CHAPTER~61
The banquet, which had briefly found peace, was once again filled with shock and panic.
“Kyaa! Wh-what’s happening?”
“Oh no, blood from her mouth… what do we do?”
“Quick! Call the physician immediately! Someone poisoned the cup!”
Screams filled the hall. I couldn’t move a single step. My feet wouldn’t obey.
Earlier, Mela had been smiling, even raising her cup with a laugh.
That image lingered, refusing to leave my mind.
…Why? How?
“Kyaa! What is going on?”
The knights rushed in, and the banquet hall doors began closing one by one.
I slowly stepped into the chaos. The terrified screams cut into my ears like knives, yet the more I walked, the weaker my body felt, swaying like reeds.
Just as I nearly bumped into a table, Perzen’s voice struck my ears like lightning.
“Evlyen, focus! You can’t lose consciousness too. You need to get to your daughter. Hold on, okay?”
He reached me at the same time, steadying my shoulders so I wouldn’t fall.
His words forced me to gather my strength and grasp him.
The thought of reaching my daughter moved my frozen body.
Yet, the closer I got, the more dizziness surged, and my stomach churned.
“…Gulp!”
Mela repeatedly vomited dark blood, then seemed to lose consciousness, unresponsive to my calls.
“…Mela, Mela! I’m here. Mom’s here. Stay with me, Mela! Don’t lose consciousness!”
Despite my desperate pleas, Mela’s body was gradually growing cold.
I held her tightly in my arms, desperately trying to restore her body temperature.
Artemene spoke.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, madam. Mela came suddenly, and I couldn’t stop it. Why would someone poison the food…!”
Artemene ground her teeth in frustration at not being able to prevent it.
I was too flustered to respond, keeping my eyes tightly shut.
“Hic… hic…”
Endless tears gathered at my nose and fell drop by drop.
At the same time, a warm hand gently stroked my back. It was Perzen.
“It’s okay. Evlyen, breathe. I’ll make sure she gets better.”
He said this while holding both Mela and me, patting us. His warmth made me lean in and cry without restraint.
The dazzling night hosted by the Decart family ended stained with blood, and the family banquet was cut short.
Uncle Julich, who hosted the banquet, couldn’t hide his displeasure.
Having accidents occur repeatedly at his own event, he could only be flustered.
‘Not just anyone, but a member of the Decart family! And a child barely five years old ate poisoned food. Can he really just say it’s unfortunate?’
Artemene’s fury was extreme in response to Julich’s attitude.
The situation almost escalated into another fight, but Perzen intervened and mediated.
Perzen firmly declared that the responsible party would be held accountable, and the matter was temporarily settled. Mela was immediately moved to her bedroom. Including me, Perzen, Loren, Artemene, and even Reia and Rina, who had heard the news, were all there.
Everyone waited anxiously for Mela to regain consciousness.
“How is Mela’s condition?”
All in the bedroom waited for the physician’s reply, their faces tense. Fortunately, the physician exhaled a sigh of relief before speaking.
“Yes, she has passed the critical stage.”
Everyone’s hearts eased at those words. I gently held Mela’s soft, pale hand and lowered my head.
“It’s amazing. Her body is recovering. I’ve never seen someone with such resilience… It seems Mela has a natural resistance.”
Artemene wiped her tears and stood, asking a question. Everyone seemed startled.
“Resistance to poison? In such a small body?”
“Yes, yes. That’s why I’m surprised. It seems to be acquired resistance through training or experience rather than congenital.”
Even the physician seemed surprised. He had never seen anything like it in his practice.
‘…Could it be?’
Hearing that Mela had a resistance to poison, I looked up at her. In the original story, the heroine had trained from a young age, gradually building immunity to poison.
It wasn’t just training—it was essentially eating non-lethal doses of poison regularly while enduring hunger and pain. This was common not only to her but other children of the Lopenter family. …So it was fortunate that Mela had resistance, though the situation still felt complicated.
Looking at the top of Mela’s head, it was still tinged red, as if returning to her original hair color.
There was no way to confirm what this phenomenon was, but I could only hope it was nothing serious.
For now, all I could do was hope and cheer silently for Mela to endure.
I sighed and stood.
“It’s late, so everyone should return. She’s taken the antidote, so she’ll recover soon.”
People’s anxious gazes followed me. I remained calm and composed.
“Evlyen, I’ll stay with her. Since this happened because of me, I must take responsibility as well, right?”
“Yes, Madam. You can’t watch over her alone. Loren and I will stay, so you should get some rest. You must be tired too…”
“I’m fine. Take care of yourselves first. It’s chaotic enough as it is.”
“But…!”
They showed no intention of backing down. Each insisted they would guard her themselves, which was both heartwarming and troublesome for me.
We couldn’t continue this dispute forever, and just as my headache was about to worsen, Perzen stepped forward.
“Evlyen is right. Everyone should step back for today. I understand your concern, but too many people here is more of a hindrance.”
“Duke…”
He didn’t gesture, but he seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.
“Mela will be more comfortable with just her mother. Come along.”
With that, Perzen patted my head and led everyone outside without another word.
“….”
For a moment, my face heated at the gentle pat he gave.
I stood blankly even after the doors closed, watching his solid figure until it disappeared from view.
“You are…”
When I opened the door, unexpectedly, it was Grimora’s second son, Morris. Startled, he stepped back and bowed politely at ninety degrees.
“Ah, hello, Madam! I’m M-Morris.”
I had heard the Lazar brothers were isolated, so why was this child here?
After hearing that the brothers had tormented Mela, Morris’s visit was not entirely welcome.
Yet, on the other hand, he had helped reveal the truth about Grimora, so I felt grateful.
“I see. But what brings you here? Did you have something to say to Mela…?”
“Ah, I came after hearing the news. Mela-nun, no, is Mela okay?”
Calling her “nun”? Surprised by the unfamiliar title, I first nodded.
Then Morris muttered, “Thank goodness…” and exhaled in relief.
Amazingly, he truly looked relieved, not pretending.
Watching him silently, I saw him sniffle and continue.
“I’m sorry, Madam!”
The words that followed made me stunned.
“It’s… it’s because Mela ate poisoned food. …I think it’s my fault.”
After a brief conversation with Morris, night had fully fallen. I returned to the bedroom and carefully sat beside Mela.
“….”
The quiet atmosphere made Morris’s words echo in my head.
‘Actually, I overheard Mom and a maid talking secretly. It seemed like someone was trying to poison another person. I told Mela, and she ran somewhere… but I didn’t expect this. Really.’
If Morris’s words were true, Mela knew and intentionally consumed the poison.
But I still didn’t understand. She could have just said it had poison. Why did she eat it?
At that moment, the physician’s words crossed my mind.
‘It seems Mela has resistance in her body.’
“Could it be… she knew she had immunity to the poison and did it on purpose…?”
Just as I reached that thought, a headache and dizziness struck.
I stood, and fatigue brought a wave of vertigo.
“Ah….”
My chair hit my leg and toppled over. Just as I was about to lose my balance, a large hand gently wrapped around my waist.
“Per…zen?”
