Chapter 43
“Maris!”
A familiar name sounded from behind.
Maris?
Alice’s shoulders jerked in surprise at the all-too-familiar name.
Footsteps approached from the path along with the call.
It wasn’t just one person’s footsteps.
If Maris wasn’t alone, could Madam Quillian be coming with her?
For a moment, Alice recalled Madam Quillian’s fierce anger heard through the wall.
Though she was no longer afraid of Madam Quillian, she didn’t want to encounter her in a place like this and risk having her hair pulled.
Alice frantically looked around at the approaching footsteps.
Searching for a place to hide.
But there was only one option in sight.
“Damn it.”
The footsteps grew louder.
Alice had no choice but to hurry towards the mansion.
She opened the half-ajar mansion door and slipped inside.
Just as she closed the door and crouched down, the footsteps stopped not far from the mansion.
Alice moved low towards the window beside the door.
Kneeling, she lightly touched the dust-covered windowsill with her index finger and peeked out.
Through the hazy window, she saw two people standing face to face.
One was Maris as expected, and the person in front of her was… a male servant she had never seen before.
Contrary to her expectations, there wasn’t a single hair of Madam Quillian to be seen.
Ah, she had hidden for nothing.
She’d hidden to avoid unnecessary friction with Madam Quillian, but there was no reason to avoid Maris too.
She could just ignore Maris and walk past at this point.
But she couldn’t go out now.
If she went out now, it would reveal that she had been hiding from them like a stray cat.
Wouldn’t it?
She couldn’t say she’d been spending time alone in an abandoned mansion with no one around, nor could she say she had business here.
There was no excuse she could make.
“Ah… but why are they getting so close?”
As Alice was regretting having hidden, the distance between Maris and the unknown servant was gradually closing.
Surely they weren’t planning to have a secret rendezvous here…?
That was something she really didn’t want to see.
Alice’s expression soured as they drew closer.
Just as she was about to turn her head away to protect her eyes, the man’s voice was heard.
“What can I help you with this time?”
“This matter is extremely important. It’s something that absolutely must not fail, so you can’t make any mistakes.”
Maris’s voice was filled with anxiety, unlike her usual spiteful tone.
“What’s going on?”
Alice turned her head sharply towards the window at their ominous conversation.
The atmosphere between the two had changed from romance to thriller in an instant.
Alice leaned in to listen more closely through the window at the unsettling atmosphere.
“If it’s that important… shall we go inside to talk? We’re outside here.”
They’re coming in here?
Alice’s shoulders jerked in dismay as she watched the situation unfold.
What should she do? There was nowhere to hide… should she go into a room?
Just as Alice was about to lift her bottom, Maris exclaimed in horror to the servant:
“No! I’m never going in there! Don’t you know? That’s where the former duchess died! Even when I stayed there briefly while serving the Madam, it was so frightening. They say a maid even saw a ghost there at night. I’m never going in there again.”
The former duchess… Kylus’s mother?
Alice hesitated for a moment.
But before she could think further, their conversation continued.
“I understand. But just in case, please tell me quickly before others come. What do you need me to do?”
“Leave the duke’s mansion without the butler knowing and go to this place.”
Maris took out a folded paper from her apron pocket.
The servant could be seen unfolding the paper, but it was too far to see what was written on it.
“This is… a place that sells illegal drugs, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Tell the owner there that you’ve come to retrieve the medicine Madam Quillian left before. They’ll know what to give you. You must be very careful not to let the butler find out. Understood?”
“……”
“Why aren’t you answering? Did you understand? If this fails, we’ll all really die!”
Despite Maris’s impatient voice, the servant hesitated, fiddling with the paper.
Finally, gripping the paper tightly, the servant spoke.
“…But, aren’t all the drugs sold here poisons? Even if we avoid the butler’s eyes, now that the Duke has woken up, if this goes wrong, we’ll really… die.”
“So what? You’re saying you can’t do it? Tom. You seem to have forgotten, but after the Duke collapsed, you’ve already made him drink poison several times. How can you say you can’t do it now?”
“But that was when the Duke was unconscious…”
“Stop talking nonsense! This is driving me crazy. Don’t you understand the situation? The Duke has regained consciousness, so the Madam is in danger of being driven out of the mansion. No, if the Duke starts investigating what happened when he collapsed, then what will you do?”
Tom’s body flinched visibly.
“If the investigation begins, that’s when we’ll really die. So we have only one way to survive. The Madam’s plan must succeed. Understand?”
Maris bit her lip, unable to hide her anxiety, while Tom roughly ruffled his hair.
When Tom raised his head again, there was no more hesitation on his face.
With a look of resolve, he hid the paper in his jacket’s inner pocket.
“I understand. I’ll do it.”
“You need to bring it within two days. The day of the event is three days from now, when Lord Edellm visits.”
“But who will give the poison to the Duke during the banquet? The butler’s vigilance is too strict right now…”
“Don’t worry about that. Doctor Helkin will do it. You just need to bring the drug properly.”
“Then I’ll move at dawn tomorrow.”
The two nodded at each other as if making a pact.
After they left, Alice remained staring blankly out the window.
“Poison…”
The conversation between Maris and Tom.
Putting together the content of their discussion, there was only one conclusion.
Madam Quillian was trying to poison Kylus once again, using Helkin.
And Alice had just coincidentally overheard all of this incredible information.
She was about to go crazy over this unbelievable coincidence, but the people who had set this plot in motion were already gone.
“What on earth am I supposed to do with this!”
Only Alice’s cry, as she clutched at her pink hair, echoed forlornly through the mansion.
* * *
At the time when Alice was pulling at her hair, Kylus arrived at the First Prince’s palace.
The First Prince of the Empire, who had fallen into a coma two years ago after ingesting an unknown poison.
Reflecting the Prince’s grave condition, the security at the palace was extremely tight.
So much so that imperial knights, rather than the regular guard, were directly in charge of security.
However, having received the Emperor’s permission, Kylus was able to enter the palace without being stopped by them.
But upon entering, the interior was desolate to the point of making the tight security seem ridiculous.
Kylus raised an eyebrow as he looked at the empty interior of the palace.
He knew that after the First Prince collapsed, all the palace attendants serving him had been executed, but he hadn’t expected the atmosphere to be this bleak.
Moreover, there were only three new palace attendants. Far too few to serve a gravely ill prince.
It was hardly recognizable as a prince’s palace.
Kylus’s face hardened as he looked at the three palace attendants who had come to greet him.
This was tantamount to the Emperor abandoning the Prince.
It was an appalling situation, but in a way, it was also fortunate.
Thanks to the lax security inside the palace, Helkin would be able to easily approach the First Prince.
“Your Grace, Duke of Dearrut.”
The First Prince’s chief attendant approached him and bowed.
“I’ve come to see His Highness the Prince with the Emperor’s permission.”
The attendant’s gaze briefly fell on Helkin standing behind Kylus.
A moment of tension passed, but soon the attendant withdrew his gaze without any particular reaction.
“Yes. We received word. I’ll guide you directly to His Highness’s bedchamber, Your Grace.”
The chief attendant only showed Kylus the location of the bedchamber before promptly leaving.
A proper chief attendant would never have left an unconscious prince alone with strangers, but he left the bedchamber without a moment’s hesitation.
Kylus had sensed it from the moment he first saw the attendant’s disinterested face.
That he had no loyalty whatsoever to the First Prince.
Still, actually confirming this truth before his eyes was inevitably disheartening.
After all, Kylus had once thought the First Prince was the most suitable candidate for the next emperor.
And even now, that feeling hadn’t changed.
Or rather… it was more accurate to say there was no one to replace the First Prince.
The Empire had a total of three princes.
The First Prince, Crachino van Pentium, son of the late Empress.
The Second Prince, Axion Pentium, son of the current Empress.
The Third Prince, Alvin Pentium, born from a one-night stand with a bedchamber maid.
The First Prince had been the most capable among them, but he fell into a coma two years ago due to poisoning. The Second Prince lacked ability.
No, the Second Prince’s roguish behavior, which didn’t resemble the current Empress known for her gentleness at all, was infamous in noble society.
Lastly, there was the Third Prince… but as he was called the Emperor’s blemish, he hadn’t even shown his face in society yet.
The Emperor wouldn’t have properly educated his blemish of a Third Prince, so one could guess his abilities without even seeing him.
Therefore, Kylus desperately needed the First Prince.
Having decided to become the center of power, he needed to install a proper emperor.
Kylus looked at the First Prince, who lay with his eyes closed peacefully.
An emaciated face and pale skin devoid of any vitality.
Perhaps this was how he himself had looked while lying unconscious.
Kylus turned his gaze away and looked towards Helkin.
“How is the First Prince’s condition?”
