Chapter 337

"You really captured both of them. Impressive, Cellinne. Thank you for your hard work."

"This much is nothing. I barely held back from wanting to break their backs on the way here."

Cellinne snorted lightly while looking at the two people roughly shoved into the corner.

The servant and maid, bound hand and foot with cloth stuffed in their mouths, looked at those surrounding them with terrified eyes.

A man with wheat-colored long hair tied in one bundle, a muscular old man yawning with his mouth wide open, a woman looking down at them with cold eyes, and a woman with terrifyingly tremendous strength.

The wheat-haired man, Dardin, examined the servant's face and said.

"This person definitely served Yesung. I remember asking him to bring something to drink to Yesung's room."

"Mmph, mmph, mph!"

"You want to deny it? That's impossible. I remember you grumbling that Yesung barely drank water."

Dardin spoke kindly to the man desperately shaking his head, then looked at Cellinne.

"Cellinne. Did you hear what these people were saying? Where did they meet?"

"They met in front of the tower Yesung supposedly destroyed. The woman said she would plant a forged letter after becoming friendly with me? Oh, and the man said he had to make some kind of report tomorrow."

"I see. These two were in the 3rd Prince's palace for this purpose from the beginning. I understand well."

When Dardin removed the cloth stuffed in their mouths, the maid quickly screamed.

"What are you planning to do with us now!"

"You shouldn't shout at night. Isn't that rude to those around us?"

Eva, standing beside Dardin, handed him something.

Dardin showed it to the servant and maid and continued speaking.

What he held in his hand was a pitch-black pill, small as a thumbnail and suspiciously glossy.

"As you know, the person beside me is the viscountess of the Primavera family, second to none in Aquilonia's pharmaceutical and medical fields. She grew up learning vast knowledge from the viscount and young viscount since childhood."

"......"

"Ah, I've talked too long. To get to the point, this is poison. A terrible poison like no other in this world, personally prepared by Primavera Viscountess."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cellinne squeezed the maid's jaw to force it open.

Dardin put one black pill into the maid's mouth and blocked her nose until she swallowed.

After forcibly feeding the medicine to the trembling servant in the same way,

Eva confirmed both their mouths were clean and said coldly.

"The poison I made doesn't dissolve immediately. It stays in the body for at least a week. But after that, it first causes the liver's natural detoxification ability to fail, then gradually spreads throughout the body causing extreme pain. And finally, you die when your blood vessels burst."

"Such a vicious thing!"

"Why? You also fed arsenic to our mage. I think it's much more generous treatment than arsenic in that it gives you time."

The servant and maid began to well up with tears. Dardin smiled as if pitying them.

"Well, though Primavera Viscountess has threatened you like this, she also has the antidote."

"An, antidote?"

"Yes. That's right. The only antidote in the world. Ah, I'm not just saying that. We really could only make one bottle due to lack of medicinal ingredients."

Two people poisoned.

But only one antidote?

To the bewildered pair, Dardin kindly explained.

"Primavera Viscountess plans to give the antidote to whichever of you two is more helpful to us. Right?"

"I'd like to just throw it into the fireplace in front of your eyes. Unfortunately, the situation being what it is. Think of yourselves as lucky."

"So she says. Since the viscountess might destroy the antidote if she gets upset, I'll tell you quickly."

He crouched down in front of the two.

His ink-stained finger pointed at the maid.

"You become the bridge connecting His Highness the 3rd Prince's palace and the annex. For that, I'd like you to become Cellinne's personal maid from now on. You said you originally wanted this. And you."

The finger now pointed at the servant.

"That report—who does it go to? What format is the reporting? And when was the order to put arsenic in the mage's room? When orders come down from that side, you'll need to report to us immediately."

"B-but!"

"Of course, if this matter is revealed to others, you'll be found somewhere in the palace as tattered corpses like rags. Ah, of course, if you don't need the antidote, it doesn't matter. Feel free to spread rumors."

The two had no choice.

If they didn't receive the antidote within a week, they would die with all their blood vessels bursting throughout their bodies.

The two, who prioritized present safety over afterlife happiness, had no choice but to nod while crying and eating mustard.

Valter and Dardin moved to another location to interrogate the servant.

Cellinne, along with Eva, escorted her while monitoring her to the servants' exclusive passage.

Unless her liver had swollen with audacity, she probably wouldn't think of running out of the annex in this state again.

Only after the maid staggered and disappeared downstairs did Cellinne whisper.

"Can't we immediately submit those guys as evidence and claim Yesung's innocence?"

"Their status is too low for that. We haven't even found out who their superiors are, right? If we make a mistake, we might get blamed instead."

"I see..."

As expected, devising schemes to deceive others was difficult.

Thinking this, Cellinne suddenly looked at Eva.

"Eva."

"Yeah?"

"What you fed those people—was it real poison? The poison... did you make it? Directly? It wasn't Dardin threatening you or anything?"

Eva looked at the deeply worried Cellinne and smiled slightly.

"Well, they won't die. But their stomachs will hurt a bit starting tomorrow."

"Their stomachs will hurt? But they won't die?"

"If they don't get treatment in time, they'll go to the bathroom seven times a day, and it'll be so bad they'll wish their intestines would flow out instead."

"Ah, so Eva. What you made right now."

It was Aquilonia's most vicious diarrhea medicine!

Something that shouldn't have been created had come into being!

Poison was terrible too, but hearing this explanation, why did the diarrhea medicine seem more wicked?

But Cellinne didn't bother asking, and instead quietly linked arms with Eva.

She felt like she shouldn't get on Eva's bad side in the future.

The next day, as predicted, Cellinne's personal maid was changed.

Cellinne outwardly treated the newly changed maid very kindly while never wanting to be away from her side for even a moment.

Thanks to this, the maids sneered that 'the mistake-making maid and the commoner mercenary stick together.'

But it had no effect on Cellinne's personal maid at all.

That was understandable. The maid had more urgent problems than the annex maids' sarcasm.

"Ah, Miss. I, bath, bathroom."

"Go ahead. I'll time you from the moment you leave."

Cellinne watched the maid rush out of the room, hunched over and trembling, and somehow felt sorry for her.

This was already the fifth time today. The effect seemed much stronger than what Eva had described.

Every time she returned from the bathroom, seeing the maid become more haggard was pitiful beyond words.

Of course, she still wouldn't give the antidote yet.

While the maid was squeezing out tears going only between the bathroom and bedroom under Cellinne's iron surveillance,

The people in the annex began steadily planning Yesung's rescue operation.

* * *

After dinner, having dismissed all the servants, Yurik was in a thoroughly irritated state.

Yesung was trapped in the Mage Tower, and Duke of Ophir's family continued advocating for Yesung's execution while generating supporters.

Moreover, it wasn't just a simple killing.

They claimed that attempting to assassinate the Queen Dowager was the same as trying to kill both the Queen Dowager and her royal heir,

And they were screaming that his corpse should be hung from the top of the royal castle as a warning to everyone.

The reason Duke of Ophir's family made such extreme claims was,

Because if the Queen Dowager's position became solid, the ducal family would become Aquilonia's one and only power holder.

Founding contributors, the Mage Tower's biggest patron, great feudal lords of the vast south.

Having all of that, they paradoxically wanted even more.

That's why they wanted Brythunia's military power, and furthermore wanted to become something of the Thurian Empire.

Yurik had no interest in the struggle for dominance itself, whether humans carved up the continent or swallowed it whole.

But if it affected Yesung, that was different.

He couldn't become such a heartless being as to let his only 'family' be sacrificed to human conflicts.

That's why Yurik was deliberating.

A way to extract Yesung from the Mage Tower and place humans like Cellinne, Dardin, Eva, and Valter together in a safe place.

If it were just Yesung alone, he would certainly be lonely,

But if he took four more humans who liked him, he probably wouldn't be too sad.

With humans to distract his attention, wouldn't he not notice even if a country like Aquilonia disappeared entirely?

Yurik was scratching his drying hair when he picked up the black sash placed on the bed.

He let the hair he had neatly tied with it hang over his shoulders,

And was about to pick up the letter spread on his desk. He intended to finish the work he had received this morning but had been putting off answering until now.

-Tap tap.

No, he was trying to.

-Tap tap.

Yurik looked at the window for a moment.

When he unlocked and pushed it open, cool night air flowed into the room.

While checking if there was anything suspicious around, he looked down and saw people he never imagined would be there.

"...What are you doing there?"

"Your Highness!"

Cellinne, Dardin, and Eva were huddled together under his window, wearing dark cloth.

Yurik was speechless, watching them wave at him, and asked whatever came to mind.

"Where's Valter?"

"We left Grandfather behind because his big body might get us caught!"

"The elder asked us to send his regards."

"How are you here? Leave before the guards catch you."

"Guards? They're probably frantic about the maid who collapsed from diarrhea!"

What were these humans trying to do?

Yurik rested his elbow on the window sill and stared at them quietly. The three looked well-fed and healthy from their time in the annex.

Well, that was better than being gaunt and shabby.

"Now that you've seen my face, go."

"Why would we come just to see Your Highness's face? Maybe if it were Adonis. Your Highness, I didn't see you that way, but you're full of romance."

"What?"

"We came because of Yesung."

They came to him because of Yesung. Were they planning to ask him to save Yesung?

If that was it, he was about to answer that he was already devising methods,

But before that, Dardin hurriedly pulled out a rolled scroll from his chest and waved it.

"Your Highness. How about hiding somewhere temporarily after extracting Yesung from the Mage Tower?"

"Where to?"

"It would be good to go to the Barakan archipelago or a country friendly to Asgard. There you could observe Aquilonia's political situation for a while."

"Are you telling me to give up everything I've done so far?"

Yurik almost laughed. His humans were fearless. Who raised them like this?

Because Yesung had only treated them kindly, they had certainly changed to express their opinions strongly.

When Yurik propped his chin indifferently, Eva stepped forward this time.

"Your Highness, giving up and knowing when to retreat are different. We still support Your Highness and hope you achieve what you desire. But separately from that, we also want Yesung to be safe. We owe him a great debt."

"A debt."

"So we're asking if you might leave Aquilonia with Yesung to catch your breath for a while."

"Eva is right, Your Highness. Asgard's king has strategic fondness for Your Highness, but the Queen—no, she might eliminate not only Your Highness but all of us in the worst case."

Hearing Dardin's words, Yurik blinked.

He suddenly thought that might be the case.

It was he who had rejected the Queen's affection, and because of that, the Queen had framed Yesung as a poisoner.

If he didn't show her a proper response, Dardin's imagination might become reality.

"Do you know how to cross the border?"

"Valter is an expert in that area. Isn't he the only real mercenary among us?"

"Can you extract Yesung? The Mage Tower is directly guarded by the Royal Guard and their captain. The mages never leave their posts."

"If it's that, I have a good plan too. So you don't need to worry."

Eva spoke boldly. Cellinne kept nodding and made eye contact with Yurik.

"Your Highness, momentary shame can't be more precious than life. If you're just alive, you can do anything in the future. Frankly speaking, Your Highness is younger than the Queen! So let's go. Let's all leave Aquilonia together!"

Leave. Leave Aquilonia.

Yurik had always just circled around one place for Yesung's sake.

But this time, he would leave for him. To a distant place, where no one was.

Only with him and Yesung, and some quite admirable humans. To a place with no dangers, schemes, or dark struggles.

A tranquil and peaceful place that reminded him of ancient Shambhala.

Such political strife and dark struggles were no longer nutritious. He didn't want to keep Yesung in such a place either.

Yurik was silent for a long time.

The three people under the window looked up at him nervously. Someone swallowed dry saliva.

"-I could have handled it myself. I wasn't going to tell you that. And surely you'd be disappointed in my judgment. But I thought I had to do it."

"Your Highness!"

"Not now. I've changed my mind."

"Th-then?"

"Prepare for what seems like it will be a long journey. From what I've heard, Duke of Ophir is extremely hardline and public opinion is flowing that way. It seems Yesung's execution verdict will come quickly."

"When approximately?"

"At most within three days. It will be tight, but plan without fail. It would be good to meet the night after tomorrow."

Cellinne covered her own mouth and held back a cry of joy. Eva smiled with relief.

Yurik watched them hug each other and stamp their feet, then closed the window and came inside.

He picked up the letter on his desk.

The letter written in the Queen Dowager's handwriting was a kind of ultimatum.

A courtship that was desperate to the point of being pitiful because it had no pride whatsoever, demanding Yurik's surrender and taking even Yesung and the companions confined in the annex as hostages.

Yurik threw it into the fireplace without a moment's hesitation.

By the night after tomorrow, the Queen would be left alone in the royal castle without him.

That alone made Yurik feel quite good.