DYNASTY ── the remarried empress

𝟎𝟏𝟓. grand duke kaufman.

            ALARMED, sovieshu stepped back and swiftly turned towards navier. "why is he doing that?"

could they say anything about the potion? grand duke kaufman approached sovieshu and smiled at him. "it's good to see you like this. you look handsome today, as always."

sovieshu's face stiffened. he knew grand duke kaufman did not normally act this way. after staring at the duke for another moment, sovieshu handed him the file he was holding. "i don't know what you're playing at, but control yourself." he spoke in a coldly formal voice and left the room. did he run away...? it looked like it. sovieshu's hurried footsteps finally faded away.

astrid was still dumbfounded when she turned back to look at the grand duke. though the situation was funny, she didn't know if she could laugh when this could turn out seriously bad for him. wouldn't he want to go after sovieshu?

grand duke kaufman remained stock-still, though he was still red in the face. "are you alright?" navier tried to approach him cautiously, but the man held out his hand to stop her.

"don't come. are you jealous of me?" the grand duke was now in love with the emperor, and navier was the emperor's wife. however, the grand duke's brow furrowed. the expression on his face wasn't different from before. instead of jealousy, but he had a red face and moist eyes. an expression that looked like curiously like...excitement. dilated pupils, red nose, trembling lips... 

"grand duke?" astrid asked, stepping forward

"call me kaufman." he said, "damn it. don't listen to me. more effective than i thought... ah..."

"grand duke..."

"call me kaufman...no, please go. "she looked at him in confusion, and he waved his hands quickly in the air. "the potion is more effective than i thought. right now, i love you to the point where i'm willing to risk a strange misunderstanding from your brother to protect you. at least that's how it feels."

"ah!"

"when I look at you, all i see are your lips, neck, and beautiful eyes. and when i breathe... what perfume do you use? it's wonderful."

astrid couldn't help but a she fell into a fit of laughter, the potion truly had a powerful effect. grand duke kaufman, in attempt to stem the babbling flowing from his mouth, closed his eyes and pressed his fingers on his temple before continuing.

"this is the situation now, so please leave. if i don't smell you, i'll be fine soon. then I can go back to my room and take the antidote."

he clenched his fists and sweat beaded on his tanned skin. astrid nodded and quickly let herself out of the room as navier hurriedly followed. astrid gave a fleeting glance backward. the door remained closed.

when she returned to her room, she felt a strange sensation inside of her. if you are loved by someone, would they still listen to you from the other side of the door? how would it feel to have someone go crazy because of you? she became restless because she had never experienced it before.

── the next day, astrid asked a lady-in-waiting to pay a visit to grand duke kaufman to see how he was doing. "what happened yesterday?"

"grand duke kaufman had some trouble with the emperor. we hadn't the chance to talk afterwards."

the lady-in-waiting gave a sympathetic nod before leaving, and astrid sat at the table to wait for her to report back. grand duke kaufman said yesterday he would return to his room and drink the antidote, so he should be fine by now. she was more worried if he came across her brother again yesterday.

to her surprise, the lady-in-waiting did not return alone, but was accompanied by the grand duke. she went to the parlor room to greet him.

he looked somewhat different than yesterday. he normally wore comfortable, practical outfits, but today his attire was much finer, and his was hair also meticulously combed back, emphasizing his strong jawline. When astrid looked into his eyes, she noticed they were moist again. "kaufman, are you all right...?" she asked, walking towards the man

kaufman didn't look well, but she asked him anyway out of politeness. he shook his head and asked for a private conversation. astrid nodded, and the ladies-in-waiting left as quick as they could. 

when they were alone, he spoke in a tight voice, as if exhausted from heavy restraint. "i missed you. i was dying to see you...no, listen." immediately following the humiliating words came an awkward smile. and astrid couldn't help but let out a light laugh. he covered his face in humiliation, "please don't tease me, your imperial highness," he murmured

astrid's laughter died down and she covered her mouth with her white and peony embroidered hankerchief, "no, grand duke ─ believe me, i had no intention to tease you. i just find it quite amusing how different you are to how you usually are," still, he seemed more in control than yesterday, and astrid had him seated at a table, "is there no antidote?" she asked

in all honesty, while his predicament was amusing, astrid was far more worried about him. It was her first time seeing that human eyes could be filled with such affection, but the grand duke current behavior would look strange to any outside observers. the problem was, he was obligated to keep meeting her for our diplomatic negotiations. "there is. it didn't work."

"oh...do you have another antidote? the other antidote could be the wrong one." astrid thought would be suspicious if he had the correct antidote in the first place. instead of answering, however, grand duke kaufman put his hands together and awkwardly stared out the window. "grand duke?"

was this the effect of medicine? he looked quite sheepish, "would you like me to cover my face?"astrid  asked him, but he shook his head.

"no. then i won't be able to see your face. it won't work." did that mean the potion worked even when she wasn't in front of him? the potion was influencing his words, but he sounded clear... in any case, it was hugely embarrassing. the speaker must be experiencing a more hellish feeling. "it's not the wrong antidote."

"why are you so sure? it wasn't an antidote for a love potion, was it?" astrid asked as her eyes widened at the grand duke's silence "it was?" she looked at him in astonishment, and he pursed his lips.

"yes." her eyes widened. why did grand duke kaufman already have an antidote for that specific drug? he nervously tapped the table with his fingertips before making a confession. "it was a gift from me."

"the love potion?"

"...yes. I didn't expect its effect to be this powerful." astrid mouth opened in surprise as she processed the information. grand duke kaufman was the anonymous sender of the love potion. she knew the duke was behaving oddly now because of the potion, but he would have been sober when he first sent it to navier. her mind blanked on a suitable response, and when he spoke it was in a stiff voice. "it was frustrating."

"frustrating... ?" she then smiled, "is this about navier, sovieshu and rastha?"

his shoulders dropped, "i know it was foolish, but i didn't like to see you upset,"

so the love potion was some kind of consolation? it was hard to tell if he was serious. she stared at him, but he looked away with a frown on his face. an embarrassed silence cloaked the room, punctuated only by the unusually loud ticking of the clock. finally, the grand duke heaved a sigh.

"i shouldn't keep further company with you. i keep becoming interested in you, and i shouldn't say anything."

"are you going to leave now?"

"can i hold you? ─ I'm going." he stood up from his seat and walked to the door, and astrid followed him from behind. He half-opened the door, then suddenly turned back. the wildness in his dark gaze left her stunned.