Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 162

13

Eirik sat hugging the wooden box, leaning against the wall of the cabin. His bloodshot eyes were tense due to the ship having turned its course after encountering a storm. Instead of heading to Nieas Harbor, just a day and a half away from the capital, they were now bound for Jemina Harbor, a five-day journey away. This heightened his anxiety.

He could not afford any more variables.

In front of Count Semenov, Eirik had thrown both the Finime and the poison bottle into the sea, just in case. He feared that something foreign might enter the wooden box or that its contents might spill onto the floor due to the ship’s rocking from the rough waves. He stayed awake, keeping a close watch on the box.

“We’ll arrive in Jemina tomorrow.” Count Semenov, his face filled with concern, spoke to Eirik, “Get some rest. Are you planning to meet the queen looking like that?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Only a short response returned. Count Semenov clicked his tongue.

His tense, murderous expression and unkempt hair gave him the look of a war-torn killer. His face, once as fine as any noble lady’s, was now marred by scars and a rough beard. Semenov thought to himself that Eirik should at least trim his beard for the sake of the wife he hadn’t seen in so long. But it seemed that Eirik wasn’t even willing to divert his attention for a moment to answer him properly.

“Well, in any case, this ordeal will be over soon enough.”

Eirik silently prayed that it would be.

Upon arriving at Jemina Harbor, Eirik immediately secured a horse and a carriage. He loaded Count Semenov inside and raced toward the capital. Seeing Eirik’s urgency, Semenov didn’t complain about hunger or discomfort. By swapping out exhausted horses and traveling without rest day and night, the journey to the capital, which should have taken five days, was completed in just two and a half.

“Who goes there?”

“I carry a message for this kingdom.”

Upon arriving at the royal palace in the dead of night, Eirik jumped off his horse. But the guards at the palace gates, wary of the large, foreign-looking man with murderous intent, instinctively reached for the swords at their waists.

“State your business properly! Who is that in the carriage—”

“Are your ears blocked? Let me clear them for you.”

Having gone without sleep for weeks, Eirik’s words were even rougher than usual. Though the guards swarmed in alarm, Tilberg fortunately arrived nearby.

“Margrave!”

Tilberg narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he held a torch close to Eirik’s face.

“Is it really you, Margrave?”

“The man in the carriage is Count Semenov. Take care of him properly.”

“Oh, of course. I see.”

The guards didn’t understand, but Tilberg, privy to the secret, nodded immediately. Though Eirik’s appearance, illuminated by the torchlight, was almost unrecognizable, his foreign attire and the fact that he had brought a Sidatean were consistent with the details Tilberg had previously heard.

“This is the margrave. Clear the way.”

Eirik confirmed that Count Semenov was being helped out of the carriage before striding forward. After ordering the guards to escort the count to a suitable room, Tilberg hurried to follow Eirik.

“How is Her Majesty’s health?”

“She’s doing well. She’s probably sleeping right now, but… oh dear… I don’t even know where to begin explaining this.”

Of course, the queen had given orders not to be disturbed unless the kingdom was on the brink of collapse. But the return of the margrave, who was thought to be dead, was a situation that had to be reported immediately.

Tilberg asked Eirik, “Will you be heading to Her Majesty right away? If you plan to change clothes, shall I go ahead and inform her?”

“No. Where is Gella?”

“Are you referring to Lady Raviate?”

Eirik stopped abruptly and frowned as he asked again, “No, I mean Gella. Not the lady of that house.”

“She’s on her honeymoon. It’s a long story.”

“…In any case, she’s not here. Bring someone who’s knowledgeable about the palace’s herbs. No, I’ll go to their quarters myself.”

“Shall I not inform Her Majesty?”

Eirik hesitated for a moment, but he needed to confirm that the antidote was properly made with his own eyes. If Miesa arrived, it would only distract him.

“The antidote comes first. It could take a while, so don’t wake her.”

Miesa awoke late at night to the faint sound of shouting.

Startled by the noise that reminded her of something from long ago, she tried to calm her racing heart and strained her ears to listen.

Thankfully, the commotion seemed to have settled down quickly, and she closed her eyes again.

In her dreams earlier, unfortunately, she had only spoken to people of little importance. As the Margravine of Cladnier, she had been receiving a report from the steward while, in the distance, Eirik, clad in a servant’s uniform, busied himself.

Such nonsensical things often happened in dreams. Eirik as a servant, how absurd.

The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed, yet in the dream, no one in the estate found it strange as Eirik diligently carried trays around. His graceful, delicate movements, which didn’t match his large frame, made her smile even now.

Miesa snuggled back under the blanket and hoped that in her next dream, Eirik wouldn’t just be working from afar, but would come closer, so she could see his face.

At that very moment, Eirik was pulling out the wooden box in front of the royal doctor.

“I need you to identify this plant accurately.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, of course…”

The doctor, who had just been dragged from his bed well after midnight, was startled by the foreign man’s words, but trusting Tilberg, who stood behind him, he obediently followed orders.

“There’s quite a mix of things in here.”

The doctor lit as many candles as he could. He poured the contents of the box onto the brightly lit desk and began sorting them immediately.

“This is the antidote for a specific poison, so I need you to record everything carefully, including the precise proportions.”

“Huh? This… could it be…?”

The doctor blinked for a moment before looking up at the foreign man. Under the bright light, he realized that this wasn’t a stranger, but someone he’d seen before. His appearance had changed, but he was certain this was the margrave who was always by the queen’s side.

“Could this be the antidote for Finime?”

“What makes you think that?” Eirik asked sharply. Though he knew he was being overly sensitive, his paranoia had only grown stronger in recent days.

“Well, a maid once showed me a notebook with Her Majesty’s permission.”

Hearing this, Eirik relaxed his tense demeanor. “Yes, it’s a mixture to counteract Finime.”

“I see.”

The doctor had assumed until now that it was Grand Duke Hagail who had taken the poison. But after seeing Eirik’s behavior, he began to wonder if perhaps the queen was the one who had ingested it. His hand, holding the tweezers, started trembling.

“The dried herbs are all tangled together, so it will take some time.”

“That’s fine.”

With the margrave watching over him, the doctor started sorting the herbs. As beads of sweat formed on his forehead, a stern voice interrupted.

“Wipe off that sweat.”

“Oh, it’s alright.”

“I’m saying this because I don’t want sweat to drip onto the herbs.”

The doctor, growing more nervous at Eirik’s words, eventually wrapped a long cloth around his forehead and carefully used small tweezers to pick out each herb.

After a long while, during which he carefully smelled the herbs and separated them into eight different types, the doctor let out a small sigh of relief and nodded.

“They say Finime contains the venom of a Linni lizard and Tiule flower, but the antidote is the exact opposite. This is the root of the Javaka plant…” Mumbling something incomprehensible, the doctor tilted his head. “Have you heard anything about the process of detoxification?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“In that case, I should warn you in advance: the person who takes this antidote will vomit up blood clots. It will look as though they’ve suffered internal injuries, but afterward, their body will be completely clear of any traces of the poison, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I see.” Eirik nodded.

The doctor cautiously asked, “Um… I could conduct a few experiments, and I think I understand how Finime works. Shall I prepare another antidote, just in case?”

“No. We don’t know whose hands it might fall into, so don’t make another one. Just compile your findings and the method of detoxification, and report them to the captain of the royal guard.”

Eirik fixed his gaze on the doctor as he added, “This matter will be treated as a state secret. Be sure you understand that.”

Faced with Eirik’s piercing eyes, the doctor felt as though he were a frog staring into the mouth of a snake. He couldn’t even muster a verbal response, simply nodding his head in silent agreement.

Eirik frowned. “Can this be taken in its current form?”

“…It could be, but if you boil it first, the effects will be faster.”

“Make it now.”

The doctor boiled water, chopped the herbs into small pieces, and simmered them. Once the herbs were well-cooked, he mashed them thoroughly and stirred them back into the water. At last, the antidote was complete.

Eirik quietly took the cup of medicine and stood up. Now, he was finally ready to meet Miesa.