Bride To His Darkness -
Chapter 75: A Rare Poison
Chapter 75: A Rare Poison
In the study, Ivan gazed at the names of slave establishments he had refused to let his little lamb see. He was going to leave with Abdiel tomorrow to check out the amount of damage the tower had incurred after the tragic incident, and the guards will conduct a thorough search to see what had started the fire. He felt disheartened after knowing no one survived the fire, not even the slaves, and as cruel as fate can be, the burnt down tower happened to be the same slave establishment where his little Lamb’s brother was held in.
"How many more games until it’s satisfied?" Ivan wondered out loud, already crumpling the parchment under the anger of his palm, and then he stopped before exhaling tiredly.
Folding the parchment, Ivan could recall why he had said those things last night, he knew she loved her brother immensely, she literally yelled at him for his sake which was something she’s never done before. Revealing the truth to her would shatter her desire to keep living, he shouldn’t be bothered, but he was, almost like he was afraid to witness that side of her.
She doesn’t deserve this tragedy, neither does she deserve being treated the way he treated her. But he was starting to get too infatuated with her presence, he couldn’t even think of it.
"The stress..." he habitually uttered, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.
A knock on the study room door jolted him back to reality, and he heard a voice speak. "Lord Ivan, the royal physician requests your presence privately." Albert, the butler politely informed from outside, and Ivan’s eyelids snapped open upon hearing the Physician’s name being mentioned.
"Let him in."
Ivan granted Albert the permission to bring the Physician to him. When the royal physician stepped inside the study room, Ivan’s crimson eyes signaled Herbert who stood outside, his gaze emphasizing the word ’let no one in.’ which Herbert nodded firmly to after getting the message. When the door closed shut, Ivan’s steely gaze moved to the royal physician who stepped forward with his head bowed in greetings.
"May you have a good reign My Lordship." The royal physician wished him well, but Ivan clearly wasn’t up for that and quietly gestured to the royal Physician to take his seat on the vacant chair facing him. "I heard your brothers will be returning in a week’s time, it has been many years since they left to watch over the first Kingdom with Queen Carina, is his Lordship not anxious of their return?"
"If it is about the throne then I won’t mind a life-threatening challenge." Ivan retorted before tapping the surface of the polished dark-oak desk, as if demanding for something. Getting the message behind his little tapping, the Physician nodded his head once and went through his sack bag, carefully bringing out the preliminary result of the Queen Mother’s autopsy test.
He placed it on the table, and Ivan quickly grasped it, turning it to his side and flipping through the pages. Diagrams and certain notes were made on the parchment he was presently flipping through. With a serious expression, the royal physician proceeded to say.
"After conducting series of test, it has been confirmed through the preliminary report that the Queen Mother never committed suicide." The physician revealed in a whisper, and Ivan’s gaze snapped up questioningly to meet the physician who nodded his head in affirmation.
"You were right on your instincts, My Lord." The royal physician admitted in a whisper, kindly receiving the record and pointing at certain diagrams he had made. "See here, this is the official conclusion drawn by the predecessor - stating the Queen Mother’s death as suicide. But I couldn’t help but notice the certain injuries she sustained."
"Injuries?" Perplexed, Ivan leaned forward, examining the documents closely. His focused eyes widened when he noticed the peculiar details that painted a different picture, and his eyes narrowed intently. "These wounds.... they don’t seem consistent with a suicide. What else have you found?"
The royal physician takes a deep breath, intentionally building the suspense before whispering. "If you look closely, My Lord, the preliminary result indicates traces of a rare poison in her bloodstream. One that causes hallucination, erratic behavior, severe body weakness, rapid heartbeats, and eventually, death." He dropped. "The Queen Mother has always been a fighter, regardless of staying human for a long time, and it would have been treated on time, if she wasn’t fed this poison on a daily dose."
Ivan’s crimson eyes widened as he sat back. Realizing the implications, his mind began to connect the dots. Does that also explain the constant dreams she’s been having about him? He remembered how his Grandmother would go on day and night about this dream she always had of him, and a maid also made mention of his Grandmother’s behavior lately while he was interrogating them.
"A rare poison..." Ivan murmured to himself. But who would have access to such a deadly substance?
"My Lord, it appears someone did orchestrate the demise of the Queen Mother." He admitted grimly, "that is why I met with you privately before making any announcements. "The poison, it’s availability, it’s usage...it all points to a meticulous plan to make the suicidal seem real."
Ivan’s fist clenched hard, and the image of his Grandmother hanging mid-air played in his head. "Why would this person go through so much trouble to hang her up when the poison dosage could have been enough proof to prove she committed suicide."
"The poison doesn’t last in the system." The royal physician suddenly added like he just remembered something. "Once the poison has been consumed, it does little damage and leaves, that explains why she had to be given a daily dosage. Perhaps, whoever it was assumed the poison would be out of her system, and decided to use the hanging trick?" The physician inquired from Ivan who arched his eyebrow.
"Or maybe.... This person is trying to re-open closed wounds." He tilted his head. "The autopsy result of Mother, I think it’s about time we compare and contrast the two results. In the meantime, inform everyone else that the autopsy result is still unclear. The one responsible must not be left on full alert" a subtle smirk graced his lips, and he rose to his feet. "Hide the autopsy result and come with me."
While everyone else carried on with their everyday hustle and bustle in the royal Palace, Samantha had kept her tracks on the head maid who was a slim graceful woman with an unfazed composure. She could hear her sigh in frustration when the news of one of the servants who was meant to escort her to the main capital tomorrow had fallen sick.
"Now I need a replacement, Princess Claire will have my neck if I don’t get her the materials she required by tomorrow." The head maid complained to Albert who seemingly shrugged.
"Just pick any random servant to go with you, the capitals are going to be bustling since it’s Friday tomorrow, and you won’t be able to handle those loads yourself."
"The servant is sick?" Samantha whispered to herself, wondering if the heavens were finally making way for her to proceed with her escape plan. The head maid appears desperate and fearful of Princess Claire, clearly she won’t refuse if she decides to assist her.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report