The fact that Countess Rubina possessed Salvarsan was a fact that no one except herself and one of her closest maids knew. She didn’t even tell her close maids about it.
“Wh, what nonsense are you talking about...!”
However, Leo III, who had something to hide, let out a sigh.
“I, I don’t possess such an ugly thing! Where did that lowly person frame me for such a serious crime without any evidence!”
Ariadne didn’t back down an inch. This was because she had a corner of her that she believed in. Countess Rubina in her previous life definitely possessed Salvarsan.
Ariadne found out when Leo III’s body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in his previous life. Leo III had syphilis. Naturally, Countess Rubina also had syphilis.
“Then don’t oppose the dog’s autopsy! If we cut open the dog’s stomach and find out other poisons or if it’s confirmed that the dog had an underlying disease, isn’t that a good thing for everyone?”
“That’s...!”
“Enough!”
Leo III’s roar filled the banquet hall.
“Palace. Cut open that dog’s stomach.”
“Your Majesty!”
Countess Rubina’s shrieking screams pierced the ceiling. Leo III sighed and tried to soothe Rubina.
“Come on, my lady. If we examine the dog and find out that it’s not poisonous, isn’t that a good thing for everyone?”
“Rocco... Rocco can’t reincarnate properly!”
Leo III would have been furious if Queen Marguerite had said that. But he persistently tried to soothe Countess Rubina.
“Why can’t they reincarnate? Just cut into the stomach. Then all the soldiers who died in battle can’t reincarnate?”
“In the next life, they’ll be born with a stomach problem. Don’t do that. Just give me the dog.”
“But...”
“Rubona!”
Leo III, whose patience was running out, suddenly raised his voice. Countess Rubyna bit her lip in embarrassment.
With no other choice, she handed the dead Rocco to the chief court physician with trembling hands. The court physician carefully received the dog’s body and held up a surgical knife.
He watched Leo III’s expression as he cut open the dog’s stomach on the white marble floor. For some reason, it seemed that a minimal incision was necessary.
After making a small gap, the court physician opened it with a speculum and closed the gap in the stomach.
“What was the result?”
Leo III asked the court physician. The chief court physician opened the gap again slightly and showed it to Leo III.
“This is...”
The inside of the stomach, which he could see through the narrow opening, was bright red with blood.
“This is a huge amount of internal bleeding.”
He paused for a moment and then finished.
“It is arsenic.”
It was a small voice, but its ripple effect was enormous.
“Arsenic? Is it arsenic? Then is it really the assassination of Her Majesty the Queen?”
“I can’t deny it...”
“The palace will be turned upside down.”
“Is it true that Countess Rubina has arsenic?”
However, Leo III, who had something to hide, let out a sigh.
“I, I don’t possess such an ugly thing! Where did that lowly person frame me for such a serious crime without any evidence!”
Ariadne didn’t back down an inch. This was because she had a corner of her that she believed in. Countess Rubina in her previous life definitely possessed Salvarsan.
Ariadne found out when Leo III’s body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in his previous life. Leo III had syphilis. Naturally, Countess Rubina also had syphilis.
“Then don’t oppose the dog’s autopsy! If we cut open the dog’s stomach and find out other poisons or if it’s confirmed that the dog had an underlying disease, isn’t that a good thing for everyone?”
“That’s...!”
“Enough!”
Leo III’s roar filled the banquet hall.
“Palace. Cut open that dog’s stomach.”
“Your Majesty!”
Countess Rubina’s shrieking screams pierced the ceiling. Leo III sighed and tried to soothe Rubina.
“Come on, my lady. If we examine the dog and find out that it’s not poisonous, isn’t that a good thing for everyone?”
“Rocco... Rocco can’t reincarnate properly!”
Leo III would have been furious if Queen Marguerite had said that. But he persistently tried to soothe Countess Rubina.
“Why can’t they reincarnate? Just cut into the stomach. Then all the soldiers who died in battle can’t reincarnate?”
“But Your Majesty...”
“In the next life, they’ll be born with a stomach problem. Don’t do that. Just give me the dog.”
“But...”
“Rubona!”
Leo III, whose patience was running out, suddenly raised his voice. Countess Rubyna bit her lip in embarrassment.
‘It shouldn’t be arsenic..."
With no other choice, she handed the dead Rocco to the chief court physician with trembling hands. The court physician carefully received the dog’s body and held up a surgical knife.
He watched Leo III’s expression as he cut open the dog’s stomach on the white marble floor. For some reason, it seemed that a minimal incision was necessary.
After making a small gap, the court physician opened it with a speculum and closed the gap in the stomach.
“What was the result?”
Leo III asked the court physician. The chief court physician opened the gap again slightly and showed it to Leo III.
“This is...”
The inside of the stomach, which he could see through the narrow opening, was bright red with blood.
“This is a huge amount of internal bleeding.”
He paused for a moment and then finished.
“It is arsenic.”
It was a small voice, but its ripple effect was enormous.
“Arsenic? Is it arsenic? Then is it really the assassination of Her Majesty the Queen?”
“I can’t deny it...”
“The palace will be turned upside down.”
“Is it true that Countess Rubina has arsenic?”
“How did that young lady know that?”
Despite the whispers of the people, Leo III stood still with a sullen expression. After standing there for a while, Leo III called Countess Rubina in a heavy voice.
“Rubina.”
The Countess looked up at the King with wide eyes.
“Really... Is this what you did?”
She screamed in a shrill voice with an expression as if the sky was falling down.
“No, Your Majesty! How can you suspect this Rubina!”
The captain of the guard, who was standing fidgeting beside him, asked quietly.
“Your Majesty... Shall we... investigate?”
“...Hmm.”
When Leo III gave his permission, the captain of the guard gave orders to the guards, and a group of soldiers, accompanied by a court physician, left the banquet hall like the wind.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall was truly chaotic. Everyone whispered to each other in low voices.
“What orders did His Majesty give just now?”
“Isn’t he sending us to search Countess Rubina’s quarters? Since the court physician went with them, I think he sent them to find out if there was any poison.”
“Oh my goodness...”
Countess Rubina hung her head and trembled.
“How embarrassing... Even if nothing is found, they search all the men’s intimate items.”
“Searching quarters is not for nobles or knights. It’s just soldiers. Oh my goodness.”
“Even if nothing is found, this is a fatal blow to honor.”
“But what if arsenic really is found?”
“What happened? You’ll be sent to the dungeon as a political prisoner. Even if you love the government and are not on good terms with Her Majesty the Queen, how can you overlook this?”
“In fact, Countess Rubina is not the same as before. Does it feel like she's living a life of affection?”
“She’s fallen a lot.”
Queen Marguerite stood firm in the middle of all this without saying a word.
The King and his wife did not say a word to each other. Leo III spoke only to the captain of the guard with a complicated expression, and Queen Marguerite stood at opposite ends of the room with Ariadne and Lady Carla standing next to her.
However, this silence did not last long.
“Your Majesty the King!”
The guards returned and greeted each other as a group. Among them, the one in charge of the investigation reported on their behalf.
“In Countess Rubina’s quarters... arsenic was found.”
“Gasp!”
Everyone in the audience could not believe their ears. Even Countess Rubina herself lowered her head with a face of paleness and shivered. However, Leo III did not seem particularly surprised.
The guard took out two porcelain bottles from his bosom and presented them to the King. One was a blue bottle decorated with jade, and the other was a white bottle with a large lid.
“According to the results of the palace doctor’s reaction test, there are differences in concentration and composition, but both are arsenic.”
Now, the people were looking back and forth between Leo III and Countess Rubina. Leo III’s heavily clenched lips finally opened.
“...Rubina. Do you admit your guilt?”
It was a single word that sounded like a death sentence. However, Countess Rubina had no intention of accepting the verdict meekly.
“No, Your Majesty!”
She threw herself on her knees in front of Leo III.
“That arsenic... You know that arsenic is not for that purpose! I am innocent! I would never harm Her Majesty the Queen!”
She looked up at the King and desperately pleaded.
“Your Majesty, you must trust me. Really, really, it was not me!”
At this moment, an angry voice intervened. It was the Countess of Marquez.
“Arsenic has just been found in the quarters of the Countess of Rubina. Arsenic has been found in the drink of Her Majesty the Queen! Do not try to appeal to such shallow sympathy!”
The Countess of Marquez turned her head and appealed to Leo III. She held back the urge to get angry at him too.
“Your Majesty, Her Majesty Queen Marguerite is a virtuous and prudent woman, with no enemies inside or outside the palace! Who else in the entire Palazzo Carlo would dare try to slander Her Majesty Queen Marguerite other than the Countess of Rubina?”
This observation was very valid. As the Countess of Marquez opened the attack, the other ladies in the banquet hall nodded in agreement.
“In fact, Her Majesty the Queen has not been in a fight with anyone, is it?”
“Be fair and lenient, the only people who are not on good terms with Her Majesty the Queen are His Majesty the King and Countess Rubina.”
“Why would someone in the palace keep something like arsenic in their quarters? Isn’t arsenic really intended for assassination?”
Despite the whispers of the people, Leo III stood still with a sullen expression. After standing there for a while, Leo III called Countess Rubina in a heavy voice.
“Rubina.”
The Countess looked up at the King with wide eyes.
“Really... Is this what you did?”
She screamed in a shrill voice with an expression as if the sky was falling down.
“No, Your Majesty! How can you suspect this Rubina!”
The captain of the guard, who was standing fidgeting beside him, asked quietly.
“Your Majesty... Shall we... investigate?”
“...Hmm.”
When Leo III gave his permission, the captain of the guard gave orders to the guards, and a group of soldiers, accompanied by a court physician, left the banquet hall like the wind.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall was truly chaotic. Everyone whispered to each other in low voices.
“What orders did His Majesty give just now?”
“Isn’t he sending us to search Countess Rubina’s quarters? Since the court physician went with them, I think he sent them to find out if there was any poison.”
“Oh my goodness...”
Countess Rubina hung her head and trembled.
“How embarrassing... Even if nothing is found, they search all the men’s intimate items.”
“Searching quarters is not for nobles or knights. It’s just soldiers. Oh my goodness.”
“Even if nothing is found, this is a fatal blow to honor.”
“But what if arsenic really is found?”
“What happened? You’ll be sent to the dungeon as a political prisoner. Even if you love the government and are not on good terms with Her Majesty the Queen, how can you overlook this?”
“In fact, Countess Rubina is not the same as before. Does it feel like she's living a life of affection?”
“She’s fallen a lot.”
Queen Marguerite stood firm in the middle of all this without saying a word.
The King and his wife did not say a word to each other. Leo III spoke only to the captain of the guard with a complicated expression, and Queen Marguerite stood at opposite ends of the room with Ariadne and Lady Carla standing next to her.
However, this silence did not last long.
“Your Majesty the King!”
The guards returned and greeted each other as a group. Among them, the one in charge of the investigation reported on their behalf.
“In Countess Rubina’s quarters... arsenic was found.”
“Gasp!”
Everyone in the audience could not believe their ears. Even Countess Rubina herself lowered her head with a face of paleness and shivered. However, Leo III did not seem particularly surprised.
The guard took out two porcelain bottles from his bosom and presented them to the King. One was a blue bottle decorated with jade, and the other was a white bottle with a large lid.
“According to the results of the palace doctor’s reaction test, there are differences in concentration and composition, but both are arsenic.”
Now, the people were looking back and forth between Leo III and Countess Rubina. Leo III’s heavily clenched lips finally opened.
“...Rubina. Do you admit your guilt?”
It was a single word that sounded like a death sentence. However, Countess Rubina had no intention of accepting the verdict meekly.
“No, Your Majesty!”
She threw herself on her knees in front of Leo III.
“That arsenic... You know that arsenic is not for that purpose! I am innocent! I would never harm Her Majesty the Queen!”
She looked up at the King and desperately pleaded.
“Your Majesty, you must trust me. Really, really, it was not me!”
At this moment, an angry voice intervened. It was the Countess of Marquez.
“Arsenic has just been found in the quarters of the Countess of Rubina. Arsenic has been found in the drink of Her Majesty the Queen! Do not try to appeal to such shallow sympathy!”
The Countess of Marquez turned her head and appealed to Leo III. She held back the urge to get angry at him too.
“Your Majesty, Her Majesty Queen Marguerite is a virtuous and prudent woman, with no enemies inside or outside the palace! Who else in the entire Palazzo Carlo would dare try to slander Her Majesty Queen Marguerite other than the Countess of Rubina?”
This observation was very valid. As the Countess of Marquez opened the attack, the other ladies in the banquet hall nodded in agreement.
“In fact, Her Majesty the Queen has not been in a fight with anyone, is it?”
“Be fair and lenient, the only people who are not on good terms with Her Majesty the Queen are His Majesty the King and Countess Rubina.”
“Why would someone in the palace keep something like arsenic in their quarters? Isn’t arsenic really intended for assassination?”
As the atmosphere flowed like this, even Leo III had no choice.
“Rubina. I trust you. But this case needs to be investigated.”
“Rubina. I trust you. But this case needs to be investigated.”
“!”
“There’s nothing I can do, Captain of the Guard!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!"
“There’s nothing I can do, Captain of the Guard!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!"
“Put Rubina under house arrest in the West Tower!”
The West Tower was a place where royalty and high-ranking nobles were imprisoned when they committed a crime. It was the very place where Ariadne in her previous life was imprisoned on the last day of her life. The facilities were much better than the dungeon, but the fact that it was a place of imprisonment remained.
“No!”
Countess Rubina’s shrill scream pierced the banquet hall.
“The object that came out of my quarters wasn’t arsenic, it was Salvarsan!”
Some people understood right away, but about half of the noble ladies didn't understand what it was about.
Salvarsan was an arsenic compound made by heating arsenic to a certain temperature and vaporizing it, and it was used to treat syphilis. Syphilis was a nasty type of venereal disease that would cause a rash all over the body once, and then after three years if you were unlucky, or thirty years if you were lucky, it would invade the eyes or brain, causing blindness and madness.
After the first rash appeared, people lived each day in fear as if they were given a death sentence, among the common people, it was considered a punishment from God for pleasure, and the moral stigma against syphilis patients was terribly severe.
Whenever syphilis was rampant, each kingdom periodically expelled syphilis patients from the city and burned down brothels. If someone was known to have syphilis, it was no different from burying them in society. Although syphilis was not a disease that could be transmitted through casual contact, no one would eat or drink with a syphilis patient.
Salvarsan was the only thing that could break this situation.
An extremely rare achievement of Central Continent alchemy, consistently applying Salvarsan to the lesions after the first full-body rash appeared would delay the onset of secondary outbreaks and significantly suppress infection to third parties.
However, it did not neutralize the hatred inherent in people’s hearts.
“Why does Countess Rubina have Salvarsan...?”
“What is Salvarsan, Marchioness?”
“Why, it’s a cure for ‘Montpellier disease’.”
“Oh my!”
Syphilis was called ‘Montpellier disease’ by the Etruscans and ‘San Carlo disease’ by the Gallic Kingdom.
“If Countess Rubina needs Salvarsan, by any chance...”
“Where would she have caught it?”
“Even His Majesty the King...?”
Leo III could not fail to sense this nuance. His face turned red and the blood vessels in his neck rose as he shouted.
“Captain of the Guard!”
“Yes!”
“Put that woman in the dungeon right now!”
“Your Majesty!”
Countess Rubina’s trembling resistance filled the banquet hall.
“Your Majesty! You can’t do this! Your Majesty knows better than anyone that I didn’t have this thing to poison Her Majesty the Queen!”
The West Tower was a place where royalty and high-ranking nobles were imprisoned when they committed a crime. It was the very place where Ariadne in her previous life was imprisoned on the last day of her life. The facilities were much better than the dungeon, but the fact that it was a place of imprisonment remained.
“No!”
Countess Rubina’s shrill scream pierced the banquet hall.
“The object that came out of my quarters wasn’t arsenic, it was Salvarsan!”
Some people understood right away, but about half of the noble ladies didn't understand what it was about.
Salvarsan was an arsenic compound made by heating arsenic to a certain temperature and vaporizing it, and it was used to treat syphilis. Syphilis was a nasty type of venereal disease that would cause a rash all over the body once, and then after three years if you were unlucky, or thirty years if you were lucky, it would invade the eyes or brain, causing blindness and madness.
After the first rash appeared, people lived each day in fear as if they were given a death sentence, among the common people, it was considered a punishment from God for pleasure, and the moral stigma against syphilis patients was terribly severe.
Whenever syphilis was rampant, each kingdom periodically expelled syphilis patients from the city and burned down brothels. If someone was known to have syphilis, it was no different from burying them in society. Although syphilis was not a disease that could be transmitted through casual contact, no one would eat or drink with a syphilis patient.
Salvarsan was the only thing that could break this situation.
An extremely rare achievement of Central Continent alchemy, consistently applying Salvarsan to the lesions after the first full-body rash appeared would delay the onset of secondary outbreaks and significantly suppress infection to third parties.
However, it did not neutralize the hatred inherent in people’s hearts.
“Why does Countess Rubina have Salvarsan...?”
“What is Salvarsan, Marchioness?”
“Why, it’s a cure for ‘Montpellier disease’.”
“Oh my!”
Syphilis was called ‘Montpellier disease’ by the Etruscans and ‘San Carlo disease’ by the Gallic Kingdom.
“If Countess Rubina needs Salvarsan, by any chance...”
“Where would she have caught it?”
“Even His Majesty the King...?”
Leo III could not fail to sense this nuance. His face turned red and the blood vessels in his neck rose as he shouted.
“Captain of the Guard!”
“Yes!”
“Put that woman in the dungeon right now!”
“Your Majesty!”
Countess Rubina’s trembling resistance filled the banquet hall.
“Your Majesty! You can’t do this! Your Majesty knows better than anyone that I didn’t have this thing to poison Her Majesty the Queen!”
Things were going exactly the same as in her previous life. In her previous life, Countess Rubina had said something much more direct than this: “Your Majesty the King is a syphilitic!” and was executed the very next week.
This time, she was making a more dignified exit. However, it was unclear whether Leo III would have been able to get through to her. Although she had said it in a roundabout way, it was clear that Leo III was much more angry than in his previous life, seeing that he had immediately changed the location of his imprisonment from the West Tower to the dungeon.
‘Yes, if this is how it is, Countess Rubina will be discharged, and Her Majesty the Queen will be safe.’
However, nothing in life was easy. The new assistant court doctor, unable to overcome his sense of justice, raised his hand and made a bombshell statement before the chief court doctor could stop him.
This time, she was making a more dignified exit. However, it was unclear whether Leo III would have been able to get through to her. Although she had said it in a roundabout way, it was clear that Leo III was much more angry than in his previous life, seeing that he had immediately changed the location of his imprisonment from the West Tower to the dungeon.
‘Yes, if this is how it is, Countess Rubina will be discharged, and Her Majesty the Queen will be safe.’
However, nothing in life was easy. The new assistant court doctor, unable to overcome his sense of justice, raised his hand and made a bombshell statement before the chief court doctor could stop him.
“Your Majesty, Countess Rubina’s words are not necessarily wrong.”
“What?”
Despite the King’s stern words, the assistant court doctor stubbornly expressed his expert opinion.
“Salvarsan is not pure arsenic, but a compound that has been processed into arsenic, so its toxicity is much lower. Indeed, Salvarsan can naturally poison a person by continuously feeding it in small amounts, but it is impossible to cause instant death like the pet dog died today with Salvarsan!”
Leo III trembled and blushed. He wanted to throw that cute mistress in the dungeon right away, but evidence had emerged that the mistress might not be the assassin.
But then, a member of the guard whispered to the captain of the guard outside the banquet hall, and the captain of the guard heard this and quietly reported it to Leo III.
“Your Majesty, Countess Rubina’s maid has something to say.”
“If it’s to save her master, then leave!”
“No, that’s not it... She has something to testify.”
Leo III immediately allowed the maid to enter. He was so angry right now that he was willing to listen to anything that would lead to Rubina being thrown into the dungeon with dignity. The maid, who had timidly entered after the guards, was a relatively new maid who had been working by Rubina’s side for the past two or three years. She knelt on the floor and bowed.
“Tell me.”
At Leo III’s concise order, the maid continued to speak word by word despite her body trembling like an aspen tree.
“Your Majesty, King Leo III, the Sun of the Etruscans. I feel ashamed to be speaking to you now. This is something that should have been said long ago for the sake of the country and the nation.”
“Tell me more!”
“Countess Rubina has been wanting to poison Her Majesty Queen Marguerite for a very long time!”
“What?”
Despite the King’s stern words, the assistant court doctor stubbornly expressed his expert opinion.
“Salvarsan is not pure arsenic, but a compound that has been processed into arsenic, so its toxicity is much lower. Indeed, Salvarsan can naturally poison a person by continuously feeding it in small amounts, but it is impossible to cause instant death like the pet dog died today with Salvarsan!”
Leo III trembled and blushed. He wanted to throw that cute mistress in the dungeon right away, but evidence had emerged that the mistress might not be the assassin.
But then, a member of the guard whispered to the captain of the guard outside the banquet hall, and the captain of the guard heard this and quietly reported it to Leo III.
“Your Majesty, Countess Rubina’s maid has something to say.”
“If it’s to save her master, then leave!”
“No, that’s not it... She has something to testify.”
Leo III immediately allowed the maid to enter. He was so angry right now that he was willing to listen to anything that would lead to Rubina being thrown into the dungeon with dignity. The maid, who had timidly entered after the guards, was a relatively new maid who had been working by Rubina’s side for the past two or three years. She knelt on the floor and bowed.
“Tell me.”
At Leo III’s concise order, the maid continued to speak word by word despite her body trembling like an aspen tree.
“Your Majesty, King Leo III, the Sun of the Etruscans. I feel ashamed to be speaking to you now. This is something that should have been said long ago for the sake of the country and the nation.”
“Tell me more!”
“Countess Rubina has been wanting to poison Her Majesty Queen Marguerite for a very long time!”
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