PDRM Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The report on the poison Charlotte drank was delivered early in the morning.

At 6 a.m., Tei arrived as usual, clearing away the bottles scattered on the desk and placing down a report and a small vial of poison.

“The poison the lady ingested contained a small amount of venom from the northern beast, ‘Meridum.'”

“…I see.”

Meridum. It wasn’t an unfamiliar monster to Noctem. It resembled a feline quadruped but was distinguished by the large wings on its back.

At a glance, it looked similar to a griffin, but unlike griffins, it couldn’t fly for long periods, and its venomous bite was Meridum’s defining feature.

‘But Meridum’s primary attack is its claws, not its venom.’

Naturally, the venom itself wasn’t particularly fatal. In some parts of the Eastern Continent, minute quantities of it were even used for medicinal purposes.

However—

“The investigator mentioned that the lady’s body is particularly vulnerable to poison, which likely caused her severe reaction. While some of it may accumulate in her system, it shouldn’t cause significant harm to the human body—”

“You wouldn’t call it poison if it weren’t harmful, would you?”

Even if it was a poison used in medicine and supposedly not deadly, Charlotte had vomited blood after drinking it.

He had witnessed her collapse in front of him, as if she were a person on the brink of death.

The memory of her cold body—so starkly different from the stifling heat of the banquet hall—was still vivid.

“She drank something this dangerous…”

The poison in the vial was a pitch-black liquid, so dark it sent a chill down his spine. Noctem slowly reached out and gripped the vial tightly.

Crack.

The sound of the vial fracturing echoed through the air. Then—Snap!—it shattered, and the viscous poison dripped over his hand, falling in heavy droplets.

“Your Grace!”

Tei gasped in horror at the sight, fearing the poison might be absorbed through his skin.

“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t cause significant harm to the human body?”

“Still, you should be careful!”

Even if he was a Sword Master, this was reckless! Tei hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to Noctem.

Unlike Tei’s frantic demeanor, Noctem merely chuckled softly and leisurely.

“Yes, I should be careful.”

The low, murmured words silenced Tei immediately.

He instinctively knew who the Grand Duke was thinking about.

“Tei. Prepare an antidote.”

And it wasn’t hard to guess who the antidote was for.

Instead of asking additional questions, Tei simply nodded.

“I will prepare it as quickly as possible, without regard to the cost.”

“Good.”

With Noctem’s permission, Tei bowed once more and left the office.

The room grew eerily quiet. The morning sunlight began to seep through the glass walls, casting a warm glow on Noctem’s face.

Yet, his expression remained colder than ever.

‘It hasn’t even been half a day since I made my resolution.’

And now, here he was, ordering an antidote for her.

‘How foolish.’

Noctem laughed bitterly at himself. Even drowning in alcohol hadn’t been enough to suppress these feelings.

The sting of betrayal from Charlotte still lingered deeply.

“What should I do…”

He tapped his index finger idly against the table, lost in thought.

Noctem held a card that could utterly destroy Charlotte.

Her claim—spoken aloud—that another person existed with the exact same appearance as himself.

‘And that person is me, a member of the imperial family.’

If that information reached the wrong ears, it could be interpreted as evidence of another imperial bloodline—a direct threat to the empire’s stability.

His investigation through Tei had revealed nothing. There was no one who resembled him, nor even a whisper of an illegitimate child.

A direct insult to the imperial family is a grave crime.

Especially since the previous emperor had shared a famously devoted relationship with the empress, never keeping a mistress.

If this information were made public, Charlotte could be charged with insulting the imperial family—or worse, treason.

The victim of the poisoning incident could easily become a criminal under investigation.

Noctem pictured her standing before a judge—her once-glossy golden hair dulled, and her emerald eyes losing their brilliance as life drained away…

“Tch.”

A low, vulgar curse slipped from his lips.

‘What? Losing her brilliance? Dying?’

His trembling hands slammed against the desk with a loud bang.

Just the thought of her dying was enough to make it hard for him to breathe.

He immediately abandoned the idea of exposing her. After all, he wanted to see Charlotte defeated—he didn’t want to see her completely destroyed.

As he tried to calm his thoughts, another memory flashed through his mind—words she had spoken at the banquet.

“Pfft, I put on a little act and you fell for it right away… You’re too gullible. It’s boring.”

The memory reignited his sense of betrayal and a strange, inexplicable sadness. But instead of succumbing to those emotions, he let his pride flare up.

And suddenly, his plan took a bizarre turn.

“Should I make her endure something boring and tiresome for the rest of her life?”

A low, cynical smile curled one side of his lips. An idea came to mind.

Yes.

“What if I married her—would she die of boredom?”

According to Tei’s investigations, Charlotte had a long history of flitting from one man to another. For someone like her, marriage would be the ultimate punishment.

Especially a marriage to Noctem, where his superior rank would prevent her from taking lovers.

‘It’s a pretty good idea.’

A rare smile tugged at Noctem’s lips.

If Tei knew what he was thinking, he would have been appalled.

Marrying someone just to ruin them? That was pure self-destruction!

But Tei couldn’t read Noctem’s mind.

And so, while the servants cleaned up the shattered vial, Noctem quietly plotted his next move.

—

A week passed.

Fortunately, Kai—the fox—recovered quickly. However, because of his advanced age, the physician advised that he needed constant care.

Noctem decided to keep him within the estate.

Yet, the stubborn fox seemed increasingly irritable—perhaps because he missed Charlotte.

That day, as Kai tugged at his trousers, trying to drag him toward the fields, Noctem sighed and picked him up.

“Yip!”

It was clearly a protest.

But Noctem ignored him, carrying the fox to the field.

He had no expectation that Charlotte would show up.

She had already achieved what she wanted—and claimed she was tired of him.

But this foolish fox didn’t seem to understand that.

And then—

Rustle.

A hand suddenly emerged from behind an ancient tree.

“Kai!”

Charlotte ran toward the fox, brushing off the dirt on her dress.

Noctem instinctively hid himself, though he couldn’t understand why.

Watching her radiant smile, all his questions faded away.

“She really is… a strange woman.”

Her kindness toward Kai made no sense. By now, there was no need to keep up this act.

And yet, part of him began to wonder—

‘Was she really lying?’

But no matter the answer—

“Goodbye, Kai.”

Her parting words shattered him.

And when she turned to face him directly—

“I hope you will be well too, Noctem.”

—she left him behind.

 

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