Chapter 144: 144

Astelle ordered Lyndon to call the emperor’s ministers to the Empress Palace.

“I will tell them that the Emperor is sick and to stop the festival.”

Lyndon nodded obediently. He didn’t ask why the ministers won’t be told that the emperor was poisoned.

If the fact that the Emperor is dying from poison is known, there will be great chaos. It was good to keep it a secret while investigating the culprit.

“Yes, Your Majesty. How about the investigation?”

“The butler is investigating His Majesty’s cooks and servants. Please investigate the servants and knights of the Imperial Palace, Sir Lyndon.”

“Alright, Your Majesty.”

“In the meantime, it would be better to keep His Majesty here.”

Lyndon’s eyes shook a little. His anxious eyes turned towards the drawing room for a moment, then returned.

‘You know my father is here too.’

All the entrances to the palace are guarded by soldiers.

The palace soldiers were under the control of the Capital Guards, so there was no way that Lyndon could not have known about it.

Astelle wondered if she should make an excuse for Duke Reston’s being here at this time.

My father came for the festival and he has nothing to do with poisoning? That’s a very poor excuse.

“… … .”

Lyndon looked at Astelle with a confused look. Astelle understood the conflict Lyndon was feeling.

He sympathized with Astelle, but the most suspicious person in the current situation was Astelle’s father, the Duke of Reston.

If the Emperor suddenly dies, the only people who benefit are the Empress and the Reston family.

However, as the knight commander, he could not arrest the empress’ father.

The emperor who could give him orders was poisoned and dying. And if the emperor dies, the only successor is Theor.

Lyndon, who swore allegiance to Kaizen, was obliged to protect his son, Theor.

Astelle took a step closer to Lyndon.

“Sir Lyndon. You have to trust me. I want to save His Majesty at all costs.”

Lyndon seemed to be at odds for a moment and then nodded.

“Of course, I believe in Your Majesty.”

“Trust me and do as I say. For now, the priority is to save His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Is there any chance that His Majesty will recover?”

“I called a pharmacist I know to the palace. I hope she can find a way to save him.”

All this chaos will end if Kaizen wakes up.

So I have to save him.

 

***

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The ministers arrived at the Empress Palace after an hour had passed.

Today is the first day of the harvest festival. There must have been a social gathering in the capital’s mansion. That’s why the clothes of the ministers are different from usual.

From courtly formal wear worn in a hurry to fancy nightwear to simple casual wear. Everyone seemed to have been running like crazy.

Astelle looked at them one by one. There is Fritz, too.

“Greetings to you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“What about Count Ecklen?”

“We have not yet found where the Count is.”

Maybe he’s out because it’s a festival day?

I really need to meet him, but at a time like this, his whereabouts are unknown.

“Your Majesty, what did you call us for?”

Everyone’s eyes are on Astelle. Anxiety is clearly visible on their faces about what suddenly happened in the middle of the night.

“His Majesty is sick.” Astelle got straight to the point.

She explained briefly as she had prepared beforehand.

“His Majesty fainted from exhaustion. He’s not seriously ill, but he needs a break for a while.”

Everyone was shocked at the sudden news.

“No, why all of a sudden… … .”

It’s hard to believe that the emperor they met a few hours ago suddenly fell unconscious.

Their eyes are anxious yet full of suspicion.

After a few exchanged glances, one stepped forward and asked. “Your Majesty, can we have an audience with His Majesty?”

“His Majesty is now sleeping after taking medicine. I’ll call you back when he wakes up.”

Astelle calmly refused, but the middle-aged minister did not back down.

“It’ll only take a moment. I’d like to make sure that His Majesty is safe, even for a moment–”

“His Majesty is sleeping, so you want to go to his bedroom?” Another minister shot back.

Astelle recalled that man’s name. Obviously, he was one of those people her father said was on his side.

“Shouldn’t we still have to see His Majesty in this situation?”

“Are you going to go to his bedroom in the middle of the night and see him? How rude and disrespectful.”

The two raised their voices.

Someone hurriedly asked before the quarrel broke out.

“Your Majesty, may I see the emperor’s doctor then?”

“Are you suspicious of me now?”

He didn’t answer, but that was what he meant in the end.

“That’s not what I meant, Your Majesty, I just wanted to ensure His Majesty’s safety… … .”

Then Count Ecclen came in late.

He showed no signs of being surprised, even though he was faced with a chaotic situation.

“Your Majesty, what’s the matter?’

“Welcome, Count.”

Astelle briefly explained the situation to him as well.

Count Ecklen, who heard the situation, turned to the other ministers and said, “His Majesty is ill, and you want to enter his bedroom as you please?”

“That’s why I want to see the doctor.”

Astelle stopped the two of them from arguing.

“I can’t help it. If you don’t believe me, see the doctor yourself. Bring the doctor in.”

After a while, the emperor’s doctor came inside.

The doctor said that the emperor fell sick due to accumulated fatigue.

“When will he recover?”

The doctor answered while giving Astelle a quick glance.

“… … it’s hard to say for sure now.”

“It’s hard to say for sure now? Is that what a doctor would say?”

“What disease is it?”

“As I said, he seems to have collapsed because he was so tired. I don’t know when he’ll recover… .”

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After quietly listening to the loud quarrel, Astelle got up from her seat.

All of the eyes turned to her again.

“If you’ve heard it all, follow me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

The ministers asked with bewildered expressions on their faces.

Astelle looked back at them and said coldly, “It would be better to see His Majesty in person because you don’t believe what I say or what the doctor says.”

Astelle took the lead and entered the room where the emperor was.

The perplexed ministers followed her belatedly.

It was quiet inside the bedroom.

Astelle had the servants light candles and stood by the door so the ministers could look into the bedroom.

They couldn’t get too close to see him, but from that distance, they could see whether the emperor was alive or dead.

Kaizen’s condition remained unchanged. His complexion was calm and his breathing was steady. From a few steps away, he looked like he had just fallen asleep.

After examining the emperor, the ministers silenced their footsteps and went out quietly.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

As soon as she came out, the minister, who insisted on seeing the emperor, bowed his head and apologized.

“As you can see, His Majesty needs a rest, so we will cancel all the official events tomorrow.”

The ministers agreed.

“And since there may be riots due to His Majesty’s condition, I plan to control access to the capital as usual.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it under tight control.”

Fritz, who received Astelle’s gaze, assured with her firm voice.

There was tension in Fritz’s eyes as he looked at Astelle. It was clear that he noticed something was wrong when he saw Astelle’s attitude and behavior.

“Now, everyone, please retreat so that His Majesty can rest.”

The ministers had no choice but to bow and retreat.

Astelle called out two of them.

“Count Ecklen and Duke Reston, please stay for a while. I have something to tell you two.”

 

* * *

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Astelle first invited Fritz to the study.

“How did this happen?” As soon as they were alone, Fritz asked with a pale face.

“Father.”

No further explanation was needed. Because that one word alone could explain the whole situation before and after the incident.

“Oh, my God. I thought he’d be quiet.”

Astelle also regretted it.

She knew her father couldn’t possibly stand still, so she had Fritz watch over him, but in the end, this happened.

“Where is he now?”

“Having tea in the drawing room.”

Fritz was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, “Shouldn’t we arrest him?”

“We can’t. Now, if the rumors spread that he was arrested and imprisoned, everyone would be suspicious.”

Better to leave him here so as not to do anything else.

knock knock.

The knock interrupted the conversation between the two.

“Your Majesty!”

It was Gretel.

As soon as she received her call, she rushed over, wearing only a coat over her pajamas and carrying a large bag.

“Your Majesty, what is the matter? Soldiers at the gates of the palace… … ”

“Gretel, the Emperor was poisoned.”

Gretel opened her mouth a little and hardened into a daze.

Astelle explained to her like she had just done before.

Gretel’s face turned pale.

She said, “I thought something urgent had happened, but I didn’t expect it to be something like this… … .”

“Gretel, you showed me a drawing of a detoxifying herb before, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes, here it is.”

Gretel took a box out of her bag. She carried a bag with a large medicine box.

She must have thought someone was sick because the Empress had called her in the middle of the night.

Inside the box are all sorts of vials, with notepads and notebooks at the top of the box.

Gretel opened a notebook and showed a simple sketch. There is a drawing of the same flower as the one she had seen before.

“Can you find this herb?”

“This is a basic detoxifying herb. The effect is different depending on the poison. I can’t say for sure how effective it will be.”

“But the poison will go away, right?”

Gretel nodded confidently. “It will.”

That’s enough.

First of all, if the poison is gone, his life is no longer in danger.

“Can you find that herb and bring it back as quickly as possible?”

“The herb was bought and kept by a lord near the Southern Mountains. At first, I wanted to buy it, but the price was too high, so I could only look at it.”

After all, it is a medicinal herb that can detoxify any poison, so it must be expensive.

“How long will it take to get there?”

“More than two weeks.”

Two weeks. Astelle sighed.

Can Kaizen survive until then?

Gretel picked up some vials from the box and put them on the table.

“May I see the emperor? Even if I can’t detox the poison, I might be able to slow down the effect for a bit.”

“Yes please.”

Even if she managed to do it, two weeks is too long. But there’s no other way right now.

Astelle said to Fritz, “Brother, send someone south right now.”

But Fritz did not listen to Astelle and stared intently at Gretel’s drawings.

“Brother? What’s wrong?”

“Is this a detoxifying herb?”

“Oh, yes, yes. It looks like this.”

Fritz looked at the two of them.

“I’ve seen it before.”

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