Chapter 249 - Predicament (1)

"The antidote, is it complete?" Amanda asked in a bored tone of voice as she stared at Maribelle and Lillianna who seems like they already finished. She narrowed her eyes down the two people not far away from them. There was a pout seen in her lips and it was clear that she was getting bored with just sitting and watching them while she does nothing.

Maribelle wouldn't allow Amanda to come and help them because she knows that Amanda doesn't know a single thing and she might make a mistake thus making them redo everything. That would be bad.

Maribelle held the glass bottle with powder inside in her hand, lifting it high up as she stared at it. Lillianna wiped the sweat in her forehead with the back of her hand as she let out a sigh. Their arms and hands were sore from all of the things that they did, this was the last one and it took them hours to finish.

Maribelle hummed as she placed the glass bottle down the table before she responded to Amanda in a calm tone of voice, "Yes, it is already complete. We can give this to Sir Carlos now."

When Amanda heard her response her expression brightened, the pout in her lips was replaced with a huge smile. "The antidote is complete! Call Sir Rowan!" Amanda alarmed the knights inside the room and one of those people headed out, probably going to call Sir Rowan just like what she had told him to do. Just the thought of Alexandra's personal knight going to be cured or healed from that poison was making her joyful.

That means they can now give much more attention to Alexandra though the search for her has already started just today. There were three people that were in charge of searching for the princess, that's less than what she had thought. Although just thinking about who are those people that were in charge of it, I guess it's reasonable, she thought to herself and shrugged.

Amanda and Maribelle have been worried about Alexandra. Ever since they have learned that the princess went missing because she was taken away by someone, they just can't sleep properly without thinking about what Alexandra might be in. If she's okay, if she's eating properly or going on a hunger strike, what she's going through, what is currently happening to her, is she able to sleep properly despite everything, or if she's even alive.

The last one terrified them the most. Just the thought about the princess being dead was scary. A dear friend of theirs. Though the emperor has reassured them that the princess is still alive and won't be killed just because Lillianna told them about what Mark's answer to her questions was.

Well, Lillianna asked Mark about what she is planning on doing to the princess but he only responded with:

'Don't worry, I won't kill her. If I did, my plans wouldn't work and I would also be killed if that person knew that I killed her.'

It seems like he was working with someone. She also told the emperor about them during their second interrogation which happened a few days ago. The emperor, with the help of the information that he got from Lillianna, was looking for the answers that he needs. For example, questions like, Where did Mark come from? Who is he? Why is he here? What is his purpose? And such questions could be answered if he gathered more information.

Sir Rowan arrived minutes later, bursting the door open as he entered. He was sweating and gasping for air. He probably ran his way here, "I-I should have teleported but my mind was so occupied with the antidote and so many things that I didn't even think about it."

He said that in between his pants as he placed his hands against his knees, trying to recover his breath as the people inside the room just stared at him. The knight who has called him was standing behind him. Rowan was in his office or laboratory which is not inside the palace. He and the other palace healers have their own building. He usually stays in there and does some experiments, creating medicine and such. Although that building was located quite near to the other mansions and this palace.

It's quite a wonder why Lillianna chose and asked Maribelle to help her in doing the antidote instead of Rowan though he admitted that he might not be of help because creating that antidote was pretty hard for him despite having so much experience in creating antidotes aside from that. As the poison and antidote along with the very flower, Staff of Caelian, is quite a very rare thing here in this empire, he wasn't given any chance to study and do some experiments with that plant.

So basically, he has 0 experience with creating its antidote, poison, and such.

Did Lillianna somehow overhear them talking about herbs, poisons, antidotes, and such that's why she speculated that Maribelle might have a clue on how to create this antidote when she was still pretending as a maid here in this palace? Well, the princess and Maribelle would usually talk about those things, mainly rare poisons and how to create the antidote which they have read from the books or was taught to them.

Speaking about maids, Alexandra's maid, the one that follows her almost every day and Alexandra would talk about sometimes, they rarely see her nowadays. She probably must be the one suffering the most in this situation. This was worse than the kidnapping incident, the princess went missing for like almost 4 days and they were able to save her along with the other kids immediately afterward. However, it has been 6 days, no signs or clues for her location. They just started the search for her.

Her family is also stressed, what about the other princes that are in the academy? I'm sure they still haven't learned about the palace's situation and what is happening. Everyone is stressed.

I wonder if Miss Diana is okay. I heard from Alexandra that she's also quite close to her personal knight, so the news about the princess going missing and Sir Carlos being stabbed and poisoned must be pretty devastating for her, Amanda thought to herself.

"Please hand me the antidote, we will immediately use this on Sir Carlos. There aren't any sort of instructions on how to use this and when we should use this, right?" Rowan said as he approached Maribelle's direction where the glass bottle which contains the antidote was seen. Maribelle and Lillianna shook their head as a response.

And Rowan nodded his head as he took the bottle of antidote before he turned around and left the room. Maribelle and Amanda followed after her leaving Lillianna behind them. She won't be able to follow after them as she would be heading straight to her cell.

--

Alexandra played with the chains connecting the metal cuffs that were around her ankles. It was cold, like really cold. There was an emotionless look in her face as she stared at the dirty ground where she has been sitting for almost the whole day. How long has it been since I was here? Despite not eating for days as she refused to do so because the food looks like crap and she figured that it might also taste like that, she wasn't hungry at all. Perhaps it was because of her experiences in her previous life where she has to work even with an empty stomach.

Though she didn't have the energy to do anything. She wasn't being tortured but she was suffering in this place. She was being experimented on or something like that. Sometimes she would find herself lying on the floor with her wrist and ankles bound to the ground with some sort of magic, then the same thing happens. It was like they were trying to summon and letting a devil possess her.

The pain that she would feel during that time, the feeling of her mana surging, and going on a rampage inside her was the worse. It was painful but all she can do is scream and curse Mark along with the other person who was helping him.

She heard the sound of footsteps, she figured that Mark came down to mock her again along with that man. She lifted her head and look at the pair that just arrived, standing in front of the metal bars that separated them. She was confined in this some sort of cell for days and she could only get out of it when they would do those things to her.

"Ah, you didn't eat again. If I decided to buy and cook you steak every day, will you eat it?" Mark asked her as he let out a groan in the end.

Alexandra just stared at him for a few seconds before she opened her mouth to speak though she didn't answer his question but rather asked him another one.

"Are you from the Empire of Apollo? Did you have a sister before?"

The question caught Mark off-guarded and he hummed before he responded.

"Yes, why?"

"Did she sell you when you were young?"

"How did you know that?"

Alexandra showed him a sinister grin as she glared at him.

"What a small world. You see, I was also kidnapped by your sister before and almost got sold. However, I was saved along with the other kids that were kidnapped. Then she got executed publicly along with her companions."

No wonder they looked somehow similar. Their thinking and such are almost the same.

"Serves her right. Although she should have her insides taken out and chopped, that kind of punishment, it's not enough! What she did to me isn't equal to the punishment that she has received! I have gone through so much because of her, you should have told your father to do that! Though thanks to her, I was able to meet and serve someone better than her! He's a god, my god. His orders are absolute. I would even travel to the ends of the world just for him! Simply worshipping him is not enough!"

"Ah, you're a psychopath, a creepy bastard, an imbecile, and a fool who doesn't know anything about this world. No wonder she decided to abandon and sell you. I wouldn't be surprised if your current master or boss or whatever you call him will do the same to you."

Alexandra said with the same cold and sinister grin in her face.

"Shut your mouth, you bitch."

Mark glared at her. A cold and angry look in his face.

It seems like his companion sensed the danger and figured what would happen if he just let them be. He decided to open his mouth to speak, dragging Mark away.

"Mark, stop. Let's go back before things become worse."