Outside

Daren had stood outside Candace's room the entire time, motionless with his eyes fixed on a random spot.

Jared and Marcel had repeatedly encouraged him to return to his chambers. After all, someone had just targeted the future empress, it wasn't difficult that the next target could be the emperor.

It had been years since poison had circulated in the palace… I thought I had gotten rid of all my father's supporters… He closed his eyes for a moment. A persistent headache was taking hold of him, probably caused by fatigue. I'm afraid it's not someone who has it in for me, but for Candace. After all, she will take a coveted position.

It had been discovered that the poison put into the girl's tea was almost lethal, and her state of health would have depended on how much she had taken. Daren had no choice but to wait and take appropriate action against the alleged culprit.

Candace's maid had escaped, taking advantage of the confusion, and Daren had ordered the guards to hermetically seal the castle and find her at any cost. Eldan, meanwhile, had offered to investigate the poison and its possible provenance.

It all happened so suddenly… I knew Candace could make enemies just by her presence, but I didn't know it would come to this point right away.

Daren turned to the door and placed a hand on it.

He shouldn't have cared about what happened to her. What did it matter if she died? What would it change in his life?

After all, Candace was just an obstacle to his freedom.

He opened the door slowly, and surprise was born in his eyes. Candace was awake and she was sitting on her bed, staring at the moonbeams that came through the window. Again, Daren had the impression that he was looking at a celestial and not a demonic creature.

As soon as she heard the door opening, she turned towards the emperor, pinning him in place with her sharp gaze and smiling at him.

Daren closed the door and walked over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Did you think demons died so easily?" she replied.

He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her with a serious expression. "A poison like that would have killed even a demon. You must have taken a minimal amount..."

Candace pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at him playfully. She looked more like an amused child than someone who had recently been poisoned.

"Poor Daren, you're surrounded by demons..." she teased him.

"What do you mean? I thought that appellation was exclusive to you."

She giggled. "Don't you think whoever put poison in my tea is a worse demon than me?"

Daren got even more serious. "I gave orders to search for that maid throughout the castle, she’ll soon..."

"You won't find her," Candace interrupted. A strange light was born in her eyes, a kind of spark of melancholy and anger.

Daren furrowed his eyebrows. "There's no way she escaped."

"In fact, she didn't escape. But you won't find her."

"Candace, speak clearly! This isn't the time for your games… "

"I'll tell you everything when the time comes."

"And when will it be?"

Candace ignored him and lay down in the white blankets. Her hair surrounded her head like an immense infernal crown.

"Were you scared?"

Daren opened his mouth to answer but stopped suddenly.

Scared? And for what?

"Were you afraid I'd die?" Candace asked, staring at him. The moonlight gave her irises a softer, quieter glow.

"I wasn't."

"Really? I heard you calling me so many times... You seemed almost desperate."

"I was in shock. It's true they call me cold and impassive, but anyone would have been alarmed to see an unconscious person laying on the floor."

"Not you, Daren. You watched your father die before your eyes and isolated your mother until she decided to commit suicide. You wouldn't be shocked by anything."

Daren's hand, resting on the bed, gripped the covers tightly. He leaned towards the girl and reached his other hand towards her neck, then he tightened it. Candace didn't oppose any kind of resistance.

"Sometimes I would like to get rid of you..." the emperor whispered. His hand moved away from her neck and rested on her cheek, caressing it. "And sometimes I'd be willing to give anything to understand you."

Again, Candace laughed. She reached out a hand and placed it on Daren's, She was warm, she was alive.

"I'm fine, your majesty. I'm alive."

"Yes, I see it."

"And yet it seems to me that your heart still doesn't believe it."

"I believe it."

"Then, go to sleep, your majesty. You've bags under your eyes. They ruin your beauty."

Candace let go of his hand and closed her eyes, suddenly looking very tired.

She still ingested poison... it's normal that she’s tired.

Daren brushed the fringe from her forehead and stared at her, mesmerized. A sense of infinite tenderness invaded him, together with the sensation of having already experienced a similar moment. His body acted on its own, just as if it were doing the most natural thing in the world. He leaned forward and placed his lips on Candace's forehead.

"Sleep well," he murmured before leaving the room.

When he was in the corridor, he clearly felt a pang of pain. It seemed to him as if someone had opened his heart and dug into it, depriving him of something very, very important.

In his head was only Candace and her hellish eyes.

"I'm doomed. She stole my soul."

* * *

The following day, Daren sat down at his desk at five in the morning. He hadn't closed an eye all night and felt the need to keep his mind occupied with something else. He didn't want to think about anything, just get lost among the countless papers to sign and documents to view. He wanted to go back to being the serious, impassive Daren he used to be.

Eldan interrupted him around ten o'clock to give him some details of the poison they had found.

“It is not a poison that is easily obtained, someone must have synthesized it. Someone very, very skilled. Furthermore, this poison is obtained from the leaves of an ancient plant, called devil's tears, banned by Inital more than a hundred years ago because it was considered too dangerous,” said his counselor, placing a small vial containing a dark liquid in front of the emperor.

Daren took it and turned it over between his fingers.

He couldn't help thinking of Candace and the implied accusation she had made against Lady Erika, but he knew perfectly well that such an eventuality was not possible. The two had never met, and Erika would gain nothing with Candace's death.

"I spoke with Lady Candace," Eldan said after a while.

"Really?"

"Yes." Eldan looked uncertain. "At first I just wanted to ask her a few questions about the dynamics of the accident, but then... we talked a bit and..." He broke off for a while. "She's a strange woman, but she's very perspicacious. She told me she would never do anything to put you in danger, and swore to me that she would retire from the position of empress if that were an obstacle to your well-being… It was the first time I got the impression that she was sincere."

"And it’s the first time I've heard you make a positive comment about her…" Daren observed. " How come you say she’s perspicacious?"

Eldan waved a hand. He looked uncomfortable. "Personal stuff. It's a secret between me and her."

Daren smiled slightly and decided not to investigate further.

"In any case, Lady Candace has said she will gladly take my lessons in royal etiquette."

"Well, this is good news."

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Galiel entered shortly after.

"Your majesty, I apologize for disturbing you. I thought it was best to warn you that Count Roliand together with Lady Edora have come to see Lady Candace."

Daren stiffened and felt a hint of annoyance.

"Where are they now?" he asked as he got up from his desk.

"In Lady Candace's room."

Daren motioned for Eldan to follow and started walking towards the room.

"She's still debilitated from the poison, why bother her like that?" Eldan murmured. Daren was very curious about the reason he suddenly liked Candace so much, but he knew this wasn’t the time to try to figure it out.

As soon as they were close to the room, Daren slowed his pace.

"... you could have died, couldn't you? It's because someone doesn't think you're suitable for this position, and they're right. Let Edora take your place as future empress."

Daren could clearly hear the count's voice from outside the room.

"Edora?" Even though he didn't see her, Daren could picture Candace's expression perfectly at that moment.

"You know very well that our family had already tried to bring me and the emperor closer! What came into your head at the party? How dare you take my place?"

"Your place?" Candace seemed increasingly bored with that conversation.

"Stop repeating what we say!"

"Oh, sorry. I better ask you how come you know I was poisoned… No one was able to leave the castle because of the emperor's orders, so it’s impossible that the news has circulated so quickly…"

The two said nothing and Daren stiffened. Was Candace really implying that they were involved?

"You know..." Candace began to say. "Once there was a man who drank from the gold-plated skulls of his enemies... I think it's an interesting practice, it would be nice to try...”

At that moment, Daren opened the door and entered, freezing the two visitors in place.

"Get out of here." His gaze turned sharp. "Immediately," he spelled out.

Edora tried to protest: "Your Majesty, I don't..."

"I said: immediately."

Daren was convinced he had one of the scariest expressions he'd ever put on his face, because he clearly saw the girl trembling.

Eldan encouraged the two to go out and when they finally obeyed and left, he called Galiel to take them back to the entrance.

When silence returned, Candace gave him an enthusiastic: "Your majesty, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon!"

Daren raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a tinge of puzzlement. "Gold-plated skulls? What monster would do something so brutal? I don't think such a thing has ever been seen in the entire history of Intial."

"Oh, as the hellish woman that I am, I find that a splendid idea… very creative!"

Eldan reentered the room at that moment. "Are you okay, Lady Candace?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, thank you Lord Eldan. I'm pleased to see you again so soon as well."

"Eldan," Daren was surprised of his own icy tone. "Give orders to never let the Roliand family into this castle again. Candace doesn't need to see them."

"Hah, why not?" Candace seemed amused by the situation. "I would like two new golden cups..."

Eldan looked at her blankly, while Daren sighed. "Enough with these jokes.”

The counselor made sure of the girl's condition, then left the room again, saying that he would immediately report the emperor's orders.

When they were alone, Daren asked: "How are you?"

"Much better, thanks. In the afternoon I thought I'd go for a walk."

"Don't overdo it," Daren paused for a moment. "Do you think that your father and your sister..."

"My father and my sister what, your majesty?" Candace was looking at him with her usual amused air. She didn't seem upset by the situation, in fact, to Daren she seemed almost thrilled.

"Nothing, we'll talk about it later." He wanted to take some time to sort his thoughts out and think about what he had heard.

"As you wish." Candace got out of bed and walked over to the vase where she had arranged the now withered roses.

"Why don't you throw them away?" Daren asked, pitying those flowers.

"Because they are your gift. I will dry them and keep them forever."

Daren sighed. "How silly, I'll get you more flowers if you want them so much."

"But these are special. I find them more beautiful now that they have suffered and are dry. Someone once told me that ‘true beauty is not corrupted even by suffering.’ ”

"They must have been a poetic person."

"I don’t know, but he was a good person," she replied simply.

Daren turned. "I'm going now, I have to finish investigating the poison with Eldan." He became thoughtful for a moment. "By the way, what did you and him talk about? He suddenly changed his opinion about you..."

The girl put her index finger to her lips. "It's a secret! If you want to know, ask Eldan. He's the only one who can decide to tell you."

The emperor shook his head and sighed again, then started to leave the room.

"Daren!" Candace called him. Her tone was suddenly serious. "You remember our promise, right?"

"Yes. I remember it," he answered, then finally left the room.

* * *

After lunch, Eldan proposed discussing some safety measures with Jared, and Daren found himself listening to the two while they were talking animatedly about that topic.

"We searched the entire castle, but we found no sign of that maid," Jared said.

"I think there may be some kind of secret room, that's the only explanation. She couldn't have gone out without our noticing," observed Eldan.

"Yes, I think you're right. We're checking that too with the castle map."

Incredibly, they didn't argue once and Daren instinctively wondered if Candace hadn't worked some spell on them. He had resigned himself to the idea that the girl had some sort of demonic powers, and he was convinced that she had bewitched him too. How else could he explain the weight he felt on his heart?

"Anyway, your majesty, when is the wedding?" Jared's voice brought Daren back to reality.

"Right," Eldan intervened. "It's possible that Candace was targeted because the person in question believed she could replace her or something similar. If Candace is the empress, everyone will have to resign. After all, it's not possible for the emperor to remarry according to Intial tradition."

Daren looked up at them decisively. "Then, let's do it tomorrow."

The two seemed surprised by those words.

Daren bit his lip. Why, even though the idea of ​​marriage disgusted him, he didn't want to see Candace in danger again? Was he willing to pay that price for her?

I’m going crazy...

"Your majesty, normally it takes at least a month for these things."

"Two weeks at most." he ordered. "And you must find that maid, no matter what."

The two nodded in unison.

"About that," Jared began to say. "Won't it be dangerous for Lady Candace to walk around alone?"

Daren scowled. "What?"

"I mean, she asked me for permission to go out a little while ago. Of course, I told her she couldn't go out because of your orders, but she told me she had warned you and had your permission."

Daren leapt to his feet. "Where? Where did she go?"

"Outside," Jared replied. "She went outside the palace."