Chapter 65

“What is that?”

Despite the cups’ apparent metal construction, it was impossible to determine what was inside.

Aneta frowned, wary of whatever trick Erez might pull next.

“One of those two cups has poison. Choose one and drink from it.”

“And if I drink it?”

“If you drink from the poisoned cup, everyone dies. If you drink from the cup without poison, the other two will be spared.”

Aneta mulled over Erez’s conditions. There were countless suspicious elements.

Erez was the most untrustworthy person in the room, and he was the mastermind behind their abduction. Aneta gazed at Erez with distrust.

“How do I know only one of those cups has poison?”

“Why should I prove that to you? If you’re so suspicious, don’t do it. I have nothing to lose. I can just kill everyone.”

Erez’s dismissive attitude only deepened her doubts. She couldn’t help but suspect that both cups were poisoned.

If he had intended to let them live, he wouldn’t have brought them here or revealed himself so blatantly. Keeping even one alive would pose a future threat.

No one would gamble their life in a situation that was advantageous to them. Although the man before her was a fool of a different kind, his words implied that if she wanted to save Serce and Chris, she had to die.

Seeing Erez offer such so-called mercy without any real intention to spare them, Aneta couldn’t help but shake her head.

“He’s lying, Aneta! Don’t fall for it!”

Aneta wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe Erez.

Serce, full of intense distrust, tried to step forward again, but the mercenaries held him down, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

“What are you doing standing there, Viscount? Shut up. A hostage is supposed to be a hostage.”

With Erez’s command, Serce and Chris, lying beside him, were once again reduced to mere hostages.

Seeing sharp daggers pressed against their throats, Aneta seethed silently.

“Alright, fine. I’ll do as you say.”

“Good choice.”

Accepting the bet was an inevitable decision. To buy time for her doppelganger to escape, she had to do whatever it took, whether it meant jumping in front of the dagger or drinking the poison as he demanded.

Seeing Aneta obediently comply with the obvious trap, a deep sense of helplessness washed over Serce’s face.

“Untie her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? We have hostages, and that woman won’t dare harm them.”

Following Erez’s orders, Randolph untied her. He had already subdued Aneta once using Chris and Serce, so he had no qualms about it.

“Now, go ahead and choose one.”

The moment Aneta was freed from her bindings, she was shoved towards the table with the cups. Facing the reality of drinking from a cup she knew was poisoned, staying composed was impossible.

With each step, the crushing weight of fear gripped her. Like anyone else with a survival instinct, she wanted to flee, but there was nowhere to go.

Aneta clasped her trembling hands tightly. Then she looked down at the two cups. Regardless of her choice, her fate seemed sealed. Even so, she hesitated, like someone standing on the brink of life and death.

“Can’t choose? Want me to pick for you?”

Seeing her hesitate, Erez asked smugly, as if expecting this.”If you don’t like that, how about begging for your life like a dog? I’ll change my mind and spare you.

“You think I’d do that in front of you?”

“When your life is on the line, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do, right?”

“Dream on. That’s not happening.”

“Then drink. Don’t keep me waiting.”

Rather than grovel at the feet of Erez Bauter, Aneta thought it better to drink the poison. Seeing her make up her mind, Erez clicked his tongue in mock disappointment as Aneta picked up one of the cups.

That was when it happened. As soon as the metallic chill of the cup touched her fingers, Aneta flinched, as if startled by something, and dropped the cup.

Clang.

The cup clattered on the floor, spilling its contents.

As the purple liquid spread across the floor, joy spread across Erez’s face. His gaze was fixed on Aneta’s trembling hand.

He seemed to think she had dropped the cup out of sheer fear.

“What are you doing, spilling it like that? If you drop the other cup, I’ll make you drink from the floor.”

Aneta bit her lip, staring at Erez. She knew he intended to humiliate her, but the difference between knowing it and experiencing it was stark.

“What are you waiting for? Stop stalling and drink.”

Despite his repeated urging, Aneta reached for the remaining cup very slowly. Her movements as she brought it to her lips were just as slow.

As the cup touched her lips, Aneta quietly twisted her mouth into a smile, hidden by the cup.

Without hesitation, she poured the liquid into her mouth.

As the liquid seared her throat and burned down her esophagus, she felt it was not just from the alcohol.

Even as her tongue started to lose sensation, she did not stop drinking. When she had finished, she felt her vision swirl and collapse.

“Aneta!”

Serce’s cry of horror echoed in her ears as he struggled in vain against the mercenaries’ grip, his face contorted with guilt.

Aneta, recognizing his guilt for feeling responsible for not protecting her, tried to speak, but only a trickle of blood emerged from her parted lips.

***

Late that night, Isabel knocked on the door of the Duke of Baltimor’s residence, her face as pale as a sheet. She explained the situation to Carlos, who had just woken up, through tears.

From the circumstances that led Aneta and Serce to visit Chris’s house to the fact that they had sent someone to look for them when they did not return by late evening.

Her voice was clear despite the tears, as she explained that they found the interior of Chris’s house in disarray, with the servant who had accompanied Aneta lying inside, bleeding, and the coachman unconscious in the carriage seat with a head wound.

Finally, she showed the dress ornament as evidence that Aneta had been there. Carlos, who had initially listened in stunned disbelief, leaped to his feet.

Immediately assuming his sky ability, he transformed and headed for Chris’s house. The scene inside was just as Isabel had described it—horrific.

Discarded daggers and broken items strewn across the floor were the least of them. The pungent smell of dried blood assaulted his sensitive nose.

Carlos felt his heart sink as he looked at the bloodstained mirror shards and floor.

He hoped the blood didn’t belong to Aneta, but could tell by the ornament Isabel had given her. Aneta was injured.

After inspecting Chris’s house, Carlos went straight to Emperor Russell. Considering the obvious signs of abduction, there was no time to lose.

Russell immediately summoned the heads of the House of Glory. He also made sure to inform Vernon, who arrived in the capital at dawn.

While waiting for the family heads to respond, Carlos and Russell summoned the imperial doctor, who had been dispatched to check on Lily’s condition.

“So, what is the condition of the servant from the Viscount of Kainer’s household?”

“Aside from a wound on the neck, there was nothing else of note. However…”

The imperial doctor hesitated, his expression grim. Russell narrowed his sharp eyes at him.

“However?”

“One thing has been bothering me,” the imperial doctor continued.

“And what is that? ” Russell asked.

“The direction of the wounds is unusual. Normally, when a person is attacked by someone else, the wounds are typically diagonal. However, the wounds on Lily’s neck were perfectly straight.”

Had it been just one wound, the imperial doctor might have dismissed it as a coincidence. But the fact that all the wounds, including the fatal one and several others nearby, were in straight lines made him suspicious.

“If those wounds were inflicted by the kidnappers, the other wounds around them would be defensive wounds. However, it is highly unlikely for both the fatal wound and all defensive wounds to be in perfectly straight lines.”

“Then you’re suggesting that the wounds were self-inflicted? ”Carlos asked.

“Yes, in my opinion, the other wounds appear to be hesitation marks,” the doctor confirmed, eager to support Carlos’s conclusion. His reasoning was sound, and both Carlos and Russell agreed.

If the doctor’s observation was accurate, it was clear why Lily would have harmed herself. Carlos turned to Russell.

“It seems Lily was also bribed by Erez Bauter.”

“Indeed, she likely pretended to be a victim to avoid suspicion. No one would suspect a person who was injured and found at the scene,” Russell concluded.

The truth would be fully revealed once the kidnapped individuals returned. After instructing the doctor to keep this information confidential, Russell dismissed him.

A few minutes later, Tereza burst into the chamber, her face showing signs of shock and distress.

“Is it true that Aneta has been kidnapped?” she demanded, her voice trembling with fury. Armed with her bow and sword, Tereza looked ready to hunt down the culprits and turn them into pincushions.

“Yes, it’s true. We will discuss everything once everyone is here, so please take a seat,”

Russell spoke calmly from his position at the head of the table. He reassured them that the informants and Vernon were working tirelessly to gather more information.

Tereza’s seething anger was barely contained as she sat down, while Carlos, equally frustrated, waited in silence.

Next to arrive were Duke Hetchen and Duke Clorin. They took their seats, filling the chamber.

“Now that everyone is here, we can begin explaining the situation,” Russell started.

“Your Majesty, forgive me, but Marquis Bauter has yet to arrive,” Duke Hetchen interrupted, confused by the assumption that everyone was present.