Westalia ignored Leonardo’s hand and crouched down beside Elizabeth. Then she glared at the people around them and shouted in a loud voice that echoed throughout the hall.
“This is not a spectacle!”
The noisy crowd grew quiet at the intensity behind her words.
“Your Highness, please get these people out of here. Then call the court physician immediately. Now!” Westalia ordered.
“Y-Yes!” Leonardo finally nodded, overwhelmed by the strange situation. Under his guidance, the crowded hall was emptied.
Westalia forcibly borrowed a shawl that one of the curious onlookers had wrapped around themself, rolled it up, and slid it under Elizabeth’s head as a pillow. She also turned Elizabeth’s face to the side so that her airway wouldn’t be blocked if she vomited again. When Westalia reached up to loosen the neck of Elizabeth’s dress to make it easier to breathe, Tiberio grabbed her arm.
“My daughter is a bit of a germophobe,” Tiberio said. “I’m sorry, but could you please not touch her too much? She’ll scold me later if you do.”
“Then I will say the same to you.”
“What?”
“Please don’t touch me so familiarly. I’m a bit of a germophobe too.” Westalia roughly shook off the man’s hand. Tiberio’s expression tightened, but he immediately schooled it back to calm.
Leonardo looked up at the ceiling in exasperation at the overly impolite manner in which Westalia was speaking to the head of a ducal family that even the royal family took a shine to.
Westalia waited at Elizabeth’s side for the woman to come to her senses, which happened after a few minutes. But again, Elizabeth’s face turned pale and she vomited, and this time she grabbed Westalia’s hand in her dazed and faltering consciousness. Elizabeth looked at Westalia with pleading eyes and squeezed out a faint voice.
“Please...it hurts...”
“Yes, I will help you. Don’t worry, the pain will pass,” Westalia replied. In spite of her bitter memories of the woman’s harassment, Westalia was not so ruthless as to coldly shun someone who was clearly suffering and begging for help.
Even at a time like this you’re not looking at your father, Westalia thought. She didn’t have a close relationship with her parents, so she wasn’t really sure, but she felt that usually when people were sick, they would want to rely on the family members closest to them. But she could see Elizabeth wasn’t looking to Tiberio in the slightest.
Westalia gave Elizabeth’s hand a firm squeeze and loosened her collar, after which the woman vomited once more and fainted again. Finally, the court physician arrived in the hall and began administering first aid.
“I will take care of the rest. You can leave,” Tiberio said.
Is this man really Elizabeth’s father? Westalia wondered. She felt unsettled by the man’s calm smile, unfazed by his daughter’s collapse.
“Very well. Please, take care,” Westalia said. Despite her misgivings she gave a curtsy. As she turned to leave, Tiberio whispered in her ear.
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Remember this.” Tiberio’s tone was gentle but intimidating, and Westalia felt a chill run down her spine.
Westalia sat down on a sofa in the lobby outside the hall. Leonardo, still standing, looked down at her and spoke frankly.
“He’s got you on his radar now. Why must you conduct yourself in a way that strikes a nerve in others?”
“I’m sure he’s had an eye on me for a while. I’m just another rival to his daughter, another candidate for empress, another thorn in his side,” Westalia responded.
“And yet you are as fearless and foolhardy as ever.”
“But you love that about me,” Westalia said in a mischievous tone, crossing her arms. Leonardo looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks. Speaking of nails, it seemed she’d hit that one right on the head.
Paige, who’d been sent to check Elizabeth’s diagnosis, hurried into the lobby.
“How’s Elizabeth?” Westalia asked.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. The doctor just said that she may have been nervous being in front of so many people.”
“Seriously? What kind of quack does Le Chantier Palace keep on their payroll to make that kind of diagnosis?!” Westalia said. Vomiting, abdominal pain, cramps, a red rash: with those symptoms, even a layman would think there was something more going on than just mental stress. How many lives would be lost if being under stress could cause such extreme pain?!
Leonardo countered her with a serious expression. “A quack? Absolutely not. This palace is equipped with the highest level of medical care available in the Archaites Empire.”
“I know, I’m just being sarcastic,” Westalia said. “Paige, were there any other patients in the infirmary with symptoms similar to Elizabeth’s? A red rash?”
Paige nodded, raising her eyebrows slightly, wondering how Westalia could’ve known that without seeing it for herself. “Y-Yes. There were several people with a rash. They all complained of nausea and abdominal pain. The only thing that bothered me was...”
Westalia cut in, index finger raised in anticipation of what came next. “They were all wearing Elizabeth Pink dresses, correct?”
Paige looked even more surprised. “That’s right.”
Elizabeth’s rash was spreading from where her skin touched her dress, Westalia thought. She stood up from the couch, the corners of her mouth lifting in a smile.
“Elizabeth Pink is all the rage in this country right now. And that dye contains poison.”
Tiberio and Elizabeth were trying to hide the fact that Elizabeth had a rash. In other words, they knew that Elizabeth Pink was dangerous.
Westalia had finally found it: the weakness that would bring down the Rias Corporation and the Reyns.
Westalia walked slowly and squinted up at the chandelier overhead. I wonder if the emperor knows about this. If I use this knowledge about Elizabeth Pink, I’ll have a better chance of winning this selection.