In the dimly lit office illuminated by a lamp, the King and Queen sat facing each other.

“You’re troubled about Crown Prince Keith, aren’t you?”

“...Yes,” the King replied, letting out a faint breath that smelled slightly of alcohol.

“To think he would do something like that...”

“Will he be punished?”

The Queen asked, looking straight at the King.

“I cannot lie to you... I am unsure.”

The ‘punishment’ the Queen referred to was execution.

The usual method would be to drink a cup of poison.

“I see… Then,” the Queen said as she placed a small vial she had been hiding onto the table.

Inside the vial, illuminated by the lamplight, was a disturbingly purple liquid.

“This is...”

The King could not bring himself to ask if it was meant for execution.

“My dear, please drink this.”

“...Hm?”

“What does she mean?” the King thought.

Noticing his expression, the Queen revealed the vial’s true nature.

“That is... an aphrodisiac!”

“What?”

Why? As that question arose in his mind, the Queen suddenly closed the distance between them.

Their bodies pressed together.

“Let’s have another child.”

The royal couple had no children other than the Crown Prince.

Part of that was due to concern that having siblings might lead to disputes over succession.

In the kingdom’s history, there had indeed been cases where blood relatives fought over inheritance rights.

The most recent example was the King’s own father.

Although the previous King ultimately emerged victorious, he had been forced to eliminate his defeated siblings.

Having grown up hearing such stories, the King believed that was why he and his own brother never fought over succession.

And so, even if he had not consciously realized it, perhaps he had feared having more children.

The King wondered if that had caused the Queen hardship.

“Eh? Avril?”

However, from the King’s perspective, this timing felt questionable.

The punishment had not even been decided yet.

“I understand as well. I know how serious what Keith has done is. So at best, he will be disinherited. After that, he may even be removed entirely. If that is the case, then let us have another child. I do not care about making my own child inherit the throne. This country has Li, after all. I simply... do not want to be left without a child.”

Having said that much, the Queen opened the vial.

A sharp, overwhelming odor filled the air.

“Now! Please drink it! It is a magic potion I received from my younger sister Veronica. Its effectiveness is guaranteed! Now!”

The King felt fear.

And besides, when things are made that blatant, men tend to recoil.

“No, I think I would rather pass for today...”

“What are you saying! A man must fulfill a woman’s wishes at a moment like this! Since when did you become such a spineless man! Now, let us go to paradise!”

The Queen wrapped her arms around the King’s neck in a seductive manner.

Yet those slender arms held strength like a vise.

The King became like a frog caught in a snake’s gaze.

“Now, in one gulp!”

The mouth of the bottle was forced against his lips.

The stench invaded his nose.

“Buh—!” he exhaled.

At that instant, the purple liquid flowed into his mouth.

A bitterness that felt like it split his tongue.

And the overwhelming stench made him dizzy.

He instinctively tried to spit it out but could not.

When the Queen thumped his back, he reflexively swallowed it.

“You drank it!”

Instead of answering, the King coughed violently.

“Now, let the feast begin!”

The Queen slipped the strap of her dress from her shoulder.

Her eyes were like a dragon targeting its prey.

“Nooooooo—!”

From that day on, it was said that within the Royal Castle, there were nights when the wails of a ghost could be heard.