ATMM 22

Chapter – 22

Rewinding a little—to the prison at dawn.

Even after I somehow managed to prepare and inject the antidote, reopening the blocked blood vessels, the Chief Councilor still did not wake.

Normally, once this poison is properly neutralized, it dissipates quickly and the heart returns to normal.

The blackened mark on the skin over his heart had clearly faded, yet his breathing remained stopped.

Had too much time already passed?

Or had the hastily prepared antidote failed to work properly?

Dozens of worries filled my mind.

In the end, I had no choice but to admit it.

“…It seems I failed.”

I know I cannot save everyone.

I know my hands are not the hands of a god.

But when you discover even a sliver of possibility and run toward it—only to meet a cliff at the end—the feeling is never easy to grow accustomed to, no matter how many times you experience it.

I tried to compose myself and turned to Yulion, who had been holding his breath beside me.

He had not taken his eyes off the Chief Councilor.

Then suddenly, his golden eyes widened.

“Rohiriel, I think his mustache just twitched—”

“Cough—!”

A gasp followed.

I quickly looked down again.

Light was returning to the Chief Councilor’s brown eyes, which had been lifeless moments before.

He gulped in air, panting harshly, his bloodshot eyes rolling about.

It seemed he still hadn’t grasped his situation.

“Chief Councilor, are you conscious?”

Yulion nudged his shoulder as he spoke.

The Chief Councilor opened and closed his mouth before breaking into a dry cough.

“I’ll check his condition.”

I immediately examined his pupils and checked his pulse.

A bit fast—but normal.

After checking the rest of his body, I asked the final question to assess his cognition.

“What is your name?”

He blinked several times before slowly answering.

“Ka…man. Kaman Beldrick….”

Though sluggish, he was regaining awareness.

I continued.

“Do you know where you are?”

“…The Imperial Palace.”

“It is the palace—but where exactly?”

His eyes rolled again as he looked around, then swallowed.

“In the… prison. Ah! Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

His eyes met Yulion’s, and he startled violently, trying to sit up.

But a body that had been half-dead moments ago couldn’t rise so easily.

He flailed midair before his gaze landed on me.

“Y-Your Highness, Crown Princess!”

His eyes were clear, his memory intact. His cognition had fully returned.

“He seems completely normal.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Yulion nodded with a bright expression, though the Chief Councilor looked utterly bewildered.

“What in the world happened? I clearly remember—”

“Do you recall the last moment?”

“There was severe pain in my chest… and after that, nothing.”

“You were poisoned. Your heart stopped. Had the Crown Princess not treated you, you would have died.”

At the word poison, his expression turned shocked—then flushed red with anger.

“It must have been Blanche Kemer—that woman! She tried to kill me to destroy the evidence!”

“Evidence? How certain are you?”

“I have recorded all the secret letters and transaction ledgers exchanged between us. She must have feared I would reveal them!”

He spat out several curses, unable to contain himself.

Yulion spoke coldly.

“There is something more important right now.”

“…Ah!”

Snapping back to his senses, the Chief Councilor flashed a sly smile and bowed deeply to me.

“Your Highness, I am deeply grateful. You are the savior of my life!”

The man who had mocked and belittled me not long ago now beamed at me.

Perhaps he would have been better suited as a street actor than as a court physician.

“I shall devote this body entirely to Your Highness!”

Seeing how he attached himself wherever it benefited him, I understood how someone of humble origins had managed to become Chief Councilor of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Cast aside by the Empress, used and discarded by Blanche—now I was all he had left.

Then I would use him well.

I considered how best to play this newly acquired card.

Should we reveal everything at once and launch an investigation?

Or…

As I planned, I asked him,

“Then will you do whatever I command?”

“Yes—yes, of course! If you tell me to die, I will even pretend to die!”

“Good. Then die.”

“…Pardon?”

His mouth hung open foolishly.

Even Yulion looked confused.

“You said you would even pretend to die. I need your death right now.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Blanche Kemer is a high-ranking noble. No matter how decisive the evidence, if she refuses to confess, proper punishment will be difficult.”

“What!”

If the Emperor were fully in control of state affairs, it would be different. But the Imperial household was unstable.

Though Yulion handled matters as Crown Prince, he was not Emperor.

The power of the nobility was growing, while imperial authority weakened little by little.

If severe punishment were imposed on a noblewoman like Blanche based solely on evidence, the pro-Kemer faction would certainly protest.

If she denied everything, it would go to a noble trial.

There was only one remaining method:

In addition to evidence, secure at least three witnesses.

Under Imperial law, that would allow conviction without confession.

“So we cannot properly punish Blanche Kemer?”

“No. If we have three witnesses, it is possible.”

“Then we are short one. What do you plan to do?”

That last question came from Yulion.

I blinked at him.

“Short one? Aren’t we short two?”

The Chief Councilor counted as one.

Two more remained.

Yulion hesitated, then smiled awkwardly.

“Ah, I missed the timing to tell you. I believe we’ve caught the one who attempted to kill the Chief Councilor.”

“What? When? How?”

Except for gathering herbs, he had been beside me the entire time.

He glanced toward the window.

“I have shadow knights who quietly follow me. Unless told otherwise, they are always near. The moment I saw what had happened to the Chief Councilor, I ordered them to identify the culprit.”

“Good heavens…”

“I just sensed their return. They’ve likely brought him.”

This was completely unexpected gain.

“That certainly makes things easier.”

A smile curved my lips.

Yulion coughed awkwardly and looked away.

“Then we only need to create one more.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

“I’ll set a trap.”

With a brighter tone, I turned again to the still-confused Chief Councilor.

“So, Chief Councilor, you’ll need to die again. I’ll revive you by tomorrow morning.”

“W-Why me— Your Highness, please allow me a moment—”

He still couldn’t grasp it.

He scooted backward helplessly, but it was a prison cell.

“If you die, Blanche will let her guard down and act more boldly. Now—tell me the location of that evidence.”

Stammering, he told me it was in the sixth slot of the third shelf in his office bookcase.

I asked further questions and created a coded phrase that would prompt Blanche to act.

Then I sent Jenid to fetch fresh ingredients—not from the medical bureau, but from my residence, Garnet Palace’s small apothecary.

“Your Highness, I am truly loyal! But if I die, I can no longer serve you—and then there would be one less witness—and—”

He continued arguing why he shouldn’t die.

Too tired to explain further, I ignored his babbling and laid out the ingredients Jenid brought.

The medicine I was about to prepare required intense concentration.

Yulion, unable to contain his curiosity, asked what kind of medicine it was.

I sorted the herbs and replied casually.

“A drug that makes someone appear temporarily dead.”

And a drug that would make Blanche fall into her own abyss.