She picked up her cup and took a sip. Her eyes followed the prince as he lifted the cup to his lips. Normally, she wouldn't give much thought to how soone drank their tea, but sothing about the way he did it caught her attention. His brow creased ever so slightly, and his fingers trembled as they clutched the delicate porcelain, as if he were about to sip sothing far deadlier than re tea.
Like poison or sothing.
Wait— poison?
A ridiculous, yet amusing thought suddenly crossed her mind. If she was wrong, no harm done. But if she was right, she might just have the chance to make this arrogant prince more uncomfortable than he'd ever been in his life. And wouldn't that be worthwhile? That's a small price to pay for daring to covet her son.
"Is it the tea to your liking, Your Highness?" she asked in a gentle voice.
"...Yes."
Frankly, Wulfric couldn't taste a thing. He wasn't even sure if he had actually sipped the tea or rely pretended to. The irrationality of his own anxiety left him bewildered—why was he so on edge over the thought that Aster's mother might have poisoned his drink?
If he were an ordinary person, it would make sense. But he wasn't. He was one of only two royals left in the Empire. Assassination attempts, including poisoned food, had been a part of his life since childhood. So why would the thought of a poisoned cup of tea unsettle him now?
He could think of only one reason: her identity. And it wasn't about her being a Grimaldi—it was because she was Aster's mother.
Poisoning his drink was no different from trying to kill him. On the battlefield, two opposing forces trying to take each other's lives was understandable, even expected. But here, in a peaceful garden, sipping tea? Such an act was nothing short of an assassination attempt on a prince—a cri punishable by death.
The three captains he'd brought with him, however unreliable they might seem, would be the first to eliminate any threat to Wulfric's life. The last thing he wanted was a standoff between them and Aster's family. Especially when he had only just managed to get into the good graces of Aster's father!
If Emmy could read Wulfric's thoughts right now, she might have burst out laughing. Who would have guessed that the fearso prince had such an overactive imagination?
But since she couldn't read them, she could only proceed with her plan.
"Then, please feel free to drink all of it," she continued with a smile. "Every last drop."
Wulfric felt the hairs on his nape rise as Aster's mother spoke, her smile calm, but her words carried an undertone that concealed sothing far more unsettling. Sure enough, this tea was really poisoned!
Yet despite knowing the truth, he couldn't simply refuse. If he did, wouldn't her opinion of him sink even lower? She might think his feelings for her son weren't genuine. To prove his sincerity, he had no choice but to drink the poisoned tea. After all, the one thing he couldn't allow was for anyone to question his feelings for Aster.
So what if he was poisoned? With his strong constitution, he knew he wouldn't die so easily. He was confident that as long as he proved his sincerity to Aster's mother, she would eventually give him the antidote. After all, she wouldn't risk disrupting her peaceful life just to get rid of a future son-in-law she disapproved of.
Without further ado, Wulfric picked up the cup and drained its contents in a single gulp.
He couldn't actually taste any poison in the tea, though that could easily have been his nerves dulling his senses. Yet even after finishing it, he didn't feel any different. Was it possible the poison was one of those slow-acting types?
What Aster's mother said next answered his question.
"Your Highness, you've likely realized by now that I've added sothing to your tea. It's tasteless and odorless, so I doubt you noticed. It will take effect in about ten minutes. In that ti, I suggest you convince that you're worthy of my son. If you fail to do so, well, I'm afraid you'll have to endure so discomfort.
Don't worry, it won't kill you—you'll just experience pain beyond anything you've imagined. Surely, Your Highness doesn't mind that, right?"
She delivered her words with a gentle smile, her tone light and almost casual, as if she were discussing sothing as mundane as the weather. Yet, beneath that warm exterior, there was an unmistakable edge, a quiet warning woven into every word. Her eyes glead with a steady assurance, making it clear that, despite the playful delivery, the threat was very real.
Wulfric put down the cup. He had ticulously prepared a long speech in his mind, yet in the mont, not a single word ca to him. Instead, he found himself speaking not from mory, but from the heart.
He took a breath, his voice steady but filled with emotion. "I know I've made mistakes, and I know I'm not perfect, but I love Aster more than I can put into words. He's changed in ways I didn't even realize were possible. I've never cared about being better, never felt the need to change for anyone. But with him, it's different."
He glanced down briefly, then looked back at Aster's mother. "Aster makes want to be better, but only for him. When I'm around him, I'm not the sa person. I'm not that entitled, reckless person who does what he pleases without thinking. Around him, I want to be soone who listens, who respects his boundaries, who sees the world the way he does.
I'm trying, not because I have to, but because I want to. Because he deserves that from ."
His voice softened, a hint of vulnerability creeping in. "I know I didn't deserve him in the past, and maybe I still don't, but I'm working to be better. He makes see my flaws, but he also makes want to fix them. Not for anyone else—just for him. When I'm with Aster, I feel like I can be soone better, soone worthy of him. It's like he opens up a side of that I didn't even know existed.
If it's in the past, I would have hated this. But surprisingly, I don't. All because it was Aster who brought this change."
He leaned forward slightly, his expression earnest. "I love him, more than I've ever loved anyone. I'll do whatever it takes to prove that, even if I have to keep showing it every day for the rest of my life. Aster is like the missing piece of my heart, the one that makes everything feel whole. Without him, nothing would ever feel complete."
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