Chapter 99

[Your Majesty!]

[Your Majesty! Please, the royal physician...!]

Everyone rushed to Nefter in shock.

The scene shown by the imperial eye began to focus only on Nefter, changing the view of each path.

Cold sweat beads sprouted on Nefter's pale forehead.

Nefter clutched his chest and groaned silently.

Clearly, something was wrong.

Although he had been unwell, Nefter's condition had not been this severe until just a moment ago.

Why had it suddenly worsened so drastically?

His face was blue, and his breathing was rough, as if he were about to stop breathing at any moment.

[Check the food the Emperor has eaten!]

The Empress ordered with a cold, rigid face.

At her words, Yenikarina sharply inhaled and covered her mouth with both hands.

[Could it be poison...?]

At this, the faces of everyone in the dining hall turned pale.

The poisoning of the King was unprecedented.

The food prepared for the banquet was all food that had already been tested.

If poison was added afterward, it meant that someone well-versed in the palace's internal affairs and trusted had done it.

Horror spread across everyone's eyes, and the attendants and palace staff were already kneeling and prostrate on the floor.

[Please calm down. We won't know until the royal physician arrives.]

[Princess Paellamien is right. After the royal physician confirms...]

Aristine's words did not continue.

Nefter, who had been holding himself up, collapsed completely.

Nefter's face, now unconscious, was as pale as a corpse.

* * *

“Aristine?”

Aristine slowly blinked at the sound of her name.

Her senses gradually returned to reality.

The turmoil in the vision ended with Nefter losing consciousness, and now nothing more was shown.

“Why are you like this?”

Tarkan grabbed her shoulder.

It was strange for her to suddenly look so serious while trying to stand up to go to dinner.

Aristine smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“Oh, it's nothing.”

But Tarkan's expression only worsened.

“It's not nothing.”

At this, Aristine's eyes widened, then she smiled softly.

“Yes, it's not nothing, but I'm fine.”

She leaned her forehead against Tarkan's arm.

Tarkan's body stiffened reflexively.

This was the first time Aristine had leaned on him like this.

Aristine closed her eyes and stayed that way for a moment.

It felt good to have something to lean on, to feel that she wasn't alone.

Tarkan hesitated for a moment, then gently tried to cup her cheek, but Aristine suddenly lifted her head.

“Come on, let's go eat!”

Aristine tilted her head at Tarkan, who was waving his hand in the air.

“Why are you like this?”

“...It's nothing.”

The two headed to the dining hall and had dinner together.

Aristine, now quite accustomed to it, accepted the food Tarkan fed her and pondered the scenes she had seen through the imperial eye.

As Nefter's death drew near, seeing the related future was a blessing.

Aristine reassured herself that she could change the future.

After dinner, she locked herself in her room and organized the flow of time.

1. Hamir returns to the palace.

2. Luncheon for the direct royal family. (Early autumn, within 1-2 weeks)

3. His Majesty collapses near the end of the luncheon.

4. Tarkan and I return to the bedroom and stay together.

5. His Majesty passes away.

6. I am accused of poisoning.

6-1. Evidence: poison found in my possessions.

Aristine stared at point 4.

Why were Tarkan and I together? It must have been because Nefter was in danger and I was shaken.

‘He wasn't drunk.’

Thanks to her unnecessarily good memory, the image of herself lying on top of Tarkan came vividly to mind.

Aristine tried to shake off the thought and focus on something else.

‘When was the poison discovered?’

Normally, it would be found during a search between points 3 and 6.

But if it was a planned poisoning, it would have been found beforehand to frame Aristine as the culprit.

Aristine glanced at the locked drawer.

‘No one has touched it yet.’

What she had seen through the imperial eye today confirmed something.

‘It wasn't even my poison that was used.’

Nefter collapsed as if his internal organs had become paralyzed after showing signs of indigestion.

The symptoms of the poison given to Aristine by the Emperor were completely different.

‘It was said that after taking it, the internal organs would twist, causing vomiting and the skin to turn black before death.’

Even if Aristine had been accused, the difference in the type of poison would have soon revealed her innocence.

‘Of course, if the truth was covered up by power, I would have been executed regardless.’

She tapped her lips with the tip of the fountain pen.

‘I have prepared for this. I'll see who gets caught in the trap.’

The question was whether it was a real poisoning.

‘Tarkan said there was no one capable of poisoning the Emperor.’

And the reactions of the royal family when Nefter collapsed seemed natural.

If one of them was the culprit, they must be an excellent actor.

‘Acting is essential in politics.’

Aristine divided the possibilities into two and wrote down her predictions and countermeasures.

If it was a poisoning:

- The culprit used a different poison from the one I have.

- It appears to be a type of paralytic poison (affects organs).

- Initial symptoms are abdominal pain due to indigestion. I need to look for poisons related to this.

- The time of ingestion was either at the very beginning of the luncheon or before.

The imperial eye started at the beginning of the luncheon.

Since Nefter's complexion was already poor, he must have already been feeling indigestion.

Nefter tends to hide his health issues, so he probably pretended to be fine during the luncheon.

‘If I can identify the type of poison, I can estimate the time of ingestion.’

Depending on the method and dosage, there would be limits to ingesting it without being noticed and not collapsing immediately afterward.

With Tarkan's help, I can prevent the poisoning itself.

‘Of course, identifying the poison will be extremely difficult.’

Indigestion.

It's such a common symptom.

But there are limited poisons that are colorless, odorless, and can cause death in small amounts, so I'll have to investigate those.

Aristine spun the fountain pen and wrote down the other possibility.

If it wasn't a poisoning:

- Check the Emperor's chronic illness and current health status.

- A certain faction is hiding the real cause of the Emperor's death and using the opportunity to frame me as the poisoner.

After writing this, the tip of the fountain pen, which had been sliding smoothly across the paper, suddenly stopped.

The ink spread, leaving a dark mark on the paper.

It felt like her heart.

‘If it was a death due to illness, can it be prevented even if I know about it?’

She thought.

The royal physician manages Nefter's health every day.

If it was a curable illness, it wouldn't have been a problem from the beginning.

Aristine put down the fountain pen and burned the paper with an incense stick.

Even if that's the case, I can't give up.

As she thought this, something flashed through her mind.

‘If my memory is correct...’

She remembered something from a past life she had seen before.

Aristine hurriedly pushed aside the flowers on the bed and activated the imperial eye.

The image of the past life she wanted to see surfaced.

‘Sure enough!’

Aristine sat down, her heart racing, but her mind remained calm.

She thought more quickly than ever.

Chapter 31. The Trap

Soft, gentle sunlight filtered through the translucent lace curtains, sweeping across Tarkan's face.

He felt a hand running through his hair.

He felt lazy.

There was only one person in the world who could caress him like this while he was in bed.

Tarkan kept his eyes closed, fearing that the hand would disappear if he opened them.

But contrary to his expectations, the hand soon withdrew.

Golden eyes, filled with regret, were revealed in the morning sunlight.

“Are you awake?”

Aristine, sitting on the bed, looked down at him and asked.

Tarkan slowly sat up.

As he moved, his firm pectoral muscles and tight abs rippled, visible through the open collar of his shirt.

Tarkan, leaving his shirt open, ran his hand through his hair.

He felt the smooth fabric at his fingertips.

Aristine had tied his hair with a smooth fabric, which he knew.

But the shape felt a bit different...

Aristine, watching Tarkan, picked up a hand mirror from the bedside table.

“Ta-da!”

She held the mirror up to Tarkan and smiled.

Her purple eyes sparkled like someone waiting for a reaction to a surprise gift.

But Tarkan's face could only turn sour.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror, disbelieving.

His drowsiness vanished instantly.

‘Is this...’

He touched his hair, still disbelieving what he saw.

But both the mirror and his touch pointed to one fact.

“What do you think?”

Aristine asked, her voice filled with anticipation.

What do you think? Are you asking me that?!

‘Putting a big ribbon on a sleeping person!’

Tarkan was speechless with shock.

His hair was tied up with a large blue ribbon.

As he moved his head, the ribbon swayed.

Tarkan's face crumpled as he saw this in the mirror.

“What is this...”

Aristine's smile slowly faded at his unexpected reaction.

“Why... don't you like it?”

“Is this what you call a question?”

Aristine was initially taken aback by his words, then became dejected.

“Didn't you say you liked ribbons?”

She had prepared this surprise because she felt guilty for only saying she liked ribbons and not noticing his preferences.

But to get this reaction...

“Is it the color you don't like?”

Standards for what one likes are often strict.

“I tried to choose the color that would suit you best...”

She had worked hard to choose it while organizing what she had seen through the imperial eye and thinking busily.

Tarkan, who had been about to tear the ribbon to shreds, flinched at Aristine's dejected look.

Aristine, who had been unusually calm recently, was finally showing some joy, and he couldn't just tear off the ribbon.

“Why did you put a ribbon...”

As Tarkan muttered, clenching his teeth, Aristine asked curiously.

“You kept talking about ribbons seriously and telling me your preferences yesterday.”

“When did I...”

Tarkan's lips closed as he frowned.

“That's not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Tarkan couldn't answer.

How could he explain that he had been trying to call her by her pet name but felt embarrassed and mumbled instead?

“It's not that.”

“You don't have to be embarrassed. I understand.”

“No, you don't have to understand.”

“Next time, I'll prepare properly as your wife. Do you have any preferences for color or material? Velvet instead of silk? There are various ribbon styles.”

It's impossible to communicate.

Tarkan stared at Aristine and spoke.

“The ribbon I like.”

“Hmm.”

Aristine perked up her ears and nodded seriously, as if she would remember even the most complicated conditions.

Tarkan untied the ribbon from his head.

Then he pulled Aristine's arm.

Aristine watched him in a daze.

The blue silk ribbon wrapped around her white skin.

The smooth, cool texture contrasted with his hot fingertips.

Her yellow gaze, like a predator's, swept over Aristine.

It was a gaze that made her feel like she was about to be devoured.

Aristine found it hard to breathe, her throat feeling hot.

Tarkan bent over her.

The bed tilted softly, and Aristine lay back to avoid him.

But it was futile.

Her back hit the soft bed, and her escape route was blocked.

Tarkan, with one hand on the bed beside her head, looked down at her.

A crooked smile played on his lips.

He used his other hand to stroke the ribbon wrapped around her body.

Even though he was only touching the ribbon, not her skin, she could feel his body heat.

Aristine shivered.

Tarkan bent his head.

His hair mingled with hers, and his breath tickled her ear.

This is the kind of ribbon.

He whispered.

Forget being a husband, I just want to make money.