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“…HUH?”
Sparkling glass shards and red wine scattered about Elizabeth’s feet. Her dark green eyes focused on her hand in shock as it trembled slightly. Riddhe regained his senses and surged forward.
“Are you hurt, Your Majesty? Let me call someo—”
“Wait. This is…?!”
“Your Majesty!!”
The empress’s body swayed. Riddhe caught her before she collapsed onto the floor. Her body shivered in his arms, but as he was about to call for Albert to summon someone, Elizabeth stopped him.
“Stop! Don’t!”
“But Your Majesty—”
“This was planned!”
The empress coughed painfully, and Riddhe tightened his arms around her. The wine spreading across the floor reached Elizabeth’s dress and seeped into the hem, staining it. Finally, Riddhe understood.
It was poison. Someone had poisoned Empress Elizabeth’s drink.
But who would do such a thing? And when? Questions ran through his head. Suddenly, he heard a young woman’s voice and whipped his head up.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty. I thought I heard something fall…?”
A maid had timidly entered the room, probably concerned about the sound of breaking glass. She gasped at the scene, her wide eyes taking in the fallen empress held in Riddhe’s arms. Riddhe could almost see the gears clicking into place in her head.
“S-Someone! Someone, help…!!”
“Wait!”
His cry went unheeded as the maid fled the scene.
His mind was a blank.
All the palace guards would soon be here.
He would be arrested on the spot as a traitor who killed the empress.
Just then, a dry clap echoed, and Riddhe regained his senses as pain blossomed on his cheek.
“Stay calm, idiot!!” The empress gasped as she clutched at his shirt. “There must be…a way. Think! Think of…your next step. Didn’t you…promise Alicia?!”
Elizabeth’s pained but strong voice cleared the fog in Riddhe’s head.
Yes. He had to calm down and think.
A Sutherland always keeps his promise.
That was the proud motto of their house, passed down through the generations.
“Albert!!”
Supporting the empress in his arms, Riddhe looked back at his servant, who was standing dumbfounded, and quickly issued instructions.
“Go, Al. Go to the foreign minister’s residence and look for Lady Crowne. Tell her the truth about what happened here.”
“B-But Master, what about y—”
“Hurry, before the guards get here! You’re our only hope! Please.”
Meeting his master’s serious gaze, Albert swallowed nervously. Then a look of determination took over his face as he nodded.
The guards would arrive through the door. With that in mind, Albert rushed towards the open window and leapt out it. Riddhe stared after his servant in shock, but only for a moment. They’d known each other since they were children, and he was fully aware of Albert’s physical capabilities. He’d get safely to the ground and escape under the cover of darkness.
I’m counting on you, Al.
While Riddhe was focused on the window, a commotion sounded behind him before the door banged open, and the room flooded with guards.
This was it. With a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead, Riddhe turned back confidently to face the men.
Empress Elizabeth had collapsed during her meeting with him, so he knew he could not escape as Al did. If he’d run away, it would have caused further suspicion.
At the same time, he was certain. There was no doubt that the mastermind he was seeking would show up here to witness his arrest.
That was why he remained calm without the slightest hesitation in the face of the guards, behaving as he would a special ambassador sent by his king.
His eyes widened.
Two people behind the guards had caught his attention. One was, as expected, Chancellor Yggdrasil. The man was smiling calmly, just like when they’d met in the hallway the previous day. The other man besides the chancellor, and glaring at him coldly, was Crown Prince Fritz.
✦ ✦ ✦
There was nothing suspicious about his presence here, but as soon as their eyes met, the crown prince’s lips quirked into a slight smile. The look in his eyes was dark and cold, and in that moment, Riddhe understood.
“So that’s how it is,” Riddhe spat with a fearless smile. “Who would the mastermind choose to work with to betray Her Majesty? What a bold choice you’ve made. Even I didn’t suspect a thing.”
A guard swung the hilt of his sword. A dull thud echoed as lightning spread from the back of his head, and Riddhe’s consciousness melted into darkness.