NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 7
“Are you satisfied?”
That was the question I blurted out right after swallowing two fake pills in succession.
The Third Imperial Princess only let out a groan. So she hasn’t broken yet.
“Is it insufficient…? …I see. Understood.”
She swallowed another one.
The Third Princess looked around frantically as if searching for reinforcements, but no one came to her aid. They were all just assessing the situation.
I understood. Honestly, who would help in this situation?
“Is it still insufficient? Then.”
I sampled another to apply pressure.
Finally, a reaction came.
“Stop!!!”
The Third Princess Anais’s scream echoed through the audience chamber. Until just a moment ago, she had maintained composure, but now even that seemed difficult. Her doll-like features were horribly distorted, and her cheeks were flushed. It was a moment when I truly realized she was a seventeen-year-old freshman at the academy.
‘That’s why you shouldn’t have rushed into this.’
If I were Anais’s advisor, I would have never let her handle this personally. I would have only secured evidence of the drug and spread rumors that “The Second Princess Siena tried to poison the Empress with poisonous herbs.” That way, even if things went wrong later, the backlash would be less severe. But Anais tried to operate on her own sister.
Her naivety was simply touching.
**
This was more fun than expected. Why didn’t I think of this approach sooner?
The Second Princess of the Britannia Empire, Siena Carlisle, was struggling to suppress the laughter that threatened to escape, twitching her facial muscles like never before at the age of nineteen.
She rarely had to read others’ expressions. Though she had used her acting skills to deceive her father and half-siblings, it had never been this exhausting.
The scene orchestrated by Alan Medoff, her bodyguard, was truly exceptional.
“Sir Alan! Poisoning?! Her Highness Anais never said such a thing!”
“Then what is this? Why did I sample the drug?”
“Such insolence! Is this knight worthy of his position!”
Alan Medoff stood firm against Anais’s flailing subordinates without flinching. At first glance, he appeared to be a bodyguard fiercely protecting his master.
‘Who knew he had this talent.’
Even in the past, he had occasionally provided some interesting entertainment.
Three months ago.
There had been an issue at a gambling house secretly owned by Siena. Some arrogant men pretending to be from the military police had tried to extort money.
Although they hadn’t known the establishment belonged to Siena, that wasn’t an excuse. So Siena had entrusted Alan, her most reliable subordinate, with the task. By “handling it,” it meant making them an example by killing them.
At that time, Alan’s handling of the impersonators was quite impressive.
“Fight each other. I’ll only let the winner live.”
“I’m not lying. Think about it. I’m a bodyguard serving her highness, the princess. What’s the point of staining my mace with the flesh of lowly creatures like you? I don’t want to go through the trouble of cleaning it afterward.”
“Besides, there are plenty of flies like you. As a warning, I’ll only kill one of you and let the rest go. Begin.”
Tricked by these words, the impersonators engaged in a bloody fight to the death inside the iron cage, where petty brawls usually occurred.
After a brutal physical fight, one of them died, and Alan kept his promise by smashing the survivor’s head with his mace. It was far more entertaining than any ordinary brawl.
‘That was good, but it doesn’t compare to this.’
Right now, Alan’s playthings were not criminals rolling around at the bottom but the Third Princess Anais and the nobles who followed her.
Ricciarman Marquis, the largest shareholder of Higgins Bank, Eigers Viscount, who had accumulated considerable wealth through trade with the East, and Count Sowon, the president of the stock exchange, among others.
All of them were nobles who had aligned themselves with Anais. It seemed they hadn’t fully grasped the situation and had just blindly followed Anais’s summons.
However, Siena had no intention of letting these nobles off. She planned to group them together and harass them for a long time on charges of insulting the imperial court.
‘That’s why you shouldn’t have aligned with her.’
After pausing briefly, Siena slowly approached Anais, who had turned pale.
“Anais, let me make something clear. I never used poisonous herbs. Do you believe me now?”
“I-I did proper verification.”
“Did you do this based on a tip from a knight named Bono? Unfortunately, that man was caught spreading rumors about me within the palace.”
Anais finally closed her mouth upon hearing Bono’s name. It was her acknowledgment that this was beyond her capability to handle.
“So in the end, you believed the insane words of a knight and tried to slander me.”
Siena fixed her innocent half-sister with a steady gaze.
Until a few years ago, hardly anyone seriously considered Anais as a contender for the imperial succession. But that wasn’t the case anymore. Even at her young age, she had successfully increased her followers and established a support base.
“Though she’s not quite up to my level, she’s certainly surpassed me.”
But today would mark the end for Anais’s good reputation. She had initiated an accusation of poisoning in front of dozens of witnesses only to end up humiliated.
This was not something that could be quietly brushed aside. She never intended to let it be buried quietly. If their sisterly bond had been that good, this situation would never have arisen in the first place.
“What should I do, sister?”
Anais had finally raised the white flag.
With a bright smile, Siena told her to stay put for now. The obedient half-sister followed the instruction.
**
Even after some time had passed, the bitter taste of the fake drug lingered in my mouth.
“Still, it’s better than gobbling up hallucinogenic mushrooms.”
The hallucinogenic effects of psilocybin were at the LSD level.
When taken in appropriate amounts, it would just lead to a feeling of floating and happiness. But if overconsumed, the results were unpredictable. One might end up tearing off their uniform and running naked through the palace, or cause a disaster by throwing Siena’s bowl in giggles.
That’s why I had prepared a fake drug for the taste test, but I hadn’t anticipated having to consume so much.
Fortunately, the results turned out well.
“I’ll be back soon, Alan.”
The fact that Siena boldly entered the Empress’s audience chamber alone was proof.
The Empress gave the command to “allow Siena to enter immediately. I’m pleased she prepared the drug. I will take it now,” after receiving a report about the farce involving her daughter.
She probably wanted to somehow clean up the mess her beloved third daughter had caused. There seemed to be a minimal level of maternal concern left in her, despite her vegetative-like state.
Of course, cleaning up was impossible.
The situation where a direct imperial family member tried and failed to make slanderous accusations against another direct family member couldn’t be brushed aside easily. Not even I, a political broker and the Empress’s daughter, could come up with a clear solution.
Anais must have understood this reality. She was sitting there with a vacant expression.
She didn’t try to persuade me or discuss countermeasures with her subordinates.
At this moment, her only hope must have been that the drug Siena presented would have no effect at all. Perhaps she even hoped for a mild side effect. If the Empress were to experience nausea after taking the psilocybin, it might create an opportunity to save face.
‘It’s not going to go that way.’
About thirty minutes later.
Dingdingdingdingding. Some tune broke the silence. It came from inside the Empress’s private area within the audience chamber. The previously somber Third Princess and her subordinates began to tilt their heads in confusion.
The mystery was soon resolved when a maid opened the door to the audience chamber.
“Her Majesty the Empress…?”
A delicate East Asian woman was playing the seven-stringed guqin.
Of course, the player was Empress Lianhua.
Her skin was so pale it made most Caucasians seem red. Even though it was a meeting with her daughter, she wore no makeup. It gave a glimpse into her usual life—she probably never went outside.
But at this moment, she was happily playing the guqin without sheet music, improvising a complex tune. She even noticed the bewildered Third Princess and smiled warmly as if greeting her.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Uh, Your Majesty.”
“Please remain quiet. You’re disturbing my sound visualization.”
“No, this isn’t the time for that… Wait, you said sound visualization?”
“Quiet!”
Encouraged by the increased audience, the Empress began playing the guqin with even more passion. She seemed to be completely absorbed. It appeared that she had already entered the colorful world of synesthesia where she saw sounds and heard colors.
“Are you really alright!?”
The Third Princess anxiously inquired as if hoping for something amiss with her mother.
Wishing for her mother to be abnormal, huh?
It was somewhat inappropriate behavior compared to the filial daughter Siena. However, I could understand her concern—if the Empress were completely fine, it would only harm the Third Princess’s reputation.
The Empress effectively betrayed her daughter’s hopes.
“I’ve never been better. There’s no law against visualizing sounds, is there?”
This was the original effect of psilocybin.
While experiencing hallucinations, it also made people extremely sociable and full of motivation. In the homeland, it was often used as a booster during parties for people who had become depressed from studying too much. It tended to make people more outgoing without them realizing it.
“But…”
“Are you hoping I’m not alright?”
“…No.”
“Then that’s settled! Now be quiet.”
With a serious expression, the Empress began moving her slender, long fingers more rapidly.
I’m not an expert, but something very lively was definitely happening.
The Empress’s lips were smiling, but her eyes were glistening with tears. She gazed at “somewhere” with a nostalgic look as an additional bonus.
Perhaps it was a piece she used to play in front of her family when she was young? She might be reminiscing about her childhood when she received praise from her parents for her gold-tinting skills and laughed heartily.
“Ha-ha!!”
The performance became increasingly cheerful.
Even the Third Princess seemed moved by her mother’s performance and burst into tears.
It’s truly fortunate that everyone appeared to be happy.