She then parted her red, chapped lips and said,
“Your Majesty, let’s do that. There’s nothing more harmful to prenatal education than a dizzying state of affairs.”
The Emperor nodded at the Queen’s words.
“As instructed by the Saintess, the pharmacists must prepare two teas perfectly, and then go out so that they are unable to give signals with their eyes. Sir Michael will handle the positions of the two cups of tea, and the two saints will have to cover their noses with a cloth and choose which one was made from Rotunia only with their eyes.”
I glanced at Tina.
She looked anxious, but she seemed to have faith in herself and her divine powers, so she didn’t appear to be shaken.
“You’re risking your life right now.”
Kyle approached me and said it while everyone else was getting ready.
His red eyes sank low. He seemed to think I had the guts to bluff, or that I was ready to die.
He’d think Ariel was a fake saint with no ability to choose the Rotunia.
“Your Highness, please keep your eyes on us.”
I spoke to him with a calm look.
His red eyes flashed a little.
As I tried to open my mouth, I turned my gaze and made eye contact with Alberto, who was staring intently at me.
‘You’re desperate to find my weakness.’
I raised one corner of my mouth, sneering at him, and told Kyle,
“It’s going to be fun.”
Then I turned my back on him.
I felt a heavy gaze on the back of my head.
Moments later, a trolley carrying two glass teacups wrapped in black cloth entered the dimly lit room.
The Emperor, the Queen, Kyle, Alberto, Saint Tina from Tiago, and I were the only ones in the room.
Outside, there were knights waiting. So that if there was an emergency, they could get in.
“……”
In this tense atmosphere, the Emperor cast a glance at Michael and placed two black cloth-wrapped cups on the table.
The Emperor himself removed the cloth that had been covering it. The amount of tea in the two glass teacups was the same, as was the color.
I could see Tina’s eyes shaking rapidly.
I spoke to her casually,
“I’ll give you a choice. You can choose first.”
After a long period of staring at the two teacups with a pale face, she turned to the Emperor and said,
“It’s a conspiracy!”
The Emperor frowned at her words.
“Both glasses don’t contain Rotunia. Neither of the teas shine!”
Her anxious gaze turned to the Queen.
The Queen looked bewildered and told the Emperor,
“I have to tell the pharmacists to make tea again…”
I opened my mouth and cut her off,
“That’s weird.”
Her eyes shook at my voice.
“Are you sure you have divine powers? It looks like it’s shining to me.”
“What kind of trick is this!!”
Tina lost her cool and erupted in a rage.
“You can’t tell the difference unless you’re cheating with your divine powers…”
I casually picked up one of the glasses.
I could see Kyle urgently approaching me with a hardened expression. But my move to sip it was faster.
“……!”
Everyone’s eyes were on me.
I stood for a long time with a small frown.
“…This.”
A long time later, I grinned.
“Oh, it’s a little bitter.”
Alberto looked as if his eyes were about to pop out at any moment.
I murmured calmly,
“Rotunia isn’t much better for tea.”
Kyle was still stiff, and the Queen’s complexion was nothing more to see.
Tiago’s saint looked at me and was mesmerized.
The Emperor stared at me for a long time before opening his mouth,
“Choose.”
Those words were not directed at me, even though his gaze was. It was for Tina, who stood motionless.
“Choose the other glass and drink it.”
Tina was belatedly startled and shook her hands at the Emperor’s words.
“S-something’s wrong.”
She said with a white face, alternately looking at Alberto and the Queen.
“Th-this is not it. There’s really no light. She must have done something strange!”
But no one in the room listened to her.
She shook her head and sat down, as if her legs had given out.
“It can’t be. This cannot be!”
It was natural. Even if she possessed divine powers, she wouldn’t have been able to tell which of the two teas was made from Rotunia.
When I was walking through the Rotunia flower fields with Reyhas, I noticed that those with their petals inadvertently removed did not emit light.
Like a mini light bulb connected to a battery, the petals separated from the roots fell to the ground and the light was extinguished.
But I have an assistant who could discern the subtle differences between Rotunia and White Sand powder even from the heavens.
[Monde, the God of Art, shrugs]
It didn’t matter if she was real or not; it was a game I had to win in the first place.