He would have never even thought about it all his life otherwise, but as death came close to knocking at his door, the king was not in his right mind. Even if he was in his right mind, he wasn’t able to act properly according to it. That’s why he wasn’t able to command Etude. The time had finally come.

“And I’m sure there will be those who will use the news of the king’s ill health against him.”

Lu Havre commanded. He said it in a serious tone.

“The palace, castle, capital, and of course the palace residents, make sure you watch all of them closely.”

“Yes, Nante. That is our duty, and we will make sure to uphold your command.”

Karbala said this as he retreated. Lu Havre soon sat at his desk. He lifted up his pen and went to write something on a piece of paper. Like him, he had no resistance in writing down his thoughts.

He knew the 1st prince well. It was easy to decipher him merely by seeing his fake laugh. With his personality, he would easily abandon the seat of king to be able to use Etude for his own purposes. But even as the throne remained empty, the war was not ending, and so he was probably feeling immensely frustrated at the moment. The king had started the war because of his own greed so he probably wanted to see its end with his own eyes. If that was the case, the two of them were most likely allied with each other. But now, the king was ill and unconscious.

Now, their alliance would surface. Lu Havre smiled ambiguously as he wrote down something. It was time to call Trua.

***

The king created a sense of danger as he looked down on his son scoldingly.

//”Prince. You should first learn your manners.”//

The first thing he had heard from him since birth were these words. It was when he had first been weened.

But I am different from you. I knew that starting from the first time I bowed in greeting. So who was I supposed to sincerely lean my head upon? I was the only son of the original queen and the oldest of the siblings. I was born with the intention to become the heir to the throne.

//”Do you think there is more gain from this war? Prince.”//

He probably wanted to ask this person who he thought he was. Uttering such unsophisticated words without tact, it was easy to figure him out as he grew older.

But your highness. How could I not know what you earned from this war. Something that even you know.

But through this war, it became difficult for the northern parts of the country to find a chance to breath. Who is going to take responsibility for that and give the civilians a path to their survival. Destroying it may only take a moment but rebuilding it will take several years, and just thinking about that made his mind buzz with frustration. I will have to be the one to bear that burden.

That wasn’t all. He wanted to ask him what he had ever done for any of us that he hoped to gain anything from his newly appointed reign. Does he think that the son would not know of his mother’s loneliness. He seated my mother as queen then went off to war to bring mercenaries as concubines. And as if that wasn’t enough, because of his useless greed, he went and started a war with a fabricated cause.

This fabricated cause was so thin that each of us who had seen you as we grew up were easily able to figure out what was happening. They said that the king’s envoy was murdered on the way to Skara, but if anyone found out that it was their own army who plotted this, no one would be able to rest in peace. Of course, knowing that the country was destined to have a little of the dragon’s blood within it, he could have used that as an excuse to desire more.

But this was enough for my younger self to realize something.

He realized that unless the true Nante rose to the throne, anyone else who sought it would be met with death. It could be interpreted as the influence of Etude’s power who only protected the king and the throne of the true Nante, but in reality it was just the cruel nature of the this royal family. This was the root. Etude was only the branches. This was an obvious result. All Nante’s found out Etude’s will while walking through their path of life.

For them, unless their owners commanded it, they will not act upon it.

There will come a time when I can use this well. This country’s owner will definitely be Nante. So how could the son not know that the father was lacking even if he was guarded by his underlings? You crave women too much. Even wanting to see the end of the war with your two eyes was a problem.

I am already thirty. But still the throne is still so far away. Every time I see you with the crown on your head, I become depressed with the heaviness it instills on me. It makes me wonder whether you are even thinking about handing over your crown to the next heir or not,

//”Prince. Do you not think that your judgement was correct?.”//

Bearing down on me with the name of Nante, there was no way you would understand. He whispered this as he headed back out to war. Prince, you will soon follow me and go there also.

I’ve already lived thirty years under you. How much more do I have to wait. I’ve bowed down to you all this time and tried to help you as much as I can while smiling in front of you. I’ve done everything you asked and made relationships with those families that would help us. But no more.

Because you have contracted a disease. How your healthy strong facade breaks so easily in an instant. This was your punishment for bringing in concubine after concubine instead of caring for your queen. You oppressed your children while you rolled around with a different woman each night. Even as he thought it was pathetic, he worried, and as a son, he sent over the most expensive medications.

Then, when I found out about the medicine you were taking through my loyal servant, I realized that my time had come.

“Your highness.”

Bergen opened his eyes.

There was a servant who had been with them a long time. When his master nodded his head, the servant spoke.

“It was the same as your highness had said it would be.”

“….”

“The palace doctors find it difficult to differentiate between aslan and adlan.”

Aslan and adlan were very similar medicines. Both were tasteless, colorless, and had a whitish tint to it. They both smelled the same same. However, there was one significant difference. Aslan was great at reducing pain but adlan was exponentially more potent. And as a result, it was highly addictive.

The servant took out two empty medicine packets from his pocket.

“Aslan’s daily dosage is this much, while adlan is ten times smaller.”

“And.”

The servant took out the bigger prescription packet.

“I decreased aslan by this much, and added the same amount of adlan.”

Bergen smiled widely.

There were already four types of drugs the king was using. Nabuiol, kesna, aslan, adlan. He may very be using more now. It looked like the palace doctors were getting a headache trying to keep up with it all.

The king had never been sick his entire life, but death must have been a scary thing for him. Sometimes he would spend the night with his eyes wide open, and other times, he would be asleep all day as if he was dead to the world. Such days continued. Headaches and fevers, and the symptoms like his rashes didn’t look like it would be going away anytime soon. The medicine decreased his pain but it did not help cure the cause of his illness. It didn’t seem like he would die, but it would be hard to stay in his right mind. Maybe that was the reason but what he said in his fractured state was this.

That all the princes must be sent out to war.

Even after giving him all the best medicines and kneeling beside his bed, even after, as appropriate for the first prince, telling him that he was worried for his father’s health, and hoped for his well being. For the first few times, those who were caring for the king were in awe of him. But that was more than the king deserved. Because he had never received such effort from his father. But he did it anyways. Although more often than not, the king was asleep, he hoped that in the times he was awake, he would tell him something.

It was not a frivolous hope for the crown. It was an obvious progression for the 1st in line for the throne.

But the words he heard instead.

Even in this state, you refuse to choose an heir. You still cannot rid yourself of your vain dreams. You still think that your servants will continuing bowing down to you as king. If this wasn’t what you were thinking, how could you utter those words to me.

Why do I have to wait any longer? If a loyal son is not enough for you, then I will take my place on the throne myself.

‘Brother.’

The second brother was never good at hiding his emotions. It was easy to excite him. His sister was the same.

‘The end of the war is nowhere in sight.’

‘I will be thirty next year.’

He said this contemplatively and the second brother responded right away.

‘Brother. Father says that he will send the youngest to war also.’

His sister reacted the same way.

‘No!’

While hugging her youngest brother, Theresa yelled in horror.

‘Even the third prince didn’t even go to the main battlefield.’

‘Will you be going again, brother?’

‘Don’t go. Please….’

‘I will not allow it.’

‘…I heard that father was taking a strong drugs.’

He casually put the subject out in the open. With a serious expression, Bergen looked at his sister, hiding his smile and nodding his head.

As the owner had commanded and as he had told himself to not look beyond what was required of him, he couldn’t help thinking that it might be for the best this way. If he became king, he could give more attention to those things and be careful so it wasn’t really a defect. They said that Etude’s power was directly dependent on the skill of its owner.

With the king ill, guarding Etude was not as special a task as it was before. Etude would only stay beside the king and watch the symptoms of the illness with them. The doctors would check the records, observe his progression, and look over the medication but they would not check the contents of the drugs he was taking one by one each time. Even if any of the doctors suspected him of messing with the medication, he could make them say that they had all decided on that unanimously.

Of course, the palace doctors were not able to avoid censure. If the king was to die, they would be the ones to take responsibility for it.

But it was different for him. If the king was to die soon, he could take his place and quietly bury the situation.

So right now was the perfect time. Bergen did not hide the smile creeping onto his face.

***

Do you think I didn’t know your intention?

“Karbala.”

“Yes. Nante.”

“You will keep this a secret.”

There was no reason for the king to maintain his conventions. Even if he was to come back to his senses, there was no way he could read Etude and make a sound judgement about it. Even if he could, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t act on any of it and all he could do was stutter a few words. Even upon realizing that it was his own children who were chipping away at his body. That was a justified end for him.

Karbala, who knew the king’s state the best, said nothing and bowed his head.

The next day, Lu Havre met his main healer. They had a lot of hardships during the war and so it was right to celebrate, but since the king is ill, they decided to just have a simple dinner together. Of course. Lynch agreed.

“Your highness. I hope you have been well. It has been a long time since I’ve seen you last.”

It was a respectful greeting. Lu Havre asked him how he had been doing as they started a casual conversation. Their meal continued in a relaxed manner. It was about the end of their time together when he said.

“Lynch, take this. This is my reward to you.”

I guess such good things can happen to me. Lynch received it gratefully. It had to be something worthy of his gratitude.

But when Lynch returned hope and looked at it, he regretted it immediately. Then he thought to himself. I must have no choice but to be swept away by the waves of fate.

Even after all these years of having his name known at the medical center, he had never held the amount of jewels he held in his hand now. But none of that came into view because of the note at the bottom of the box.

The king was already taking it. All you have to do is put more adlan in it. For the first time, Lynch doubted his skills. But after blinking his eyes several times, the words on the page did not change. There was a reason the drugs were noted as strong. Even without it, the news that the king was seriously ill was already rapidly spreading. Who would have know that the king would face such a situation. His hands were shaking so badly, nothing else came into view. It looked like it had something to do with Etude but at this point, Lynch couldn’t worry about Etude’s surveillance skills.

There was something much more important than that.

That he would be the one to poison this country’s king. He didn’t care to know the specifics of the royal family, but if the king was to find out that the person strangling him was a civilian, what would he think. Even if the prince becomes king, he would not be able to avoid punishment. It was customary for those serving the king to be held responsible for the king’s death.

But the person to become king would be the true Nante so maybe he wouldn’t do that. Everyone would kneel down before him, and no one would know about what happened. Even if Etude found out, nothing could be done. There would only be one owner of this land.

And he would be his master also.

Oh, Malino. My lovely Malino, my Lieh.

If I was to die, the king would surely protect my lovely family. Still, even without a promise, he believed it. Maybe it was a promise that they had already made.

So, trusting only that hope, Lynch opened up the package that he held tightly in his hand. The powder that was left fell. He swept up the rest of the medicine on top of his desk and made a small pile.

That which would go into the king’s mouth.

Lynch thought to himself how intelligent his master was as his hands trembled. At this moment, Karbala and the first guard will both be at the bedside of the king in the palace. The other five will be each of the other family members.The 2nd guard will be outside the palace, the third will be outside the capital. And so, in the middle of the night, with nothing but the moonlight to shine my way, there won’t be a single guard to find me.

It could not have been a better time. At some point, or to be more exact, just a few days ago, the doctors left the medical center once it became dark. Lynch knew the reason for that. They knew that their life no longer depended on the current king. Also that whatever path they chose, it will be difficult to avoid punishment. As a result, the number of guards who protected the medical center decreased. It was safe to say that they were practically all gone. Because Lynch had done so many different jobs in his youth, his body was well built and it was easy for him to jump the medical center wall. He hadn’t worked long here but he knew that there was a window that was open on the 1st floor that workers left open to get some fresh air. Actually, he found out just before today. He also knew that if he couldn’t jump the wall, he could persuade a guard to let him enter. And finally that his owner would tie up any loose ends.

But this drug, something that might be a poison, was meant to go to the king.

Lynch closed his eyes tightly. He had never prayed to a god or even Monvixo but he did it now. Please, save Malino and Lieh.

***

Del Monte II’s funeral was held solemnly. At the same time, devastating rumors started to circle around the palace. The rumor that the king’s death was due to being poisoned. Even with the rumor floating about, the coronation still continued. When the truth came out, the three princes and four princesses died that day and Del Monte III was crowned. Anyone who could be suspected of having anything to do with the poisoning of the king was punished. They were all imprisoned or killed.

But because there was not enough evidence, it was hard to figure out the extent of the crime, even with the king looking personally into it. There was only one person. There was only one person who could be erased off the suspect list entirely.

There were many who knew his name but he hid himself and his family so that it was impossible to track him down. Later, his family was entirely erased from history itself.

But the name that was passed down was Lynch Trua. Historically, he was Monterobis’s healer of the unprecedented prince.