Chapter 11

“11. As You Wish”

The Tiflis Castle, which had finally engaged in trade with a new grocery store, was unusually lively.

The morale of the knights, who had been grumbling about poor meals, visibly improved, and even the servants eagerly awaited meal times.

There were other changes. Ever since Adelaide was attacked, the castle’s guard has been tightened, and the insiders are more closely monitored.

“I’m not allowed to go out alone, even if it’s urgent.”

Elaine grumbled as she ran a hand through her hair.

“Couldn’t the Duchess please speak to the butler?”

“The atmosphere isn’t right now, so just wait a bit.”

“What if His Majesty became suspicious because the letter is late?”

“It had been late before, so he’ll think something is wrong.”

“That would make him even more curious.”

“We’ll make an opportunity soon.”

Adelaide, having finished grooming her hair, stood up from her seat. Her neatly braided hair matched well with her white dress.

Elaine was talented in many things. It would have been nice if her loyalty matched her talent.

Adelaide looked at Elaine uncomfortably, then pulled out a gold bracelet. It was an expensive item, one that a maid’s salary could not buy in a lifetime of savings.

“Thank you for your hard work. This is a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes. It’s for all the trouble you’ve gone through because of me, so don’t refuse it.”

“Can I really accept it?”

“It’s from my heart, so take care of it.”

“Thank you!”

Elaine beamed at the unexpected gift.

Adelaide left the room, leaving a delighted Elaine behind. Jensen was there to greet her.

“Is His Grace in the dining room?”

“Yes. He’s been waiting for you to finish getting ready since earlier.”

“Let’s go quickly, then.”

Adelaide hurried to the dining room. Ever since Callion’s demand, she has been having dinner with him for some time now.

It had only been an hour or so at most, but it had made a noticeable difference in the way the servant treated her.

“Your Grace.”

As she entered the dining hall, she saw Callion, who had arrived first as usual. He had a mountain of papers on the table, as if he had been there for hours.

He put down the papers he was reading and pulled out a chair for me.

“You should have told me if you had a lot of work to do.”

“Even if there’s a lot of work, we still have to eat, don’t we?”

Callion smiled wryly and gestured for the piles of documents to be cleared. As the cluttered table was tidied up, the chef personally brought the food.

“Pardon me, Your Grace.”

Red wine, shrimp salad, and scallop soup were placed on the table. It was a rare treat in Tiflis, where seafood was hard to come by.

Callion raised his wine glass.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this wine before.”

“It came in today. It’s a wine made from Tolaca fruits. I thought it would go well with the seafood.”

“So they’re making wine with Tolaca fruits, too.”

“……!”

Adelaide’s gaze fell on the wine. The blood-red liquid sloshed uneasily.

Should she warn him not to drink it?

It was unlikely that Callion had been poisoned by the Nerium leaves, but just in case, she opened his mouth to say something, but before she could stop him, the wine was downed.

“Not bad.”

Adelaide watched him nervously. The poison of the Tolaca fruit was fast-acting. If there was a problem, symptoms would appear immediately.

Fortunately, Callion didn’t seem to have any adverse reactions.

“Aren’t you drinking, My Lady?”

“Ah.”

Adelaide reached for her wineglass. Her hand trembled slightly as she held it.

It’s different from when he was poisoned by Elkius.

She had been taking the Nerium leaves for over three years then, but now it had been less than a year. The toxicity doesn’t build up as much as it did then.

Just a sip. That should be enough. It would be painful enough to be on the brink of death, but she wouldn’t die.

Her parched lips touched the wine glass. Adelaide swallowed the wine in a single gulp.

“Gulp….”

The effect was quick. It started to feel hot, as if her throat were burning.

“Kuluk!”

She clutched her stomach as pain ripped through her gut. Adelaide fell out from under the chair, unable to contain herself.

“Adele!”

“My Lady!”

Callion threw the glass and stood up. With a bang, the chair fell over, but no one paid attention.

“Adele!”

Callion scooped up Adelaide, who collapsed to the floor and groaned.

“Jensen, get a doctor!”

His hand gripping her shoulder trembled uncontrollably.

Frantic footsteps, yelling and screaming. It was a jumble of sounds buzzing in her ears.

Adelaide, still crouched, struggled against his arm.

“Your… Grace…”

“Don’t speak. The doctor will be here soon.”

There’s something she needs to say.

She needs to tell him to lock down the castle, search the servant’s quarters, and throw out anyone with a shred of suspicion.

But she couldn’t hold on. Adelaida lost consciousness just like that.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The mansion was like a deserted tomb.

Adelaide, who had lost consciousness, was immediately moved to her room. The doctor, who rushed over, carefully examined her.

He checked her breathing, checked her pulse, and took her temperature.

Although he has been serving in the Tiflis Castle for over 10 years, the doctor began to speak cautiously, thinking that this was the first time that Callion looked as creepy as he did today.

“It’s not poison.”

“Not poison?”

A voice full of suspicion immediately burst out. Each word seemed to suffocate a feeling of impending doom. The doctor nodded and continued his explanation.

“The symptoms match those of poisoning, but it’s not just from the Tolaca wine. Your Grace, you also drank the wine, didn’t you?”

“I’m resistant to poison.”

“Tolaca fruit itself isn’t poisonous, so your immunity to poisons doesn’t matter. In the case of symptoms like Lady Adelaide’s….”

The doctor swallowed dryly under the unblinking stare.

Callion urged him on.

 “Speak.”

“Most likely… she may have ingested something toxic along with the Tolaca fruit in the wine. Did she consume anything else besides the wine?”

“No, it was only wine.”

“Then the poison must have been building up in her system since before.”

‘Poison had accumulated in her body?

“Then what is that medicine?”

“It’s a decoction she makes for me to help my body.”

…That maid.

Callion turned sharply. He asked Margaret, who was crying in a corner, where the maid was.

“Where is the maid?”

“What?”

“Not you, the other maid who attended to the Duchess.”

“Well, if it’s Elaine…… I haven’t seen her since earlier.”

“Jensen, find that maid and bring her here. And search the castle and catch anyone suspicious! Right now!”

“Ah, yes, Your Grace.”

Jensen scurried out the door at the hurried order. Callion turned to the doctor.

“What’s the antidote?”

“There is no antidote for synthetic poisons.”

“Then you’re telling me to leave her to die!”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant….”

The doctor broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. Under the threatening air, as if he would be drawn and quartered, he prostrated himself on the floor.

“Well, there is no antidote, but fortunately, the dose is low enough that it shouldn’t be life-threatening.”

“But why can’t she regain consciousness?”

“It seems she fainted from the pain caused by internal damage due to the poison.”

“Make  sure your diagnosis is correct.”

Callion replied dryly. The old doctor’s face went white at the threatening sound of his words.

Callion pushed the frozen doctor aside and approached the bed.

“Get out.”

The doctor staggered out of the room.

Callion sank back to the side of the bed, staring at the doll-like face.

‘I should have seen it coming.’

Tolaca Wine, the missing maid, and Elkius’s spies lurking in the castle.

Adelaide must have known that the maid was poisoning her. And she also knew that Tolaca fruit could trigger toxicity.

She deliberately drank the poison to make an excuse.

An excuse to get rid of Elkius’s spies in the castle.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Callion muttered, feeling miserable.

The tightly closed lips refused to open.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜ ⚜

After a hellish day, the night came.

The sound of rain tapping on the window made Callion look up. Raindrops splashed through the open window.

He closed the window and reached out to the hand that had come out of the blanket. He carefully held the cold hand, then gently placed it on his lips. He was worried because her body temperature hadn’t returned.

“Your Grace”

Ding. There was a knock at the door, and Callion put the hand he was holding back under the blanket and stood up.

Julian stood in the doorway, dripping with water.

“I’ll go out.”

Glancing back at Adelaide, Callion stepped out into the hall.

“The grocery store was thoroughly searched, but there was nothing suspicious.”

“Did you go inside?”

“Yes. The one at the counter seemed clueless, and a man named Carter Siben left Tiflis four days ago.”

‘Carter Siben’, the new grocery supplier of the castle, whom his wife personally chose. 

Callion chewed on his lower lip.

“Put a wanted order on a man named Carter Siben… … .”

“Forget it. Leave him alone.”

If this is Adelaide’s plan, arresting him would be nothing more than a show of anger.

“Are you finished searching the annex?”

“We caught all those who were suspicious.”

“You’ll have to interrogate them yourself.”

“Yes, Your Grace. Oh, and I found a Nerium leaf in the missing maid’s luggage.”

“Nerium leaves?”

“A maid named Margaret testified that the missing maid made a decoction of Nerium leaves and offered it to Her Grace, claiming it to be a healing medicine.”

“So that’s it.”

Callion’s suspicion turned to confirmation.

Adelaide would have known that the medicine was poison, and she would have guessed that the person who ordered it to be administered was Elkius.

So she risked her life to break free from his grasp.

“Find that maid and bring her to me at once.”

“Yes.”

With that order, Callion returned to his room. The rain had thinned by now.

He glanced down at Adelaide, who slept peacefully.

Wasn’t she afraid? She must have known she could lose her life if she was wrong.

A long sigh escaped him.

‘If I keep hesitating, this woman will continue to do this in the future.’

“……We’ll do what you want.”

Callion made up his mind.