episode_0006

Sienna and I left the Thames Palace in the carriage and headed towards the imperial palace where the emperor and empress resided. In fact, each of the palaces where the nobility resided had high-level wizards capable of teleportation stationed there. However, we chose to travel by carriage to the palace in order to give Princess Jin-yeong of the Third Imperial Princess faction time to prepare. Preparation to receive the princess.

“How do you think Anais will appear?”

“Well… I know she has a lot of contact with the nobility, especially influential nobles involved in banking or trade.”

“Those people move when they see power.”

“To make a good impression on the Third Princess, there must be nobles who actively respond, no matter what.”

Sienna nodded her head, looking forward to meeting her step-sister. If I hadn’t intervened, Sienna would have entered the Empress’s chamber alone, carrying opium. If the Empress had been cautious, Sienna would have shown audacity by smiling mischievously and taking a sip of opium wine first. Pressured by her boldness, the Empress would have quickly fallen into corruption by consuming opium.

“But this is better, definitely.”

I looked at the elegant medicine box, silently rehearsing the scenario I had prepared in my mind.

There was a moment of silence. Only after the view of the palace came into sight through the window did Sienna glance at me without wiping away the smile on her lips.

“Allen.”

“Speak.”

“If things go wrong this time, you’ll definitely take responsibility. If the Empress… Silovin? If she consumes it and shows even the slightest change, I’ll pretend to be surprised and deny responsibility, so you handle it yourself.”

“Yes. If something goes wrong, I will immediately relinquish my knightly rank.”

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any need for you to die. If possible, I’ll strip you of your official position and have you continue working under me. Of course, unofficially and in secret.”

“….”

“What do you think about managing the kennels?”

A gracious offer to take care of my livelihood even if the plan fails.

I wasn’t suddenly moved by the consideration of my superior. In the end, it was like being told to pray at a gambling den I owned under an alias. It was a life of mingling with people from the bottom and watching dogfights. Still, it was much better than being pushed into the drug trade. I found motivation in the thought that I had already escaped the worst. “I will gladly accept,” I said. “Relax your expression. I will keep my promise if we succeed. I will give you not just the 1 million Taler you requested… no, goods worth several times that amount.” It was not cash but goods. I was curious, but I didn’t bother to ask. Dealing with the immediate matter was a priority. “Your Highness, we have arrived,” said the carriage driver. The carriage had arrived within the palace grounds. The Imperial Guards dressed in red uniforms were lined up to welcome the Emperor’s direct descendant. Even the Minister of State Affairs was present. Sienna nodded with a bright expression, as if she believed that the more spectators there were, the better. “Second Princess, would you like to meet His Majesty? He is currently in his office.” “First, I want to see Empress Mother. Lead the way.” Sienna had also erased her smile by now. She was wearing a dress that somewhat matched the palace’s ceremonial protocol. A ball gown combining white and red colors. Even her neatly arranged silver hair was adorned with a cute tiara. She looked like a beautiful princess worrying about her sick mother. To me, she was nothing more than a target I needed to cut off as soon as possible. There was tension on the way to the Empress’s chamber. It wasn’t because of my mood. The courtiers who looked at us all had lowered their eyes, and the Imperial Guards held their guns with rigid expressions. They all seemed to be aware that something was about to happen. I confirmed the reason for this tension upon arriving at the audience room. “Long time no see, sister,” it was Third Princess Anais who personally greeted us.

She had black hair due to her mixed heritage. Perhaps because she was one of the main characters in the original work, she was naturally beautiful. I’m not in a position to pay attention to someone else’s beauty right now. It must be because I obtained information about Sienna, my stepsister who is supposed to be attending classes at the academy, being here. Noble supporters stood around her like a folding screen. “They must have deemed witnesses necessary.” This means they planned to use me as a pawn. I glanced at Sienna and saw that she was suppressing a smile, but fortunately, she didn’t actually laugh. It seemed like she was restraining herself for even greater enjoyment.

**

What’s needed now is acting skills. After a brief confrontation, Sienna stepped forward. It was something we had agreed on beforehand. “Anais, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Sienna greeted me with a trembling voice. She had an awkward smile on her lips, and her hand holding the edge of her dress was tense, as if she were someone hiding something. “That’s about right. If you tremble too obviously, it will only raise suspicion.” The coordinated movements were also natural. Sienna glanced around and said, “I guess I’ll have to postpone the next opportunity,” as she slowly withdrew her foot. She even gave me a hint by briefly gesturing towards me, as if telling me to do something. She looked like a woman who wanted to escape. Thanks to her acting, Princess Third also seemed to gain courage. “You don’t have to do that, sister. We can’t afford to take two steps for the same mission.” “It’s not important anyway.” “Not important? I heard you found a remedy that can heal Mother. I came all this way because I was happy to hear that.” “What are you trying to do… I mean, what should we do now?” Sienna hesitated for a moment, then opened her eyes wide and growled. Anais smiled warmly as if she found that amusing. “I’m not trying to do anything. I just have one question for you, sister.” “What is it?” “I find it curious why you’re being so cautious, unlike yourself. If you’ve really found such a good medicinal herb, you should give it to Mother quickly.”

“If you don’t think Siena brought the antidote, it was an attitude that could never be seen. It was also evidence that Bonno, whom I had sent as bait, did a great job. Was she pretending to be a conscientious internal informant while crying? ‘Sister, if it’s such a good medicine, I hope you give me a chance to broaden my horizons.’ ‘I don’t really understand what you mean.’ ‘It’s not that I don’t believe it, but it’s the first time I’ve heard of a medicine for nostalgia. I was so curious that I asked the professor who teaches herbal medicine.’ ‘So?’ ‘The professor said there is no such medicine. But… in the midst of that, I heard something interesting. …Sister, do you know what they do when a mentally ill person comes out of a poor neighborhood where they struggle to survive?’ ‘I don’t know. You’ll enlighten me.’ As the two princesses became more assertive, the air in the room grew colder. Unlike the composed Siena, Anais looked genuinely tense. Sweat even formed on her forehead. It was hesitation before administering the poison. No matter what, it wouldn’t be easy to confront her stepsister head-on. However, she had already spoken many words that couldn’t be taken back. In the end, Anais slowly opened her mouth. ‘They often make patients obedient by feeding them a herb called ‘Dokmalpul.’ They even feed it to babies. …They say that if you take it for a long time, you can go blind or get lung disease. But do poor people have the luxury to worry about that?’ With these words, silence fell in the room. ‘So they know we really brought Dokmalpul.’ This statement was like one princess sniping at another, saying, ‘Are we going to feed our mother the poison?’ And it happened in front of a two-digit number of greetings. It seemed that it would cause less controversy if the two princesses had a private argument. I didn’t expect it to go this far. However, since Anais set the stage, there was no need to decline. No, it was more accurate to say that I couldn’t decline. ‘Princess Third, may I make a statement?’ I broke the silence and intervened. ‘As a mere knight.’”

“I deeply apologize. However, I couldn’t continue to witness the discord among esteemed individuals. With Your Highness’s permission, I have one question. Are you implying that this medicine contains a poisonous herb?”

“It’s not necessarily the case.”

“I believe you won’t give an answer without any basis.”

The Third Princess pursed her lips with an expression of annoyance, thinking, “Why is this brat acting like this again?”

Normally, in such situations, the attendants on the other side would intervene and try to defuse the tension, but the screens of the Third Princess remained tense, observing silently.

They all seemed burdened, like heavyweight figures such as bankers or stock exchange executives. Or perhaps they were just being cautious.

“It’s disheartening, Your Highness. Are you accusing me of plotting assassination?”

“When did I…!”

Anais scoffed at her but ignored her.

Now she had to teach the truth to the Third Princess, who was swayed by baseless conspiracy theories.

After the task was done, she would probably face difficult times with her, but there was no other choice. My own life wasn’t exactly smooth either.

“Alan Maydoff? I’ve heard your name. How do you plan to handle this situation after doing this to me?”

“I don’t have the confidence to handle it afterward. I’m honestly afraid of what retaliation I might face. However, as a knight, I must protect my lord’s honor, so I gathered up the courage to step forward.”

“….”

I briefly smiled sadly and opened the medicine cabinet.

Inside was a white elixir made from hallucinogenic mushrooms. However, not all of them contained psilocybin; more than half were just fakes made to look similar.

Naturally, they were prepared for deception.

I immediately picked one and swallowed it.

“Alan, what are you doing now?”

“There’s only one way to prove that it’s harmless, isn’t there? I’m not a perfume addict, so I won’t experience any effects. But if tasting it myself is not enough… I have no choice. Your Highness Siena?”

In response to my call, Siena, wearing a disappointed smile, also picked up a fake pill.

“So, you’re putting me in this situation as well. I won’t forget, Anais.”

She looked straight at the Third Princess and put the medicine in her mouth.

“Huh…?”

“Now that your suspicions are cleared, right?”

Princess Anais’ face contorted greatly.

It was a realization that something had gone wrong, but it was already too late.