B Chapter 31

"Sir Rohan and his attendant are also unconscious."

The situation was serious. The count, who had been listening nearby, turned pale. These people who had been fine had spent one night in his castle and met such a tragedy. It would be difficult to avoid responsibility.

"The cause?"

"The village doctor is examining them now, but he says he cannot determine the exact reason."

Doctors were precious beings. All skilled doctors in the Empire were in the capital. There were only two or three doctors in such remote areas.

"What is Evan doing?"

"He's with Sir Rohan."

"When and where were the dead maid and doctor found?"

"The maid was found past noon in the cleaning supply closet next to the dining hall. Doctor Smith died in his bedroom."

Chris glanced at the count and continued.

"Both are believed to have been poisoned."

"Poisoned?"

Count Lambut flinched.

"I'll go check myself! I'll call our family physician immediately...!"

"Count, this happened in your castle. I cannot trust you."

Alessandro firmly cut off his words.

"But, but I'm truly innocent. Commander, please recognize my innocence!"

When he nodded, other knights restrained the count from both sides. Kneeling the master of the castle on the floor in his own castle drew gasps from all around. The castle guards held their breath. They could have stopped the Grand Duke and the knight order if the count had commanded it. But the count just closed his eyes with a devastated heart. Stopping the Grand Duke and the knight order would mean rebellion.

'If we did that, our family would disappear.'

The Empire's knight order was fearsome, but the Graham family's private soldiers were more terrifying. Graham provided tremendous funding to the Empire's knight order. Like an inexhaustible spring, Graham's financial power was endless. Rumors also spread that they trained a tremendous private army in Graham territory. While the forces currently at the ceremony weren't large in number, they absolutely must not make enemies of the Graham family.

The count was anguished at his powerless position. This had happened in his own castle, yet he could only watch everything unfold... The count bowed his head miserably.

The Grand Duke's expression as he looked at Sir Rohan was peculiar. The dead maid had died from excessive bleeding. The traces of blood that had flowed from her eyes and nose were vivid. Doctor Smith was the same. An ominous incident had occurred just two weeks into their stay at the ceremony. While confirming the corpses, the Grand Duke recalled the blood-stained letter from the advance party.

'More bloodshed.'

The young doctor examining Sir Rohan was flustered by the Grand Duke's sudden appearance. The count's personal physician was temporarily away, so they had brought the only doctor from the territorial village. But the doctor seemed inexperienced. Whether from lack of experience or nervousness, he kept making clumsy mistakes.

"Sir Rohan has been suffering from stomach trouble since yesterday."

"Any other symptoms?"

When Alessandro looked at him urgently, the doctor answered trembling.

"He, he has a high fever."

Calling something you could tell just by placing a hand on his head an answer. It was frustrating.

Suddenly, the collapsed attendant started bleeding from his nose. The flustered doctor was frantically searching for a towel to wipe the blood.

Tsk, the Grand Duke clicked his tongue and turned his head.

"Is there only one doctor in the village?"

"There's another doctor, but he lives far away. We sent a messenger, so he should arrive by tomorrow evening at the latest, Commander."

But the maid who had shown the same symptoms was already dead. Judging by the condition of the attendant and Sir Rohan, they didn't seem likely to last long. The frustrated Grand Duke pressed the doctor.

"Is there no way to detoxify them?"

"First... we need to find out what poison they consumed."

The conclusion was that he didn't know. The Grand Duke left with a heavy heart.

'Why did they end up like this?'

When situations were complex, it was more efficient to think alone. Walking through the quiet corridor, he pondered why, by whom, and how they had been poisoned. It didn't seem like an ordinary poison.

'Stomach trouble, high fever, and excessive bleeding.'

Suddenly, his steps stopped.

Severe stomach trouble and high fever, then dying while vomiting blood.

The Grand Duke, recalling the symptoms, realized this was a phrase he had seen somewhere before. It was something he had read a few days ago.

'...The letter.'

The Grand Duke quickened his pace. He needed to find the maid.

The servants' dining hall was bustling with talk about the collapsed Sir Rohan and the dead maid. Chloe had never once spoken with Sir Rohan's maid. His attendant and maid were snobbish and thoroughly treated Chloe, who was of low status, like she was invisible.

'But unexpected death is tragic for anyone. Regardless of what kind of person they were in life...'

Chloe's mood wasn't good either.

"Ever since that girl secretly caught and ate a baby wild boar with Sir Rohan, it's been total chaos!"

"Right. She had diarrhea several times a day and missed work claiming fever!"

"Why did they eat the wild boar?"

"Don't know. The baby pig was sickly, so they just caught it with their bare hands."

"She had her eye on that new doctor and was going around with him, so she gave it to him to try, right?"

"That's why the doctor also got diarrhea and fever and it was chaos."

"That's what happens when you don't share and eat it secretly like that... tsk tsk."

"That doctor's an idiot too! Why did he follow all the way to the ceremony, get romantically involved with a maid, and accept such things to eat?"

"He looked like a fool from the start."

Chloe had no one to talk to, so she just ate her meal silently. She planned to eat quickly and leave.

'So they got sick from eating wild boar.'

She hadn't seen it directly, but they said it was a horrific corpse covered in blood.

'There was a lot of madness grass on the mountain path...'

Chloe pondered but dismissed the thought, thinking it couldn't be. She had a lot to do today. Having finished her meal quickly, she headed to the Grand Duke's bedroom. Because he had told the count that no service was needed, none of the servants had come.

'There must be a lot to prepare.'

With the sudden tragic news, he wouldn't be comfortable either.

'I should quickly go and set out some wine he likes.'

Chloe, heading to his bedroom, bumped into someone who appeared around the corner.

"Eek!"

Her body, completely bounced away, tumbled on the floor.

'It hurts so much!'

Chloe quickly checked her opponent. It was the Grand Duke. He didn't look surprised at all, but she hurt as if she had hit a rock. She grabbed her aching shoulder and barely managed to stand up and apologize to the Grand Duke.

"I'm sorry, Your Grace."

Since a slave had made physical contact, he might be displeased.

"...Are you alright?"

"Yes."

She answered with an expression that showed she was not alright at all.

"The letter you wrote before."

He asked abruptly, as if it was urgent.

"You said there was a poisonous plant that causes severe stomach trouble and high fever, then death while vomiting blood."

Why is he asking about that? Her confusion was brief as she thought of Sir Rohan's situation.

"Yes, there is such a poisonous plant."

When Chloe nodded readily, he gestured and took the lead.

"Follow me."

The bedroom where Sir Rohan and his attendant lay. There weren't many people guarding inside. Just Evan, the doctor, and a few maids. Chris had gone out saying he would investigate the count, and other knights were in an emergency meeting. Since the ceremony's only doctor had died, that was also a big problem. Evan had also participated in the meeting, but he was still in an uncomfortable state with his leg.

"Commander."

When the Grand Duke entered, everyone who had been sitting stood up. Responding lightly with a nod, he spoke to the maid who followed him in.

"Go examine Sir Rohan and his attendant."

"Yes."

The maid hesitantly approached the patients. Evan, watching this, looked back at the Grand Duke with a puzzled expression. He couldn't even guess what the situation was. The maids also glanced at Chloe, but they couldn't show any discomfort at the Grand Duke's command. The most flustered was the doctor.

'Why is there a slave in the castle?'

The doctor couldn't hide his expression. Her appearance was unmistakably that of a slave. Chloe was also in a difficult position.

'Why me when there's a doctor here...'

But since the Grand Duke had ordered it, she had no choice. Chloe first opened the patient's eyelids and examined the condition of the whites and pupils. Then she lifted the lips to carefully examine the gums, and put her hand in the mouth to check even the tongue. Her series of actions were skilled.

After removing her hand from the attendant, Chloe hesitated for a moment. Now she had to examine Sir Rohan, but he was a noble she couldn't touch carelessly. Finally, Chloe wrapped a nearby towel around her hand and touched Rohan's face. After carefully checking even the blood vessels in his wrist, she turned around with a hardened expression.

"Is it that poisonous plant?"

"Yes, specifically, it seems they consumed an animal poisoned by madness grass."

This kind of case often occurred in Elpasa too. Cases where poor slaves or imperial citizens caught and ate sickly wild animals and died. Most were poisoning from madness grass. The doctor's eyes widened as he stared at Chloe.

'Has she lost her mind?'