"One of the Crown Prince's servants was confirmed to have refined it in a distant land under his command and brought it to the Capital."

"So then..."

As he met Yuder's gaze, Kishiar nodded with a sense of satisfaction.

"Right. We've secured additional evidence as well, so I'm thinking of revealing it when the first son of Apeto reaches out. The Crown Prince will no longer be able to meddle with the Apeto family. A deep rift will surely form between the Diarca and Apeto families. I'm curious to see how it feels to fall into a pit he dug himself."

"That's a relief."

The words slipped out before he had a chance to process them. Yuder was momentarily taken aback, but soon lowered his eyes and mumbled it again.

"Truly... it's a relief."

Kishiar's lonely figure at the final day of the Harvest Festival party, amidst numerous murmurings, floated into his mind. Despite being clad in the most magnificent ceremonial attire and exuding an even more radiant sense of dignity, Kishiar looked lonely amid the malice and rumors surrounding him.

Yuder knew he was not the type to be fazed by such matters. However, he simply couldn't forget the scarred figure that seemed to bear a raging storm all alone that day.

'So I thought I needed to find out where the Crown Prince Katchian got his poison...'

The unfolding events had kept him so busy that he was a step too late. But his heart was rather warmed. Kishiar was set to demonstrate, clearly and by his own strength, that he wouldn't laugh off the malice and humiliation he faced like before.

Even based solely on the incident at Lenore's funeral, it was impossible for Aishes Shan Apeto, or the Duke of Apeto, to trust the Crown Prince and the Diarca family as before. No matter how much the Diarca family claimed this incident was perpetrated solely by the Crown Prince, who would take them at their word? The fracture between the Crown Prince and the Diarca family was bound to widen further.

Adding the new evidence to this, at least until the end of Apeto's trial, they were certain that they wouldn't join hands to help each other.

'Kishiar and the Emperor will exploit this gap, manipulating Aishes to steer the trial's outcome favorably.'

Even if Aishes quickly took over the crumbling Apeto as he wished, there was no guarantee things would turn out as he hoped. After all, Kishiar wasn't the only one with keen eyes to seize the opportunity to strike at a tiger that had lost its claws and teeth.

'Besides, even if Aishes becomes a Duke in this life, if his health is no better than before, perhaps this time too...'

He still didn't know how Kishiar planned to hunt down Aishes. However, Yuder knew that Aishes would die of illness within a year. Despite thorough investigations into the possibility of assassination in his previous life, there was no doubt he had died from illness.

Although Lenore died earlier this time, Aishes probably wouldn't be able to enjoy the ease of victory for long.

He suddenly wondered if Aishes Shand Apeto's eagerness to topple his father and seize the family power sooner, despite already having a firm place as the successor, might be partly due to his health condition.

"When do you think the first son of Apeto will contact us, Commander?"

"He should arrive soon. Definitely before the trial begins."

A calmness, akin to a predator patiently waiting for its prey, shrouded Kishiar's face, which was filled with certainty.

"This mushroom will be a good gift for him then."

Kishiar closed the lid of the box containing the mushroom. The smell of the mushroom, tickling the nose like dry dust, soon vanished.

"If he comes, you, Yuder, should be behind me this time. Look forward to it."

"Understood."

"And the second thing is..."

Kishiar slowly placed his hand on the lid of the second box. Unlike the first time, there seemed to be a slight hesitation in his manner, causing Yuder to feel puzzled.

'If the mushrooms in the first box were brought by the Knights of Peletta, then the second must have come from the Imperial Mage's office.'

"Here it is."

Finally, his finger, which had been circling over the lid, grasped it tightly as if making a decision and twisted it open. What was revealed from inside the box was a red potion, sloshing within a small glass bottle.

'...Medicine?'

"As you can see, it's medicine."

Kishiar spoke, as if answering Yuder's puzzled gaze.

"What is the medicine for?"

"It's medicine for me to drink."

"Excuse me?"

"It's part of the same context as the previous conversation about vessels."

Kishiar's finger touched the medicine bottle. A brutal mix of apathy and loathing flitted across his eyes that had been absent-mindedly staring off.

"Regardless of how well I manage the opposing energies that share one body, even siphoning off a bit daily, a human body is bound to change as long as it lives. After a certain period of time, the energy in the vessel swells as if it will overflow. Just like the inevitability of winter, no matter how hard we prepare."

"And if it swells... what happens?"

"As I said before, if left alone, the vessel holding the body breaks. It will also break if you try to use all the energy at once."

Kishiar, who had danced around saying the word "die", furrowed his eyebrows.

"So, I regularly take this medicine that helps forcibly discharge energy before it completely overflows."

Before my awakening, it was once every three months, Kishiar murmured, holding up the medicine bottle. The liquid inside, a lighter hue than blood, seemed ominously foreboding.

"After my awakening, even when the energies entangle and overflow, I've come to believe that I won't die. Still, it's dangerous not to properly discharge it. Not so much for me, but for those around me."

He didn't specify what was dangerous, but Yuder felt like he could guess at the answer Kishiar had omitted.

'...Does he fall into a rampaging state?'

Even without multiple powers like Kishiar, there were cases amongst the Awakeners where they overused their abilities, which exceeded what their bodies could bear, and they ended up rampaging and dying. If they survived, they'd gain enormous power, incomparable to before, but if they couldn't endure, the result was either death or a state worse than death.

Wasn't that the reason why he had been constantly worrying that Kanna might not awaken this time?

Kishiar looked down at the potion in his hand, his expression impassive, seemingly confirming Yuder's guess.

"This is the second time I've gotten this after my awakening. You should be careful for a while, too. You're the one who needs to be around me the most, besides Nathan."

It seemed that this was the real reason he had called for Yuder today. Yuder hesitated for a moment, quieting his complex thoughts, and opened his mouth.

"I understand. I will ask Zuckerman about what to be careful of when serving."

"That's right. I told him to answer any questions you might have."

From his answer, Yuder felt a clear determination not to put even a shallow wall between them. How many in this world would willingly offer trust to their subordinates?

'In this situation, it's no wonder Zuckerman is wary of me.'

Suppressing his churning emotions, Yuder changed the subject.

"Then, Commander... If you take the medicine well, will you continue to be okay?"

"I suppose that may be the case for now."

What did he mean by 'for now'? Did it mean that in the past, the medicine had been of little use? Leaning his head at the words containing a seed of strange anxiety, Kishiar lifted the corner of his mouth faintly.

"It's a headache, this body. Isn't this the case of anything becoming poison when taken in excess? The problem is that I can't withstand the overflowing power."

"..."

"But it's okay since I didn't die. I'm already tiredly familiar with controlling and constantly releasing power, calculating whether it will be a burden or not. In fact, I've been quite lucky."

Just as he was about to think it was fortunate, he remembered that Kishiar had once said that the Emperor already had cracks in his vessel. Kishiar had said that he nearly died due to his vessel in the past, but became alright after awakening.

'If he hadn't awakened...'

At that point, Yuder abruptly stopped the thought crossing his mind. The words he had not properly linked in thought until now suddenly connected in a strange sensation, leaving his mind cold.

The identical symptoms that the Emperor and Kishiar experienced. The same problem. The vessel. The Imperial Mage's Office closely linked with the Imperial Family. The medicine in his hand.

And the peculiar information about the Imperial Family that Enon had shown him before.

Taking a small breath, Yuder alternately looked at the medicine in Kishiar's hand and his face. Kishiar slightly tilted his head.

"Why. Do you have any questions?"

"I apologize. May I ask a somewhat disrespectful question about the Imperial Family?"

"I permit it. Go ahead."

A light permission was given. The red eyes looking at Yuder seemed peaceful, as if they already knew what he would ask.

"Are the only ones experiencing this problem... the Commander and His Majesty?"

Kishiar smiled. His lips slowly parted.

"No."

"..."

"Yuder Aile. Do you remember the story of the 'Blood of Blessing' who was said to be passed down in the Apeto family?"

It was something Revlin Shand Apeto had told him when he had visited the Apeto family. Kishiar, who brought up the somewhat odd story of the weak children being born generation after generation and being ironically called 'blessed,' had a deeper smile on his lips.

"It was a familiar story to me. The Imperial Family expressed a similar thing as Princes who inherit the title of Duke while retaining the surname 'La Orr'."

Information about the Dukes with the surname of La Orr flashed through Yuder's mind.