RGS Volume 1 Part 26

Serene was a cherished presence in the kitchen. He willingly took on the troublesome task of bringing food to the prince, who had a thorn in the King’s Heart. So it was only natural for her to accept the praise when the record keeper called her separately. She was blunt and had a heavy mouth, but she also had a humble attitude that didn’t even boast.

“Hmm, there’s no progress? Today, let’s try putting all of this medicine in.”

At first, the record keeper handed her the medicine with care. But now, seemingly annoyed, he reached out his hand without even looking at Serene’s face.

“He was almost fully recovered, but because of contact with the prince again, the poison spread. So if he uses this entire bottle, he’ll get better.”

Serene immediately put the bottle she received from the record keeper into the soup she was holding. Since the record keeper always wanted to put medicine in front of her, she also followed the habit. When the dark blue medicine was mixed into the soup, the color changed a bit, but Serene didn’t mind and covered the lid again. Then, she bowed and was about to leave when she suddenly asked a question.

“Is it okay to leave the prince like this?”

The record keeper raised his eyes with a puzzled expression as Serene let out a blunt voice. For her, it was a hesitant question, but to others, it sounded like a casual inquiry.

“I was wondering if you would just let him continue spewing poison like that. The higher-ups, I mean.”

The record keeper smirked, twisting his lips as he looked up at Serene, who had smoothly accepted his lies.

She had said she worked in the kitchen, hadn’t she?

Maybe it would come in handy later.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it soon.”

Serene finally felt relieved and left the record keeper’s room. Then, she hurriedly walked towards Abel’s room, where his injuries were severe. She was pleased with the fact that Abel was separated from the prince. When she was with the prince, she always stuck close to him, unable to even walk properly, but not anymore.

She helped with the meals, changed the bandages on his wounds, and offered words of comfort here and there. In response, Abel would smile and thank her every time. Always making eye contact. Abel was kind. He was so kind that he probably didn’t even know that the prince would kill him with poison.

Now that the prince was not by his side, Abel’s condition would improve. Serene was worried that the devilish prince would cause a commotion by bringing Abel back again. However, she felt relieved knowing that, as the record keeper had said, they wouldn’t just let it go.

Thud.

Passing by the soldiers, he opened the door and entered to find Abel half-opening his mouth, sleeping. Wasn’t he twenty years old? His sleeping figure was childlike, and Serene found herself smiling slightly as she sat down on a chair, waiting for him to wake up.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“What should I do? What should I do…?”

The Queen raised her trembling hand and bit her nails. Blood was flowing from her nails, but she seemed unable to feel the pain as she continued to chew on them. In addition, her constant pacing back and forth in the room made her look anxious.

She had received a rare medicine from the court attendant, so she was supposed to spend about a month rolling around on the bed in a pleasant state, feeling like she was flying in the sky. But the situation had changed. A few days ago, when she finished educating the prince and hurried back, she realized that the medicine was gone.

She panicked and searched her whole body, but the medicine bottle didn’t come out. Did she drop it somewhere? The first thing that came to mind was the prince’s room. After that, the court attendant scolded her for not educating the Prince more, but all she could think about was the medicine bottle.

If she told the court attendant that she had lost it, he would never give her the medicine again. The Queen knew how precious the medicine was to him. So she had to either wait until he gave it to her willingly or find the medicine bottle. A dark fear was slowly engulfing her mind.

He had given her the medicine a few months ago. So, it was uncertain when he would give it again. As a punishment for not properly educating the prince, The Queen received orders not to leave the Queen’s palace for a while. However, she had to go out to find the medicine.

It must be in that devil’s room. Somewhere in there, there’s a paradise that would set her free.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

His throat was dry, waking him up, but the moment he opened his eyes, he felt unusually unwell. Despite the fever still running high in his body from the wound, he felt a chilling heat to the point where his spine tingled. Able, half-opening his eyes, realized that he was not alone in the room as he exhaled hot breath.

Creak.

The sound of a chair being pushed reached Abel’s sight.

“I brought some food to eat.”

“……”

“Even if it’s hard to swallow, you have to eat to get better.”

Serene couldn’t meet Abel’s gaze and soon turned her head. Instead, she busily waved her hand and spread out the cold food on the table. Abel hesitated, thinking he should eat it considering her sincerity.

How long would he fall asleep if he ate that?

What if he doesn’t wake up again?

“Even though it’s cold, would you like some soup first? It’s a light dish, so it should go down easily.”

As Serene suggested, Abel slowly sat up. However, he felt something in his hand. Halfway through sitting up, he lifted the blanket and found a mouse lying in his hand. It wriggled its long tail as if it were asleep. Seeing it, Serene let out a small scream, causing the mouse to suddenly wake up. But strangely, Abel’s hand seemed to please it, and it lay down on his hand again, rubbing its face and back.

“Oh my, a mouse….”

Unable to continue her sentence, Serene smiled faintly as Abel chuckled weakly.

“There are often crazy mice like this.”

The joke seemed to amuse Serene, and she smiled rarely. Abel looked at her and asked softly.

“Do you happen to know any news about the prince?”

She frowned immediately. [T/N: This girl is evil! Ignorance excuses no one!]

“He is doing well. So, Abel, please don’t worry and have the soup.”

She placed the soup bowl in front of Abel. And she forcefully placed a spoon in his empty hand.

“You need to eat it to get better quickly.”

However, Abel could only look down at the soup and couldn’t easily move his hand.

“If it’s difficult, shall I help you eat it?”

“……”

“Come on. You need to eat this to detox… Oops!”

Serene realized her verbal mistake and covered her mouth with her hand. Abel looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Ah, no, I mean….”

Serene blushed in embarrassment, but then, as if determined, she pushed the soup closer to Abel.

“I didn’t mention it for fear of surprising you, but Abel has become addicted to poison. And this soup contains an antidote. The effect only lasts if you continue to consume it, but the effectiveness dropped when you went to see the prince again. Abel may not realize it because you’re kind, but the prince emits a poison that harms those around him…”

[T/N: Girl stop, you’re embarrassing T-T]

“Serene.”

At the calm voice, Serene finally turned to look at Abel. His green eyes were filled with warm light as he looked at her.

“The prince is just an ordinary child.”

“No! The prince is a devil! That’s why the poison…”

“Wait.”

Abel grabbed her arm and calmed her down, giving her a sad smile.

“The medicine in the soup was given to you by the record keeper, right?”

“….”

“I don’t know what he said, but sleeping a lot and feeling unwell definitely has nothing to do with the prince.”

“I can’t believe you.”

As Serene pulled back and lowered her head, Abel bit his lower lip slightly. Then, he gently placed the mouse that was still playing on his hand back on the bed and looked at her again. No matter how small a life it was, he didn’t want to do such a thing to the mouse that trusted him and was by his side. But he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding first.

“I am sick because of this.”

Abel scooped up a spoonful of soup and placed it in front of the mouse. After a moment, the mouse smelled the diluted soup and eagerly licked it all up. Serene furrowed her brows, not knowing what Abel was doing. The rat, having finished eating, started wandering around Abel again, so there was nothing unusual about it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but the soup is supposed to make you feel better, Abel….”

Her words faded and disappeared. Instead, her gaze was drawn to the small rat that suddenly stiffened and fell over. Its body had instantly become rigid. It was clear to anyone that the rat was dead.

Thump.

Serene stopped breathing and stepped back, and Abel quietly opened his mouth.

“The one trying to kill me is the record keeper, the King’s Confidant.”

“B-but….”

“The prince is truly just a child.”

Abel, who had something in mind, took out a small bottle from his pocket and handed it to Serene. It was a part of the black potion that the Queen had dropped.

“Can you confirm if this is the medicine you put in the soup?”

Abel asked, but Serene remained stunned and stood there blankly. Abel persistently waited for her to answer.

“…No. This was… not… Oh! So, does that mean… I’ve been trying to kill you, Abel? Yes?”

Serene stumbled backwards, trembling, and finally hesitated to sit on a chair. Then she continued to mutter to herself, saying it couldn’t be true, but when she looked up, she clearly saw a dead mouse. And he also saw Abel, who was lifting the soup bowl.

“What, what are you doing?! You said it was poison! Why would you drink it…?”

Startled, she stood up again, but Abel had already finished drinking about half of the soup. Then he smiled at her.

“If I don’t get sick, you would misunderstand, Serene.”

Serene stared blankly at Abel’s smiling face, holding her breath.

is he saying right now?

He’s willing to eat it even though he knows he’ll die, just so he won’t be misunderstood?

“I’ll only drink half instead. There are still things I need to do.”

Then, with half-closed eyes, Abel asked Serene for one more favor.

“Please don’t put it in the prince’s food.”