By Zephyria 
Dread preceded unease.
Talim had never been this dark and quiet before. Instinctively, I took a careful breath to check for the scent of blood, but there was nothing noticeable.
Moreover, the main gate and entrance looked the same as always.
“Asella.”
A low voice echoed in the interior. No one came out to greet me as I entered through the main gate, even after I called out my name.
Whatever it was, it seemed like a serious problem had occurred.
Before I knew it, Abyss, who had drawn his sword, stood in front of me, guarding the surroundings. Seeing him waiting for orders, I couldn’t help but hesitate.
Should I go deeper inside, or should I go out and call the guards first…?
“Ugh…”
It was then. A low groan suddenly reached my ears. Before I could even recognize where the sound came from, Abyss staggered and collapsed.
“…”
I forgot to breathe as I stared blankly at Abyss, who was sprawled on the floor with his sword in hand. He was sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and looking at me.
His eyes reflected confusion, worry, and a hint of fear.
“Your, Your Highness… Immediately…”
“…”
Abyss, who was desperately reaching out his arm and muttering, closed his eyes. At the same time, his arm, which had been flailing in the air, dropped to the floor. My head was buzzing, and I couldn’t quite understand the situation.
I stared at Abyss’s pale face for a long time before finally regaining my senses and crouching down in front of him. Then, I calmly checked for signs of life one by one.
Fortunately, his body temperature was stable, he was breathing, and his heart was beating well. There were no signs of poisoning or any particular external injuries. If there was an Internal injury, it would have shown on the outside somehow. That meant it wasn’t a physical attack.
As soon as I realized he wasn’t dead, the tension drained out of me, and I collapsed to the floor. My heart was racing like crazy, and my eyelids were trembling so much that I couldn’t see properly.
I tried to calm my churning stomach and regain my composure.
I was so focused on the smell of blood earlier that I didn’t notice the faint scent of medicinal herbs. Was it a type of sleeping herb? But if it was so faint that even I couldn’t easily detect it, they wouldn’t have used a large amount. And yet, Abyss had suddenly fallen asleep like this?
If it was a sleeping herb with unique characteristics, such as a faint scent that didn’t create a thick smoke when burned, I knew a few. Moreover, upon closer inspection, all the windows were closed.
It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty.
I grabbed Abyss’s arms and dragged him outside. Although some sleeping herbs were addictive, being exposed to it once wouldn’t cause any major health problems. Since it wasn’t poisonous, he would soon regain consciousness after breathing in the fresh air.
But no matter how I thought about it, it was strange. Just who the hell would do something like this in Talim? I wondered if they were desperate to die, but then I thought, was there any reason to die in such a complicated and elaborate way?
I went back inside and deliberately made noise as I went upstairs. Whoever did this probably noticed my presence after what happened earlier.
There was no point in sneaking around if I didn’t even know where they were, so I deliberately stomped my feet.
“Asella! Asella! Where are you!”
I shouted loudly as I went upstairs and opened a door without thinking. Inside, there was a pile of Servants who had fallen asleep after inhaling the sleeping herb. Still, just in case, I checked their pulses one by one.
Fortunately, no one was dead. I couldn’t throw all these people outside, so I opened the windows wide. But the windows were too small, and I wasn’t sure if it would ventilate properly.
With no other choice, I summoned my sword and blew away an entire wall.
Kwaaaang! A loud noise erupted as the wall collapsed, and a strong wind blew, ruffling my hair. I finally felt a little relieved.
I hoped that the culprit would run away after hearing this noise. Who knew what they would do if they were cornered? There were so many unconscious people that it would be better to let them escape.
Just then, I heard a strange sound of metal clashing. It wasn’t far away. Without delay, I ran in the direction of the sound.
Garam was fighting two people whose faces were covered. It was hard to tell their gender based on their size or height. Before I could do anything, the assailant jumped out the window without hesitation.
It looked like they were trying to escape, so Garam quickly leaped after them. Just as I was about to shout at him not to chase, he turned his body towards the closet instead of the window.
Then, he held his sword and guarded the surroundings until he met my eyes.
“Your Highness!”
“What’s going on?”
It was as if he was trying to protect someone.
“The Crown Princess is injured.”
“…What? Nadia is here?”
This was unexpected. Garam nodded, trying to catch his breath. He took a step to the side, revealing the closet. Could she be inside?
Just in case, I quietly knocked on the closet door.
“It’s me. I’m going to open the door, so don’t be alarmed.”
After waiting a few seconds, I carefully opened the closet door. Nadia was inside, holding a dagger in her small hand and glaring at me. Her face was stiff, and there were no signs of tears, but her body was trembling violently.
Upon closer inspection, the sleeve of her arm was soaked with blood.
“Someone will be here soon, so just hold on. Give me the knife.”
As I carefully reached out my hand, her breathing became even louder. Nadia handed me the dagger with a trembling hand and said,
“Kyle, I can’t be here.”
“What?”
“I have to go back before someone comes. If it gets out that I was attacked in Talim…”
“Your Highness!”
Before Nadia could finish her sentence, Abyss, who had regained consciousness, rushed in with a pale face. He knelt down and slammed his head on the floor, shouting,
“I’m sorry! I…”
“Stop and get up.”
I understood what Nadia meant, but I didn’t want to send her away like this. It meant that we had to hide this situation after all.
But against my will, I was wrapping Nadia in a blanket.
“The bleeding has stopped, so don’t worry too much. It’s just a slight cut.”
Normally, she would have snapped back that she wasn’t worried, but she was in no state to do so now. I instructed Abyss, who was in relatively better condition, to escort her to Jihad. I told him to use the secret passage in case the escaped assailants were waiting.
At that moment, Garam, who had been guarding the surroundings until the two left, suddenly knelt down on one knee. He was barely managing to stay upright.
“Are you hurt?”
“I was poisoned.”
The situation was so urgent that I hadn’t been able to pay attention to his condition.
“Take off your coat and lie down there. Why are you telling me this now?”
I didn’t know what kind of poison it was, but Talim always had a supply of common antidotes.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry. I…”
“Shut your mouth. That’s an order.”
His breathing seemed to be getting rougher, so I spoke firmly. And I hesitated as I tried to check the wound. There was a wound near his ribs where he had been cut by a poisoned sword. But the problem was that the area around it was festering and melting away as if it had been corroded. The flesh around the wound had also turned a dark green color due to the poison.
I was speechless as I watched the thick, blue veins bulge and writhe rapidly.
“…”
As soon as I saw the symptoms, I knew what this poison was. There was no way I couldn’t know.
I was unable to speak, overwhelmed by the sudden situation, when Garam muttered with difficulty.
“I couldn’t identify the culprit, but they are likely someone who works for the Imperial Family or someone of high status. There was a sense of discipline in the way they handled the sword and their posture. They seem to have infiltrated Talim without arousing any suspicion. Their individual strength wasn’t great, but I thought it wouldn’t do for the Crown Princess to be harmed in Talim, so I was careless…”
His voice was gradually losing strength. Even though I had roughly grasped the situation, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t even tell him to stop talking and save his strength, or ask if I should get the antidote or if he had any other injuries…
“Your Highness.”
Garam spoke again, looking at me, who was staring blankly with my mouth agape. He moved his lips, which were turning purple, for a long time before saying quietly,
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I will repay my disloyalty tenfold in the next life.”
“…”
My heart was filled with questions as I watched the light fading from his eyes.
Why did this happen? The same thing happened again. What went wrong? Where did it start? Why did this happen? So suddenly?
There were so many things I wanted to ask Garam. The words I wanted to say and the resentment filled my throat. I clearly told him not to die without my permission.
But I swallowed all of those things in the end, somehow. In order not to make the same mistake as with Jia, I calmly said, thinking as hard as I could,
“I will take care of your mother, so don’t worry.”
Garam’s eyes widened at my words. He must have been in a lot of pain, but he smiled more brightly than ever and muttered,
“Thank you.”
“Later…”
Before I could even finish saying “Let’s meet again,” Garam passed away without even closing his eyes.