Chapter 161
Helkin, clapping his hands toward Alice as if praising a child who had given the correct answer, calmly continued.
“Your Highness said it yourself. That day, you were reading a book as usual while eating grapes. And you collapsed after eating just a few grapes. So naturally, people would have focused on only one thing.”
“The grapes…”
As Alice spoke softly, Helkin responded with gleaming eyes.
“Yes. People would have assumed the poison was on the grapes or tableware. And since they didn’t know what the poison was, they spent day and night examining innocent objects.”
Helkin sighed as if those investigators had been pathetic, then continued.
“But if the enemy knew the characteristics of lolopora well and applied it not to the food or tableware, but to the book Your Highness was reading… The poison would have seeped into your fingertips each time you turned a page.”
The faces of the Count and the Prince gradually turned pale as they listened to his words.
“And if you then touched grapes with those poisoned hands… the toxin would have spread through your body even faster.”
“And since the poison was ultimately on Your Highness’s fingertips, it wouldn’t have been detected on the food or tableware.”
Helkin finished his explanation with a triumphant smile.
Poison on the book…
It was quite an innovative idea. Befitting the Empress’s meticulous planning.
While Alice was inwardly impressed, the First Prince, whose face had hardened unlike Helkin’s, slowly opened his mouth.
“That book… was given to me by Her Majesty the Empress.”
The moment the First Prince finished speaking, a heavy silence descended upon the bedroom.
But the reason each of the four people remained tight-lipped with frozen expressions was different for each.
Alice kept quiet because she already knew the Empress was the true culprit. Count Latrang remained silent out of anger and suspicion. The First Prince was speechless from the shock of an unbelievable truth.
And finally, Helkin had clamped his mouth shut like a clam the moment he heard the word “Empress,” out of fear.
He had an instinctive feeling that he had touched something tremendous that shouldn’t have been disturbed.
The triumphant smile had long since disappeared from Helkin’s face.
He swallowed dryly as he anxiously observed the rigid expressions of Count Latrang and the First Prince.
Then he carefully broke the ominous silence.
“Um… I would like you to understand that everything I just said is merely a hypothesis from my own mind.”
Haha.
Helkin let out an awkward laugh and spoke at uncharacteristic length.
“They must have conducted a thorough investigation at the time. Since I wasn’t even present then, isn’t it highly possible that my hypothesis is wrong?”
Helkin was trying to extract himself from the situation.
If the Empress was truly involved in the First Prince’s poisoning… He might lose his head for speaking carelessly.
‘I just need to follow the Duke’s orders and treat the First Prince.’
Helkin resolved not to meddle in unnecessary matters. However, Count Latrang had no intention of letting him go.
“No. I don’t think your hypothesis is wrong. You immediately identified the poison that no one else could determine.”
The Count declared while looking at Helkin.
“So it’s highly likely that your hypothesis is correct this time as well.”
“But… Count. This is really just my assumption…”
Though Helkin let his words trail off with a troubled expression, the Count pressed him for more information.
“You said the poison the First Prince consumed was definitely lolopora, a desert poison, correct?”
“Yes… that’s right, but…”
“Is there a way to prove it? I’m not doubting you. But if you merely claim with words that you’ve identified a poison that no doctor could determine for two years, neither His Majesty the Emperor nor the nobles will believe it.”
“Of course they wouldn’t…”
As Helkin nodded glumly, Count Latrang continued.
“So to catch the true culprit who plotted to poison the Prince, we must first identify what poison was used. We need to prove that first to catch the tail of the true culprit.”
Count Latrang asked, “Can you prove that the poison is lolopora?”
“Well… proving that the poison is lolopora isn’t difficult, but…”
Helkin let out a troubled groan before beginning his explanation.
“Although His Highness’s body has healed and recovered, the lolopora poison is easily absorbed but not easily detoxified… Some traces of the poison must still remain in His Highness’s blood.”
Helkin pushed up his glasses, which had slid down from the sweat on the bridge of his nose, and continued.
“So if we take a small sample of His Highness’s blood and add lolopora poison to it, the poison won’t be absorbed into the blood but will separate.”
“Separate? What exactly does that mean?”
When the Count asked with a puzzled expression, Helkin answered as if sharing an interesting fact.
“The funny thing about this poison is that once it enters a host’s body, it attaches like a tentacle’s suction cup and self-replicates. So when another poison enters, it creates a defensive barrier. Even if it’s the same poison.”
The First Prince, who had been silent, said in a low voice, “What a vicious poison.”
Helkin responded slowly, feeling somehow heavy-hearted despite not being the one who had used the poison.
“…Indeed. And these characteristics of lolopora aren’t known only to me; they’re also documented in the Dictionary of Deadly Poisons. So it should be easy to prove that the poison Your Highness ingested was lolopora.”
At Helkin’s confident affirmation that proof was possible, Count Latrang’s gloomy face brightened slightly.
He continued questioning Helkin without pause.
“Helkin, it’s truly fortunate that you possess such extensive knowledge about this poison. So I wonder, could you perhaps also prove that the lolopora poison was on the book the Prince read?”
“What?”
Helkin’s shoulders twitched as he made a bewildered face.
Proving that the poison was lolopora and proving that the poison was on the Prince’s book were matters of entirely different dimensions.
Hadn’t the Prince clearly stated?
That the book was given by the Empress.
And if Helkin proved that the poison was on that book, it would be tantamount to identifying the Empress as the true culprit.
That’s why he had tried to subtly extract himself from the situation.
But Count Latrang was intent on pulling him in even deeper.
Helkin lowered his gaze, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his sweaty hands.
It was a demeanor filled with tension and anxiety that anyone could see.
Only then did Count Latrang realize he had been thinking only from his own perspective. He spoke to Helkin in a coaxing tone.
“Doctor, I promise you this. I will never put you in danger. And if you help us catch the true culprit, I pledge on the honor of House Latrang to richly reward you.”
Helkin, though competent, was a commoner.
For the Count to ask for help while pledging his family’s honor was almost like bowing his head to Helkin.
A noble from a prestigious ancient family, no less.
But… Helkin was still anxious.
Just when he thought he could finally live a stable life, he seemed to be getting entangled in something again—something incomparably more serious than the incident with Lady Quillian.
As Helkin hesitated with a troubled expression, Alice, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up.
“Helkin.”
“Yes?”
Startled by the sudden call, Helkin jerked his head up toward Alice.
“You are a person of House Dearrut.”
“Yes. I know. I am the Duke’s personal physician… aren’t I…”
Helkin made an expression that seemed to ask what this nonsensical statement was about.
He really was quite dense.
Alice explained her meaning with a small sigh.
“What I mean is that House Dearrut stands behind you. The strongest house in the Empire is at your back—who would dare to easily kill you?”
Of course, the Empress was a madwoman who wouldn’t care about such things, but for the sake of Helkin’s peace of mind, Alice deliberately omitted that fact.
“Ah…”
Understanding Alice’s words, Helkin stopped fidgeting his anxious fingers.
Alice continued with a gentle smile.
“Plus, Count Latrang has pledged his family’s honor and promised a reward. Helkin, this isn’t a bad thing for you. It’s a very good opportunity.”
Indeed, Alice was persuading Helkin to help Count Latrang.
This was an excellent opportunity not only for Helkin but for Alice as well.
Alice had made a deal with Count Latrang ultimately to elevate the Third Prince to Crown Prince as quickly as possible to monitor the Empress.
But if it was revealed that the Empress was the true culprit who had poisoned the First Prince, they could bring down the Empress even before the Third Prince became Crown Prince.
Rather than merely monitoring her, they could drive her out from the Empress’s Palace where the Dark Specter resided.
Then the specter would also lose its host, buying them ample time until the chief deity found a good way to eliminate the specter.
When she saved the First Prince, she hadn’t anticipated such an opportunity would arise.
‘Saving the First Prince was indeed the right thing to do.’
Alice smiled deeply at Helkin as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
But for some reason, Helkin leaned his chin back and took a step away, as if finding Alice’s deepened smile unsettling.
‘Look at that!’
Alice felt a surge of indignation for a moment, but needing Helkin’s help desperately, she suppressed her anger and spoke softly.
“So Helkin, you don’t need to be anxious.”
“…Since you say so, my lady, my mind is much more at ease. Thank you.”
“I’m glad. Now, tell us without hesitation. The method to prove the poison was on the book. Doctor, you know it, don’t you?”
At Alice’s direct words, Helkin flinched and his lips quivered.
But Alice didn’t waver in the slightest. She was certain that Helkin knew the method.
After all, if he didn’t know how to prove it, he would have immediately said there was no such method, or honestly admitted he didn’t know.
But Helkin said nothing and only appeared flustered.
Like someone who knew the solution but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Just then, Helkin exhaled a long breath. As if having finished deliberating, his lips, which had only been quivering, finally produced a proper voice.
“Yes. I know a way to prove that poison was applied to the book.”
