Poisoning.

Is it true that she’s poisoned by Asdel?

Why? How?

At this moment, the only people who knew about Asdel here were the Empress and me.

Of course, someone might know but pretend not to.

But for now, on the surface, that seemed to be the case.

If that’s true, what should I do?

As time passed, my thoughts became more complicated.

So, it was a time when I had no choice but to watch the situation.

“Empress!”

“Ugh!”

“Quickly, escort the Empress to the Empress’s palace.”

The agonizing groans of the Empress, whose symptoms were worsening, reached this point.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t ready to move willingly.

Although everything hasn’t been perfectly revealed yet, the most likely suspect for the culprit we’re looking for was the Empress.

So here…

I clenched my fist.

Just do nothing.

No one will know.

So, let’s pretend not to know.

That the Empress is poisoned by Asdel, and that I can detoxify it, no one…

But then, suddenly, one of the knights stepped aside, and the figure of the Empress appeared before me.

In the haze of her mind, the Empress barely moved her finger, pointing somewhere.

Everyone’s gaze gathered at the end of that finger.

And at the end, there was me.

I slowly looked around at the eyes directed at me and then immediately looked at the Empress.
The Empress, with a smile, along with her finger, did not withdraw her gaze from me.

In that moment, I was convinced.

The Empress would somehow survive.

Moreover, the Empress had revealed to everyone earlier that I knew about Asdel.

That meant if I did nothing now, I would undoubtedly be stamped as the sinner who eventually let the Empress die.

Sigh. Somehow, there’s no way they would just call me to the tea party.

I never expected things would come to this.

Internally sighing, I took steps toward where the Empress was, one by one.

“Please allow me to examine the Empress.”

“What? Rosentia Yeongae?”

“Yes. I have some suspicions.”

“No, we can’t. We will escort Her Majesty to the Empress’s palace right away.”

Led by the Empress’s chief lady-in-waiting, all the maids blocked me.

“Didn’t Her Majesty say she was poisoned just now?”

“What? Ah…”

“Is there time for this when urgency is required?”

The Empress’s chief lady-in-waiting and the maids, who were blocking me, hesitated as they faced the stern gaze of the guards.

Seizing the opportunity, I spoke forcefully again.

“Or perhaps, are you hoping that the Empress is really in danger?”

At that moment, the Empress weakly flicked her finger.

The chief lady-in-waiting quickly brought her face to the Empress’s.

“…Understood.”
After a brief exchange between the two, the maids who were blocking me stepped back.

Following the exact actions of the chief lady-in-waiting a moment ago, I cautiously approached the Empress.

As expected, the distinctive scent of Asdel emanated from the Empress.

“The Empress is now poisoned by Asdel.”

“Poisoned by Asdel?”

“If it’s Asdel, isn’t it the tea we were drinking?”

Whether my voice reached beyond the guards, the astonished voices of the people echoed here.

“If you look to the left in the garden, there should be blue flowers. It’s called Urensia, and it can be an antidote for Asdel. So brew that flower and have the Empress drink it.”

“Really? If she drinks that flower, will the Empress recover?”

“Yes. So don’t delay and bring the flower.”

“Understood.”

Upon the chief lady-in-waiting’s command, several maids immediately headed to where Urensia was.

After a while, they returned with blue flowers in their hands.

“Is this the flower you mentioned?”

“Yes. If the Empress indeed consumed the poison from Asdel, Urensia will serve as an antidote.”

Nodding in agreement, Urensia was accepted by the chief lady-in-waiting.

“I will go and make the medicine with this flower right away. Please move the Empress to the Empress’s palace. I will come to the Empress’s palace after preparing the medicine.”

“Yes, Yeongae-nim.”
After the chief lady-in-waiting managed the situation, the Empress lay down on a mobile bed.

Until then, the Empress, still conscious, only breathed shallowly.

Even as she left the garden, she never took her gaze off me and maintained a strange smile.

“But, Rosentia Yeongae.”

Feeling uneasy, I was about to leave, but the chief lady-in-waiting held me back.

“Yes?”

“How do you not deny knowing that the Empress is poisoned by Asdel?”

The chief lady-in-waiting suspected me, even though Urensia didn’t know about the antidote.

Without saying a word, I stared at the chief lady-in-waiting for a moment.

Certainly, I hesitated about saving the Empress, but I was not the one who poisoned her with Asdel.

In that regard, there was no reason for me, who was innocent, not to be confident.

“As you heard earlier, I know not only about Asdel but also about various flowers that you all are unfamiliar with. I even know that the seeds of Asdel you encountered today contain poison and the method to detoxify that poison. Are you suspicious just because I possess such knowledge?”

“Well, it’s not that…”