Emanuel Darwin, one of the Seven Sages known as the Jeweled Magician, was trying his best to maintain composure before the person seated in front of him——the Duke of Crockford, Darius Knightley.
Felix had ordered Emanuel to poison the Duke of Crockford, and several days had already passed.
Emanuel had been agonizing over when and how to do it. When he was suddenly invited to a dinner party at the Duke of Crockford's residence.
It was not really a dinner party per se, but more of a private meeting between just the Duke and Emanuel to discuss recent developments.
This was a chance. But when should he poison the food? He had to time it perfectly so he wouldn't be suspected. If caught, it would mean his end, which is also his ruin.
After much thought, Emanuel decided to poison both his and the Duke's meals. He would then pretend to take a bite, act like he noticed something odd, and spit it out.
If only the Duke's meal was poisoned, Emanuel might be suspected, but if they were both poisoned at the same time, suspicion would be less likely to fall on him.
Thus, Emanuel had already snuck into the kitchen beforehand and laced both their meat dishes with poison.
All he had to do was put the meat in his mouth at the same time as the Duke, chew it without swallowing, and when the Duke showed signs of being poisoned, Emanuel would pretend the poison was affecting him too and spit out the meat in his mouth. A perfect plan.
Emanuel put on a polite smile and brought the soup to his lips.
"Well, well, this pea soup is so smooth! The cooks at the Duke's residence are truly skilled."
"Have you found a new apprentice yet?"
Ignoring Emanuel's flattery, the Duke bluntly asked his question. Knowing the Duke disliked wasting time, Emanuel dropped the pleasantries and answered the topic the Duke had raised.
"An apprentice… well, no, I haven't found a suitable craftsman yet…"
Previously, an apprentice working for Emanuel had quit the workshop after losing faith in him. This caused delays in fulfilling orders at Emanuel's company.
More importantly, the Duke of Crockford had invested a large sum into Emanuel's company.
"I will surely find one by the end of this month…"
The Duke concisely cut off Emanuel's words with a single word. Taking it to mean he didn't need to rush, Emanuel breathed a sigh of relief, but…
"You no longer need to search for an apprentice."
Unable to comprehend the true meaning of those words, Emanuel froze. What did those words mean? Before Emmanuel could voice that question, the Duke declared, "You always eat the meat dish first, but today you haven't touched it."
The plate clinked softly as Emanuel's trembling hands holding it shook. That small sound seemed to echo loudly in the room.
"What's wrong? Won't you eat?"
"Ah, no, it's just… my stomach isn't feeling quite right today…"
The Duke glanced sideways with his pale blue eyes, making eye contact with a servant standing by the wall. The male server approached Emanuel, lifted the meat dish, and tilted it over Emanuel's soup bowl. The sautéed meat plopped into the pea soup, clouding its color with meat juices. However, the servant didn't seem to mind, and methodically, meticulously stirred the soup with a spoon.
"If it's soup, you can drink it, can't you?"
"But, this is a bit…"
As Emanuel tried to make excuses to escape drinking it, the Duke gave him a cold look.
"If you wish to demonstrate your loyalty, you'll drink it all."
Sweat burst from Emanuel's entire body. The green peas and meat juices had mixed into a murky soup. The poison Emanuel had added had seeped out from the meat and fully dissolved into it.
With trembling hands, Emanuel scooped up the soup with a spoon. He had no idea how much poison was dissolved in that single spoonful, or how potent that poison was.
The spoon slipped from his shaking hands, spilling the murky soup onto the tablecloth.
Emanuel fell to the floor, pressing his forehead into the carpet.
"I'm so sorry! I was instigated by Prince Felix!!"
There was no point in pretending anymore. This terrifying Duke had seen through everything. Orıginal content can be found at novｅlfire.net
He knew Emanuel had poisoned the food. He knew who had ordered him to do it.
Emanuel had witnessed time and time again the merciless, cruel Duke purge traitors as a harsh example. So throwing away all shame and dignity, Emanuel pleaded for his life.
"It was a momentary lapse in judgment! My loyalty is solely for you! Please, have mercy…eh?"
The last word trailed off unnaturally because his tongue had started tingling.
It wasn't just his tongue tingling. His fingertips, toes, the extremities all over his body were tingling and prickling.
Gradually, his pulse became erratic. As if his heart had been punched, it started pounding unnaturally, leaving him breathless.
"…A, a…wha…? …An, why…?"
These were symptoms of poisoning.
But Emanuel hadn't eaten any of the meat yet.
"D-Did you…put the poison…in the soup…from the start…"
"Did you think I would allow a bat that doesn't know the meaning of loyalty to remain by my side?"
As Emanuel foamed at the mouth, clutching his throat as he begged the Duke for help, for mercy, the Duke no longer even looked at him. The Duke turned his gaze towards the direction of Serendia Academy and muttered softly, "So he did betray me after all."
There was no need to specify who "he" referred to.
The Duke of Crockford had foreseen the Second Prince's betrayal.
"Then you shall be of use in cleaning up that mess."
When the Duke turned his eyes back towards Emanuel, he had already died in agony with an anguished expression on his face.