Episode 26

?????? (10)

“…….”

But still no words came out of her mouth.

Elio put the cup in front of Christa.

The light purple tea emits a strong scent. Christa took the cup. When she took a sip, her lungs felt as if they were filled with the strong smell of incense.

“How does it smell? Doesn’t it smell good?”

“Ah, that…”

Christa tried to express some appreciation. But her voice is gradually losing strength and fading away.

“Yes, yes it is.”

Elio’s figure gradually fluctuates. The floor and ceiling are distorted. Soon there was a loud noise, but she couldn’t react at all. The teacup fell on the floor and fell into pieces as it rolled around.

With a growing sense of turbidity, Christa realized that something had just been mixed with the tea she had been drinking.

Elio lifted Christa’s head gently. Only his figure was fixed in her view as the background whirled violently.

“How much do you know about the Duke of Argonod, the Tenth Knight Palmaril?”

“Ah, uh…”

She tried to say something, but her tongue felt dull and her body felt too heavy. Elio whispered quietly in her ear.

“The Duke is a man who is incapable of loving anyone.”

His voice rang in her ears. It was as if he was rubbing her head with an invisible hand.

“Or don’t tell me you love the Duke.”

He then laughed out loud as if something was funny.

Now Christa couldn’t even move her eyes. Her body seemed bound by an invisible force.

“You have a very low temperature.”

Elio’s face came close again. She could feel his breath, but she couldn’t resist. The texture of skin rubbing the back of her neck felt strange. Normally, she would have pushed him away, but now she couldn’t resist anything.

Elio, who has been touching her face for a while now, looked into her eyes.

His green eyes, like a swamp in a forest, are reflected in her eyes.

“I like it.”

Her dilated pupils were unable to respond. Tears flowed from her eyes as she was unable to blink for a long time. It was Elio’s tongue that licked it up.

She felt pain, but she couldn’t resist anything.

‘Somebody please…….’

Christa seemed trapped in an unbreakable nightmare. Whoever it is, please save me.

It overlapped with her cries from back then. Even then, she wanted to be saved by anyone. Whoever it is, save me. But the blade of mercy and salvation did not come easily.

Then there was a voice in her ear.

“Let go of me!”

“But the crown prince told me not to let anyone in.”

“My fiancée is there.”

The urgent voice was a voice she knew well. For a moment something inside her came to a boil.

Soon after, he came into view with the sound of something breaking.

“Christa!”

It was him, the one who always stood in the sun, the one who would save her.

“Oh, Duke, isn’t that rude?”

“What the hell is going on here?”

Ragnar immediately approached Christa. Christa, who drooped like a doll, collapsed helplessly.

“Christa?”

Ragnar’s expression was horribly distorted.

“I just said hello to your fiance. Don’t look at me like you’re going to eat me up. She’ll wake up in no time.”

He just said that and stepped back.

“What the hell did you do to Christa?”

“Ragnar, if you had simply engaged with Natalia, this would not have happened.”

“Do you think I’m going to get mixed up with the Imperial family?”

“No, but at least I believe it was a lesson.”

Ragnar, who knew the meaning of his words, shuddered. His servant, Mervin, blocked Ragnar. Further clashes here would put them at a disadvantage.

“Then take proper care of your fiancee.”

Elio left the VIP room after saying those words.

Christa’s body twitched slightly.

“Christa?”

Her white eyelashes flutter and her dilated pupils return.

“Cap…Captain?”

And soon a fit of coughing broke out. Red liquid flows out of the mouth.

“Christa…”

Ragnar’s expression turned angry.

“Why is the captain here…….”

Christa moved her stiff body slowly. Slowly, the sensation returned to her fingertips. And when she swept her tongue across her lips, she could see why Ragnar’s expression was so harsh. It seemed like she had vomited blood.

“I am sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

It was probably the Crown Prince who should apologize.

“I should have anticipated this situation. I didn’t know that crazy guy would act right away…….”

Christa sat back and thought about what had just happened. She could not understand the current situation, however.

“Why in the world does His Highness the Crown Prince…….”

“Have you ever heard of the Crown Prince’s rumor?”

Christa shook her head quietly.

“Yes, I see. Did he do anything else to you?”

Then Mervin Ferride grabbed a fragment of the teacup that fell on the floor. He rubbed the silver spoon in his hands, and it discolored.

“Maybe the tea was mixed with poison.”

Ragnar barely held back his anger. When Christa saw his face, she realized that her heart was beating violently. Slowly, she put her hand on her chest.

The Crown Prince’s eyes were of the kind she knew well. For such a person, slaughtering someone would be no different than pressing down on an ant cub. His eyes were like that.

Her whole body trembled uncontrollably. Then Christa realized.

She survived.

Her chest moving up and down was proof of that. She was breathing wildly as if she was longing and willing to live. It was disgusting and she had to shut her mouth.

“Christa?”

“……I’m all right.”

She said, raising her hand. She couldn’t breathe well, so her voice came out fast. Seeing her, Ragnar held Christa in his arms despite her dissuasion.

“C, captain?”

“Until I check what drug you took…….”

“We’ve arranged for a carriage at the back door.”

Mervin told Ragnar.

Ragnar marched straight to the carriage with Christa in his arms.

“I, I can walk.”

But he was adamant. More rebellion seemed meaningless, so she had no choice but to give up.

Afterwards, they headed for the townhouse of Argonod.

“…….”

“…….”

There was a hell of silence in the carriage.

Ragnar pressed his index finger under his eyes as if he was tired. He should have expected Elio to pull a stunt like this. Just like he did with his sister Eudina.

Thinking about it made him emotional and angry again. The same situation could also be repeated. The direction of his anger was toward himself rather than the crown prince.

And he looked at Christa in front of him. She looked pretty calm despite such a huge thing happening.

It was Ragnar who couldn’t stand the silence.

“Why don’t you ask me anything?”

“What should I ask?”

“About what happened…….”

As expected, this woman was strange.

But Christa didn’t open her mouth any more. He knew from experience that it was useless to talk to her when she’s like this.

Now, Christa was looking at the scenery outside the window and was making a dull expression. It was quite easy for him to do nothing in this situation. Maybe that’s what Ragnar really wanted.

A woman who doesn’t flirt, doesn’t cling, doesn’t ask. That was Christa Palmaril. He’d never met such a comfortable woman before. He considered himself very lucky.

At that moment, something foreign disturbed him. The strangeness of his chest bothered him for a while. It took him a long time to realize the meaning of that discomfort.

??

The Duke’s doctor, Kenneth, examined Christa. He was able to quickly find out what kind of poison it was from the fragments of the tea cup that Mervin brought.

“It’s a shade of windweed and black violet roots.”

“What are they used for?”

“The shade of windweed paralyzes the body. The root of black violet is a medicine that has been used for abortion since ancient times.”

“So Christa…”

The doctor looked at Christa’s pulse several times and tilted his head.

“Fortunately, she didn’t drink a lot. It won’t affect her that much, but…….”

The doctor blurred the end of his sentence.

“But?”