The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

The banquet hall descended into chaos in an instant. Screams echoed from all directions, and tears flowed freely.

It wasn’t just one or two people who had collapsed; everyone seemed to be experiencing convulsions while vomiting blood. 

“Your Majesty, it’s dangerous!” 

The Emperor immediately headed toward the source of the disturbance.

Despite the efforts of the palace guards and knights, he paid no attention and reached the scene. The Emperor approached the lady who had been sobbing moments ago and inquired about the situation. 

“Everyone except me… drank the newly served beverages, and suddenly, they all… ugh.” 

Someone had poisoned the drinks. As soon as the situation was understood, the Emperor gave orders. 

“Close the banquet hall.”

Armed knights appeared and blocked all entrances from the banquet hall to the terrace. 

“Summon all the officials within the imperial palace.”

The courtiers who received the command hurriedly ran off. The uneasy murmurs of the nobles grew louder as they gathered in groups of twos and threes, all looking anxious.

“How could this happen in the imperial palace?”

“I just poured a drink and I almost got into trouble.”

“Could it be poison in the drinks?”

“There must be a reason for poison. Someone must be holding a grudge…”

Baseless speculations poured in, and gradually, voices of blame against the imperial family began to surface.

“I want to leave quickly. Who knows what might happen next?”

“No, we’re the victims here. Why should we be confined?”

As much as it was a banquet held within the palace, the imperial family couldn’t escape the blame.

The incident that occurred during the gathering was entirely the fault of the host.

The best they could hope for was that no one had suffered any harm and that they could find the culprit.

‘Who could do such a thing…?’

To poison the drinks that everyone was consuming showed a reckless disregard for consequences. Or perhaps extreme confidence in not getting caught.

‘Maybe someone did this deliberately to tarnish the reputation of the imperial family.’

Zenox and Laria’s eyes met.

His golden eyes had lost all warmth and were now chilling. Laria didn’t know why he was so angry, so she blinked, and he murmured:

“If only I had brought those drinks instead of the champagne…”

The rest of his sentence went unsaid, but it was easy to imagine.

The image of people collapsing and vomiting blood on the floor came to mind.

‘Could he be reacting this way because I almost drank it?’

It was eerie, but she couldn’t understand why he was reacting so strongly. He must have experienced far more horrific scenes on the battlefield.

Zenox, who had suppressed his anger, gazed down at Laria. It was then that Laria realized why he was so upset.

‘He’s angry because I could have been hurt.’

Not long after, palace officials rushed to the scene. They examined the fallen individuals, checking their condition, and their faces didn’t look good.

The officials gathered for a brief discussion before presenting their findings to the Emperor.

“We apologize for saying this… But we couldn’t determine what kind of poison was used.”

Since everyone had consumed the same poison, their symptoms should have been similar, but each patient had reacted differently. The primary goal now was to identify the poison used to create an antidote.

As the murmuring in the hall grew louder, someone suddenly spoke up.

“It’s a poison made by mixing helmetflower and blue agaric mushroom.”

Amidst the crowd, a calm yet distinct voice spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the voice’s owner.

Semela stood there, holding a glass with the poisoned drink.

One of the officials, with an incredulous tone, asked Semela:

“How can you be so sure without conducting an examination yourself?”

Semela replied in a matter-of-fact manner:

“I can tell just by the smell.”

Before anyone could argue, Semela continued.

“Helmetflower is particularly harmful to wolf clan. Most likely, those who are not in good condition are wolf beastmen.”

“…!”

The officials glanced at the fallen patients with new understanding. All of them were from the wolf clan, as their reactions to the poison had shown.

“Also, when you mix a helmetflower with blue aster mushroom, it creates droplet-like spots.”

Semela’s explanation drew gasps of amazement from the officials. The spots, which they hadn’t noticed earlier, suddenly appeared in their minds.

“In that case, we need an antidote immediately…!”

“When you mix the two, the toxicity changes, so add fireweed to the antidote.”

The officials’ expressions turned grim again after Semela’s additional advice.

“We might not have enough fireweed.”

The imperial palace’s storeroom had a variety of herbs, but fireweed was rarely used, so the supply was limited. There wouldn’t be enough to distribute to everyone.

At that moment, Theodore quietly raised his hand. Once again, all eyes were on Theodore and Semela.

“Um, if it’s fireweed you need, I have some.”

People looked at Theodore with suspicion.

It was unusual for an individual to possess herbs that the palace didn’t have. His possession of rare herbs raised suspision.

A bewildered Theodore quickly explained:

“I operate an herbal shop, and fireweed is imported solely by our family.”

It’s not very popular, so… Theodore added timidly.

With this reasonable explanation, people began to release their doubts.

The Emperor scrutinized Theodore for a moment before asking for his name. Theodore responded with an awkward but respectful smile:

“Theodore Rohan.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened.

“Rohan, you say…?”

The Emperor’s gaze immediately shifted to Laria.

Seeing that Semela and Theodore were Laria’s family members, a satisfied smile crossed his face.

“I, Caesar Frandel, shall not forget this favor.”

The Emperor promptly sent people to the Rohan mansion to fetch fireweed. In the meantime, palace attendants had collected all the remaining fireweed from the storeroom.

Their plan was to administer the antidote first to those in critical condition.

“How long will it take to make the antidote?”

“Even if we hurry, it seems like it will take at least two hours. I’ll do my best.”

The Emperor’s brows furrowed deeply at the doctor’s words.

With some seriously ill patients on hand, every minute and second was precious, but even if they hurried, two hours was quite a long time. However, since they were doing their best, all they could do was wait.

Even after the rain had passed, the banquet hall remained chaotic.

Nobles who had been detained in the banquet hall because the culprit had not been caught yet whispered to each other while observing Count and Countess Rohan.

“They say snake beastmen are skilled in handling poisons. I never knew there were so many types of poisons.”

“I’m a snake beastman too, but I have no idea about these poisons…”

“It turns out the Rohan family runs an herbal medicine business.”

“Whatever the case, we’re lucky.”

“To think they staged this play just to catch the Emperor’s eye? It’s too… coincidental.”

The gazes directed at the Rohan family were divided between those expressing favor and those harboring jealousy.

Hearing all the murmurs, Laria suppressed a bitter laugh inside.

‘What do you mean it was for the Emperor’s attention…?’

She had no intention of entering politics, and even if they offered her power, her family would decline.

“Your Majesty!”

Ishel rushed over from afar, forsaking his usual demeanor as the Crown Prince.

The Emperor’s forehead narrowed even further in response.

Upon confirming the man brought by Ishel, the Emperor’s mouth dropped open, breaking his usual composure.

“Assigning work even on holidays, what in the world…”

Herdin, with a frown on his face, was cursing Ishel with his eyes.

After checking the patients, Herdin realized that the situation was more serious than he had thought, and his attitude quickly became serious.

“A poison mixed with helmetflower and blue agaric mushroom?”

After examining the patients, Herdin glanced at Semela.

“My mother must have taught you how to make an antidote… So the doctors here went to make the antidote?”

“They say it will take two hours at the earliest…”

Herdin laughed at Ishel’s answer.

“Did you go to sleep?”

Then, he immediately left.

Herdin returned with the antidotes in just 10 minutes. His hands were filled with multiple bottles.