The Emperor stared at me silently for a while. His gaze was cold, like a beast watching its prey.
“Impressive. But to prove your worth, you’ll have to show your usefulness first.”
“My usefulness? If that’s what you mean…”
Isn’t the fact that assassins are targeting me proof of my usefulness already?
His words were true.
However, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t think of anything I excelled at.
Even though I had strong magic, it had never manifested properly, and I had no real abilities to speak of.
All that was left was the title of a hollow “problem-solver.”
‘Oh? Now that I think about it…’
The Emperor before me was suffering from insomnia.
I had been distracted by his royal appearance, but now I noticed the deep signs of fatigue on his face.
The dark circles under his eyes, his weary expression, and the way he kept pressing his eyes as if to relieve pressure—it was clear he was exhausted.
‘He’s been said to be addicted to medication, right?’
If it was something that even Hamilon couldn’t treat, it must be pretty severe.
But what was my family known for?
The Slimela family was a prestigious name in Medderland, known for producing many problem-solvers.
If it were just me, it might be difficult, but with my family’s help, perhaps we could find a way to cure the Emperor’s insomnia.
“What if I were to find a way to cure your insomnia?”
“Insomnia?” he repeated.
“Even if my ability to handle assassins might be lacking, I believe I would be quite useful to you, Your Majesty.”
A look of confusion appeared on his face.
“Why’s that?”
“Well, it’s a sort of trade. I provide you with something you need, and in return, you recognize my usefulness.”
He thought for a moment before letting out a small laugh.
“Not bad. This is interesting too.”
The Emperor, who had been focused on the conversation, pushed his plate aside.
Then, resting his chin on his hand, he muttered to himself.
“Surely, just getting rid of insomnia would improve things considerably. What should I do?”
His gaze drifted towards me, and his lips curled up in a smile, one that was both elegant and charming.
“I’ll accept your offer. But I’ll set the deadline however I see fit. As a proud problem-solver from Medreland, I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you, right?”
It would take quite some time for my family to come to Hamilon.
Sending letters would take time as well.
“Uhm, so…?”
I hesitated, unsure if I should mention a potentially too short a time frame.
Just as I thought this, the Emperor’s eyes gleamed.
A sense of unease crept up on me.
“How about tonight? That would be perfect.”
“Tonight? But, how could I solve your insomnia in just half a day…!”
“Is it impossible? I want to sleep peacefully tonight. If it’s too difficult, then…”
His next words dripped with sarcasm.
“Do those so-called problem-solvers really think their level is just this?”
“Do they think they can walk around calling themselves problem-solvers? And their level is only this much?”
I could tolerate being underestimated, but I couldn’t stand my family being insulted.
My face burned with anger.
At that moment, I was incapable of making a rational decision.
“That’s impossible! I’ll find a way today.”
“Alright, I’ll be expecting it.”
A crooked smile spread across his handsome face.
Now, I understood why he looked so good.
‘If he didn’t have that charming face with such a twisted personality, I would have been furious the moment I saw him!’
I gulped down the water from the table.
The cold water poured into me, but my bubbling anger still didn’t settle.
At that moment, a man named Samuel, who I had seen yesterday, rushed in.
“Lord Argon, there’s something urgent I need to tell you.”
He approached quickly and whispered something in the Emperor’s ear.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but as he continued, the Emperor’s face gradually hardened.
His cold gaze shifted toward Samuel.
Eventually, he stood up.
“Get up first. Finish your meal.”
When the Emperor left, all the food remained behind, cold and untouched.
‘How am I supposed to eat all this by myself?’
But a bigger problem was that I had to find a way to cure the Emperor’s insomnia by today.
***
I finished the meal, not even knowing how I managed to eat it, and followed the servant back to my room.
I felt heavy, like I was burdened with something.
Earlier, I had blurted out something out of anger, but now regret came rushing in.
“How am I supposed to find a solution in one day? And this isn’t even Medreland, it’s Hamilton…”
I recalled the treatments I had learned at the academy.
Physical treatments, treatments using innate magic, and even herbal remedies to induce sleep.
There were various methods to cure insomnia, and the teachings had been tailored to each individual’s characteristics.
‘But I’m not like my father, a born strong wolfkin with great physical strength.’
So, I chose the magic utilization course.
The magic of the wolfkin, chosen by the god Berya, was something only those specially chosen could wield.
As the eldest daughter of the Slimela family, who possessed stronger magic than anyone else, I was naturally the subject of high expectations.
But while my classmates’ magic bloomed, I remained stagnant. I wasn’t the only one who questioned that.
“Meihen, how can you have magic but never fully awaken it?”
“Right? Her younger sister, Cherrybell, has no magic but is so outstanding. How can they be from the same family and be so different?”
“Well, it’s not impossible. If their fathers are different…”
“What? Different fathers?”
“This is a secret, but apparently the mistress of the Slimela family has a complicated relationship with men. She always acts so classy, but she’s no different from others.”
I didn’t expect it, but their laughter and baseless bad mouthing about my mother made my heart race.
My pulse thudded in my ears like it was about to burst.
Unable to bear it anymore, I rushed out in front of them.
The flame of resentment was directed at Mobina, who had started spreading these groundless rumors.
“Apologize, Mobina! My mom isn’t like that! Who are you to say such things…!”
But Mobina’s face showed no hint of remorse.
Instead, she arrogantly confronted me with a defiant voice.
“So then, what’s the problem? You have the best magic in Medderland, but why haven’t you managed to awaken your magic yet, something that even children can do?”
“That’s…!”
“See? You can’t even say anything. Why don’t you just go home and ask your mother? Maybe she’ll tell you the truth.”
At that moment, I heard a sharp sound in my head, like something snapping.
My vision turned completely white.
When I regained my senses, I realized I was on top of Mobina, biting and scratching her.
That was probably the first time.
The moment when I, who had always endured whatever I heard, finally exploded with anger in front of others.
“Ahh! Are you crazy? Someone stop her, get her off me!”
“Take back those words. Take them back right now…! You don’t even know anything about my mom!”
The girls who had been standing by, unsure of what to do, finally stepped in and tried to pull me off Mobina.
I clung on desperately, trying to get an apology out of her.
I didn’t care if I got scratches in the process.
But in the end, I didn’t get an apology.
And the one who was punished was me.
I was blamed for bullying a classmate for no reason.
“Meihen, you should apologize. Apologizing isn’t something to be ashamed of. What’s really shameful is not reflecting on your mistakes even after making them.”
“No, I didn’t do anything wrong! They were the ones who insulted my mom first!”
“But because of you, Mobina now has a mark on her face. And you’re fine, aren’t you?”
“But…!”
My teacher looked troubled.
It was clear that they didn’t want to get too involved.
After all, Mobina, unlike me, was the promising heir of the Adelbaron family and the top student in the magic utilization course.
Now that I think about it, it was always like this.
Mobina and I, both children of Medderland’s twelve noble families, were constantly compared to each other because we were in the same grade.
But she was always given a much higher evaluation than I was.
‘Maybe they’ll even say that Mobina will become the youngest problem-solver to follow in our parents’ footsteps…’
Not long after, I was kicked out of the magic utilization course.