Chapter 21: Poison – 4

Splaash!

The water from Vivian’s mouth completely soaked my arm.

By now, no more food was coming out.

Only water full of charcoal powder flowed from her.

In fact, perhaps due to a lack of food intake, after the first few times, she had only been regurgitating water.

Now, this was already the twenty-second time.

But it still didn’t feel like it was enough.

As I stared at Vivian, who had just vomited the water, I reached my hand toward the maids behind me.

The maids, trembling, handed me another cup of charcoal-infused water.

Vivian was already at her limit.

It had been a long time since her powerless body had completely leaned against mine.

She had closed her eyes, perhaps because the dizziness was unbearable.

Her breathing was easier than before, but it was still shallow and thin, as if it could stop at any moment.

“Drink more.”

Even seeing her like that, I fed her more water.

Exhausted, she seemed to drift in and out of consciousness and didn’t respond well to my words anymore.

I laid Vivian down on my arm.

Slowly, I poured the water into her mouth.

In response, she swallowed the water bit by bit, as if by reflex.

The floor of the hall was full of rags soaked with black water.

The maids busily shooed away onlookers, while some grind new charcoal beside me.

The charcoal I had prepared was already gone, all consumed by Vivian.

But now, there was plenty of charcoal-water prepared, enough that it wouldn’t run out.

“Cough! Cough!”

Then, Vivian choked on the water and coughed violently.

I sat her up and gently patted her back.

The cup of water I had been about to feed her spilled over and lay on the floor.

After her coughing fit, she slumped again.

I could instinctively tell she was at her limit.

It seemed difficult to push her body any further at this point.

I spoke to the maids.

“Prepare the last cup with extra charcoal. She won’t throw this one up.”

Following my orders, they prepared a cup of water with twice as much charcoal as before and handed it to me.

I had to hope that this final cup would help her.

I shook Vivian awake.

“Rondor, wake up.”

Her eyelids fluttered open weakly.

Underneath, her red eyes, like jewels, looked at me.

“It’s the last one. Drink this, and then you can sleep.”

-Nod.

Vivian nodded again in agreement.

I brought the cup to her lips.

She frowned slightly, as if the rough, gritty texture of the charcoal was hard to handle.

But she drank the entire cup I gave her.

After swallowing the last drop, she looked at me again.

Her expression seemed to ask if it was really over now.

I nodded to her.

With that, the last bit of strength left her body.

She completely lost consciousness and went limp.

“…Well done.”

I whispered softly to her.

Then, I slipped my arms under her back and lifted her up.

“Nngh…”

She was heavier than I expected.

No, actually, I was weaker than I thought.

I had been overconfident just because I was a bit larger, but now I realized I should work out more.

“We’ll do it.”

The maids hurriedly came over and offered to help.

It seemed they didn’t trust me, since I was still small.

But I shook my head.

I didn’t trust them more than they didn’t trust me.

These were the maids who hadn’t done anything while the family head was poisoned.

Even after the poisoning, they had been slow to respond.

If I were the head of the family, these maids would have all been punished.

…Besides, I thought one of them might be a traitor.

I couldn’t entrust Vivian to maids like these.

The moment I decided to stand by Vivian’s side, the world around me began to look different.

Was this how Vivian had been feeling all this time?

Everyone seemed full of hidden darkness.

It might have been easier if they had openly shown me the disgust they had for her, like they did to me.

But they came close, pretending to be concerned, which made it feel all the more unpleasant.

As I said, the war had begun.

Even if I didn’t know who had targeted Vivian, they weren’t going to give up just because the poisoning failed.

I intended to stay by her side until she regained consciousness.

There was no knowing if someone might try something while she was unconscious.

Even though my presence wouldn’t change much, I still felt more at ease being there than not.

“Clean up here.”

I ordered the unreliable maids and started walking.

A few maids hesitated and followed me.

I didn’t pay them any mind.

Vivian’s room was on the third floor.

It was quite a struggle to carry her there.

By the time I laid her down on the bed, sweat was trickling down my forehead.

***

Vivian was running away.

“Haa…! Haa…!”

I didn’t know who she was running from.

But I instinctively knew that standing still meant death.

She tore through the underbrush, running.

In the distance, she saw the backs of her father, mother, and brother.

“Take me with you too!!”

Vivian shouted to them.

But not a single one of them turned to look at her.

“I’m here too!!”

Vivian was doing her best, but her family grew farther away.

It was as if something was holding her back, slowing her movements. The frustration was indescribable.

-Thud!

At that moment, something that had been chasing her grabbed her by the shoulder.

Frozen in fear, Vivian couldn’t even scream.

When she turned around, Baelor was standing there.

“It’s better for Rondor if you’re gone. You can never be my master.”

He spoke coldly.

-Thud!

Then, someone else appeared beside her.

It was her uncle, Robert Rondor.

“Give up Vivian’s place to me. Rondor is mine.”

Ssshh!

The Treasurer, Brynden, intervenes as well.

Clicking his tongue, he flashes a persistent smile.

“Lady Vivian, an incompetent ruler is not needed in Loctana. If you give up your seat… Count Corrode promises to reward me with gold coins. I believe you will understand my choice.”

Next was her mentor, Lady Linne.

“Lady Vivian, grow to my liking. I will use you as a puppet.”

The Intelligence Officer, Nestor.

“Please remain incompetent. There’s so much to siphon from you behind the scenes.”

Maid Sena.

“Have some more, Lady Vivian. It’s filled with poison.”

Vivian’s heart pounded as she found herself surrounded by them.

“No… No…”

Their words were so cruel that she wanted to run away, but her body was frozen and wouldn’t move.

The abusive words from the retainers surrounding her intensified, becoming more merciless and horrendous, draining her of hope.

She tried to cover her ears, but it was futile.

Their voices twisted grotesquely and drilled into her head.

“Who would swear loyalty to a stuttering fool?”

“We can’t stand seeing someone like you above us.”

“You were just born lucky, you’ve achieved nothing.”

“Do us all a favor and disappear.”

She resented her family for abandoning her to these people.

Please, anyone, save me.

She pleaded.

Someone, anyone, save me.

Desperately repeating her inner thoughts louder and louder to push away the awful voices ringing in her head, she begged.

Someone… Please… Anyone.

-Snap!

At that moment, someone grabbed her arm and pulled.

Vivian suppressed the urge to scream and tightly shut her eyes.

But nothing happened.

Instead, everything around her fell eerily silent, in a way she couldn’t comprehend.

Baelor’s voice, Brynden, Lady Linne, Nestor, her uncle, the maids, the servants, the soldiers, the knights… it was as if they had all vanished.

In that silence, Vivian opened her eyes and looked at her wrist.

Someone was still holding onto her.

Following the hand, she raised her head.

The one holding her was none other than Kailo Alan, her sworn enemy.

He said nothing.

He just stood there, still.

In the strange calm that overcame her, Vivian’s racing heart began to settle.

“…Ah.”

It was in that moment she realized it had all been a dream.

The weight of reality came crashing back, pressing down on her body.

She felt her body, drenched in cold sweat, aching as though someone had crushed her.

As memories of what had happened during the day returned, so did the reality that someone had tried to poison her.

Vivian forced her heavy eyelids open.

She could see the moonlight streaming through the dark window.

It seemed she had been unconscious all day.

She stared blankly for a long while, trying to adjust to the lost time.

Then, she heard someone lightly snoring.

Though her heart was startled, her body was too exhausted to react.

Slowly, she turned her head to see who was there with her.

It was Kailo Alan.

He was resting his head on her wrist, sleeping peacefully.

His black hair brushed against the back of her hand, tickling it.

Vivian wanted to pull her hand away, but she didn’t have the strength, so she stayed still.

…No, she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to pull it away.

Right now, he didn’t seem as unpleasant as before.

It was ridiculous.

She had been at death’s door just that afternoon.

Her vision had been spinning uncontrollably, and her insides had felt endlessly nauseous.

Her hands and feet had grown cold, and her body had curled up involuntarily.

The fact that she could open her eyes again was nothing short of a miracle.

It terrified her to think of who might have done such a thing.

Fear and suspicion gnawed at her.

One of the retainers, maids, or perhaps an outsider had tried to kill her.

Vivian knew the hidden monster had finally revealed itself.

But, ironically, there was one person she didn’t suspect.

The one she hated most, the eldest son of the Alan family, Kailo Alan.

Despite their mutual animosity, provocations, and torment, she knew he wasn’t the one who had poisoned her.

‘If you die here… That would be too boring.’

It was a vile remark.

Had he wanted to see her suffer a little longer?

She was grateful for his help, but an enemy was still an enemy.

Still, how could this have happened?

The person she hated the most was the one she suspected the least.

This paradoxical trust that grew amidst hostility was so strange.

Rather than someone’s false smile, Kailo Alan’s open hatred felt safer.

At least with him, there was no mask.

She couldn’t trust those she should, and she trusted someone she should hate.

If she had any more strength, Vivian would have laughed at herself.

But right now, the truth was that she felt safe with Kailo by her side.

Was that why her mother had wanted him as her guard?

Vivian didn’t know.

Drowsiness swept over her.

Normally, she struggled to sleep because she felt lonely and a little scared.

But tonight, for once, she felt safe enough to close her eyes.

In the sleep that followed, she didn’t dream.