(Viol's Perspective Shift)
The reason the Empire's Emperor Viol forcibly summoned Ceres was nothing special.
Purely because she wanted to trouble Ares, whom she disliked.
Since Ares doted immensely on her sick son, Viol simply called him when an opportunity arose to torment her using him.
'Empire's greatest beauty? Best looks in the Empire? What nonsense. He always hides at home under the pretext of being sick and rarely shows his face, so how would anyone know?'
The rumors related to Ceres.
She didn't believe the rumors about him being the Empire's greatest beauty or a saint.
Therefore,
'He really is the Empire's greatest beauty.'
Seeing Ceres at the party, she first had to admit she was wrong.
'Is that even human?'
She prided herself on her own outstanding looks, but compared to him, she was like a firefly before the sun.
Beautifully fluttering silver hair.
Milky skin and features so perfect they were artistic.
Everything drew the eye, but his eyes were especially impressive.
Within those eyes, shining blue like brilliant jewels, dwelled an unknowable emotion.
Hostility, contempt. A hint of pity.
And the feeling of unwillingly meeting someone disliked again.
Except for the pity, these were emotions she had often encountered in her life, so she could recognize them.
'When did we ever meet?'
Seeing a beauty she'd never encountered before looking at her with strange eyes, as if he knew her, sparked her interest.
And,
'He seems to be floating alone. An atmosphere like he's fallen into another world by himself. Or he looks lonely, as if he alone knows something others don't.'
Was it because his beauty was so outstanding it felt alien? She sensed a strange aura surrounding him.
'Is it because our situations are similar? I keep finding myself interested.'
She herself, due to her royal bloodline and status as Emperor, had always lived a life detached from those around her.
Feeling a sense of kinship, Viol wanted to speak to him, but couldn't easily make a move.
'What should I say if I go over? Thanks for dragging your sick body here because of me?'
Her usual self would have brazenly struck up a conversation regardless.
But now, for some reason, she couldn't, and was just watching when...
'That bitch!'
...she saw Alios trying to feed something to Ceres.
Instantly feeling dishappy, she approached and forced a conversation, but still had nothing specific to say.
'Why is there no reaction?'
Having no choice, she resorted to insults to get his attention, gradually crossing the line.
'I learned something new. Getting hit in the face with spaghetti feels disgusting.'
Getting slapped with spaghetti by Ceres made her angry, but another thought occurred to her.
‘Let's discipline him a little, then use this as an excuse to keep him at the palace longer.’
The thought of using this incident outweighed her anger.
She started by pretending to be furious.
'Alios, that damn dog!'
When Alios attacked using her aura, Viol saw red.
Inwardly, she was truly enraged and thought she wouldn't let Alios off, but...
“Because you're going to fall in love with me.”
Hearing these words spoken by Ceres, all her anger vanished, and her mind went blank.
'I wasn't planning to kill him originally, but he says something like this? His prince syndrome is too severe!'
How utterly absurd!
Alios trying to save Ceres, Ares, and even the other nobles watching in fear all froze.
However,
'Is, is it really true?'
Viol, the person involved, gradually began to be persuaded.
When Ceres approached, telling her to test it, she couldn't bring herself to lay a hand on him.
Even when he held the knife, about to self-harm, her heart dropped, and she snatched it away immediately.
“It does. From now on, whatever you do, wherever you are, your thoughts will be so full of me that nothing else will matter.”
Even when he said such things, she was drawn to the fact that he was with her, wondering if it had really turned out as he said.
When had she ever been like this?
Never before.
Is she really doing this because she's in love?
But if that's the case...
'Isn't it that I don't fall in love later, but that I already love him?'
An uncertain emotion.
To confirm it, she decided to lock him up first and observe him over time.
'It's a good thing I learned to cook.'
She had once looked for a fun way to use her spare time after finishing state affairs.
She had debated between cooking and martial arts and chosen cooking.
Thinking that she was already strong enough, and learning martial arts on top of that might make her too violent even in her own opinion.
Thanks to this, she could make meals for Ceres, but the reason she insisted on making them herself was because of Alios.
'That one (Alios) definitely couldn't cook, right? The most she could do was feed him food made by others.'
The image of Alios gently feeding Ceres kept coming to mind, motivating her to do even more.
Thus began her days with Ceres, but they were not smooth.
Every time she saw him, he was as lovely as an angel with a halo, but so difficult.
She went to the trouble of making food, but he said he couldn't eat it, so she made something new.
She tried to use giving meals as an excuse to visit more often, but he only ate one meal, allowing only one visit.
Even when she tried to scare him to see his reaction, he didn't seem very frightened.
He said he didn't like her hair, so she changed it, only for him to say the previous style was better.
She got angry and planned not to give him food, but ended up worrying anyway, doing the pathetic act of cooking and bringing it in the middle of the night.
'He even self-harmed just because he missed a meal! If it were anyone else, I would have just killed them.'
Contrary to her expectations, there was nothing romantic about it, which angered her.
She even wondered if locking him up had been pointless.
“Ceres, snap out of it! Ceres!!”
Now, Viol sincerely thought those difficult days were preferable.
She didn't know the reason.
She had only pushed him slightly. So why was this suddenly happening!
“Ceres, open your eyes!"
Viol tried desperately to wake Ceres.
At first, he screamed and struggled, but now he couldn't even do that.
He had lost consciousness, but even in that state, he just kept trembling as if having seizures, clearly in pain.
“Is anyone there? Summon every healer you can find, immediately!"
Seeing his condition was serious, Viol immediately picked Ceres up and carried him outside.
While taking him to a safe place, she turned the palace upside down summoning people.
Healing-specialist mages, doctors, apothecaries, priestesses working in the palace, etc.
Everyone related to healing was mobilized.
However,
“What on earth is happening?”
“I've never seen symptoms like this...”
Despite all being talented individuals working for the palace, they all showed troubled expressions.
They surrounded Ceres, who lay on a bed in a room used by royalty, just breaking out in cold sweats.
“What are you all doing?”
It was a reaction that even a layperson could understand, so Viol's expression hardened.
“What's the problem?”
“It's a symptom we've never seen before. It seems like a type of mana overload; highly compressed mana is flowing through his body, causing micro-traumas and damage."
“So you're saying you can't fix it?”
When she fiercely questioned the healing mage who made the diagnosis, a priestess spoke up instead.
“Strictly speaking, he is already in a healed state. Some kind of power is healing the body damaged by the mana overload."
“Then why does he keep suffering?!"
“Because it doesn't end once healed; the damage occurs again, and the process of healing it repeats."
Finally, the doctor and apothecary spoke.
“We tried anesthesia to at least lessen the pain, but even that doesn't work.”
“It seems the unknown power healing the body is also neutralizing painkillers and anesthetics.”
Viol was dumbfounded.
That everyone responsible for healing the imperial family had given up!
'These incompetent fools.’
Suppressing the urge to beat these useless individuals to death when they were needed most, she spoke.
“If you can't do it, then recommend someone who can."
They just exchanged glances; no one spoke.
"You, priestess! Contact your temple and summon a High Priest!"
“Your Majesty, I hear Lord Ceres himself possesses immense holy power. If he himself cannot heal it, then even a High Priest..."
“If you don't summon one immediately, I'll send the army to drag one here!”
"...Understood.”
The priestess reluctantly contacted the temple. A short while later.
"Hames, why did you come instead?"
Viol was surprised when the famous person she recognized arrived.
“The High Priest stationed in our capital is someone else, not you.”
“...I was staying at this temple briefly on business.”
Hames said curtly.
“I heard a problem requiring a High Priest arose, so since I was idle, I came instead. Is this perhaps related to Ceres Whiperion, who I heard has been staying here recently?"
“Yes, come this way!"
An unexpected person came, but it was actually better.
Thinking a woman who was a candidate for Pope might be better at healing, she quickly brought her to Ceres.
“Ceres!!”
“Hm?”
As Hames rushed towards the bedridden Ceres upon seeing him, Viol watched her with peculiar eyes.
“Ceres, snap out of it! Please, snap out of it, I say! Ceres Whiperion!"
Clinging to Ceres and calling his name desperately.
Seeing the woman who acted so curtly even before the Emperor doing the same thing she herself had just done made her jaw drop.
“Do you know each other?”
“I have helped treat him before, but that's not what's important right now!"
Hames gave her a frightening look.
“Why is he like this?”
“I don't know either. It just happened suddenly!"
“Were there no signs or problems before this happened?”
"Well."
Viol hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“I starved him a little and pushed him slightly."
“Why would you do such a thing?!"
“I didn't push hard. And the food was just brought a little late, so he missed it!”
She was just resentful that Ceres ignored her efforts and thought of another woman.
She argued she never intended to harm him, but Hames stared at her with disgust.
“Does it feel good to confine someone who couldn't even walk until just recently?”
“He walked fine here. I heard he even gathered the villagers and did something before!"
“That was him pushing himself. Enduring the pain with a body that couldn't even walk!"
Hames glared at the Emperor with eyes tinged with hostility before checking Ceres's condition.
“...It certainly doesn't seem to be solely because you starved and pushed him.”
“R-Right? There's another cause!"
"No. You are the cause.”
Hames focused only on Ceres as if she couldn't stand the sight of Viol and explained.
“A strange mana overload is happening in Ceres's body right now, and I have a guess about this. The cause is likely that he hastily trained his mana to be able to walk."
“Why hastily?”
“Why do you think he would?”
Is she saying it's because I forced him to come?
Viol flinched. With a hardened face, she approached Ceres and looked down at him.
'I should have gone to find him instead. That was my mistake.’
If I had known it would turn out like this, if I had known I would come to care for you like this, I would have.
“Ceres, you were wrong.”
Seeing you suffering, I could finally be sure.
Not that I will fall in love, but that I already love you.
“If mana overload is the problem, then we need to call a mana expert.”
Acknowledging her feelings cooled her head somewhat, and a good idea occurred to her.
Viol brushed aside Ceres's silver hair, looked at his anguished face, and spoke sadly.
“I will summon Sibylius.”
“I've heard that one is eccentric and doesn't listen to others."
"There's a way."
She replied to Hames and then summoned a subordinate to give instructions.
"Relay this. If she doesn't come immediately, she will be demoted to the status of a criminal, but if she comes, her research funding will be increased tenfold. Tell that to Sibylius, that half-demon Archmage."