NOVEL NEXT chapter 7
7 – 7. The Pill
“Are you satisfied?”
These were the words I uttered right after swallowing two consecutive fake pills.
Princess Anais remained silent. She hadn’t been broken yet.
“Are you still not convinced?… Very well, understood.”
She swallowed another pill.
Princess Anais quickly looked around as if searching for reinforcements, but no one paid attention to her distress. They all just watched her with suspicion.
I understand. Honestly, who can help in this situation?
“Are you still lacking? Well then.”
To exert pressure, one more attempt was made.
Finally, a reaction came.
“Stop!!!”
The scream of Princess Anais, the third princess, echoed in the meeting room.
Until a moment ago, she had maintained her composure, but now even that seemed difficult. Her doll-like features were twisted grotesquely, and her cheeks were flushed. It was the moment when I realized she was just a seventeen-year-old academy freshman.
“I should have advised her not to rush into things.”
If I were Anais’ strategist, I would never have let her take direct action.
I would have leaked rumors like “Princess Siena, the second princess, tried to poison the empress.” with only enough evidence to support it. That way, even if things went wrong later, the backlash would be less severe. But Anais tried to operate on her sister herself.
Her innocence was simply admirable.
**
It’s more interesting than I thought. Why didn’t I think of this method earlier?
Princess Siena Kallail of the Britannia Empire struggled to suppress a smirk.
She had never strained her facial muscles like this until she turned nineteen.
She didn’t have much occasion to be mindful of others in the first place. She had acted to deceive the regent or her step-sisters, but even then, it wasn’t as difficult as it is now.
Alan Maydoff, her bodyguard, had staged scenes that were different.
“Sir Alan. Poisoning? I have never said such a thing to Anais…!”
“Then what is it? Why did I have to taste it?”
“What a disgraceful act! Are you not qualified to be a bodyguard?”
Alan Maydof stood calmly, not a hint of a frown on his face, facing the belatedly frenzied attendants of Anais. At a glance, he seemed like the very knight striving to defend his lord.
“He had such a talent.”
He had been a friend who occasionally provided good insight in the past.
Three months ago.
There had been an issue at the gambling den owned by Siena under a pseudonym. Arrogant men, pretending to be royal guards, had attempted to fleece money while impersonating the military.
It might have been an act done unknowingly, not realizing it was Siena’s establishment. Nevertheless, there was no excuse. That’s why she had instructed Alan, her most trusted aide, to handle it. And by handling, she meant showing them an example by killing.
Back then, Alan’s handling of the impostors was quite impressive.
“Fight each other. Only the winner gets to live.”
“It’s not a lie. Think about it. I am a knight who serves Her Highness. Burying the flesh of wretched beings like you in my morning star will only make it difficult to clean later. I don’t want to volunteer for such trouble.”
“Anyway, insects like you are not just one or two. Kill one as a warning, and we’ll let the rest go. Start.”
Deceived by these words, the impostors engaged in a bloody battle, the kind usually seen in dogfights behind bars.
After a gruesome struggle, one of them died, and Alan, true to his word, swung the morning star onto the survivor’s pleading head. It was a scene far more entertaining than a typical brawl.
“It was fine. But it doesn’t quite match this.”
Now, Alan’s target was not street thugs rolling on the ground, but the 3rd Princess Anais and the nobles following her.
Rickyerman, the major shareholder of Higgins Bank; Lord Ajax, who amassed considerable wealth through trade with the East; Countess Soun, the president of the Stock Exchange, and others.
All nobles who lined up for Anais.
It didn’t seem like they had come with detailed knowledge. Perhaps they had casually come at Anais’s invitation.
However, Siena had no intention of letting these nobles off the hook. She planned to torment them collectively for a long time under the charge of insulting the imperial family.
“She shouldn’t have invited them in the first place.”
Taking a momentary pause, Siena slowly approached the now pale Anais.
“Anaïs, I will make it clear here. I never used any poison. Can you believe me now?”
“I need verification.”
“Did you receive a tip from a knight named Bono? That’s unfortunate. He’s the one who spread rumors about me within the palace.”
“……”
Anaïs finally closed her mouth when Bono’s name was mentioned. It meant she acknowledged that she couldn’t handle it on her own.
“In the end, you believed the absurd words of a mad knight and slandered me.”
Sienna gazed at her lovely stepsister intently.
Until a few years ago, there were hardly any people who seriously considered Anaïs as the heir to the throne. But now, things had changed. She was successful in building a support base, quietly expanding her circle of trusted individuals, even though she was young.
“She has surpassed me, although not to the extent of surpassing her sister.”
But Anaïs’ two years of good reputation had come to an end today. She had brought up the conspiracy of poisoning in front of dozens of people, only to be humiliated.
This wasn’t something that could be swept under the rug. Sienna had no intention of letting it go. If they were such close sisters, this situation wouldn’t have unfolded.
“What should I do, sister?”
In the end, Anaïs raised her white flag.
Sienna smiled brightly and conveyed the message to just shut up for now. Her obedient stepsister followed her instructions.
**
Even after some time had passed, the bitter taste of the fake medicine didn’t leave her mouth.
“But still, it’s better than taking hallucinogenic mushrooms.”
The hallucinogenic effect of the mushrooms was on the level of LSD.
If taken in the right amount, one could just enjoy the sensation of floating and happiness, and it would end. But if one overindulged, there was no predicting what would happen. They might strip off their uniform and run through the palace naked, or a disaster could occur where Sienna’s cooking pot was thrown while laughing.
That’s why she prepared the fake medicine for the taste test, but she didn’t expect to end up eating so much…
Fortunately, the results were good.
“I’ll be back, Allen.”
Sienna confidently entered the Empress’s office alone, which was evidence in itself.
The incident unfolded when the Empress, who had witnessed a chaotic drama involving her daughter, instructed, “Bring Sienna here quickly. I’m glad you prepared the medicine. I’ll take it now.”
Perhaps the third princess, her own daughter, wanted to somehow resolve the unfortunate accident. Even though she seemed lifeless, there was still a trace of maternal instinct left.
Of course, resolving such a situation was impossible.
A situation where direct members of the royal family plotted against each other and things went awry.
There was no way to pass through this unscathed. Even I, as a political broker, couldn’t come up with a clear strategy.
Did she know the reality? Anais simply sat there with a vacant expression.
She didn’t approach me to persuade or discuss countermeasures with her aides.
At this moment, she had only one wish.
That the medicine I created and Sienna administered would have no effect. Perhaps she even hoped for a mild reaction. If the Empress took the Syllosibin and vomited, it would create an opportunity for escape.
“But that won’t happen.”
About 30 minutes later.
Ding ding ding ding ding. A melody broke the silence. The sound came from inside the Empress’s private space, her office. The third princess and her aides, who had been gloomy, began to raise their heads in surprise.
Soon, the question was resolved as the door to the office opened, guided by a maid.
“Your Majesty, Empress…?”
A slender Asian woman was riding a seven-stringed instrument.
Naturally, the performer was the Empress, “Yeonhwa.”
Her skin was so pale that it made most Caucasians look tanned, and even though it was a reception for her daughter, she didn’t even have makeup on her face. I could imagine how she lived on a daily basis. She probably didn’t go out at all.
However, she was now riding the seven-stringed zither with a bright expression.
Playing the enigmatic seven-stringed zither without any clear score, improvising on the spot. In the midst of it, she spotted the Third Princess with a vacant expression and even greeted her with a seemingly joyful smile.
“Have you come?”
“Oh, my goodness.”
“Please stay quiet. It distracts me when I’m reading the sound.”
“No, now is the time. …Wait, did you say you’re reading the sound?”
“Quiet!”
As the audience grew, whether it was because of their enthusiasm or the empress’s rubbery expression, she began to play the seven-stringed zither even more passionately. That expression, completely absorbed in the music. The empress seemed to have entered a mysterious world where she could see sound and hear colors.
“Are you really okay!?”
The Third Princess, still unable to shake off her lingering regrets, anxiously questioned.
Wishing for something unusual to happen to her mother.
Unlike Sienna, who was a filial daughter, it was a somewhat inappropriate behavior. If the empress truly enjoyed it, her position might be jeopardized, but she could understand…
The empress gracefully dismissed the expectations of her daughter.
“Mother is better than ever. There’s no law that says you can’t read the sound.”
Originally, the efficacy of Syllobin was like this.
Simultaneously experiencing hallucinations, it made one extremely sociable and enthusiastic. In the mainland, it was often used as a booster when people who had become depressed from studying too much wanted to party. They would unknowingly become lively.
“But still.”
“Are you hoping it’s not okay?”
“…No.”
“Then it’s settled! That’s enough.”
The Empress’s expression became serious as she playfully flicked her slender, long fingers.
As an outsider, I don’t know much, but something seemed exciting and buoyant.
The Empress’s mouth smiled as she played, but there were tears in her eyes. It was a bonus to see her gazing somewhere with a wistful expression.
Perhaps it was a piece she used to play in front of her family when she was young? Maybe she was reminiscing about her childhood, when she was praised by her parents for playing the piano well and laughed happily. It was a pure time when she didn’t even need to think about complicated politics.
“hahahaha!!”
The performance became more and more lively.
The Third Princess was also moved by her mother’s performance and burst into tears.
Everyone looked happy, and I was truly relieved.