Chapter 3

I gave the matron a frosty glance. "You may go as well. I'm going to rest."

The matron paused, words on the tip of her tongue. "Consort Connon, you haven't taken your medicine yet today."

Medicine. Always medicine.

I let out a cold smirk. "Bring it over."

The urge to cough clawed at my chest. I tried to suppress it, but a few muffled sounds still escaped.

Suddenly, warmth spread at the corner of my mouth. I wiped it away. When I looked up, I met the matron's suddenly shocked expression.

"Consort Sanchez, you're coughing up blood!" she gasped, her voice trembling with panic.

I wiped it away like it was nothing. "No big deal."

The matron's face drained of color, and she bolted out of the hall, practically tripping over herself.

She knew damn well. If anything happened to me, she'd be the first one in trouble.

Wesley came rushing in, so fast he didn't even notice his shoes were on the wrong feet.

I found it all so laughable.

Everyone claimed Wesley loved me to death, but none of them knew he forced me to swallow poison medicine every day, slowly draining away my life.

That stuff sapped all my strength, leaving me weak, but I was still able to walk around as if nothing had changed.

If I ever refused, he'd make sure my father and brother suffered in their cells.

He seemed to relish watching me, wings broken, still desperately trying to fly.

After half an hour, the imperial physicians had all rushed in, practically the entire medical staff. They dropped to their knees in a wave of black robes that filled the room.

I stared up at the canopy, lost in a daze, hearing Wesley raging at my bedside, but inside, I felt utterly numb.

Wesley's expression was thunderous. "Speak! What's the matter with Consort Cannon?"

No one dared make a sound.

After a long silence, one of the imperial physicians finally spoke up. "The medicine, taken over time, has damaged the Noble Consort's health."

That hit a nerve. Wesley snapped. "How dare you!"

Then he muttered under his breath, "I made sure they used the best medicine! How could this happen?"

How could this happen?

I gave a faint, bitter smile.

Come on, everyone knows that medicine has poison in it. If one keeps taking it when one's not even sick, of course, it's gonna mess one up.

That idiot actually blurted it out in front of everyone.

He just tore away Wesley's cover, exposing him right there for all to see.

The atmosphere in the grand chamber was so tense that one could hear a pin drop.

Just then, a eunuch rushed in.

"Your Majesty, Consort Sanchez is making a scene at the city gate. She says if you don't let her out, she'll jump right off the wall!" he reported, breathless.

Wesley's expression shifted. He did not doubt that Sarah would actually go through with it.

He left with a sharp command, "You must do everything in your power to cure the Noble Consort." Then he stormed out, his sleeves fluttering behind him.

The imperial physicians nervously wiped their brows, scrambling to their feet in a flurry.

The physician kneeling at the very end straightened up and snorted with derision.

"How pathetic. An emperor, resorting to such tricks to keep his favorite Noble Consort around," he sneered.

The chief physician was so startled that he nearly fell back, quickly covering the young man's mouth. "Watch your mouth, boy. This is the palace."

I raised an eyebrow, my voice carrying a playful edge.

"You're pretty interesting. From now on, you'll be the one keeping an eye on my health," I teased.

He looked at me, his eyes flashing with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher.

"As you command," he replied, steady as ever.

This illness lasted exactly a month.

At last, they finally stopped forcing me to take that disgusting, bitter medicine.

I couldn't tell if Wesley actually felt sorry for my frail body, or if he decided I was so weak now that I wasn't worth the trouble anymore.

I heard that lately, Consort Sanchez has been the emperor's favorite. She ruled the palace. Whatever she wanted, she got.

My maids, worried I'd get bored, would fill my days with all sorts of juicy palace stories.

Like how Consort Sanchez ordered Lady Fulcher's maid to be beaten to death, or how she stormed right into the imperial study in broad daylight, acting like she owned the place.

The maid said, "Today was even crazier. Just because a court official called her 'unfit for her rank as the daughter of a disgraced official,' she actually drew her sword and slashed at him right there in front of everyone.

"The Empress Dowager was so furious that she fainted on the spot. When she came to, she made Consort Sanchez kneel in the palace corridor, remove her hairpins as a sign of repentance, and beg for forgiveness.

"Guess what? Not even an hour had passed before His Majesty took pity on her and whisked her away."

I was honestly stunned. Even when Wesley was at his most devoted to me, he never spoiled me like that.

Juulie gave me a troubled look and said, "Actually, she made things difficult for me a few days ago.

"She nearly took the tonic that was meant for you, but luckily, I was quick enough to stop her.

"His Majesty said it himself. She can make a scene anywhere she wants, but she's not allowed to take even a single step into Springveil Palace."

After that, she watched me closely, almost like she was afraid of how I'd react.

"Even if Consort Sanchez is the emperor's favorite right now, she could never replace you, my lady," she added, trying to reassure me.

I just smiled, saying nothing.

Would she never take my place?

But the truth was, Sarah and I were cut from the same cloth, yet Wesley could never bring himself to make her take any of those drugs.