C188
After being sent to Count Baron's house, Ethel learned the details about the banquet that would take place a few days later.
This banquet was a charity event organized by Count Baron, a loyal servant of Prince Mikhail.
Not long ago, when the crown prince's mistress, Princess Cassius, revealed that she owned the Iver group and donated a large sum of money, a donation frenzy swept through the empire.
Count Baron planned a banquet to raise charitable funds to continue the princess's good influence and invited many famous people.
It was said that among the guests was a man Ethel couldn't wait to see.
Terence.
Although it was a banquet hosted by a political vassal and attended by Mikhail, it seemed that he had decided not to decline the invitation since the purpose was the same.
Ethel felt her heart pounding violently.
"We will meet again. No, let alone seeing each other, it would be good just to watch him from afar."
She helped prepare the banquet at Count Baron's house and eagerly awaited the day of the banquet as soon as possible.
Time felt slow, but finally, the much-anticipated day arrived.
Ethel, who had been constantly cooking in the kitchen, barely found time to rest and headed to the banquet hall.
There were so many maids running around that no one thought anything strange, even when Ethel began to walk through the banquet hall.
In the kitchen, news came that the Second Prince had arrived, but where is he now?
-"Oh, look over there. It's His Highness Mikhail and Princess Liena!"
-"How can they be such a good match?"
-"His Highness looks so dignified every time I see him."
-"And the princess? Look. There's literally a bunny wandering around the banquet hall."
-"Oh my God! Look at that adorable figure!"
-"She deserves to be called everyone's first love."
-"Honestly, among men his age, how many wouldn't have Miss Liena as their first love?"
Ethel tried to think of places where Terence might be, even in a noisy environment.
Deducing from what she knew about Terence's personality, she soon managed to find him without difficulty.
As expected, he was sitting alone on the dark terrace, just a step away from the luxurious banquet hall.
-"Prince...!"
When Ethel entered the terrace and gave him a look of complicity with her voice full of excitement, he startled and turned around.
But that was different from the surprise that comes from meeting an unexpected person.
He had the expression of a criminal caught in the act.
Ethel's eyes quickly turned to the bundle of papers he was holding.
Inside the slightly open bundle of papers, white powder could be seen.
In the other hand, he held a glass of water and was dropping a piece of paper into the glass as if trying to dissolve white powder into the water.
He quickly hid the bundle of papers in his arms and asked Ethel brusquely.
-"What's going on?"
-"Prince, is that...?"
An unpleasant rumor she had heard a few days before leaving the Marquess of Freeheiden's passed through Ethel's mind.
It was about Terence taking illegal drugs to relieve headaches.
A worker said he had spied on the scene and overheard Terence and Jack discussing the matter.
Because the source was unclear and the servants had talked about it several times, Ethel didn't pay much attention to the rumors at the time.
It was thought to be a strange rumor spread by a spy of the empress and the crown prince who had hidden in the marquess's residence.
After all, Terence, who wanted power more than anyone, couldn't have made such a mistake.
She had also heard of Ethel and had a rough idea of what the illegal drug that had appeared in the rumors was.
The devil's claws. Although it has powerful analgesic properties, it has the side effect of dramatically increasing antisocial tendencies like violence, so it was recently completely banned by the empire.
It was clear that anyone caught taking the drug would be severely punished, even if they were a prince. Of course, the throne would also be out of reach.
-"Oh, this? It's nothing much. I have some trouble digesting."
Terence said this and brushed off Ethel's question, but Ethel really gained confidence.
Ethel, who had been watching Terence closely from afar for a long time, could clearly see that he was lying.
Even the fact that the white powder was undesirable and he was trying to hide it.
Ethel, jumped into his arms and snatched the bundle of papers he had hidden.
-"You shouldn't take this!"
-"I said it's nothing strange. Give it back."
-"You can't fool me. If you continue taking this drug, you'll be lost. They say it's bad for health, so please stop doing it."
-"... it's my problem. Please give it back quickly."
Ethel vigorously shook her head, and the two argued for a while.
It wasn't long before Terence finally exploded.
-"What do you think you know? Do you understand this pain?"
-"Prince..."
-"Since you've never experienced it before, I guess you can talk about it as if it were someone else's problem!"
His expression was very distorted.
-"And why are you meddling in my affairs? Did you think there was something between us just because we exchanged words a couple of times?"
-"I'm just worried..."
-"Know your place. Don't you dare tell me to do this or that."
-"......"
-"Go away. Don't ever appear in front of me again."
Ethel left the terrace without saying a word, holding tightly onto a bundle of papers in her hand.
When she left the banquet hall and reached the deserted garden, the tears she had been holding back spilled out.
The words she had just heard were sad, but the fact that he had found himself in such a situation as to even utter those words saddened Ethel even more.
The Devil's Claws were a drug that ultimately made the user lose their humanity.
Since when had he started depending on that drug? How can she save him?
Ethel searched among the bushes, blaming herself for her limited ability.
She wanted to think quietly alone for a while.
How much time had passed? A man looking around entered the garden.
Ethel looked in that direction without thinking and almost shouted.
Although everything was dark, and she couldn't even see his face, she could recognize the man at a glance.
A very familiar bodily shape, a familiar gait, a familiar sound of breathing.
How could she not know him after living under the same roof for so many years?
The man was Ethel's younger brother, Samuel Wallace.
Why was Samuel here? Did he come to catch his runaway sister?
Ethel was very scared and trembling, but she soon managed to calm down when she felt something strange in Samuel's behavior.
He seemed to be waiting rather than searching for someone.
Moreover, constantly shaking a leg was a habit he had when he was very nervous.
Ethel held her breath and watched Samuel.
A few minutes later, a middle-aged man entered the garden and spoke to Samuel.
Since the distance was a bit far, the conversation only reached Ethel's ears intermittently.
-"All I have to do is offer the second prince a sip from this bottle?"
-"That's right. Recommend it by mentioning something like a rare drink you found with difficulty. It's considered impolite in the Empire to refuse a drink offered by someone you've just met. He'll most likely drink your drink."
-"But earlier, I saw the attendant inspecting everything that went into the prince's mouth with silverware."
-"It's fine. This doesn't tarnish silver. Strictly speaking, it's not even poison."
-"What does that mean?"
-"The herbs in this drink are the worst combination for celestial whale meat. If you eat them separately, you'll be fine, but if you eat them together, they can cause death."
-"Isn't celestial whale meat a special dish served at the banquet?"
-"That's right. I'll offer him a bit of whale meat before you appear. Since this food is so precious, he wouldn't refuse it. He may have already eaten it."
-"... I won't really be guilty, will I?"
-"Of course not. It'll just be an unfortunate accident. The story isn't widely known, so just say that you didn't know either."
-"......"
-"Besides, aren't you a political relative of Duke Cassius? Do you really think His Highness Mikhail and the princess would abandon you?"
Samuel hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made a decision and accepted the bottle of alcohol offered by the middle-aged man.
After Samuel left first, the middle-aged man clicked his tongue and muttered.
-"Stupid bastard. How dare you keep trying to extort the duke and stay out of the princess's sight? Well, as a loyal subject, I should clean you up properly."
Ethel finally remembered whose voice it was. The middle-aged man was Count Baron.
After waiting for Count Baron to leave, Ethel stumbled out from among the bushes.
Poisoning? Just thinking about it made her vision blur and her hands and feet tremble.
But she couldn't stay still while a plan was unfolding against him.
Ethel returned to the banquet hall with shaky legs and frantically searched for Terence.
Please, please, I hope Samuel is scared and acts slow.
Unfortunately, she saw Samuel talking to Terence from afar.
He raised his glass proudly, then took two glasses from the servant and poured some into them.
Ethel ran towards them.
Although it was against etiquette, she didn't think of the people around her.
The only thing she could think of was that she had to stop him no matter what.
What should I do? Should I loudly say that that glass of wine is poisoned? But will people believe what a mere servant says?
In the end, Terence, who was the only one listening to her, would push her away with a blush on his face.
Besides, he wouldn't be able to act rationally because of the current effect of the drug.
Would Terence believe Ethel's claim that the drink contained a poison that not even silver could detect?
Or should she just knock the glass over and let it spill?
No, even if she did that, she would only be dragged away for lese majesty, so all Samuel would need to do is prepare another drink.
Above all, it wouldn't be possible to reveal to the world that there was a force trying to poison Terence.
Ethel took a step forward and made a decision. There was only one course of action she could take.
-"Ethel?"
Ethel snatched the glass from Terence's hand, who was surprised to see her.
Then she drank the contents without hesitation.
-"If not now, when will we taste this precious thing? Just try it."
Although she was working in the kitchen, she couldn't resist her colleagues' advice, and she ate celestial whale meat.
A moment later, blood spurted from her mouth.
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