(179) Hell is here (3)
Victoria stared intently at her reflection in the mirror.
Dark blonde hair and a small face, skin that is deep yet fine with a yellowish tint, large, innocent-looking eyes, and clear green irises.
In the past, she was very confident in her appearance.
The noble ladies said they wanted a daughter like Victoria, and the young ladies said, "The Princess is the prettiest in our West."
She once thought that even if her parents' love was directed only at Helena, their opinion of her would change if she met a good man with her looks and talent.
'It's ridiculous. What is so special about a parent's love anyway...'
Love cannot prevent Victoria from being framed and taken away by the investigation agency, or Helena from marrying an older man.
'Why is that?'
Victoria reached out her hand toward the mirror. She stroked her face in the mirror, which was still, still pretty.
'Why is everyone only paying attention to Ariana? Even if she's a Princess...'
When the effects of the power of blood lasted, people treated Victoria kindly. At those times, it felt like returning to the old days when there were no problems.
However, as the effect begins to wear off, everyone's gaze brushes past Victoria and fixes on Ariana. Even though Ariana is doing nothing but standing still.
So Victoria gets anxious. She wants to somehow expose Ariana's true nature and make her a laughingstock. She wants to let people know that she lived her life doing menial work without any education.
'No, don't worry about it anymore. She's hit rock bottom.'
The Fifth Prince, Puniken Blenwit, had the worst reputation among the Princes. Although he was only one year older than Harold, he was incomparable in skill, appearance, and personality.
Besides, what about where the 5th Prince lives now?
It is a jungle zone. A jungle where even the slightest lack of care leads to being bedridden with serious endemic diseases.
Ariana is physically weak, so if she goes there, she will surely fall ill before long.
'No matter how much she pretended to be fine, she probably wasn't like that on the inside.'
When she received the imperial order, Ariana's calm demeanor weighed on her mind. Furthermore, Ariana made the Emperor personally acknowledge that she had become 'the Emperor's person'.
So when she drank poison and collapsed, she was treated as if a member of the royal family, not just a mere Princess, had been ambushed.
Victoria couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Ariana collapsing while spitting up blood.
'I guess so, Ariana. You might die before you even get married. Anyway, who on earth used the poison? How bold.'
She is the Princess of the East. She is now someone who has received an imperial command to marry a Prince.
The investigation will proceed meticulously, and that man will surely pay the price for his crimes.
Victoria came out of the room humming a tune and watched Rachel stagger away. She was in a good mood today and wanted to be kind to her mother as well.
"Mother."
Rachel turned to look at Victoria, who had approached with a bright smile, with a grim expression.
"You look like you're not feeling well. Did you get indigestion from the food you ate at the party yesterday? Are you okay? Are you feeling very unwell?"
At the sight of her daughter's gentle side for the first time in a long while, Rachel could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
“Oh, what am I going to do, Victoria... what am I going to do...?”
“Huh? What?”
“This is a disaster... This is a huge disaster. What should I do...”
Victoria's heart sank when she saw Rachel trembling while clutching Victoria's hand with both hands. Victoria wiped her gentle smile and glared coldly at Rachel.
“Mother, what on earth have you done? Surely... you didn’t poison Ariana, did you?”
Rachel did not answer. But her bloodless face, trembling lips, and wavering eyes became the answer.
The blood drained from Victoria's body as well.
“What on earth have you done!”
Victoria was administering poison to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. Although the couple may not know for the time being that they have been poisoned, the court doctor will soon discover that their symptoms are caused by the poison.
Victoria hid some of the poisonous herbs in the luggage sent from the Eastern Territory to the Emperor. She also sent someone to the White family and placed them deep inside their warehouse.
If it becomes known that the Crown Prince and his wife have been poisoned, the Imperial Palace will be searched thoroughly, and poisonous herbs will be discovered in the East's gift.
The lady-in-waiting who brought in the tea would likely testify that she had heard the poisonous herb was a valuable medicinal herb, so she drank it a few times herself to verify it before serving it to the Crown Prince and his wife.
Victoria and the Western Lord's plan was that if that happened, the unsuspecting White family would be searched without a moment to prepare, and the Emperor, having discovered the same poisonous herb in their warehouse, would hold the Eastern Territory responsible.
However, Ariana was poisoned.
Of course, it is not the same poison. However, if the person Rachel bribed is caught and mentions Rachel's name, the Bronte family will be implicated when it is later revealed that the herbs consumed by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were actually poisonous.
Victoria violently shook Rachel's hand away. Rachel, who had been standing helplessly, staggered at the fierce rejection and fell over.
Rachel looked up at Victoria with shocked eyes.
Victoria became even angrier at her mother's stupid expression.
“What on earth have you done! Why on earth did you do something I wasn't even told to do? Why are you so useless? How can you just hold me back like that!”
The sharp words that came from her daughter's mouth sliced Rachel's heart into pieces. Rachel could not even breathe and could only blink her eyes.
“If you’re stupid, just keep your mouth shut. Why did you do that and make things difficult for someone? Why on earth!”
“Victor...”
A hand reached out to grab Victoria's skirt. But Victoria stepped back as if facing a dirty beggar, avoiding her mother's touch.
"Mother, you must not let me get held back. If you happen to get arrested, you must handle it alone. Do not drag me, an innocent person, into this."
Rachel watched blankly as Victoria turned away heartlessly, as if it were none of her business.
It is useless.
Even though she had heard those words just once—words Ariana had heard dozens, even hundreds of times—Rachel could not stand up. Even as she gasped for breath and trembled uncontrollably, letting out a strange groan, “Ugh...” Victoria did not turn around.
Ariana fiddled with the poisonous herb Shini had found in the warehouse.
She had known for a while that a Paganus had sneaked into the White mansion disguised as a servant.
She instructed them to just keep an eye on him for now, as he might be someone living honestly while concealing his identity like Shini; sure enough, he acted suspiciously and secretly left the mansion one night.
Shini followed him and found out where he lived, and Lanster found a bundle of dried leaves that looked like herbs inside the warehouse that he had never taken.
Ariana hasn't been able to figure out the true nature of this plant yet, but she's certain it is a poisonous plant.
'Judging by the grim expressions on the faces of the Crown Princess's parents, the Marquis and Marchioness Materin, it seems something has happened to her... but seeing that the Emperor fell for a useless trick and personally came to the party to issue an imperial decree, she doesn't seem to be bedridden. What on earth is this functioning for?'
Ariana crumbled it up and smelled it, and even tried boiling it into tea and drinking it, but nothing happened. Perhaps it is because she has been consistently taking the antidote Isaac made for her.
Shini said she would try it herself, but refused because it wasn't something she wanted to make someone else do.
"Can I come in?"
Finally, the person she had been waiting for returned. As Ariana answered, Geor opened the door and came in.
"How is the Imperial Palace?"
“What about the greeting, ‘Brother, have you returned safely’?”
“...Brother, did you have a good trip?”
“Yes. And, aren’t your brother very troubled by the matter of the Imperial Decree? Are you worried about that?”
“Geor, I told you. I’ll handle the Imperial Order somehow. For now, it’s actually more comfortable to accept such an order. No one would dare bother me.”
Geor ran his hands over his face and said bitterly.
"It seems everyone looks down on the East quite a bit. Do they think they can mess with her just because she is the Princess of the East?"
“Geor...”
“I heard the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have gone mad.”
"Hmm?"
"It was a bit hard to find out because everyone was keeping quiet about it, but... I heard the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have become violent. They say they are acting like completely different people. They fight fiercely with each other and violently take out their anger on the ladies-in-waiting."
"It looked like he was beating people up quite vigorously."
Ariana looked down at the poisonous herb she was still holding in her hand.
“Geor. Is there a plant that can change a person’s personality?”
“There are quite a few. There is something called the peconi mushroom; it’s fine to eat raw, but if you cook it, it causes hallucinations. Also, just smelling the caver flower makes you lose your mind, and I heard that drying and boiling chivera leaves makes people anxious and violent. That’s why I heard some countries use it as medicine for lethargic people.”
"Is this a Chivera leaf?"
Geor took the poisonous herb Ariana handed him and examined it this way and that.
"I'm not really sure since I just cut and dried it. I don't know much about plants either."
“If this is a Chivera leaf... can someone die from consuming a Chivera leaf?”
“I don’t know about that either. I’ve only heard that a lethargic person’s personality improves after taking it consistently for about a week, so I don’t know what happens to those who take it long-term.”
Ariana closed her eyes and thought of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
When she was going in and out of the imperial palace working for the Third Prince, she did not often meet the Crown Prince and his wife, but she remembered that they treated her kindly whenever they ran into each other.
That was also the reason she pretended not to notice the Third Prince subtly ordering Ariana to kill the royal grandson. They were good people, so she didn't want to cause them any harm. She didn't want to let the child they loved so dearly die.
So, she even subtly hinted to the Crown Prince's close aides not to take their eyes off the royal grandson, but...
Ariana hopes it doesn't happen this time. She wanted the Crown Princess to give birth to the child without any problems.
'What should I do?'
To prevent the Crown Princess from taking any more poison, Ariana had to make the first move. However, moving first carried great risk. She never knew where a blade might come from while she was concentrating on her movements.
Furthermore, if they made the first move, it was impossible to know how the Western Lord and the Third Prince would react.
'I only wanted to think about my revenge...'
Ariana tried not to care whether a complete stranger died or not. She thought that since it wasn't her fault, she didn't need to feel guilty.
However, as the number of precious things increased, it was difficult to pretend not to know what was about to happen to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Ariana realized the agony Russell had felt when he learned of his daughter's death. Having experienced the grief of parents who have lost a child, she also understood the pain of the Crown Prince and Crown. Princess would be crushed by.
'But if we move now, too much will change...'
Victoria stared intently at her reflection in the mirror.
Dark blonde hair and a small face, skin that is deep yet fine with a yellowish tint, large, innocent-looking eyes, and clear green irises.
In the past, she was very confident in her appearance.
The noble ladies said they wanted a daughter like Victoria, and the young ladies said, "The Princess is the prettiest in our West."
She once thought that even if her parents' love was directed only at Helena, their opinion of her would change if she met a good man with her looks and talent.
'It's ridiculous. What is so special about a parent's love anyway...'
Love cannot prevent Victoria from being framed and taken away by the investigation agency, or Helena from marrying an older man.
'Why is that?'
Victoria reached out her hand toward the mirror. She stroked her face in the mirror, which was still, still pretty.
'Why is everyone only paying attention to Ariana? Even if she's a Princess...'
When the effects of the power of blood lasted, people treated Victoria kindly. At those times, it felt like returning to the old days when there were no problems.
However, as the effect begins to wear off, everyone's gaze brushes past Victoria and fixes on Ariana. Even though Ariana is doing nothing but standing still.
So Victoria gets anxious. She wants to somehow expose Ariana's true nature and make her a laughingstock. She wants to let people know that she lived her life doing menial work without any education.
'No, don't worry about it anymore. She's hit rock bottom.'
The Fifth Prince, Puniken Blenwit, had the worst reputation among the Princes. Although he was only one year older than Harold, he was incomparable in skill, appearance, and personality.
Besides, what about where the 5th Prince lives now?
It is a jungle zone. A jungle where even the slightest lack of care leads to being bedridden with serious endemic diseases.
Ariana is physically weak, so if she goes there, she will surely fall ill before long.
How delightful it would be to see with my own eyes how she’s wasting away, unable to even eat a single bite of porridge.
When she received the imperial order, Ariana's calm demeanor weighed on her mind. Furthermore, Ariana made the Emperor personally acknowledge that she had become 'the Emperor's person'.
So when she drank poison and collapsed, she was treated as if a member of the royal family, not just a mere Princess, had been ambushed.
Victoria couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Ariana collapsing while spitting up blood.
'I guess so, Ariana. You might die before you even get married. Anyway, who on earth used the poison? How bold.'
She is the Princess of the East. She is now someone who has received an imperial command to marry a Prince.
The investigation will proceed meticulously, and that man will surely pay the price for his crimes.
Victoria came out of the room humming a tune and watched Rachel stagger away. She was in a good mood today and wanted to be kind to her mother as well.
"Mother."
Rachel turned to look at Victoria, who had approached with a bright smile, with a grim expression.
"You look like you're not feeling well. Did you get indigestion from the food you ate at the party yesterday? Are you okay? Are you feeling very unwell?"
At the sight of her daughter's gentle side for the first time in a long while, Rachel could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
“Oh, what am I going to do, Victoria... what am I going to do...?”
“Huh? What?”
“This is a disaster... This is a huge disaster. What should I do...”
Victoria's heart sank when she saw Rachel trembling while clutching Victoria's hand with both hands. Victoria wiped her gentle smile and glared coldly at Rachel.
“Mother, what on earth have you done? Surely... you didn’t poison Ariana, did you?”
Rachel did not answer. But her bloodless face, trembling lips, and wavering eyes became the answer.
The blood drained from Victoria's body as well.
“What on earth have you done!”
Victoria was administering poison to the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. Although the couple may not know for the time being that they have been poisoned, the court doctor will soon discover that their symptoms are caused by the poison.
Victoria hid some of the poisonous herbs in the luggage sent from the Eastern Territory to the Emperor. She also sent someone to the White family and placed them deep inside their warehouse.
If it becomes known that the Crown Prince and his wife have been poisoned, the Imperial Palace will be searched thoroughly, and poisonous herbs will be discovered in the East's gift.
The lady-in-waiting who brought in the tea would likely testify that she had heard the poisonous herb was a valuable medicinal herb, so she drank it a few times herself to verify it before serving it to the Crown Prince and his wife.
Victoria and the Western Lord's plan was that if that happened, the unsuspecting White family would be searched without a moment to prepare, and the Emperor, having discovered the same poisonous herb in their warehouse, would hold the Eastern Territory responsible.
However, Ariana was poisoned.
Of course, it is not the same poison. However, if the person Rachel bribed is caught and mentions Rachel's name, the Bronte family will be implicated when it is later revealed that the herbs consumed by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were actually poisonous.
“What on earth!”
Rachel looked up at Victoria with shocked eyes.
Victoria became even angrier at her mother's stupid expression.
“What on earth have you done! Why on earth did you do something I wasn't even told to do? Why are you so useless? How can you just hold me back like that!”
The sharp words that came from her daughter's mouth sliced Rachel's heart into pieces. Rachel could not even breathe and could only blink her eyes.
“If you’re stupid, just keep your mouth shut. Why did you do that and make things difficult for someone? Why on earth!”
“Victor...”
A hand reached out to grab Victoria's skirt. But Victoria stepped back as if facing a dirty beggar, avoiding her mother's touch.
"Mother, you must not let me get held back. If you happen to get arrested, you must handle it alone. Do not drag me, an innocent person, into this."
Rachel watched blankly as Victoria turned away heartlessly, as if it were none of her business.
It is useless.
Even though she had heard those words just once—words Ariana had heard dozens, even hundreds of times—Rachel could not stand up. Even as she gasped for breath and trembled uncontrollably, letting out a strange groan, “Ugh...” Victoria did not turn around.
***
Ariana fiddled with the poisonous herb Shini had found in the warehouse.
She had known for a while that a Paganus had sneaked into the White mansion disguised as a servant.
She instructed them to just keep an eye on him for now, as he might be someone living honestly while concealing his identity like Shini; sure enough, he acted suspiciously and secretly left the mansion one night.
Shini followed him and found out where he lived, and Lanster found a bundle of dried leaves that looked like herbs inside the warehouse that he had never taken.
Ariana hasn't been able to figure out the true nature of this plant yet, but she's certain it is a poisonous plant.
'Judging by the grim expressions on the faces of the Crown Princess's parents, the Marquis and Marchioness Materin, it seems something has happened to her... but seeing that the Emperor fell for a useless trick and personally came to the party to issue an imperial decree, she doesn't seem to be bedridden. What on earth is this functioning for?'
Ariana crumbled it up and smelled it, and even tried boiling it into tea and drinking it, but nothing happened. Perhaps it is because she has been consistently taking the antidote Isaac made for her.
Shini said she would try it herself, but refused because it wasn't something she wanted to make someone else do.
"Can I come in?"
Finally, the person she had been waiting for returned. As Ariana answered, Geor opened the door and came in.
"How is the Imperial Palace?"
“What about the greeting, ‘Brother, have you returned safely’?”
“...Brother, did you have a good trip?”
“Yes. And, aren’t your brother very troubled by the matter of the Imperial Decree? Are you worried about that?”
“Geor, I told you. I’ll handle the Imperial Order somehow. For now, it’s actually more comfortable to accept such an order. No one would dare bother me.”
Geor ran his hands over his face and said bitterly.
"It seems everyone looks down on the East quite a bit. Do they think they can mess with her just because she is the Princess of the East?"
“Geor...”
“I heard the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have gone mad.”
"Hmm?"
"It was a bit hard to find out because everyone was keeping quiet about it, but... I heard the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have become violent. They say they are acting like completely different people. They fight fiercely with each other and violently take out their anger on the ladies-in-waiting."
“Are you feeling any pain?”
Ariana looked down at the poisonous herb she was still holding in her hand.
“Geor. Is there a plant that can change a person’s personality?”
“There are quite a few. There is something called the peconi mushroom; it’s fine to eat raw, but if you cook it, it causes hallucinations. Also, just smelling the caver flower makes you lose your mind, and I heard that drying and boiling chivera leaves makes people anxious and violent. That’s why I heard some countries use it as medicine for lethargic people.”
"Is this a Chivera leaf?"
Geor took the poisonous herb Ariana handed him and examined it this way and that.
"I'm not really sure since I just cut and dried it. I don't know much about plants either."
“If this is a Chivera leaf... can someone die from consuming a Chivera leaf?”
“I don’t know about that either. I’ve only heard that a lethargic person’s personality improves after taking it consistently for about a week, so I don’t know what happens to those who take it long-term.”
Ariana closed her eyes and thought of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
When she was going in and out of the imperial palace working for the Third Prince, she did not often meet the Crown Prince and his wife, but she remembered that they treated her kindly whenever they ran into each other.
That was also the reason she pretended not to notice the Third Prince subtly ordering Ariana to kill the royal grandson. They were good people, so she didn't want to cause them any harm. She didn't want to let the child they loved so dearly die.
So, she even subtly hinted to the Crown Prince's close aides not to take their eyes off the royal grandson, but...
He ended up dying, didn’t he?'
'What should I do?'
To prevent the Crown Princess from taking any more poison, Ariana had to make the first move. However, moving first carried great risk. She never knew where a blade might come from while she was concentrating on her movements.
Furthermore, if they made the first move, it was impossible to know how the Western Lord and the Third Prince would react.
'I only wanted to think about my revenge...'
Ariana tried not to care whether a complete stranger died or not. She thought that since it wasn't her fault, she didn't need to feel guilty.
However, as the number of precious things increased, it was difficult to pretend not to know what was about to happen to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
Ariana realized the agony Russell had felt when he learned of his daughter's death. Having experienced the grief of parents who have lost a child, she also understood the pain of the Crown Prince and Crown. Princess would be crushed by.
'But if we move now, too much will change...'
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