Published at 13th of July 2019 09:42:52 AM
Chapter 17
Episode 4: Until I Have the Right Hand – Chapter 17 . 1
Something was definitely wrong about his body .
“ I didn’t think much of it,” said Calian . “At first, I assumed that it was because I wasn’t active enough . Ever since I started feeling chest pain, I thought that it was my mana acting up . I was also worried that there might be something wrong with my heart . ”
It seemed that he was wrong about all of them .
“I guess this is the antidote,” muttered Calian .
Alan nodded . “Yes . I made it in a rush, but I have already confirmed its effectiveness . You should be fully cured by the time that pouch is empty, Your Highness . Once you feel better, I will start looking at your magic . ”
Calian’s gaze was glued onto the pouch . Alan stared at Calian for a few more seconds before calmly offering an explanation, as if he were talking about someone other than Calian—someone completely unrelated to him .
“It’s a deadly poison called ‘tacrimosa’ . It is manufactured using a few poisonous plants and the blood and venom of a snake called crimosa . If a prince who was in perfect health were to die a sudden death, it would seem quite strange . It seems that the perpetrator wished for it to look as if you were slowly falling ill . However, most poison would be cured by the power of the blessing . The only choice they had was to regularly make you ingest small amounts of lethal poison . ”
It was truly a cruel move .
Calian was only fourteen . His only fault was his resemblance to Freya .
Alan continued, “Thus, they needed something that is odourless, tasteless, unreactive to silver, symptomatically similar to illness, and able to be mass-produced . Tacrimosa is the only poison that is fitting of all of these conditions and your symptoms . ”
Calian looked down once again without interjecting .
Alan had gathered his information by sitting in the Mages’ Union Headquarters all day yesterday and coercing the mages residing on Teinansha . Alan resumed his explanation:
“Without the blessing… one would start to cough as if their lungs were inflamed, vomit blood, and pass away within a week, even just by ingesting a very small amount . Your heart must have been overworking to regenerate the body from such lethal poison . That is why it seemed as if your healing abilities had disappeared, and also why your body started rejecting mana usage . It is only to be expected that your body would protest in pain when you try to use more power on top of all the work that’s already being done . ”
As Calian tried to fasten the pouch, it slipped from his hands . A few tablets of antidotes fell onto his lap . Calian hurriedly picked them up and put them back into the pouch . His fingers trembled as they touched the tablets .
Fear didn’t make him tremble . Rage did .
Calian was definitely assassinated . His cause of death wasn’t poison . Considering that I wasn’t able to use mana from the beginning, it’s certainly not the case that I was poisoned due to my acting out of the ordinary . This, therefore, means that Calian was always meant to be poisoned—even in the past .
This realisation brought about another question, which came with uncontrollable rage .
“Why—” Calian clasped the pouch tightly and looked up at Alan .
Why did they have to choke the already dying child to death?
Alan’s shoulders flinched . He saw his student’s red eyes fill up with murderous intent, albeit for a split second . Although it disappeared without a trace, it wasn’t something that a young boy should be able to express .
“I’m truly sorry, teacher . I could never even have guessed . ”
“…there is more to sharpness than just a dagger before thine eyes . Things that cannot be seen may sometimes bear a larger thorn,” replied Alan, attempting to shake off the chilling glisten that he saw in Calian’s eyes .
Calian took Alan’s words to heart . Swordmasters were unharmed by poison, and this fact led him to his inattention . Despite Bern’s copious experience on the battlefield where attempts of assassination of every way, shape, and form were very common, he had been caught off-guard .
I was too preoccupied over the fact that Calian was choked to death that I missed the possibility of poison .
Despite the obvious symptoms, he had not thought of poison . Calian, more than anyone else, must not have made this big mistake .
“Am I in a grave state?”
“As far as I was concerned, you seemed to be straddling the line between life and death . ”
Calian chuckled . His tension eased a little as he asked, “If I were to concurrently take the poison and the antidote, would my symptoms get worse?”
Alan’s face crumpled . “I strongly vouch against that thought . Although the process would be delayed, you would be bound to meet your demise . ”
“How much would it be delayed?”
“I cannot say for sure, considering that I am not a healer . Ten days, perhaps fifteen . ”
Calian smiled in satisfaction . “That’s more than enough . I shall take them both . ”
“Are you really telling me that you’d take the antidote with the goddamn poison?”
Is he trying to insult me or asking me out of pure curiosity?
“Yes . The symptoms being signs of poison are very different from simply being signs of an illness in that I must react carefully . I cannot just refuse to take it all of a sudden,” said Calian, gazing into Alan’s concerned eyes . “I believe that the poison was in the tea that I drink every morning . There’s nothing else that I consume regularly every day . However, I always drank it in the presence of everyone else . I wish not to doubt the maids, but I must not overlook anything . ”
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Maybe, just maybe… the Old Calian realised that he was slowly being poisoned . He might have refused to drink the poisoned tea .
If Silica had noticed that Calian realised that his tea was poisoned, it was certainly possible for her to have sent an assassin to an already dying child . Knowing Silica, she definitely would have .
If I immediately refuse to drink my tea, she would find another way . But since my situation now is different from the situation then… I can’t say for sure that they would try to kill me using the same method .
While Calian organised his thoughts, Alan began to speak once again . “Your Highness, you need not worry about not having enough evidence against the culprit . I have already secured evidence that Brissen Merchantry has been buying an unusual number of snakes—supposedly for their skin . Even as we speak, the Mages’ Union is thoroughly investigating this matter . ”
“Thank you . We can leave that as our last resort . However, we will not be able to take down Silica with just that much evidence . We must find a different way . ”
Episode 4: Until I Have the Right Hand – Chapter 17 . 2
Not only had Alan discovered quite a lot in just a day, but he had even collected evidence . Calian smiled, not knowing just how many mages had to be rallied in order to gather this much information .
“Until then, we must not let Silica know that I have noticed that my tea is poisoned . That being said, I have been drinking that tea in front of all the maids . Since I have no way of throwing it out without drinking it, I shall continue to drink the tea even while I take the antidote . ” Calian continued, “On top of that, Yan and the other maids will be in deep trouble if word goes out that my morning tea was tampered with . Since they have been giving me poison for quite a while, in no way will they be able to continue working without any punishment . ”
“Though the baby elephant would be just fine,” muttered Alan to himself .
“Pardon?”
“Nothing, Your Highness . In any case, why do you trust that attendant so deeply?”
“He can’t lie . His face tells me everything . ” Calian lifted his arm and pointed at his own face . Then, he stared down at his right palm . A small, but clear scar ran across it . It was from back when Franz hurt his hand . He remembered Yan’s face as Yan held his hand and cried like a small child . “More importantly, I just… trust him . That’s all . ”
Alan nodded without adding anything else . Calian continued .
“This poison had to be given to me over a long period of time . Silica must also have kept in mind that there was a possibility that I would notice . The fact that she went along with it despite knowing this must mean that she has a surefire plan to escape any accusations made against her . She had even talked about killing me while I was standing right before her . ”
Calian recalled Silica’s attitude during their dinner with Viscount Lennon Brissen . She had acted as if she would never take the consequences of her actions . “If we make one wrong move, I would only end up losing my people without being able to take down Silica . She most likely would accuse me of false charge . Once that happens, it would be difficult for me to protect myself when attacked by an assassin or poisoned once again .
“So until I have the right hand—at least until I find a way to make her completely give up on trying to poison me—I will ingest them concurrently . One way or another, I will fend off the visible daggers that fly towards me . ”
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Alan sighed deeply as he stared at Calian, thoughts running across his face like tangled yarn .
Calian smiled and picked up a tablet with his fingers . “Thanks for the antidote . ”
Without hesitation, he plopped the tablet into his mouth and swallowed it .
Alan knit his brows . “Didn’t I tell you to be suspicious of everything you eat? What if I had given you actual poison?”
“I couldn’t help it, then . That would only mean that you couldn’t trust me as much as I trusted you, teacher . I would be at fault for not being able to convince you to trust me . ”
Alan chuckled . “Shrewd words you use, Your Highness . ”
“This is the tongue that managed to win over the famous Alan Manassil, after all . ” Calian replied proudly, as if he had just been complimented .
Alan remained silent for a moment before asking, “As you wish . What else would you like me to do for you, Your Highness?”
Although Alan had already done enough to save his life, Calian still needed Alan’s help . Calian answered quietly .
“Please take me out of the palace tomorrow evening . ”
It was more than doable . Alan nodded .
“As many times as you wish, Your Highness . ”
—swish!
As Calian lightly juggled the pouch of antidotes, the tablets inside rolled around and into each other . Since Alan left, Calian was breaking his promise to Yan for the very first time . He was lost in thought as he fidgeted with the pouch without even touching his lunch .
Knowing that Calian had been discussing his health with Alan, Yan glanced at his master nervously . However, he stood beside Calian without a word .
Swish!
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The pouch sounded once again .
“Yan,” began Calian .
“Yes, Your Highness . ”
“Do I have anything to attend within ten days where nobles would be present?”
“Since there weren’t any during the month before the celebration, there will be quite a few over the next few weeks . ”
That’s a relief . Calian nodded . “What are they specifically?”
Yan lowered his gaze and organised his thoughts, retracing Calian’s schedule in his head . He began to list the events in chronological order . Occasions both internal and external to the palace flooded out of his mouth . Calian could feel his face droop in exhaustion . That’s kind of… a ridiculous amount .
Calian raised his hand to pause the list . “Alright, that’s great . Thanks . ”
“Yes, Your Highness . ”
Calian was currently trying to come up with a plan to make Silica give up on poisoning him . There was one idea that hit him while he was talking to Alan, and it was the only plan that he could carry out within ten days . This was the reason for his asking Alan to take him out of the palace . Thankfully, there was one outing with the nobles that was just right for his plan .
However, he knew that it would be quite risky . He had to ponder on it for a while . Suddenly, he was reminded of what Bern’s father—Devlan, the current King of Secretia—had said in Bern’s past life .
—If you wish to take your opponent’s card, you must gamble with your own first .
I guess I am reminded of you during times like this, Father .
Calian finally decided that he would accept the risk .
As he was about to stand up, his eyes met Yan’s . It was as if Yan’s expression was speaking to him: aren’t you going to eat? Calian chuckled and sat back down, placing the pouch on the table . The swishing noise echoed through the room once again .
Naturally, Yan’s eyes traced the pouch . There was no doubt that Yan was very concerned about him . Calian decided to provide an explanation, although while omitting a few facts .
“It’s medicine . By the time I finish taking them, I’ll be all better . But you have to promise…” Calian paused .
“I will not speak of it to anyone else . Please do not worry,” assured Yan, reading Calian’s intention .
I don’t know if I should call him keen or dense . Calian smiled and began his belated meal .