Poisoned Tea and Hidden Betrayal
“Welcome, Canna!”
Amelia greeted her with a bright, open smile.
“Welcome to my palace. How have you been?”
“Yes, have you been well?”
A tea set and cookies had been elegantly arranged on the low table.
Should I drink it?
If it had been Amelia alone, perhaps. But if the Empress had touched it, there was no telling what tricks she might have played.
I’ll just pretend.
Canna lifted the teacup, brought it to her lips for the briefest moment, then set it down again.
“You must be terribly busy, Canna. I sent so many invitations, yet you never once accepted.”
When Amelia pouted in mild reproach, Canna gave an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been rather…”
“Rather?”
“Well, busy. There were all sorts of things going on.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
Amelia’s face crumpled with genuine remorse.
“I know so much has happened to you lately, yet I still complained without thinking. And then recently…”
Amelia continued with careful hesitation.
“I heard you encountered bandits. Are you all right?”
Her eyes, innocent of the full truth, looked almost childlike.
“Thank you for worrying about me. I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. Actually, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you, Canna.”
Is she finally going to ask for the Empress’s medicine?
Canna nodded, already choosing her words of refusal.
“Yes. What is it?”
“It seems Mother intends to marry me off soon.”
Marriage? Not the medicine?
“She tried to arrange a remarriage with Duke Sylvien Valentino. Of course, the Duke refused.”
“I see.”
“Yes. To be honest, if I must marry, I would prefer a royal from the Yalden Kingdom.”
The words struck a nerve, but Canna kept her expression perfectly composed.
“Honestly, looking at national power alone, Yalden has grown to rival the Aslan Empire, hasn’t it? Though I suppose the people of the Empire would hate to admit that.”
“Is that so? I’m not very well informed about such matters…”
Though she had been devouring Yalden books and studying furiously in secret, Canna feigned complete ignorance.
“Yalden is such a fascinating country. From what I hear, they even extend the same educational policies to commoners as they do to nobles. It’s unimaginable in the Empire.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“You know the current ruler is a queen, right? There, women are granted equal rights to the throne. That’s another thing the Empire could never accept.”
A strange mockery lingered in Amelia’s expression. It seemed she did not particularly care for her own nation.
Well, her life hasn’t exactly been easy. I can understand why.
Yet the ever-bright Amelia soon smiled again, radiant as ever.
“But the best part about Yalden is the Crown Prince’s face. Have you ever seen his portrait?”
“No, never.”
“Really? Shall I show you? He’s an incredibly handsome man… Though I suppose he wouldn’t catch your eye, Canna.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Your ex-husband was Duke Sylvien Valentino. Who could possibly compare?”
Canna let out an involuntary snort of laughter.
“That’s not true at all. There are times when that man is so beautiful it gives me chills. He doesn’t even seem human.”
“That’s true. Duke Sylvien Valentino seems less like a person and more like some higher being. Like the god of eyes, perhaps?”
“Good heavens.”
Canna sighed and let her complaint spill out.
“Amelia, I only divorced that man recently. Please spare me the poetic descriptions.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“Yes, you were quite rude.”
Canna answered playfully as she lifted her teacup once more. The moment she brought it to her lips, she froze.
Oh no.
She had nearly drunk it for real.
At the same time, she realized something.
For just a brief moment, she had let her guard down.
I can’t do that. Stay sharp.
The instant she relaxed, a blade always came flying. It had been that way until now.
So I won’t let my guard down.
Once again, Canna pretended to sip and set the cup down. When she raised her face again, her eyes had frozen over with their usual coldness.
Amelia, oblivious, blushed and laughed.
“It’s strange. Talking about men with you, Canna.”
“Pardon?”
“Right now you seem like any ordinary girl my age.”
Amelia grinned mischievously.
“Before, you always felt somehow distant. But not anymore.”
“……”
“Let’s meet often from now on and talk like this. I consider you a dear friend, Canna.”
A dear friend?
The word Amelia had tossed out sent gentle ripples through Canna’s heart. Yet they soon sank without a trace.
“Thank you for saying so.”
She had never once thought of Amelia as a friend. She had never given her sincerity, never shown her true self.
And it’s not just Amelia.
She had been the same even with Lucy.
She simply could not open her heart to anyone.
Fighting enemies, fighting to survive, fighting those she hated—it had taken everything she had.
Her entire world had been nothing but battle.
Had there ever been a single moment in this world when she had smiled in comfort?
“And I’m sorry.”
“No. I don’t want to hear those words from you.”
Amelia smiled as though she understood everything, when in truth she knew nothing.
“You saved my life, Canna. And you saved my future.”
“……”
“If not for you, I would still be that ill-tempered princess suffering from a skin disease… and I would have died by Mother’s hand long ago.”
Amelia took Canna’s hand. Tears had already welled in her eyes.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to keep living, Canna.”
Her voice trembled.
“I’ve wanted to say those words properly for so long.”
“……”
“Ah, did I become too sentimental?”
Embarrassed, Amelia fanned her face with her hand. Then, as if to hide her awkwardness, she lifted her teacup and drank in hurried gulps.
“Cough!”
She suddenly began to cough violently.
Canna’s brows drew together.
She had thought it might happen. No matter how embarrassed one felt, drinking that quickly…
“Cough, cough!”
Amelia clamped a hand over her mouth. But she couldn’t catch it all. Liquid spilled between her fingers and pattered onto the floor.
Canna followed the trail with her eyes.
Red.
So vividly red it looked exactly like blood.
“Amelia!”
Canna shouted and shot to her feet. At that exact moment, Amelia collapsed from her chair. Canna rushed to catch her and felt for a pulse.
She was still alive.
For now, she was still alive.
Was the tea poisoned?
Canna frantically pulled off her necklace.
Inside was an antidote capable of neutralizing nearly any toxin. She had brought it just in case, never imagining she would need it like this.
“Amelia, can you hear me? Don’t lose consciousness!”
She poured the antidote into Amelia’s mouth. And then—
Creeeeak.
The sound of a door opening came from behind her.
It was a small noise, yet it rang clearer in Canna’s ears than anything else. Because—
The door is in front of me.
The door ahead was still firmly closed.
Then what had just opened behind her?
Canna slowly turned her head. She nearly screamed.
The wardrobe door was opening inch by inch.
And from within, a person was crawling out.
“Tsk.”
The man clicked his tongue in apparent disappointment.
“Why didn’t the young lady drink her tea?”
Amelia’s younger brother.
“It would have been much simpler for everyone involved.”
It was the Second Prince, Crescent Isaberg.
As he strode forward, Canna clutched Amelia protectively in her arms. She glared at him with sharp, piercing eyes.
“Your Highness, were you hiding inside that wardrobe the entire time?”
“Indeed. When the cramps in my legs grew severe, I did wonder what on earth I was doing. But it seems it was an excellent choice after all.”
He smiled with the same impeccable courtesy he had shown at the party.
“See? Canna is still alive. How troublesome.”
“Sir Ein!”
There was no need to hear more. Canna called out for the escort knights waiting in the corridor.
“Sir Ein! Sir Rusbel!”
Crescent tilted his head.
“How naive. Did you truly believe they would still be alive?”
“…What?”
“The Addis knights are strong, I’ll grant you that. But the imperial knights are no less formidable. Especially the elite unit I personally selected. Two of them could never hold out.”
Canna’s face drained of color.
She didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it. Yet if they were alive, they would have burst in by now.
But no one came.
The palace remained deathly silent.
Canna clenched her fists with all her strength. This was no time to be ruled by emotion. Not now.
“Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”
“I will.”
Crescent smiled gently.
“In the end, no one will ever know about this incident.”
That was when it happened.
A deafening roar shattered the air—KABOOM!—and the floor trembled violently. It sounded as if the entire palace, the entire world, might collapse.
“Among the weapons of the Eastern Continent, there are bombs powerful enough to bring down buildings. I obtained one with great difficulty.”
He took out a pocket watch and checked the time.
“I’ve lingered too long. I should have already escaped by now, but the two of you refused to drink your tea. This is quite inconvenient.”
Yet his face showed not the slightest trace of inconvenience.
“As a final courtesy, I shall tell you how your death will be packaged for the world.”
He approached with calm, measured steps. The sight of him was as repulsive as a crawling insect.
“Soon, the worst fire in imperial history will break out in this palace. You and my sister are scheduled to become its victims.”
He reached out and yanked Canna toward him.
“Your corpse will either be crushed beneath the rubble or burned beyond recognition. In other words, you will die in a tragic accident.”
“Let go!”
She resisted, but the moment he applied real strength, all resistance ended.
Canna’s body crumpled to the floor. He straddled her waist and began to strangle her.
“You know far too much, young lady. Things you should never have known.”
“Ghk—!”
The crushing pressure around her throat. Her breath was completely cut off.
“If you kill me—the Empress, her medicine—!”
“That is the problem. You hold my mother’s weakness in your hands. And her weakness is my weakness as well.”
“Ugh!”
“Of course, Mother will suffer without her medicine. But for my sake, she will endure it. She loves me, after all.”
The Empress knew nothing of this. Canna had tested the waters earlier, and it seemed this was Crescent’s solitary scheme.
Yet she could not be completely certain.
If the pain had been even slightly less, she might have tried to extract more information.
I can’t hold on any longer.
Canna’s eyes, which had been squeezed shut, flew open. She slammed the ring on her finger down hard onto the back of his hand.
The jewel sank inward, and a needle coated in lethal poison shot out.
“Urk!”
The sharp pain made Crescent groan. He released her throat.
“What is this…”
His words suddenly cut off. It was as if the air had been stolen from his lungs; he could not breathe.
“Cough—khk!”
Crescent could not comprehend the situation.
What was happening? Why couldn’t he breathe?