“This incompetent senior with big bre@sts…”
“Hey, Stella… Just because I made a few mistakes? That’s why the plants in the greenhouse… Ugh!”
“Both of you, stop!”
The two girls, who had unknowingly eaten a strange candy gifted by the emperor, were now blurting out everything that crossed their minds without filter.
Ian, observing them closely, noticed a difference in their symptoms.
‘They took different colored pills.’
Stella and Syrah had taken the pink candy, while Noah and Senior Dinua had the yellow ones. It was only now that Ian realized it wasn’t candy at all, but some kind of magically enhanced drrug. Different colors likely meant different effects.
‘Stella seems to be revealing her true feelings… and Dinua… Is she just saying whatever comes to mind?’
Quickly analyzing the symptoms and forming a hypothesis, Ian covered their mouths and called over to Noah.
“Noah.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“What do you think of me?”
“What do I— What kind of question is that in this situation?!”
Clearly flustered, Noah shouted in a tone she normally wouldn’t use.
That reaction alone told Ian enough. That had to be her secret surfacing. His theory was half proven.
Then Ian turned to Syrah.
Syrah, who had been watching the scene unfold with great amusement, met his gaze and smiled.
“I love you.”
“…What?”
“I love you, Ian. I really love you. So much that I feel like I’ll die if I don’t see you even for a single day.”
Ian was momentarily stunned by her sudden confession.
Syrah burst into laughter and added with a grin, “Dear Ian, I think what we ate is some kind of ‘reverse drug,’ don’t you think?”
“…You mean it makes you say the opposite?”
“Yeah, exactly. I think the candy those two took makes them say nasty things. Right, Stella?”
Syrah motioned toward Stella.
Stella, who had been keeping quiet, glanced over and slowly lowered her hand, then gave a small nod.
“Yeah… I love you. I’m happy to be with you. Being with you makes me so happy.”
“See? There’s no way Stella would say something like that normally. So it makes you speak the opposite of your usual self, right?”
“Wait—then those two…”
Ian looked back and forth between Noah and Dinua, recalling what Syrah had said. If she was right, then the yellow candy made them say whatever unpleasant thought crossed their minds.
But something didn’t add up—Senior Dinua had spoken, but Noah hadn’t said anything mean.
Then… was he wrong?
“What about Noah?”
“Noah? Oh—why hasn’t she said anything nasty? Hmm… Maybe she grew up in the countryside and never learned how to say bad things?”
Syrah scratched her head lightly as she said it, half-joking, half-wondering. And maybe she was right—if Noah was so pure-hearted that she didn’t know how to curse or insult others, that would explain a lot.
‘What kind of bizarre medicine is this?’
One drrug makes you speak the opposite of your heart. Another makes you spout negativity. Why in the world would the emperor gift something like this?
They weren’t even remotely helpful.
“Hold on. I’ll check if there’s an antidote.”
“Yes. Goodbye, my love.”
Syrah waved sweetly as Ian left. If this really was a reverse drug, then what had she meant earlier?
‘Hurry up, you b*stard?’ Was she really mad enough to say something like that?
Well, being stuck in a place like this was certainly stressful enough to warrant that kind of outburst—especially under the influence of a weird drug.
Ian rushed to his room, trying to contact the emperor as quickly as possible to fix the situation.
*
While Ian was gone, Syrah sighed and glanced at Stella.
“I think I saved us.”
“…Thanks. Even though I usually want to tear you apart limb from limb and watch you die, I’m honestly thankful this time.”
With Ian gone, Stella spoke without holding anything back. In fact, she couldn’t hold it back even if she wanted to. The drrug forced her to reveal her true thoughts.
“Same here. A short-tempered girl like you—I’ve always thought it’d be better if I just buried your face in water and drowned you.”
“Hey, is that really what you’ve always thought of me? What kind of snake family are you from…?”
“Both of you… enough,” Noah interrupted firmly.
The two quieted down, clicked their tongues, and turned their heads away from each other. But soon, they began to work together to figure out what was going on.
“Why did this happen?”
“It must’ve been the candy. Probably a potion.”
“…A potion?”
“Yeah. Some kind of truth-telling or confession-type potion.”
It was still unclear, but based on what they knew, the girls managed to piece together the effects.
Stella and Syrah’s candy forced them to speak their true feelings, while Noah and Dinua’s forced them to say whatever rude thoughts they had.
“So basically, they’re meant to be taken in pairs,” Syrah mused.
“Pairs?”
At Syrah’s comment, Stella imagined what would happen if someone took both at the same time—being compelled to speak every thought, no matter how humiliating, in total honesty. It would be mortifying. She’d rather die than go through that.
“Well, that’s not important now. Do you remember what I said earlier?”
“…That ridiculous excuse?”
“You’ll need to stick to it.”
Stella recalled Syrah’s earlier lie—that the pink candy made them say the opposite of what they truly felt, and the yellow one made people speak in insults.
It was a necessary lie to protect everyone’s dignity for the time being… and honestly, it wasn’t such a bad idea.
‘Where in the world do drugs like this even come from?’
And beyond that, there was a bigger issue waiting for them.
Their family.
“Wait a minute—that means I have to keep rejecting Ian all the time.”
“So? Who told you to openly confess your love to Ian like that? You already have a terrible memory as it is.”
“… What? Who has a bad brain?”
“Yeah—you. You placed 5th in the midterm rankings.”
“You were carried by Ian too! Why are you changing the topic—?!”
Stella was speechless and glared at Syrah. However, Syrah fired back immediately and looked at her like she was ready to strike.
In the midst of their snowball fight, they realized there was no time for bickering.
A temporary peace treaty was signed.
“Did you understand the setting? We’re supposed to say the opposite of what we really feel to Ian. That means we’re saying bad things to him on purpose.”
“I don’t even know how to say mean things…”
“No, that’s not the point—how about something like, ‘Ian, you’re so…’”
“You two, don’t be shy. Let’s do this properly, okay?”
Syrah laughed and pressed the two of them together. The pressure—like a snake wrapping around the back of their necks—forced them to nod obediently.
After a moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from the distance. Ian was approaching.
* * *
[Ian’s POV]
I ran back to my room and tried to contact the emperor using the communication port.
It was the first time I had ever contacted him outside the designated schedule, so the emperor answered quickly, as if he thought something serious had happened.
[You’re the one calling first… Did something happen?]
“… Your Majesty, what exactly did you send me?”
[Hm? Oh, it already arrived? How’s the effect?]
Seeing the emperor grinning as he said that, I felt an overwhelming desire to punch him through the screen—if only that were possible, physically or politically.
“I gave it to the girls.”
[Well, I selected one and sent two doses to be taken together. Did they eat them separately?]
“Yeah, they did. Why? Can’t they take it separately?”
[It’s not impossible, but… doesn’t that reduce the effect?]
What kind of disaster would unfold from giving someone a drug that makes them say the opposite of what they feel—and another that makes them speak harshly?
The emperor, clearly aware of my struggle, nonchalantly asked if he should send me another box.
“You’re insane… No, I don’t think I need any more of that, Your Majesty.”
[All right. If that’s how you feel. So, did you call just to say that?]
“Is there no antidote for this?”
[Antidote? Yes.]
“What?”
[Time.]
The effect would wear off as time passed. In other words, there was no real antidote—or if there was, he wasn’t going to send it to me.
In hindsight, it made sense. The gift I sent yesterday hadn’t even arrived yet. It took more than a day to send things back and forth between here and the imperial palace.
Even if he sent the antidote now, with the drug only lasting 24 hours, it would wear off before it even arrived.
“… How many hours?”
[You’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep. It’s not that toxic to begin with.]
“No, seriously, why did you even create something like this?”
I couldn’t hold back my frustration and asked him outright.
The emperor simply chuckled and made excuses—as if it wasn’t his fault.
[I didn’t make it.]
“Then who did?”
[My late wife did.]
“… The Empress?”
I went silent. If I insisted on anything further, it might reveal some kind of dark history.
When I shut my mouth, the emperor waved his hand as if telling me not to take it too seriously.
[I was too emotionally closed off, so she gave me that to help me express myself. Then I passed the rest along.]
“… Like this?”
Was this really how people tried to understand each other’s feelings? Something felt off.
Of course, this drug could technically reveal someone’s true feelings… but still…
[Ah, it’s business hours now. I’ll be off. Enjoy yourself.]
“I’m not exactly enjoying my—”
The emperor cut off the communication before I could finish. I didn’t have the nerve to try calling him back.
He’d already said he was busy, so he probably wouldn’t pick up again anyway.
In the end, all I’d learned was that there was no proper antidote. I put down the crystal ball and returned to the girls.
“I’m back… Huh?”
“Ian—!”
As soon as I returned, a slightly blushing Stella rushed up and clung to my arm.
Grabbing my arm tightly, she pressed against my chest and shouted.
“I like you! I like you, Ian—I really like you!”
“… Stella?”
“Stella, don’t hog Ian all to yourself! Everyone here wants him just as badly!”
As Stella held onto one of my arms, Syrah seized the other.
My arms were locked in their grasp as the two of them dragged me off somewhere, all the while claiming to hate me.
They took me to the slime room—apparently to relieve stress—laid me on the floor, and pinned my limbs down.
“You idiot, Ian—”
“Hey, you big dummy who can’t even recognize a woman’s feelings—”
I wasn’t sure if that was their attempt at saying something mean, but before I could respond, more words came flying in.
“Ian, Heo-jeop~. You’re a weakling bound by the limbs of w0men~. Now we’re going to take care of you and make you very, very happy.”
“I like you, I like you, I like you, Ian…”
Syrah’s sweet voice sent shivers down my spine, while Stella’s relentless love confession left me numb.
I really wished this was just a dream.
Because this situation was far too absurd to be real.
‘When the drrug wears off… will the girls feel so humiliated they want to d!e?’
I could only hope not—and do my best not to let them shame themselves any further.