Until now, I thought Cassian only used his power against the imperial family and nobles.
However, the Duke doesn’t seem reassured by just that.
‘Could it be that he extended his influence to the common people?’
Historically, there have been several peasant uprisings.
The Duke of Cassian, a man of ironclad character, seemed to want to prevent even the possibility of rebellion.
The Duke is planning to disrupt the common people with an epidemic.
‘He demanded cooperation from Mother, but she naturally refused. As a result…’
I stared at the words on the paper.
There was no way the ink would move on its own and turn into another sentence, but I felt like I couldn’t control my anger if I didn’t stare at it.
She was forced to drink the poison, for if she refused, she would be summarily disposed of.
Disposed of.
In other words, if she refused, she would be killed.
‘Maybe that includes me.’
Even though she knew drinking the poison would lead to death, she drank it. It meant there was something she wanted to protect beyond her own life.
And that was me; there was no doubt about it.
“In the end, Mother… for the sake of protecting me…”
If only Mother had been a bit more cowardly. If only she had cooperated with the Duke, we might have had a future where she and I lived.
I stiffened at the momentary, terribly selfish thought.
‘No, the Duke must have found a way to make Mother drink the poison.’
The Duke is someone who achieves his goals by any means necessary.
It wouldn’t be unexpected for him to anticipate Mother’s rejection of his proposal.
However, making her drink the poison under the pretext of refusal meant that it was his intention from the beginning.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and returned my attention to deciphering the code.
But I don’t regret it, Rottie. If I had to do it over again, I’d make the same choice.
In fact, until I investigated separately, I didn’t know how Mother had become addicted to Mordheim poison.
When I asked her, she didn’t give a clue, and she just laughed and passed it off as something else.
Even after Mother passed away, I never suspected it was Cassian’s doing.
Because they were still family.
I believed firmly in the concept of family.
‘If I had known, I would not have told the Duke about my mother’s suspicious poisoning.’
Because of that revelation, the Duke dug up Mother’s grave and took her body.
I remember it being exactly one month after Mother passed away.
I vividly remembered investigating alone for a month and eventually seeking the Duke’s help.
After that, I started suspecting Duke Cassian and discovered that a maid poisoned Mother’s tea following his order.
Subsequently, I chased after that maid, only to find a corpse.
I thought she had served her purpose and had been discarded by the Duke.
But the truth my mother left behind was so different from what I had researched.
“What on earth happened?”
It seemed unlikely that my mother would have tried to tell me a lie.
If not, there was only one possibility left.
The Duke intentionally fed me false information.
My head throbbed, and I closed my eyes, pressing on my temples.
A tingling sensation surged and spread throughout my body, and I opened my eyes again.
Though my vision was blurry, I endured and continued deciphering the code.
Rottie, I hope you live happily, unaware of anything…Perhaps, in the end, you’ll confront Cassian as your enemy.
When that happens, I hope Mom’s last letter will be of help.
The following contents contained both information I already knew and newly discovered details.
From Cassian’s corruption and financial sources to the Duke’s weaknesses and secret passages in the Duke’s residence,.
I wrote it all down, cramming it into my head.
I never knew when or how I would use it, and it was far more efficient to have it in my head than to have to pull out a piece of paper when the need arose.
Unbeknownst to me, the diary reached its last page.
Rottie, Mom’s daughter,I love you always and forever.
-Mom.
Adding a period to the simple yet weighty sentence, I let out a long exhale.
My chest felt constricted, as if something was blocking it.
Once, two, three…
After taking ten deep breaths, I could finally set the pen down.
‘Now is the time for action, not for doubts and regrets.’
Determined, I called for Zenid, who had been quietly waiting near the door.
“Zenid.”
Approaching silently, Zenid slightly lowered his head.
Standing up from my seat, I spoke.
“I’m going to complete the antidote for the poisonous beetles from now on. I need your help.”
The antidote that I had been researching using Madam Thetman’s blood wasn’t perfect yet.
However, thanks to the diary left by my mother, the issues were resolved.
Zenid responded without expressing any doubts, meeting my eyes.
“Please give me the orders, Your Highness.”
Her voice was as firm as ever.
And so, we officially started the process of concocting the antidote.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
A few days later, the antidote was successfully completed.
I sighed, resting my hands on my hips, as I looked at the glass bottle filled with the red liquid in front of me.
Even without testing, I could tell.
‘It’s a success. This is truly…….’
Perfect.
I was confident enough to dare to use that phrase.
The combination of my initial thoughts and the recipe my mother left behind contributed to this success.
“With this, we can turn the tables on a grand scale.”
The leash that Cassian had tied around the nobles could now be severed.
I could imagine Madam Thetman’s delight; my lips involuntarily curled up.
“Great. Now the remaining task is to find information about Cassian’s apothecary.”
I had been looking for clues here and there, but so far, nothing substantial has been found.
There wasn’t even any record of my mother’s acquaintances.
‘Where else should I look?’
The apothecary’s room had already been scoured, and my mother’s room had long since been checked.
But there was no way the dining room or parlor would hold any clues to her personal information.
Suddenly, a place I hadn’t checked crossed my mind.
‘My room.’
It was my bedroom, the one I used to use here.
It wasn’t my mother’s bedroom, so I didn’t have high expectations, but I headed there anyway, hoping to take a trip down memory lane.
Assuming there would be no one, I quickly opened the door, only to be more surprised by the golden eyes staring at me from inside.
“……!”
“Rohiriel, what brings you here?”
Julion approached me with a surprised yet joyful expression.
However, the question I had to ask seemed more crucial.
“I need to find something. But why are you in my room?”
“Oh, that.”
Julion scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression.
His gaze briefly landed on the portrait of my mother and me hanging on the wall.
I tilted my head in confusion, and Julion chuckled before responding.
“I was just wandering around, looking at the rooms, since you were so focused on your work….”
It was indeed boring.
Officially, it was the trip of the Crown Prince and Princess, but in reality, I had come here to work.
Julion had just tagged along as my escort.
As I eyed him suspiciously, Julion cleared his throat and asked me something.
“By the way, you really resemble your mother a lot.”
“I’ve heard that a lot. Are you talking about that portrait?”
“Yes. How old were you when it was painted?”
“I must have been seven. That was before my hair color changed.”
Whether I had told Julion about my hair color changing, I couldn’t remember.
Seeing Julion’s lack of surprise, it seemed like I must have mentioned it at some point.
I casually brushed it off and started checking the bookshelf.
Leaning against a wall, Julion sporadically threw questions at me.
“When did you become so skilled?”
“Well, it’s not like I suddenly became skilled one day. It happened gradually, slowly, through growth.”
The bookshelf didn’t reveal anything noteworthy.
Everything was exactly as I remembered it.
I hadn’t had much stuff since my mother died, and I’d cleaned it out.
I then moved towards the desk and started opening each drawer.
There were childhood diaries, accessories, stationery—all quite ordinary things.
I opened the last drawer at the bottom.
“What about medical treatment or care… When did you start that?”
“At the age of nine, it was a memorable treatment, so I remember it vividly.”
“Ah, I see. Nine years old.”
After pondering for a moment, Julion asked again.
“Did you happen to have any experience treating young children when you were little?”
But I couldn’t provide an answer to Julion’s question.
So, I didn’t notice that his voice sounded a bit more excited than previous questions, accompanied by a subtle tremor.
My full attention was on the unfamiliar documents that caught my eye.
<Everything about Mordheim Poison>
The poison that killed his mother.
Also, the poison that kept the Emperor dormant for three years.
Although I named it Mordheim Poison, I swear I never placed such documents in my drawer.
Furthermore, at that time, I knew almost nothing about Mordheim Poison, making it impossible for me to create such records.
Carefully, I picked up the documents and unfolded the pages.
<Duration of Poison, Mechanism of Action, and Progression Order>
<At the first stage, where breathing and heartbeat stop, revival can be achieved if detoxified immediately.
However, if a week passes in that state, it progresses to the second stage.>
I could feel my mouth going dry.
I swallowed hard and continued reading.
