This man! He truly was a tyrant.
He was a terrible man.
He was showing the signs of becoming an oppressor. His father, the former emperor, apparently was the same.
Lucretius’s grandfather, Emperor Kentius, was supposedly a great king who ruled for over 30 years with a firm but fair hand. Unfortunately, Lucretius was showing his resemblance to his horrible father rather than his kind grandfather.
Coming from 21st century Korea, I couldn’t accept a punishment of cutting off someone’s finger especially when I was the reason behind it.
“Don’t do it! You said he is a doctor! Why would you cut off a doctor’s finger? That’s terrible!”
“He is right-handed, so I was planning to cut his left finger. It won’t affect his job at all. I am actually being generous considering he harmed a royal member.”
He sounded as if this was normal. How could he talk about cutting someone’s finger off so nonchalantly?
I became angrier. I shouted at him.
“You are the one who fed me poison, so why are you blaming the doctor?!”
The emperor frowned and didn’t answer me. He just stared quietly.
I couldn’t stop talking. I couldn’t let an innocent man get hurt because of me. However, I realized convincing Lucretius with my 21st-century logic wouldn’t work. I had to try something else.
“Shouldn’t you be the one to be punished first before anyone?”
I wasn’t sure how he would react to my words.
I expected him to get angry or sarcastic, but after staring at me for a while longer, he unexpectedly nodded.
What?
“You’re right.”
“… pardon?”
He grabbed my hand.
Lucretius’s body temperature was usually lower than mine, so whenever he touched me, it felt like a cool air gently blowing against my skin. However, this time, his hands were warmer than mine. My body obviously hadn’t recovered fully yet.
The point was, his reaction was shocking. What he said after was even more baffling.
“What kind of punishment do you think is fair?”
“…”
Did he lose his mind? Was he ok?
I couldn’t understand, so I just stared at him like an idiot. After a long pause, I finally asked him.
“Why… Why are you acting this way?”
Lucretius’s green snake eyes looked at me.
He whispered quietly, “Why? I don’t know.”
“…”
This was very strange. How was I supposed to take this?
I decided to push aside my confusion. Let’s slow down a little. My first goal was to make sure that the doctor didn’t lose his finger. My second goal was to make the emperor understand it was never okay to cut someone’s finger off.
Poisoning and plotting was one thing, but he needed to stop at the finger chopping.
Well, I suppose I had to talk about the poisoning too. I felt like no matter what kind of promise I got from him, he would do it all over again if necessary. The problem was that the next time I get poisoned, I may not wake up.
I chose my words carefully and said to him, “I think I get why you did this. I do believe you didn’t mean to kill me or cause me permanent damage.”
“…”
“It was a smart thing to attack Marchioness Toruka. It was really a good idea. I agree with you on that, but…”
He seemed to get nervous. His shoulders became rigid.
“But it’s only acceptable if you explained the plan to me in advance and get my consent. To be honest… When I collapsed, my immediate thought was that you were trying to kill me.”
“…”
I sighed deeply and continued, “I won’t ask you not to do something like this again in the future, but please let me know ahead so I am prepared.”
He asked me in confusion, “Is that my punishment?”
I opened my eyes wide and asked, “Seriously?! You think that’s an appropriate punishment?”
“…”
I smiled slowly. I thought maybe I saw him smile too.
“You owe me one. I will take my time to think of a proper punishment for you.”
“I suppose… I guess it makes sense.”
I would take all the time in the world to make the best decision. I wouldn’t let this go easily.
Besides, I was unconscious for the past three days! I couldn’t think clearly at this point.
I decided to find out how far I could go with this punishment. This could be my chance for something big in the future.
“What are the parameters for this punishment? How far would you let me go with it?”
Surprisingly, he answered easily. “Whatever you want.”
Whatever?
I couldn’t believe my ears.
This was not what I expected from the great tyrant Lucretius.
Wasn’t he afraid of what I might do to him?
I waved my palm in front of his face and asked, “Can you see okay?”
“…”
He frowned, but I yelled at him.
“Do you have a fever or something?”
“What?”
“Well… That’s the only possible explanation for your answer. Whatever? You must be ill.”
Lucretius’s face crumpled as he replied, “You… are so rude.”
I was surprised again.
“You mean… You really mean whatever I want…?”
Before I could finish my question, he interrupted me sharply. He now had his signature sneaky smile on his face.
“Well, I guess ‘whatever’ doesn’t make sense.”
“Huh?”
“I misspoke. I will give you a better answer. I will listen to your idea, and if I find it acceptable, I will take it.”
“Huh!? You can’t do that! [You can’t change your mind just like that!]”
I was so frustrated I used my mother tongue. I forgot my condition and turned my face so quickly I collapsed on the bed from sudden dizziness.
He looked down at me as if I deserved this pain.
“… Was that your old language again? I don’t care what you said to me, but I’m not going to change my mind.”
I glared at him.
“You are so small-minded!”
Even after days of complaining, he really didn’t change his mind. I regretted how I didn’t just take his initial offer. I was an idiot.
I should have just gone with his first answer!
Dammit!
***
Officially, I was poisoned and lost my baby, so I was given a long time to rest.
It was nice to relax. My body was poisoned for real too, so I did need some time off. The emperor allowed me over a month of vacation.
Lowson took excellent care of me during this time. When he first came to me, he kneeled before me and thanked me for saving him from losing his finger. He swore to serve me with his life. I was shocked because I didn’t know how he found out about the whole finger situation. Lucretius must have told him about it.
There was no doubt he was a skilled physician. I took his medication every day and I recovered quickly. I didn’t need over a month of rest at all. In only two weeks, I was almost back to myself.
