Chapter 31
Rath Arahan returned to the medical wing about an hour after leaving to summon the priest.
The moment he heard the report, Karlcia headed back there as well. Inside, he fixed his gaze on the priest who had already begun treating Elizabeth.
The man, with pale sky-blue hair, looked at Elizabeth with eyes as clear as transparent water and as deep as a lake—eyes almost identical in color to Karlcia’s own.
At that sight, Karlcia’s expression hardened as he spoke.
“Are you the priest who treated Elizabeth before?”
“……”
The priest did not answer.
He had already been informed of Elizabeth’s condition on the way and had begun treatment immediately.
The priest, Arten, clasped Elizabeth’s hand in his own, closed his eyes, and began murmuring a prayer-like incantation. Soon, a brilliant light flowed from his hands and wrapped around her.
Several minutes later, when the glow faded, he released her hand. Only then did he seem to recall the question directed at him. Turning toward Karlcia, he bowed respectfully.
“I greet the radiant light and eternal sovereign of the Morc Empire, His Majesty Emperor Karlcia Senil Morc. I am Arten, a priest of the Holy Region’s Temple.”
“…….”
Karlcia remained silent.
Rath spoke first.
“Priest, how is the young lady’s condition?”
“As Duke Arahan said, her state is very critical. For now, I have taken measures to prevent the poison from spreading further… however…”
“However? Has too much time already passed?!”
“No. That is not it. It seems I have also identified the nature of the poison.”
“…What?”
Karlcia’s eyes widened at the unexpected statement.
“You identified the poison? The imperial physician couldn’t determine it—yet a single priest could?”
“This poison is not from toxic herbs or animal venom. It is the toxin of a mineral that grows only in the Agrias Marsh, which our Temple regularly purifies.”
“A mineral… with poison? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“The Agrias Marsh is home to many poisonous plants and creatures. Their excrement or expelled toxins are absorbed by certain minerals, which then form a unified poison of their own, further thickening the marsh’s miasma. It is a type of magic ore.”
“Magic ore…”
“Yes. A mystical mineral imbued with magic. That is why the Temple protects and purifies such stones with special care.”
“And if this poison contains that ore’s properties…”
“…Then someone from the Temple must be involved.”
Arten gave a small nod.
Temple involvement.
And the incident had occurred in the Luciella Marchioness’s household—the family of the Saintess, Osborne Luciella.
Could all of this really be coincidence?
Karlcia and Rath both knew something else as well:
Though the Temple purified and protected the Agrias Marsh, the land itself belonged to a certain marquisate located closest to the Holy Region.
Knock knock.
“Your Majesty, Count Horn Arlesia has arrived.”
“Let him in.”
The door opened, and Horn rushed in, too frantic even to greet Karlcia or Rath before hurrying straight to Elizabeth’s bedside.
Behind him entered a maid who had come to nurse Elizabeth—and an unfamiliar man.
“Miss…!! Sniff… it’s me, Maya. Please, open your eyes…!”
Standing beside Horn, Maya looked at Elizabeth’s clothes and kept repeating, “What do we do… what do we do…,” tears falling in heavy drops down her cheeks.
“Ellie…!!”
Horn swallowed hard at Elizabeth’s pale face. Confirming she was still breathing, he wiped his eyes and straightened, then told the man who had come with him to examine her condition.
Rath, puzzled, asked:
“Count Horn, that man is…?”
“Ah—Duke Arahan… Two days ago, while I was briefly away, Ellie was nearly poisoned once already. This is the physician who examined her then—Bowshell.”
“…She was almost poisoned before?”
“Yes. According to Sir Anais, a mysterious letter arrived for Ellie, and it seems the letter had poison on it. And… Ellie said she would find the culprit herself.”
“Ha…!”
After Horn finished speaking, the man beside him—Bowshell—bowed briefly to Karlcia and Rath, then began recounting what had happened.
“…I didn’t know whether it was powdered magic ore or something else, but the young lady fed the tea from the cup she dropped to a bird. Because the bird was small, even that tiny amount spread the poison quickly.”
“…I thought you said it was on the letter earlier.”
Karlcia spoke first, sensing the discrepancy.
Horn had said the poison was on the letter—but Bowshell mentioned the tea.
At Karlcia’s question, Bowshell nodded and glanced toward Maya.
“I greet the sun of the Morc Empire, His Majesty Karlcia Senil Morc. I am Maya, head maid of the Arlesia household. At that time, the young lady said she accidentally dropped the letter into her teacup without realizing it was poisoned.”
“…So the poison dissolved into the tea.”
Bowshell nodded slightly and continued in Maya’s stead.
“Yes. We fed the bird several medicinal herbs known as antidotes, but nothing worked. However, when we boiled and administered the root of the dureup tree, its condition gradually began to improve.”
“The root of the dureup tree…”
Arten, who had identified the poison, murmured thoughtfully.
“That is not usually used as an antidote, is it?”
“Correct. It isn’t normally classified as one. However, I’ve heard that this root prevents certain components of a plant called Andrea from being absorbed by the body. For critically ill patients who require Andrea’s stimulant or hallucinogenic properties, the root is sometimes combined into their medicine.”
“…Andrea is a poisonous plant,” Arten said. “One designated S-grade in the Holy Region. If the ore contains toxins derived from that plant, then what this physician described may indeed prevent its absorption in the body—making detoxification possible.”
Karlcia nodded at the words of Bowshell and Arten.
He immediately ordered Bowshell and the imperial physician to begin preparing an antidote at once. To Arten, he commanded that he obtain from the High Priest of the Holy Region a list of all those who had recently entered the Agrias Marsh.
Leaving Elizabeth’s care to Horn and her maid, Karlcia and Rath exited the medical wing.
Once the door closed behind them, the two men looked at one another, as if silently sharing the same thoughts.
Rath spoke first.
“The young lady truly almost died.”
“…I know.”
“I have no intention of forgiving this. Sir Anais likely feels the same.”
“…….”
“The reason I have overlooked everything until now was because of Your Majesty. I wished to avoid unnecessary scandal. That is also why I had no contact with the young lady before the ball.”
“What are you trying to say, Rath?”
“If—should you order me to overlook this again—”
Rath’s black eyes flickered coldly as he stared at him.
Karlcia felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Long ago—just once—he had seen that look before.
Not even when the Duke died, nor when the Duchess passed away, had Rath worn such an expression. Yet Karlcia was certain he had seen it somewhere.
But… why can’t I remember?
Like the little girl in his dreams—
a blurred memory lingered.
Someone had once looked at him with piercing coldness.
Someone had once told him they would protect him.
Yet none of those people existed here now.
“That won’t happen,” Karlcia said at last. “Lady Arlesia holds great significance for us.”
“…You still see her that way.”
“The hidden card of the Emperor’s faction. For now, that is all she appears to be.”
It was a lie.
She had clearly changed. Karlcia knew it well.
He wanted to deny it—but he couldn’t.
Since the ball, not a single report had arrived saying Elizabeth had caused trouble.
On the contrary, he had heard that—just as Rath had mentioned—she had taken a slap in place of a commoner. There was even news that a certain mother and son were searching for the young man who had been struck by a noble on their behalf.
Most likely, that young man had been Elizabeth in disguise.
Still—
for now, she remained the hidden card of the Emperor’s faction.
She was the only granddaughter of the Vincent family, one of the two most powerful pro-imperial houses. With Marchioness Edna Vincent gone, and Countess Cecilia Arlesia also departed, Elizabeth was the only woman left.
“…Yes. That is how she must be seen.”
Karlcia had to see her that way.
If even he openly sided with Elizabeth, the noble faction would fear their power weakening—and to preserve it, they might orchestrate poisoning incidents like today again and again.
He knew it well.
Elizabeth had been entangled in countless poisoning attempts and assassination plots.
That was why he had believed she was slowly losing her sanity. He had assumed her indulgence in luxury and decadence stemmed from that.
But—
she had changed.
And it was undeniably for the better.
