Nadin's life was barely saved thanks to the first aid provided by the doctor who rushed to him. However, he did not come to his senses until he was carried out on a stretcher by the soldiers.
After examining his condition, the doctor concluded that even if he regains consciousness, it is highly likely that he will not be able to lead a normal life as before.
Even royal doctors could not determine exactly what was mixed in the snack. He explained that although it appears to contain ginkgo leaves, white Helleborus flowers, and valerian, they do not cause such serious symptoms even if taken in somewhat excessive amounts.
“It seems like there’s more to it than that, but I can’t tell right away. If the Crown Princess gives permission, I will take the snacks and conduct further investigation separately.”
“Do it that way.”
The doctor bowed and took a step back, holding a plate. Franz, who heard the news that the Astel Palace was turned upside down, abandoned whatever he was doing and ran. Then, as soon as he saw Judith, he looked at her with great haste.
“Are you okay?”
“My Lord, how can you get here... Don’t you have plans for the afternoon?”
“Is there a problem with the current schedule?”
Franz, who had almost raised his voice inadvertently, frowned and touched Judith's shoulder and arm. His fingertips were trembling slightly. Judith said.
"I'm fine. Nadin collapsed, I didn't do anything...!”
Judith, who had been calmly reassuring him, stopped talking. Immediately, a strong mint scent surrounded her entire body, as if it took her breath away. Franz, pulling Judith into his arms, closed his eyes tightly and whispered.
"What happened... I thought it was there...”
The maid who came to tell him was so shocked that she spoke in gibberish and could not explain properly. 'The Crown Princess came, and she said the cookies were poisoned.' was all Franz could hear.
Not only Franz but also the nobles of the Privy Council who were present were shocked by the maid's words, which were full of nonsense. Some people ran to Magnus Palace to report the truth to the King, while others ran to Astel Palace with Franz.
Judith blinked for a moment while being held by Franz, then smiled quietly and patted his back.
“You must have been very surprised.”
“...I thought my heart stopped.”
Only then did Franz take her away from his arms and sighed. Perhaps because he relaxed, his legs lost all strength. Franz, who was kneeling at Judith's feet, raised his head.
“What happened? Did you find out who made the cookies?”
“No, not yet. The guards also said they had never seen anyone acting particularly strange. There was someone who said they saw a maid bringing cookies and handing them to Nadin. We brought all the remaining maids to Astel Palace, but no one matched the testimony.”
“What about Rogero? Where has he gone?”
“His Highness the Prince suddenly... I don't know He suddenly ran outside and came back with a serious look on his face. He said he had urgent business to do and then went out again and still hasn’t come back.”
What on earth does it mean to have a business to do in this situation?
Anyway, there was no doubt that he was a difficult friend. Franz sighed deeply again. Judith gently stroked Franz's hair and cupped his cheeks with both hands.
“Don’t worry too much, my dear. I’m sure we’ll find out who did this.”
Although the words were meant to comfort him, Judith couldn't help but think of the face of Queen Gilsis at that moment. And Franz was also thinking the same thing.
The Queen had attempted to kill Franz several times before. If the Duke of Vergy had not desperately protected him by any means possible, he might have died long ago in a similar way to Nadin.
But one thing that bothered him was that Rogero was with him. Besides, how did he know that Judith and Rogero were going to have tea here today?
“Actually, it seems like someone planned that on purpose.”
When Franz expressed a question, Judith answered immediately. She was even more surprised by those words.
“When I asked His Highness the Prince, he said that he had received a letter saying that I would go to Astel Palace first.”
“Yes, he told me that too. You sent a letter...”
“I received a letter with the same content from His Highness the Prince. Look."
Franz opened the envelope Judith gave him and took out the letter. As she said, what was written there was an invitation from Rogero to Judith.
“This is not Rogero’s handwriting.”
“The letter His Highness the Prince showed me was also written in a handwriting I did not recognize. If I had known His Highness the Prince’s handwriting, or conversely, if His Highness the Prince had known what my handwriting was like, this wouldn’t have happened.”
The two remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. If the meeting between Judith and Rogero itself was staged, it becomes even clearer that this was carefully planned from the beginning. So who was the culprit who caused this situation and tried to kill him using poisoned snacks? Was it Judith? Or was it Rogero?
It was easy to guess that Queen Gilsis wanted to kill Judith. But when Rogero gets involved, things get complicated. It's not like he thought he wouldn't touch the snacks. Rather, Judith could have declined the cookies and had Rose eat them alone. Then things went completely wrong, so what on earth were they aiming for?
“This is a bit... It’s hard to understand.”
Judith said quietly. Franz knew that she was thinking almost the same thing as he was.
“Me too. It’s not difficult to guess who did this, but the situation itself is somehow strange.”
Judith looked at Franz for a moment. After hesitating for a moment whether to speak or not, she lowered her voice even further.
“...Even so, do you think the Queen would have a special reason to target His Highness the Prince?”
Franz's shoulders flinched for a moment. He looked at Judith with a complicated expression, and then slowly shook his head.
“No. At least as far as I know. Rather, she might have been trying to attract Rogero to her side, but I don’t understand why she tried to kill him.”
“Trying to attract... Is it because of the Laetian duchy?”
"Exactly. Among the noble families that dominate the capital, the Duke of Vergy trades with the Delaka Empire on the largest scale. As the Duke of Laetian, he will want to take away that trade right somehow. To do that, it would be faster to persuade just one person, Rogero, rather than the entire delegation.”
Judith, who had been listening carefully to what he said, said.
“Maybe they reached out to His Highness the Prince first? What is the possibility that he did this because His Highness the Prince rejected it?”
“That may be true, but wouldn’t it be too risky to try to poison the imperial Prince for just that little reason?”
“If His Highness the Prince had died with me, the story might be a little different.”
Franz slightly raised his eyebrows as if wondering what that meant. However, Judith did not answer his curiosity and instead went over the matter step by step from the beginning.
There was no personal motive for Queen Gilsis to want to kill the Prince. When someone is considered a thorn in her side, she treats their life like an insect, but that's when there is a subordinate whom she can control at the snap of her fingers.
Judith did not bring anyone with her when she came to Astel Palace today. This is because, in the letter Rogero sent, it was written, ‘I have something important to say, so it would be better if no one else is present.’ If the two people had died together today after eating those cookies, there is a good chance that those who witnessed the scene would have thought that Judith and Rogero had met in secret and committed suicide.
“Imagine that His Highness the Prince and I were found dead together while drinking tea in an unattended room. What will people think?”
Franz's eyes slowly widened as he seemed to be pondering her words. Judith nodded.
“If things had gone as planned because Nadin didn’t eat the snack, people would have been whispering about my relationship with His Highness the Prince. Since the people involved are dead, it will be impossible to determine the truth of the rumor, and if that happens, wouldn't it be clear that the empire will try to cover up the death of the Prince? They suspected that he had an unhealthy relationship with the Crown Princess of a friendly country.”
“Is that exactly what the Queen wanted?”
“Rather than tarnishing the reputation of those who died, he would have preferred to just take my life. His Highness the Prince was probably caught up in that. If His Highness the Prince had met the Queen separately and there had been a dispute, the story would be different.”
Judith's reasoning seemed to be plausible. However, lingering doubts and questions still remained. It was a mystery she would never be able to solve unless it was clearly revealed that the Queen had committed it.
“For now, let’s go back to Nation Palace. You too will be surprised, so stop thinking about this. I will explain the incident to my father in detail and do my best to catch the culprit.”
Judith nodded and stood up, holding Franz's hand. Then she looked back at the mess she had not yet cleaned up in the room. There were only a few cookie crumbs on the empty table. But as soon as she saw those tiny particles, a part of her heart seemed to sink in an eerie way.
It was a threat she had never experienced in her previous life. She knew the Queen was gnashing her teeth because she wanted to get rid of her, but this was her first time facing that malice head-on. It would have been easier for her to deal with it if the Queen had just called her out and caused her ruckus like she had done in her past life, but this was something she had not expected.
'Did I underestimate the Queen too much? But something still feels strange...'
Judith did not say a word as she left Astel Palace. Franz also did not talk nonsense to her. She only attempted to reassure him by holding her hands together with a little more force.
Until then, they had no idea. Of all the people in this vast royal palace, Queen Gilsis is not the only one who wishes for Judith to disappear. So they made a completely wrong inference, and they didn't know what it would lead to later.
“Don’t worry too much, my dear. I’m sure we’ll find out who did this.”
Although the words were meant to comfort him, Judith couldn't help but think of the face of Queen Gilsis at that moment. And Franz was also thinking the same thing.
The Queen had attempted to kill Franz several times before. If the Duke of Vergy had not desperately protected him by any means possible, he might have died long ago in a similar way to Nadin.
But one thing that bothered him was that Rogero was with him. Besides, how did he know that Judith and Rogero were going to have tea here today?
“Actually, it seems like someone planned that on purpose.”
When Franz expressed a question, Judith answered immediately. She was even more surprised by those words.
“When I asked His Highness the Prince, he said that he had received a letter saying that I would go to Astel Palace first.”
“Yes, he told me that too. You sent a letter...”
“I received a letter with the same content from His Highness the Prince. Look."
Franz opened the envelope Judith gave him and took out the letter. As she said, what was written there was an invitation from Rogero to Judith.
“This is not Rogero’s handwriting.”
“The letter His Highness the Prince showed me was also written in a handwriting I did not recognize. If I had known His Highness the Prince’s handwriting, or conversely, if His Highness the Prince had known what my handwriting was like, this wouldn’t have happened.”
The two remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. If the meeting between Judith and Rogero itself was staged, it becomes even clearer that this was carefully planned from the beginning. So who was the culprit who caused this situation and tried to kill him using poisoned snacks? Was it Judith? Or was it Rogero?
It was easy to guess that Queen Gilsis wanted to kill Judith. But when Rogero gets involved, things get complicated. It's not like he thought he wouldn't touch the snacks. Rather, Judith could have declined the cookies and had Rose eat them alone. Then things went completely wrong, so what on earth were they aiming for?
“This is a bit... It’s hard to understand.”
Judith said quietly. Franz knew that she was thinking almost the same thing as he was.
“Me too. It’s not difficult to guess who did this, but the situation itself is somehow strange.”
Judith looked at Franz for a moment. After hesitating for a moment whether to speak or not, she lowered her voice even further.
“...Even so, do you think the Queen would have a special reason to target His Highness the Prince?”
Franz's shoulders flinched for a moment. He looked at Judith with a complicated expression, and then slowly shook his head.
“No. At least as far as I know. Rather, she might have been trying to attract Rogero to her side, but I don’t understand why she tried to kill him.”
“Trying to attract... Is it because of the Laetian duchy?”
"Exactly. Among the noble families that dominate the capital, the Duke of Vergy trades with the Delaka Empire on the largest scale. As the Duke of Laetian, he will want to take away that trade right somehow. To do that, it would be faster to persuade just one person, Rogero, rather than the entire delegation.”
Judith, who had been listening carefully to what he said, said.
“Maybe they reached out to His Highness the Prince first? What is the possibility that he did this because His Highness the Prince rejected it?”
“That may be true, but wouldn’t it be too risky to try to poison the imperial Prince for just that little reason?”
“If His Highness the Prince had died with me, the story might be a little different.”
Franz slightly raised his eyebrows as if wondering what that meant. However, Judith did not answer his curiosity and instead went over the matter step by step from the beginning.
There was no personal motive for Queen Gilsis to want to kill the Prince. When someone is considered a thorn in her side, she treats their life like an insect, but that's when there is a subordinate whom she can control at the snap of her fingers.
Judith did not bring anyone with her when she came to Astel Palace today. This is because, in the letter Rogero sent, it was written, ‘I have something important to say, so it would be better if no one else is present.’ If the two people had died together today after eating those cookies, there is a good chance that those who witnessed the scene would have thought that Judith and Rogero had met in secret and committed suicide.
“Imagine that His Highness the Prince and I were found dead together while drinking tea in an unattended room. What will people think?”
Franz's eyes slowly widened as he seemed to be pondering her words. Judith nodded.
“If things had gone as planned because Nadin didn’t eat the snack, people would have been whispering about my relationship with His Highness the Prince. Since the people involved are dead, it will be impossible to determine the truth of the rumor, and if that happens, wouldn't it be clear that the empire will try to cover up the death of the Prince? They suspected that he had an unhealthy relationship with the Crown Princess of a friendly country.”
“Is that exactly what the Queen wanted?”
“Rather than tarnishing the reputation of those who died, he would have preferred to just take my life. His Highness the Prince was probably caught up in that. If His Highness the Prince had met the Queen separately and there had been a dispute, the story would be different.”
Judith's reasoning seemed to be plausible. However, lingering doubts and questions still remained. It was a mystery she would never be able to solve unless it was clearly revealed that the Queen had committed it.
“For now, let’s go back to Nation Palace. You too will be surprised, so stop thinking about this. I will explain the incident to my father in detail and do my best to catch the culprit.”
Judith nodded and stood up, holding Franz's hand. Then she looked back at the mess she had not yet cleaned up in the room. There were only a few cookie crumbs on the empty table. But as soon as she saw those tiny particles, a part of her heart seemed to sink in an eerie way.
It was a threat she had never experienced in her previous life. She knew the Queen was gnashing her teeth because she wanted to get rid of her, but this was her first time facing that malice head-on. It would have been easier for her to deal with it if the Queen had just called her out and caused her ruckus like she had done in her past life, but this was something she had not expected.
'Did I underestimate the Queen too much? But something still feels strange...'
Judith did not say a word as she left Astel Palace. Franz also did not talk nonsense to her. She only attempted to reassure him by holding her hands together with a little more force.
Until then, they had no idea. Of all the people in this vast royal palace, Queen Gilsis is not the only one who wishes for Judith to disappear. So they made a completely wrong inference, and they didn't know what it would lead to later.
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