ATMM 19

Chapter – 19

“I’m going to block the blood vessels leading to the heart. Hold the Chairman firmly so his posture doesn’t shift. There must not be even the slightest error.”

“Yes, understood.”

Though he must have had questions, Jenid said nothing. With a solemn expression, he gripped the Chairman’s shoulders tightly.

Since the poison spread from the heart through the bloodstream, we had to block the vessels while the toxin was still confined there, preventing it from circulating throughout the body.

Ordinarily, blood vessel positions differ from person to person, making it impossible to pinpoint them instantly.

But this poison—fortunately or unfortunately—made its own path visible.

Wherever it spread, the skin turned black.

It’s just moving toward the entrances of the vessels now.

The heart was already black.

And the four gateways connected to it were gradually darkening.

I thrust the needle first into the mark that had blackened upward.

The sensation of piercing skin, then dermis, fat, muscle—each layer transmitted clearly to my fingertips.

Then, at last—tap—the subtle sensation of puncturing a vessel.

Got it!

Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I immediately held out my hand to Jenid.

“Herben.”

One of the basic medicines I always carried in my medical bag—when it met blood, it would coagulate rapidly. After the procedure, it could be dissolved again with another agent.

I injected Herben slowly into the tube.

Once it encountered blood and solidified, it would act as a barricade, preventing the poison from spreading from the heart.

“Whew… Next.”

Leaving the needle in place, I took out another identical one.

I repeated the same process at the second blackened mark, then the third, and finally the fourth.

Just as I was finishing—

“Rohiriel.”

Yulion had returned.

He brushed back his wind-tossed black hair. His breathing was faintly uneven.

“It seems I’m not too late.”

He wiped the sweat from his brow and handed me the medicinal ingredients.

The time…

“You really made it within two minutes. Thank you, Yulion. I’ll prepare the medicine now.”

I spread a cloth on the floor and laid out the herbs. Since they were from the Imperial Palace, they had already been neatly prepared for immediate use.

A poisoned needle was lodged in the Chairman’s heart.

Over time, it would melt away, releasing a lethal toxin.

Within half a day, it would leave no trace. Even the blackened marks left by the poison would disappear completely—making the cause of death appear to be nothing more than cardiac arrest.

First, I need to dissolve the poisoned needle inside the heart and neutralize it.

Then, inject the antidote directly into the heart.

After dissolving the needle, I would have to reopen the four vessels I had sealed with Herben.

We had barely two minutes left.

Working at the fastest speed I could manage, I began compounding the medicine.

Please… don’t let me be too late.

“What do you mean! The Chairman is dead?!”

The Empress shot to her feet, only to stagger from dizziness.

She steadied herself and demanded again,

“Explain yourself. What in the world happened?”

“Your Majesty, forgive us. When we arrived, his heart had already stopped.”

“He was perfectly fine—why would he…!”

Her voice rose, and she sank back into the sofa.

Watching it tremble under her weight, I spoke in a grave tone.

“It was poison. I did everything I could to revive him, and for a brief moment, he regained his breath… but it seems it was too late. He left only a single final word.”

“A final word?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It was something incomprehensible. I cannot make sense of it.”

“What was it?”

Instead of answering immediately, I took a steadying breath.

Even in this chaotic scene, Head Maid Blanche stood quietly, like the perfect model of a lady’s attendant.

She seemed almost like an emotionless wax figure. It sent a chill down my spine.

After inhaling and exhaling once more, I spoke.

“Thirty-six. That is what he said before he passed.”

“Thirty-six? He spoke a number at his last moment?”

“He seemed to want to say more… but that was all.”

“Ha…”

The Empress clutched her head and sighed deeply.

“Where is Yulion?”

“He is overseeing the body.”

“I will see it myself. I must see what has happened with my own eyes.”

She rose unsteadily and left the bedchamber.

Blanche followed. I did as well.

In front of the prison stood Yulion, several soldiers, and palace physicians.

They had come to handle the Chairman’s body.

“We greet Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Mother.”

Yulion received us with a face full of concern.

The Chairman’s body was already cold.

His bloodless, pale face was almost frightening.

“What is the meaning of this? Who could have—”

As she gazed down at him, the Empress suddenly turned sharply.

“Blanche.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is there nothing you wish to tell me?”

“I do not understand what you mean.”

Blanche lowered her head, her voice flat.

The Empress stared at her and continued,

“I ask whether you know anything about the Chairman’s death.”

“Are you suspecting me?”

“The Chairman begged you to save him until the very end. I could not understand it. You said it was because you had merely shown him convenience, but a person’s desperation reveals much.”

“Your Majesty—”

“And yet he is dead. The one who ordered him silenced must have acted. How could someone send an assassin into the Imperial prison within days? Unless it was someone from within.”

Even if Blanche truly were the culprit, she would never confess under direct questioning.

But perhaps out of lingering affection, the Empress questioned her openly—hoping for a confession.

“If that is so, allow me to ask you in return.”

Blanche stepped forward and knelt before the Empress, wounded in expression.

“Where was I all day?”

“…Attending to me.”

“Was there a single moment I left Your Majesty’s side?”

Her voice trembled with earnestness.

The Empress gazed at her with golden eyes—eyes much like Yulion’s.

“No… but when I was asleep, who can say?”

“The other maids will testify to my innocence. I swear I never left Your Majesty’s side.”

“Blanche…”

“Then command me to die instead! Such dishonor is worse than death—it is torment!”

She lowered herself completely, forehead nearly touching the ground, tears falling steadily.

At last, the Empress clicked her tongue, conflicted.

“Very well. Rise. The truth will come to light through investigation. I wish to trust you, but until then, you would do well to remain in seclusion.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Clear the suspicion cast upon you. Until this is resolved, confine yourself to Tishurit Palace.”

“…I obey.”

Blanche rose slowly.

In the moonlight, her face resembled that of a loyal retainer abandoned by her lord.

At dawn, within the darkened Medical Palace, a shadow moved stealthily.

At an hour when all breathing was steady with sleep, only one person exhaled in hurried breaths, searching for something.

The dark figure paced before the bookshelves until she stopped abruptly, having found what she sought. A faint smile escaped her lips.

“Foolish thing.”

The voice was unmistakably female.

With calm hands, she pulled out books and flipped through them—flutter.

She tilted her head, then flipped from the back—flutter.

Her breathing quickened again.

Her once leisurely movements turned frantic as she turned page after page.

Failing to find what she wanted, she snapped one book shut and reached for another.

At that moment—

From the darkness, where nothing should have existed, a low, melodic voice echoed.

“Blanche Kemer.”

She startled violently, dropping the book.

At the same time, the candles on the table flared to life, revealing her face.

“What is the Empress’s Head Maid—ordered into seclusion—doing in the Chairman’s office of the Medical Palace?”

“Your Highness…!”

Blanche was so startled she even forgot to bow properly.

I stepped closer and raised my left hand.

“Are you perhaps looking for this?”

I shook the bundle of papers in my hand.

Blanche’s eyes followed it before locking onto mine.

“How remarkable. To come searching for it yourself.”

Smiling faintly, I tucked the papers into my robes.

While lying in wait here, I had been certain someone would come tonight.

I hadn’t expected it to align with my suspicions so perfectly.