Chapter 115
* * *
Screeeech.
The iron door opened with an unpleasant sound.
Duke Balkyrino frowned at the damp, musty air.
Stepping through the iron door, everything around him was pitch black.
He stood still to let his eyes adjust to the darkness.
[‘Use Jesentia.’]
The voice that came to mind was soft yet utterly devoid of emotion.
He could tell that the man who had pressured him to use ‘Jesentia’ on his daughter was in as desperate a situation as himself.
“That’s somewhat fortunate, I suppose.”
No matter how wild and unruly Nella was, she was still his daughter.
Though he was still in a position where he had to follow that man’s orders and couldn’t openly defy him, the Duke couldn’t use ‘Jesentia’—with its unknown side effects—on his own daughter.
And as soon as that man left, a message arrived from the imperial palace. An invitation for Nella to attend Silver Lily’s tea party.
It was a perfect excuse to delay using ‘Jesentia’ on Nella.
After immediately sending Nella to the palace, the Duke came here to check on the progress of the ‘Jesentia’ experiment.
“Perhaps the time to use it will come soon.”
Quietly murmuring, the Duke moved further inside.
The eerie atmosphere thickened as he ventured deeper.
Normally, he would have just ordered his butler to report back to him, but the situation had changed.
He needed to see precisely how far the experiment had progressed with his own eyes.
When he reached a dead end, the Duke touched various spots on the wall.
With a small metallic sound, the wall split open, revealing a staircase leading downward.
As he descended the stairs, he could faintly hear someone humming.
The Duke clicked his tongue at the sound, which seemed both excited and pleased.
“That vile hobby of yours hasn’t changed, I see.”
At the Duke’s words, accompanied by a sigh, the humming abruptly stopped. After a brief silence came a bright, clear voice.
“Duke?”
Having reached the bottom of the stairs, the Duke frowned at the figure who approached suddenly and thrust his face forward.
Bloodshot grayish-white eyes filled with a sinister aura, long reddish-brown hair that dragged on the floor, and dark circles that stretched beneath his eyes.
This man never failed to disgust him.
“Wow, wow! Amazing!”
The man exclaimed exaggeratedly, curling his lips into a smile of apparent delight.
“What brings the Duke here in person? Could it be…”
Twisting his body and blushing, the man tried to draw even closer to the Duke.
The Duke turned his head sharply in displeasure and naturally peeled the man off himself.
“Enough nonsense. I’ve come to see the results of ‘Jesentia’ personally.”
“Ah, how boring. And here I was excited, thinking you’d finally volunteer to become a test subject yourself.”
Though grumbling, the man obediently flipped through a stack of documents. Then he felt along the wall somewhere and opened a hidden door.
“We’ve mostly eliminated the major side effects. But we still need more experiments…”
“How much more is needed? Time is of the essence.”
“Hmm. Do you have an urgent need for it?”
The Duke didn’t immediately answer the man’s question. Instead, he scanned the documents and became lost in thought.
The man, staring intently at the Duke, brightened his eyes.
“I knew it. I wondered why the Duke suddenly showed up, but you need to use it, don’t you?”
Looking as if he could die from joy, the man’s face bloomed into a huge smile.
“Finally! Finally, I can reveal my experiment to the world! Finally!”
The man laughed loudly and spun around once in place.
The Duke frowned at the commotion and said, “Be quiet. I want to see the test subjects first.”
“Hee hee, hehehehe! This way! Over here, Duke.”
The man stepped through the door and beckoned to the Duke.
Following him, the Duke found himself in a space lined with iron-barred cells.
“How many are there?”
“A little over fifteen hundred.”
The Duke’s purple eyes turned toward the inside of the bars. It was absolute darkness, without a speck of light.
And within that darkness, breathing living beings existed.
They were watching the Duke, their pitch-black pupils contrasting against the whites of their eyes.
The gazes that poured out held no emotion whatsoever.
Expressionless, senseless beings, they were like statues that only breathed.
The Duke also looked at them expressionlessly before quietly speaking.
“Sit.”
Before the Duke’s powerful voice could even fully echo through the hall, the black-eyed people uniformly bent their knees and sat on the floor, as if by prior agreement.
As before, their faces revealed no emotion.
The Duke, watching this with satisfaction, spoke again.
“Bark, like dogs.”
The Duke’s expression was strangely twisted as he said this.
His purple pupils captured the image of the expressionless people opening their mouths.
Soon the hall was filled with the sound of dogs barking.
Until the Duke commanded them to stop, the black-eyed people simply continued to bark like real dogs.
The man standing beside the Duke also gleamed his grayish-white eyes and wore a deep smile on his lips.
* * *
While Nella was flustered, the imperial physician who had rushed in assessed the situation and approached Lady Grandel.
“I thought Lady Silver Lily had collapsed again.”
The imperial physician’s words essentially confirmed that I had indeed collapsed before.
The uncertain noblewomen exchanged silent glances with each other.
Their exchanged looks contained the question of why Silver Lily had suddenly collapsed.
“Please examine her quickly. I’ve heard Lady Grandel has always been frail…”
I approached the imperial physician and the fallen noblewoman, speaking with concern. The noblewoman had her eyes closed, breathing heavily.
Everyone watched her with worried expressions as she was clearly in pain.
The imperial physician carefully examined her condition, while Nella approached with nervous steps.
“Hmph, it’s pointless anyway…!”
Despite having confirmed that the white flower hadn’t rotted, Nella still couldn’t accept it.
Perhaps it was the entire situation that was difficult for her to process.
After all, the fact that I was alive and well would be quite shocking for her.
“Hmm, this is…”
The imperial physician solemnly examined Lady Grandel, then straightened up.
Everyone’s eyes turned to him as he slowly delivered his diagnosis.
“It’s just a simple cold. She’s developed a fever due to accumulated fatigue.”
“…She collapsed, and that’s really all it is?”
To my question, the imperial physician nodded and elaborated.
“Yes. She’s originally anemic, and it seems she got dizzy when she suddenly stood up, causing her to collapse.”
“That’s absurd!”
Though Nella exclaimed in disbelief, the imperial physician’s expression remained firm.
I asked again, relieved.
“So rest will cure her?”
“Yes, Lady Silver Lily. Please don’t worry too much.”
“It pains me that she’s fallen ill at my tea party. Please provide any medicine that might help her.”
“Of course. First, let’s move the lady to a comfortable place to lie down, and I’ll bring medicine right away.”
As I continued my conversation with the imperial physician, the noblewomen seemed increasingly relieved. Only Nella was watching us with eyes full of anxiety and impatience.
With an incredulous expression, as if this couldn’t possibly be happening, Nella twisted her face and began confronting the imperial physician.
“Are you certain you’ve examined her properly? A simple cold? She won’t wake up if left like this!”
At Nella’s outburst, the imperial physician tilted his head and blinked, as if to say “what are you talking about?”
“Princess, what are you saying? I may have my shortcomings, but I am the imperial physician. I wouldn’t misdiagnose a simple cold like this.”
“It’s not a simple cold!”
“I swear on my career as a physician. Lady Grandel has a cold. Princess, why are you so certain when you have no medical knowledge?”
“That’s…!”
At the imperial physician’s words, Nella crumpled her face and answered.
“I’ve researched this! She’s been poisoned by a colorless, odorless toxin! The other noblewomen will also be in danger if they don’t drink the antidote quickly…!”
Nella stopped mid-sentence. Then she looked at the noblewomen who were staring at her with strange expressions.
The noblewomen standing perfectly fine, whispering about her. They showed no signs of illness, let alone the shadow of death.
Nella’s face turned ashen, and her purple eyes trembled.
“H-how is it that still…”
Sensing something wrong, Nella backed away, her voice trembling.
I gestured to a maid to take Lady Grandel to the lounge to lie down, then approached Nella.
“Princess Nella, there have been too many strange things about your behavior. Some explanation is needed.”
“W-what.”
“Why were you so certain Lady Grandel was poisoned?”
“…!”
“And you specifically mentioned a poison that’s created only when flower scent meets a specific tea.”
“As I said before, I researched it separately!”
“Why did you research it? And how did you know that the flower you ruined was not a lily but a Crea flower? Such a rare and dangerous flower wouldn’t be in the Lily Palace.”
As I calmly asked one question after another, the noblewomen around us looked at Nella with suspicious expressions.
Some nodded vigorously, showing strong agreement.