Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“······.”
The first sense to return was sight. When I opened my eyes and saw the familiar ceiling, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
At least I wasn’t dead.
My head felt like it was floating, as if I had drunk myself senseless, but I could clearly understand what had happened.
Just as I tried to lift my body to see how things had unfolded after I collapsed, someone gently pressed my shoulder and laid me back down on the bed.
“Your Highness, we are in the middle of detoxification, so you must not move!”
“…Ugh?!”
At that, my vague senses snapped back with razor-sharp clarity.
There wasn’t a single place from head to toe that didn’t hurt.
My hands and feet tingled as if blood wasn’t circulating, devoid of strength, and a thick metallic stench of blood filled my mouth.
“His Highness has awakened! Step up the treatment!”
At the unfamiliar man’s voice, my stiff neck barely turned.
‘Why are there so many people.’
Countless figures stood around me, looking down with worried gazes.
A crowd that looked to number at least twenty. A few of those at the very front were holding my body down, chanting sinister incantations.
From there, a warm light emanated, enveloping my body and slowly seeping into it.
“A vicious poison.”
An old man who looked like a court mage wiped the sweat from his brow and clicked his tongue.
[Healing magic ‘Elite Cure’ is activated.]
[Detoxification: 59%]
The light flowing from the old man’s hands deepened.
As the detoxification percentage rose, my hazy consciousness grew clearer, and my heavy body felt noticeably lighter.
“…Your Highness.”
At the foot of the bed, I saw Parsi, her face streaked with tears, vigorously massaging my legs.
It was a ridiculous sight, but it was a shame I couldn’t smile for her, as my face refused to cooperate.
‘I was far too careless.’
Regret churned violently in my mind as I stared at the ceiling.
I had thought that, like the protagonists of other novels, I could act however I pleased and things would work out somehow.
A story in a novel, characters in a novel.
I still hadn’t been able to think of them as people, only as one-dimensional characters.
I had dismissed them as mere fabricated creations, and the result was my current pathetic state.
Thump—thump—thump—
As I watched my body recover in real time, lost in self-mockery and reflection, heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
At the same time, with a loud crash, the door to the room burst open as if shattered, and knights clad in massive full plate mail revealed themselves.
“What is the meaning of this! We are in the middle of treating His Highness the Prince……!”
“Arrest the traitor!”
One of the men at the back of the group in the room frowned and protested, but the knight cut him off without a care.
“What on earth is this······!”
The others also approached the knights with indignant expressions. But it was useless.
The knights pushed through the group with rough strides and reached the front of my bed.
“I am Sturridge of the Royal Knights, the Imperial Household’s direct order of knights. Parsidad der Devrainer, is that correct?”
“······.”
Parsi lifted her head with a startled expression.
After confirming that she was the person they were looking for, the knights nodded and continued.
“Parsidad der Devrainer. You are under arrest on charges of treason and attempted assassination of a member of the imperial family. No defense or objection will be accepted. If you do not wish to face summary judgment, follow us quietly.”
“W-What? What?”
As burly knights easily three times her size grabbed her arms and lifted her up, Parsi looked around in panic.
The knights’ attitude did not change in the slightest. Rather, those around them stepped back several paces, their faces turning pale at the knight’s words.
“Let’s go.”
“…Ah.”
Treason.
Attempted assassination of a member of the imperial family.
Even as I thrashed amid pain stabbing through my entire body, those two words rang clearly in my ears.
They were crimes of such magnitude that even someone like me, ignorant of aristocratic hierarchies, could fully understand.
If she were dragged away like this, the aftermath was obvious.
“Stop.”
I clenched my teeth and forced the words out.
“······.”
Sturridge seemed unable to ignore my words, and he halted the steps of those escorting Parsi. He then turned and bowed politely toward me.
“Sturridge of the Royal Knights, the Imperial Household’s direct order of knights, greets His Highness the Third Prince. I did not know you had awakened and beg your pardon for the discourtesy.”
His attitude and tone were courteous, but his eyes were not.
The Royal Knights, the Imperial Household’s direct order of knights.
They were not the strongest knight order in the empire, but bearing the name of the imperial family, they were among the top tiers.
Thinking they might be significant, I searched my memory, but the only Sturridge that came to mind was a soccer player with the same name.
“She is my maid. For what purpose are you trying to take her?”
I groaned inwardly as I propped myself up.
Whether because the situation was grave or because the detoxification had progressed to some extent, the court mage stopped the healing magic and stepped back from my side.
“His Majesty has issued an order to apprehend everyone involved in this incident.”
“Is she involved as well?”
“Ordinarily, before meals are served to members of the imperial family or nobility, maids sample a portion to check for abnormalities. Yet despite Your Highness being poisoned, she is perfectly fine. Is that not proof enough?”
His words were too logically sound to refute lightly.
I said nothing and looked at Parsi. She shook her head desperately as she sobbed in fear, staring at me.
“Your Highness, I absolutely did not poison anything! Before serving Your Highness, I checked all the dishes, but… ah!”
In the middle of her explanation, Parsi cried out as if she had realized something. A ripple passed across Sturridge’s previously impassive face.
“Speak.”
“…I did not touch the pudding served as dessert. It was precious, and the portion was so small that there wasn’t enough for me to sample. And… its source was also certain.”
Perhaps because there were too many ears listening, she hesitated to say more.
At that attitude, Sturridge brought his face close to Parsi’s mouth.
“…….”
“······.”
At the whispered words, Sturridge’s face visibly twisted.
That anger soon turned to contempt, and eventually only deep disgust and irritation remained.
“…If what you say is true.”
“I have spoken not a single lie. If I have, I will offer up this lowly neck.”
At her straightforward gaze, he let out a small sigh. He then signaled with his eyes to the knights holding Parsi’s arms.
“Remain at His Highness’s side and fulfill your duties. We will conduct a separate investigation into this matter. If it is proven that your words are false, the repercussions will not fall upon you alone.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
At Parsi’s firm response, he nodded. He then bowed, apologizing for the discourtesy, and just as when they had entered, they withdrew from the room like a receding tide.
“Phew······.”
Parsi wiped the sweat from her brow, her complexion pale as she finally caught her breath.
What had she said to make those who had been so hardline retreat like that.
If I had my way, I wanted to ask, but she looked exhausted, and I didn’t have the energy either.
“Your Highness, are you conscious?”
“…Speak.”
When I collapsed back onto the bed, drained of strength, the court mage waved his hand in front of my eyes. When I replied weakly, he withdrew his hand and spoke.
“All detoxification that can be done through magic has been completed. What remains now is for you to take antidotes to expel the toxins still left in your body. This is not something that can be resolved in the near term, so you must take absolute rest for about a week, and even after that, you will need to take the medicine I prescribe for at least several more weeks while we monitor your condition.”
As if proving his words, the detoxification value displayed in the status window pointed to the 80% range.
After finishing by saying that medicine would be sent after every meal, he bowed his head and left this place together with the others in the room.
“Parsi.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In this space that had become quiet in an instant, only she and I remained.
Barely resisting the temptation of sleep that threatened to drag me under the moment I let my guard down, I called her name.
Parsi, who had been tidying the room, hurried over to me.
“I lived thanks to you.”
“Your Highness…….”
When I lightly grasped her hand, I could feel dried blood clinging here and there.
Who had tried to poison me wasn’t important.
Carius, Darius, August.
Or even other nobles who followed them.
There were countless people who could be placed on the list of suspects.
Rather, it would be faster to name those who had no reason to do it.
I needed power.
Power strong enough that I would never be dragged into something like this again.
‘So that I can protect this girl too.’
If I hadn’t regained consciousness then, Parsi would have been dragged away by the knights and subjected to something terrible.
Perhaps she knew that too. The small hand in mine trembled finely, betraying her anxiety.
“Don’t worry.”
“…Yes.”
All I could offer was empty consolation. Even so, Parsi smiled at me.
“Nggh.”
I couldn’t stay like this forever, so when I tried to sit up, a groan escaped on its own. She flinched in surprise and hurriedly tried to stop me.
“Your Highness, didn’t the court mage say that if you don’t take proper rest for at least a week, there could be complications?”
“How long has it been since I collapsed?”
“Only half a day. Because of that, the atmosphere in the palace is unsettled. So even if Your Highness stays in bed, no one will dare say anything.”
Parsi’s words were pointing at another prince. She must know as well.
That the one who did this to me was not unrelated to them.
Seeing her firm expression as she blocked me from getting out of bed, I quietly listened to her.
…So I really have to lie here like this for an entire week?
A painfully boring week passed.
During that time, Parsi strictly monitored me, insisting that I needed absolute rest and not allowing me to take even a single step outside the bed.
Day after day, all I did was swallow the medicine she brought me, to the point that I even had the illusion that my body might rot away from restlessness.
And finally, today.
[Detoxification remaining: 1%]
A full recovery lay right in front of me.
While Parsi was away, I secretly got out of bed and loosened my stiffened body for today.
It should be about time to start moving in earnest.
“Still, this body hasn’t changed at all.”
All I had done for a week was eat and laze around, yet the muscles covering my body still flaunted their presence.
As I admired those fine sculptures in the full-length mirror placed at one side of the room, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I don’t need to stay cooped up in the room anymore, right?
Because of this incident, I had gained a certain degree of freedom.
The other prince seemed to be lying low due to the tense atmosphere in the imperial palace, and only the Royal Knights were continuing their investigation into the faction that had tried to poison me.
I heard that the heads of several chefs who had worked in my palace and a manager who handled food distribution had already rolled.
Fortunately, it seemed that Parsi’s matter had been resolved smoothly, as there was no further talk about it afterward.
Rather, I was the one who spoke first.
It must have been the third day. I said it to her while she was tidying my bedchamber.
“If it’s uncomfortable, tell me anytime. I can change it.”
Honestly, I felt very sorry. If she hadn’t been under me, she wouldn’t have been dragged into this kind of mess. But she shook her head with a light smile.
“That might have been true before, but not now.”
That honest answer moved me a little.
As expected, it had to be Parsi.
When I joked that if she had hesitated for even one second, I would have cut her down, she made a teary face and asked if I had been testing her.
Anyway, she was unbearably cute in every way.
“Alright then, shall we get going now.”
After lightly preparing myself, I hurried out of the room.
In case Parsi came by, I left a note on the table and added that she shouldn’t worry.
If she saw me like this right now, she would start nagging again.
I had been delayed by a whole week from the original plan, but if only to avoid further threats to my life, I had to obtain the hidden piece I had intended to acquire from the start.
Sleeping in the imperial palace archive,
That magic sword that had been called the strongest and the most vicious.