Chronicles of the Forbidden Jewels

The crescent moon and stars lit up the night sky like jewels. A cold breeze sent shivers down my spine as I stood on the balcony of my room, a glass of wine poised delicately between my fingers.

The issue I've been grappling with for the past two months has resurfaced: the tossing and turning in bed, the awakening from nightmarish visions of a war where I meet defeat.

And it’s all because of the same person.

At first, my inner distress was derived from witnessing the downfall of my people compounded by the added guilt of the Eurhyian king's spilled blood on my hands.

However, we eventually resolved our differences and achieved mutual forgiveness. Now, Thyra's departure has left a void, making me feel as if I've lost everything.

I'm aware that her return home was to help her brother, yet it also provided an excuse to avoid seeing me with someone else. While it was comforting to know the Grand Duke showed no romantic interest in her, I couldn't help but feel a touch of jealousy seeing them enjoy each other's company during the banquet dance.

Neither of us has the right to feel jealous of each other's situations. I married Kathrynne out of necessity. Similarly, Thyra chose to walk away to protect us from further harm and to mitigate the potential consequences. She sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of preserving our reputations. If we had encountered each other prior to my engagement with Kathrynne, would things have unfolded differently?

Don’t we deserve to be happy?

If only I could stop dwelling on these thoughts and let my mind rest, perhaps I could finally get some quality sleep. No matter how much I try to distract myself, I can't help but wonder about Thyra's well-being now that she's returned home. I fear that she may encounter harm from those who unjustly see her as a monster. It's disheartening to think that there are ungrateful individuals who fail to recognize her contributions. Were it not for her actions, Eurhyia would now be integrated into the Ruivenfiere Empire.

But I suppose, none of these matters now. There’s no point thinking about someone who just left. Perhaps one day, we will both have our time.

And it’s certainly far from now.

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The heaviness of my eyes and the overwhelming sleepiness makes me feel like I could pass out at any moment. The morning sun bathed the empire in a warm glow, contrasting to my mood where my problems are clouding my judgment deep within me. If I only don’t have much responsibilities to deal with, I will seize the opportunity to go back to bed.

But there’s the unfortunate reality is that there are no guarantees of a restful sleep, as I often find myself waking up from unsettling nightmares. It leaves me feeling as though a peaceful night's rest is a luxury I cannot afford.

“Your Highness? Are you listening to me?” Kathrynne’s expression was calm and collected, her gloved hands clasped over her lower abdomen. How long have I been spacing out?

I ran through my face with my hand and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, my mind was … somewhere else. I didn’t get enough sleep recently. We can, however, focus on our walk,” I assured, even though deep down, I want to leave this task to someone else. I understand that she’s not familiar with the palace yet, but someone else could’ve walked with her.

I’m aware that she’s doing this on purpose – her main reason wasn’t to look around the palace, but rather to show her face to the people living here. That was a smart move, and the Kathrynne I know from eight years ago would do the same. She’s fond of attention, but what made it strange is, at times she gets self-conscious and overwhelmed when people’s eyes are on her. It’s something that isn’t adding up again. Maybe she became a little shy since she didn’t show up in any event for eight years?

It reminds me of the Mimosa Pudica plant I saw when I visited the Phirean kingdom which is a tropical country – it’s the kind of plant that is widely opened, but folds when it gets touched.

"Since you're struggling with sleeping, how about drinking tea before bedtime?” Kathrynne offered.

Having learned about poisons from Thyra, it raises concerns about Kathrynne's intentions. Given our strained relationship and my tendency to ignore her, she might add something to my tea. While I understand her potential resentment towards me, and I deserve it because I’m not even acting as her husband.

“No, but I appreciate the offer. Forgive my rudeness, but I have to excuse myself for now. We’ll continue our walk tomorrow. The empress invited me to eat lunch together, but she strictly said that it should be the two of us alone,” Kathrynne forced a smile, yet disappointment can be seen in her eyes. I don’t want her to feel bad, and I wasn’t lying about my excuse either. The difference is, I could still spare around half an hour, and yet I chose not to.

“I understand. If that pleases you, then you may go. You don’t have to ask my permission to leave. Well then,” Kathrynne gulped at my final words; her hands clenched beside her.

I'm aware that I crossed the line, but isn't she the one who started it? I may not have solid evidence yet, but I can't ignore the feeling that something's off about her. I can't think of any other reason aside from her inconsistent personality, and if there's anything I regret, it's not about giving her bad treatment – but my foolish decision of marrying her.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

The sun was at its peak when I arrived in the dining room of the southern palace where the empress resides. She was already waiting at the center of the dining table, and I sat beside her. Her hands were resting on her lap, but I couldn't help but notice that she was scratching one of her forearms – and it’s beginning to have minor rashes.

“Your Imperial Majesty, you’ve been scratching your forearm for a while now. Should we have it checked? You have rashes,” she rubbed her forearm for the last time and placed both of her hands on her lap, and the servants started serving the food on the table.

“It's fine. Don't let this bother you. I'll do as you advised once we're done here." One of the things that I appreciate about her is trusting my judgment. At times my decisions aren't good, but she's letting me learn from it as long as it's something that won't lead to serious harm especially if it affects the empire.

As she attempted to cut the meat, but the empress appeared to struggle with it. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and I can see that she’s on the verge of shouting.

“What’s the meaning of this? How can the meat be tough as a leather boot?”

When I glanced at her plate, I figured she was cutting the meat with a spoon instead of a knife.

“Your Majesty, you're cutting it with a spoon. You should cut it with a knife, like this," I cut the meat into pieces to help her, and I gazed at her with disbelief. How can she not notice that? Since when did it become hard to see a spoon as a knife?

She consumed her meal in silence, but her unusual reactions caused me to worry. Am I overthinking the situation? Perhaps it's time to let go of this habit of mine and stop overanalyzing every detail.

Meanwhile, the empress coughed and vomited on the other side of her seat, and the servants ran to assist her.

“You … insolent fools! How can the food taste metallic?! Do you want me to have you all burned so that you’ll learn your lesson? How dare you people try to poison me?!” she complained, and without warning, she suddenly stood up and lost consciousness, her body about to drop to the floor.

Thankfully, I swiftly moved to catch her in my arms, preventing her from falling.

“The empress needs medical assistance! Stop staring at us and move! I’ll bring her to her room!” the servants ran to call for help, and I carried the unconscious empress while gaining my balance to stand up and transported her into her room. I laid her on her bed and held her hand, clueless about what to do.

It's puzzling that the food, if poisoned, had no effect on me. Besides, the food is typically tested before serving, making it unlikely for anyone to have tampered with it. My mother’s sudden change in behavior, from irritability to hiding her rashes and insisting she is fine, is concerning and out of character. Something feels off, and it's important to delve deeper into these discrepancies to uncover the truth.

Three physicians came to check on her. I wanted to ask them questions, but I decided to keep silent to let them focus. Cold sweat started dripping down my neck, and my breathing gets harder as each minute passes.

I squeezed my eyes shut and stepped out of the room, leaning my back against the wall. Is there anyone to blame? Her body wouldn't deteriorate that fast. The last time I saw her was on the second day of my wedding which was about a week ago, and she was in perfect health. Could it be that someone intruded, and did something like this?

If it's true that she's poisoned, it won't have a delayed effect that will take a week, can't it? It's been a while since the guests left … and that can mean that the one who did this to her is inside the palace.

I stayed outside her room for hours, waiting for them to finish the evaluation. Ruford came to check on me, waiting for my orders. But no words came out of my mouth – I can’t even think straight. Ruford knows that in this kind of situation, he should suggest for me to get some rest but he already knows that I’ll refuse.

As one of the physicians emerged from the room, I quickly rose from the floor, eager to hear what he had to say. However, his avoidance of eye contact and the audible sigh he let out sent a chill down my spine. His reaction alone conveyed a sense of foreboding, and deep down, I knew that I would not receive favorable news. The weight of anticipation hung heavy in the air as I braced myself for the unsettling revelation to come.

“Y-Your Highness, Her Majesty’s case is far from normal. When she woke up, she had shortness of breath, tremors, muscle p –”

I grabbed the physician’s collar and pushed him against the wall with all my strength. “Go straight to the point. What caused all of those?”

“We believe that she had organic mercury poisoning, and if this worsens, this may result in organ failure. She complained about the metallic taste of food because she probably inhaled certain amounts of mercury without her knowing,” I felt a lump in my throat as I let go of the physician’s collar and I started to feel like I’m being choked, making it difficult to breathe.

Mercury? How on earth can that be in the palace? She’s not stepping out of the palace, and that narrows down to the scheme that it was brought here for her to consume.

“Ruford,” I called, holding myself back from shouting. Ruford knelt on one of his knees in front of me. "Imprison all the servants who are serving the empress in the southern palace. Other servants in Hervouet’s palace, my palace, and the main palace would be locked in the grand hall. Don’t let any of them escape, so block all the gates and close the palace’s bridges. Whoever dares to escape will be executed without question,” Fury roared in my mind, and I can feel my chest burning. And yet, I have to do my best to be calm and get things together to come up with reasonable decisions.

“Lastly, bring Hervouet to me, and lock the crown princess in her room. Don’t let her out even if she begs for it. Put guards inside and outside her room. No kind of suspicious movement will be tolerated. At this point, only my orders will be followed and no one else’s. Any Izavene servant who’ll dare to use their powers will be executed as well. Now go.”

For the first time, I felt no doubts about my decisions. It feels like my first order as an emperor now that the empress isn't capable, even if I’m only acting as her proxy.

Mother, I’ll make all the traitors pay using your way.