Family
It was not for the sake of psilocybin that she had accepted Allan Madoff's proposal.
Not that I have any right to say so, having just drained a glass myself.
Empress Yeonhwa drew a bitter smile as her slender fingers plucked the seven-stringed zither. The moment she had sent Allan away, she had drunk down a blend of psilocybin powder and lemon juice. Once every three days—that was her dose. She had been told that taking it daily would do her health no harm, yet she could hardly live three or four hours of every day inside a world of synesthesia, and so she contented herself with this.
She was captivated by what the drug could do. That much was true. She was not, however, desperate enough to cast her daughter aside for it. More than that, there were ways to obtain psilocybin without coming to terms with Allan. A human body was only muscle, bone, and blood vessels, after all. She had no intention of having him seized and put to the torture, but the means were not wholly lacking.
And yet she had accepted without hesitation, and for a single reason.
You ignored the warning, my daughter.
In the Jin Empire, a child who would already have been stripped of her title and sent into exile had, far from reflecting on herself, caused yet another incident. Had she truly believed she could trample her half-sister underfoot by means of Healthy Syrup? If so, the problem was greater still. It meant rational thought had become impossible. Cover for her by force, and before long she would simply begin again.
However Yeonhwa turned it over, the sensible course was to stop the girl here. To say she felt no regret would have been a lie.
But what else is there to do?
Better to cut the matter cleanly at this point than to watch her dragged out like a dog one day and stood before the guillotine. Only then, just as that man Allan had said, might she at least preserve her daughter's life. And only if the girl lived would she ever see her face again.
"Inform His Majesty that I shall attend him shortly."
Not now. In about three hours.
No sooner had she quietly given the order to the head lady-in-waiting than the Empress felt her body begin, little by little, to lift. The psilocybin was taking hold. The buoyancy and the haze had alarmed her terribly at first; by now they were familiar. And her thoughts of her daughter thinned with startling speed.
The Third Princess, Anais Carlyle, had of late been passing happy days—happier, perhaps, than the thoughtless years when she had done nothing but attend the Academy. Today, no fewer than two strokes of good fortune had fallen together.
First, glad news had arrived from the Academy. Healthy Syrup was all the rage in the Magic Department, or so Bobby Duncan had reported—dean of the department, and an investor besides. He had mentioned it only in passing during a lecture, and the students, it seemed, had spread the word of their own accord.
If the fashion catches in the other faculties as well, so much the better.
Welcome news, the sort that would lift Healthy Syrup's standing by a rank—no, by two or more. But there was something that pleased her even more.
"At noon, let us summon your sisters as well and take a meal together. From today onward, you need not worry about Sienna."
A message from the Empress, received just now through the communication orb. The Empress, who had doted on Sienna to a bizarre degree all this while, seemed at last to have changed her mind and resolved to take her own blood's side.
Mother must have heard about the havoc that bitch has been stirring up.
Even now, plenty of people sneered at Allan and Sienna. Among the Healthy Syrup investors in particular, the prevailing view was that the pair had overreached, fearful that morphine's position might be threatened. The Empress, hearing those rumors, must have judged that the tide had turned.
As the appointed hour drew near, Anais stepped onto the teleportation circle with a smile, taking no one with her but a single escort knight. Her destination was, of course, the Imperial Palace. The moment she arrived, a servant guided her to the dining room.
Allan and the other imperial escort knights stood at rigid attention before the door, but she ignored them outright. Sienna mattered more than that man.
"You are late, Anais."
A moment later, the most exalted family in the empire received her: the Emperor, grave of face and yet still making a show of undiminished vigor; beside him the Empress, welcoming her daughter with a soft smile; and Victoria, in a crimson dress uniform. Even Sienna—whom she had no particular wish to acknowledge as family—had taken a seat. She was smiling at Anais, of all things.
Anais smiled back, for the moment. Soon enough the Empress, the Empress who had at last resolved to aid her own blood, would draw the blade. Then that unpleasant smile could be put away. If Sienna flew into a rage and made a spectacle of herself, Anais could ask for nothing more. Fortunately, it seemed she would not have to wait long.
"…Sienna. Forgive me, but there is something I must say before we dine. It may be uncomfortable, yet I would have you hear it. His Majesty will understand, I trust?"
"Of course."
Having sought the Emperor's leave, Empress Yeonhwa gave a light flick of her hand. A moment later a servant appeared, bearing a silver tray. The small bottle set upon it was none other than Healthy Syrup.
Starting already?
It felt hasty. Still, there was no harm in it.
"Your Majesty. What is that for?"
Sienna asked with a foolish look, but the Empress did not seem to care in the least.
"I would ask you in return, Sienna. Do you truly ask because you do not know?"
Sienna said nothing.
"I should have preferred, if I could, not to meddle in your affairs. …But, Sienna. Your slander of Healthy Syrup has passed all bounds. I hear that last week you even went to the generals and ran it down. I am curious what you imagined you were doing."
"I wasn't running it down."
"If it was not disparagement, then perhaps it was a curse. Did your younger sister's success grate upon you so?"
Sienna's face, stiffening under the Empress's keen rebuke, was a sight to behold. Anais fought to keep a laugh from slipping free. In an atmosphere this grave, the sound of it might spoil everything.
Just a little longer. Just a little.
And the effort was not wasted. Before long Sienna's sharp temper began to show. She dared to glare at the Empress, and let out a sigh.
"…Your Majesty. Frankly, this puts me in a difficult position. Even so, there is one thing I want to make clear. I was not attacking Anais."
"If you mean to excuse yourself by claiming you spoke up because Healthy Syrup is truly dangerous, then cease. Were it truly such a medicine, someone would already be dead."
"Someone will be. There will be people ruined as well. It's only that the numbers are still small, so—"
"You go too far. Let that be enough."
"Ha…."
An uncomfortable air was gathering in the dining room. The Emperor still sat with his eyes closed, his expression grave, while Victoria held fast to the arm of Sienna, who was on the point of boiling over. She must have feared her younger sister would be hurt if she exploded here. It was nowhere near enough to stop her.
"Hey!"
Sienna shoved her chair back with an undignified scrape and rose.
"Anais. This is your doing, isn't it?"
At once she turned a glare this way and pressed the attack. The fury packed into that face said she was already on the verge of detonating. Prod her gently, and Anais could lure her into a mistake there would be no undoing. Anais tilted her head, playing the innocent, the better to provoke her.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know perfectly well that Healthy Syrup is dangerous…! You heard Allan's warning and left out the jimsonweed—isn't that the proof? All that does is lower the number of people who die. It doesn't remove the danger. Depending on a person's constitution, even short-term use can kill them outri—"
"What warning? There was never any such thing, so stop making a scene. Healthy Syrup is a harmless medicine. Contrary to your hopes, Sister."
"Harmless?"
Unable to govern her feelings, Sienna set a hand on her hip, her lips working. A little more scratching, and she looked ready to start swearing.
Shall I needle her a little further?
While Anais was still weighing it, Sienna moved first.
"Fine. You truly believe it's harmless?"
"…Of course."
"Then prove it."
With that, Sienna launched into her performance. She snatched the bottle from the servant, took up a teacup, and heaped twelve brimming spoonfuls of Healthy Syrup into it, then snapped at the maids standing awkwardly by to bring hot water. She meant to brew a tea of Healthy Syrup on the spot.
That mad bitch…!
In the end she thrust the grotesque cup at the stunned Anais.
"Drink it, and prove it."
"…Sister, what do you think you're doing?"
"Drink it, and I'll believe you. I'll apologize in public as well."
She had wanted to see her break, but this far?
Anais, of course, had no intention of humoring such absurd antics. She had never once tasted Healthy Syrup, and she had no thought of tasting it hereafter. Twelve spoonfuls, of all things? There was no telling what would happen if she drank them. She considered a moment, then shook her head.
"This is so pitiful I can hardly bear to watch. Stop it, Sister."
"So you don't want to drink it."
"I'm not ill, you see. And I'm not tired, either."
Hadn't she turned it aside well enough? But the creature called Sienna did not know how to quit. She glared at Anais as if she meant to kill her, then swung her aim toward the Empress.
"Mother, would you drink it in Anais's place?"
So the end was coming at last.
Mother will refuse, of course.
Or else the Emperor, strangely silent today of all days, would rebuke her sternly. Either way, Sienna's disgrace would finish as a move against herself. A princess, demanding that royalty taste a thing for her? There had never been an outrage to match it.
And yet.
"Very well. I shall drink it."
What?
Far too easily, the Empress consented and took the cup. Anais's eyes flew wide as she turned to her. She was grateful to be backed, but there was no need to go so far as swallowing the stuff herself. If someone hardly in good health drank that, there might well be an accident…
I have to stop her…! No. If I stop her, won't the suspicion fall on me?
After a brief struggle, what Anais chose was silence.
In that span the Empress tipped back the tea steeped from Healthy Syrup and drained it—sweetly, at that, gulp after gulp. The taste would be pleasant enough. At bottom it was sugar water. But there was no knowing how much opium and ephedra had been mixed in.
What do I do about this?
Anais dropped her gaze and fidgeted with her hands. The sheer quantity of Healthy Syrup that had gone down past the Empress's throat left her mind spinning, and keeping her face composed had long since grown difficult. This was supposed to end with Sienna alone badly hurt. How it had come to this, she could not fathom.
Once ought to be… yes. Mother is healthier than she used to be, so she'll be all right. Nothing is going to happen all at once. Letting it pass is best.
She was muttering it inwardly, as if giving herself an order, when a dry voice sounded at her ear.
What?
She jerked her head up in shock, and there was the Empress, calmly wiping the syrup from the corner of her mouth. Beside her the Emperor let out a heavy sigh, as though disappointed. Sienna was smiling brightly, as if she had never been worked up at all. Even Victoria, who until a moment ago had been holding her back, wore a hollow look, as if something had just become clear.
The silence held.
"Ah."
At last understanding, Anais's face went pale with terrible speed.