Chapter 7

7_The Queen's Poison (3)

Robert de Huautier, the French envoy, recalled his past memories.

The last day in France. It was a gloomy day, with rain pouring down.

"Prevent the alliance between Spain and England?"

"Yes. We must prevent their union at all costs. If England sides with Spain, it will be a cold day for us."

That day, Robert barely suppressed the urge to blurt out, "Are you mad?"

The new queen of England was born and raised under a Spanish mother and follows the Emperor of Spain, her cousin, like a father.

And yet, he was to prevent an alliance between these two countries? For France, England's long-standing enemy?

Moreover, what if France offered England something?

That was not the case.

France's current ally was Scotland.

Furthermore, the next queen of France was the Queen of Scotland.

It was impossible to treat England, Scotland's greatest enemy, well.

"To tear apart the relationship between Spain and England without offering anything? Is that even possible?"

Praise fell on deaf ears.

What? If he succeeded in this mission, he would be awarded a medal?

An impossible task from the start; what good would the reward do if he succeeded?

Robert arrived in England with a reluctant step.

For a month after his arrival, he was unable to meet the queen.

Not surprising. Robert was in a state of complete despair.

But then, something strange began to happen.

The queen expelled the Spanish prince.

For a ridiculous reason, no less.

'I should report this to my country... '

From there, Robert began to ponder.

Of course, he did nothing.

The queen had acted on her own.

But perhaps things had gone according to the orders from his country, just in time.

With a little, just a little exaggeration...

Robert thought of the medal promised for his success.

The glorious medal seemed within reach.

'After all, who in France would know the truth of this matter? I just need to keep the other envoys quiet!'

In the end, Robert could not resist the temptation.

The content of the report he sent to France was as follows:

"I obtained the list of gifts from the Spanish envoy in advance. I met with the queen and convinced her that the gifts were insulting. The inexperienced queen, unfamiliar with high society, fell for my persuasion. As a result, I severed the relationship between Spain and England as per the mission."

France was astonished by Robert's report.

To solve the troublesome issue of the alliance between Spain and England without offering anything, using just his tongue!

Why hadn't they known about such a capable talent until now?

The French king sent a personal letter praising Robert's incredible persuasive skills.

In Paris, plays featuring him as the protagonist were already being staged.

"…The situation has grown larger than I expected. Is this really okay?"

Robert was surprised by the high reputation he had gained.

He had exaggerated a little, but he never thought it would become a nationwide rumor.

Moreover, according to the rumor, he was a wise French envoy who had deceived the foolish queen of England.

What if this rumor reached England?

What if the queen, enraged that he had dared to insult her, became furious?

Robert was anxious.

If the other party were a ruler of a minor country, he could have claimed the rumor was distorted.

But he was the envoy of the powerful France.

He had the solid backing of his lover, Madame Huautier, who was loved by the king.

However, the other party was the queen of England.

A woman who had not been educated as a ruler.

Therefore, it was impossible to predict what she might do.

Hadn't she kicked out the friendly Spanish prince for a ridiculous reason?

'Well, no matter what, she wouldn't go as far as to kill an envoy from another country... right?'

Even as he tried to reassure himself, he couldn't shake off his anxiety.

Robert was a born coward.

'It's fine. The coronation is over. Now that I've completed my mission to congratulate the coronation, I can return to my country before the rumor reaches England, right?'

As he hurriedly packed to return to France, unexpected news arrived.

The queen of England wanted a private meeting with him.

'After refusing private meetings for the past month, suddenly now?'

The timing was suspicious, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

'Could it be that my report has already reached the queen's ears?'

But Robert shook his head.

It was too soon. The queen couldn't possibly know yet.

'Probably a request for an alliance. It's nothing serious.'

Robert tried to convince himself and met the queen.

"What do you think about the spice trade?"

The queen suddenly brought up the topic of the spice trade.

An unexpected and unprepared topic.

As an envoy, it was an unpleasant situation, but Robert felt relieved.

'So, it wasn't because of my report. I overreacted.'

Now, thinking about it, his reaction had been overly fearful.

Robert sighed in relief and regained his composure.

Then, the queen handed him a book. A book written in the exotic script of the East.

A book with various maps, spices, and precious metals drawn on each page.

'So, this book is a treasure, huh? Hmm...'

Although he had been scared out of his wits just a moment ago, Robert was a seasoned envoy.

He was not a fool to fall for a good story without suspicion.

'Spain and Portugal treat records of Atlantic voyages as major state secrets. We in France have tried several times to obtain such records but failed. And now, England claims to have it, obtained from an Eastern merchant who drifted here by chance?'

It was too suspicious.

Of course, there was a slim chance that England had made an important discovery.

But for Robert, it was awkward to ask his country to verify this.

'What if I ask for verification, and after consuming enormous resources and manpower, it turns out to be fake? It would be troublesome if it affected my promising career. I've already done enough; I don't need more credit.'

A complacent attitude prioritizing his own advancement over national development.

But what could he do? Robert de Huautier was originally such a person.

Thus, Robert pretended to regretfully decline the queen's proposal.

But the queen countered his words.

"Speaking of which, it's time for a meal. Aren't you hungry?"

With the queen's words, silver platters appeared on the table.

There was no time to refuse.

'She must intend to continue persuading me after the meal. This is going to be troublesome.'

Although he sighed inwardly, Robert decided to think positively.

'Well, I was hungry anyway.'

In fact, Robert had never felt full since coming to this country, England.

To Robert, a French noble, all the food here seemed inadequate.

'But the food the queen eats should be decent. I'm looking forward to it.'

Soon, several platters were placed in front of Robert.

He opened the first platter.

In a large white bowl, a red, oval fruit was displayed, about to burst.

It was a shape he knew well.

"Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

Robert asked in a trembling voice, and the queen kindly answered.

"It might be unfamiliar to you. This is an Eastern fruit called a tomato."

Robert rubbed his eyes and looked at the dish again.

But no matter how he looked, it was the shape he knew.

'Tomato? What a joke! This is belladonna!'

Robert let out a small scream in his mind.

Belladonna, also known as 'beautiful woman.'

A fruit that has deceived many and led to death, a symbol of poison.

Why would the queen serve a meal with poison?

'No, stay calm. It might just be something that looks similar. The queen called it a tomato. Why would she suddenly try to assassinate me?'

Upon closer inspection, the color seemed slightly different from belladonna.

Robert tried to calm himself and, with trembling hands, opened the next dish.

The dish contained pasta covered in a dark red sauce.

"…Pasta?"

Robert looked at the queen with trembling eyes.

Was this prepared with knowledge? But did the queen have that level of information?

Pasta was first introduced to France by the current queen, Catherine.

It is a symbol of Catherine.

And Robert de Huautier.

He belonged to the faction of Madame Huautier, who had taken Catherine's place.

At a time when sympathy for Catherine was rising, blood-red pasta was served to a member of the Huautier family.

'This is, no matter how you look at it, malicious, isn't it?'

To Robert, whose hands were shaking, the queen spoke kindly.

"This is pasta made from the tomatoes you saw earlier."

His heart nearly stopped.

Robert, with a pounding heart, barely managed to open the last dish.

The last dish contained cookies.

Cookies with a scent of nutmeg that made his nose tingle.

"Quite luxurious, isn't it?"

The queen asked playfully.

An ignorant commoner or a noble who had only tasted nutmeg a couple of times might have praised the generous queen.

Nutmeg is a spice more expensive than gold. When would one ever taste so much of it?

But a high-ranking noble like Robert knew.

'If you eat this much nutmeg, you die!'

Nutmeg is an excellent spice when used in moderation.

But this much, with such a strong scent?

No doubt. Eating just one of these would be fatal.

A very luxurious poison, indeed.

Robert slowly looked around the table.

The notorious poison, belladonna, and the blood-red pasta made from it.

Cookies laced with a poison more expensive than gold.

He had never heard of a table so steeped in malice.

At that moment, the queen, who had been watching Robert with amusement, spoke.

"Let me tell you one thing. The queen detests lies."

Robert shuddered.

His worst fears had come true.

No doubt. The queen knew about his false report.

And thus, she had personally prepared this terrifying and malicious table.

'Oh, Lord. What kind of witch have you placed on the throne of England?'

The queen, with a cruel smile, urged Robert to eat.

"Go ahead and eat. Surely you wouldn't refuse the effort I put into preparing this meal, would you?"

In the inescapable quagmire, Robert fell into deep despair.

-Belladonna-

Belladonna, also known as nightshade, is a historic poison plant used for assassinations since ancient Roman times. Like tomatoes, it belongs to the nightshade family and has a similar shape. While the color of the fruit when ripe is different from tomatoes, making it distinguishable, it is hard to tell them apart when unripe. Moreover, tomatoes, like belladonna, have toxins in their leaves and stems, so when tomatoes were first introduced, they were treated as a peculiarly colored belladonna. This perception persisted for a long time, and there were even attempts to poison George Washington with tomatoes in the early days of American independence. Below are some photos of belladonna.