Chapter 16
“What, what have you brought?”
“It’s that one that was summoned this time.”
Elcai, who casually introduced Asil dangling there, instructed to bring a child’s chair next to him and then personally seated her there.
Soon, tableware for one more person was placed on the dining table.
Just as Viante was about to gesture to bring out the alcohol he had prepared in advance, Elcai stopped him.
“There’s a child here, so alcohol is a bit much. Go get some grape juice instead.”
“Yes?”
Viante, genuinely flustered by the disrupted plan, stammered.
“Ah, no, still, it’s a meal together after a long time, so you should at least have some alcohol….”
“Enough, what alcohol. Look at this one whose eggshell hasn’t even dried on its head yet. Do you want to drink in front of a child like this?”
“……Still, it’s alcohol from your son, so please accept at least one glass.”
When he said it like that, he couldn’t just outright refuse.
“Then just a little.”
Elcai reluctantly accepted half a glass of alcohol.
Asil was given grape juice in a mug instead.
‘Why is only Asili getting something different.’
Asili wants to try that too.
Asil, pouting, sniffed toward Elcai’s glass.
Then, she accidentally hit the glass with her tail and dropped it to the floor.
Crash!
“Chiiip!”
“Ugh, this kid.”
Elai, who separated the startled Asil from the glass, clicked his tongue.
Contrary to his gruff tone, the touch checking if there were any injuries was exceedingly gentle.
After confirming there were no injuries, he gestured for the servant who had brought a new glass to withdraw.
“Enough, clear the alcohol.”
“No, Father! It’s a banquet with your son after a long time, so you should have at least one glass!”
“A guy who doesn’t even like alcohol, why do you keep pushing it.”
Elcai’s eyes narrowed as his mood soured.
This damn…… Viante forced a smile.
“Haha, just wanted to have a drink.”
“Then bring mugs instead of glass ones. You too, don’t eat dangerously there.”
“……”
Thus, instead of the elegant glass cups, alcohol was poured into cute bunny mugs and bear mugs respectively.
Elcai, gripping the mug with alcohol tightly to avoid Asil who was sniffing again, opened his mouth toward Viante.
“So, have you thought about it?”
It meant whether he was mentally prepared to hand over the sacred beasts.
Viante answered like the world’s most obedient son.
“Yes. As you said, I plan to hand over the sacred beasts to Edenber tomorrow.”
“What’s gotten into you, listening to me fully.”
“When have I not listened to Father? Haha.”
He laughed soullessly and raised his mug for a toast. It was a toast that had no style at all because the cup was too cute.
It was when Elcai, without much thought, followed his son and raised the mug.
Suddenly, Asil wrinkled her face and blocked her nose.
“Chiiip. Chiiip!” (The smell is weird. Don’t drink it!)
The alcohol smell was far too fatal for a baby sensitive to scents.
Elcai, who moved the mug with grape juice away from Asil, chuckled dryly.
“It’s not weird, it’s alcohol. When you grow up, you’ll know what it tastes like.”
“Hahaha, what a truly cute monster. For the glory of Munlepe!”
Viante, whose foot had been shot, hurriedly raised his glass high and pretended to drink.
The smell is weird, surely he didn’t notice it’s poisoned?
Elcai also brought the glass to his mouth following him, then immediately pulled it away.
It was awkward to gulp it down in front of the child, and moreover, because the cup was too cutely shaped, it didn’t feel like drinking alcohol at all.
In the midst of that, he furrowed his brow.
“It really is weird? The alcohol tastes so bitter it stings the tongue. What on earth is it made of— Cough!”
Suddenly, his esophagus burned like fire, and blood gushed out between his lips.
The startled Asil leaped up.
“Chirp chirp!” (Grandfather!)
“Poison…… in the glass……”
Even in his hazy mind, Elcai dropped Asil’s mug to the floor and lost consciousness.
With the amount of alcohol he had barely drunk, Viante frowned regretfully.
If they were alone, he would have poured the bottle straight into his mouth to finish off his father completely.
“Chiiip! Chiiiip!” (Grandfather! Grandfather!)
However, because there were eyes watching, he had no choice.
“Is there anyone there? Father has collapsed from poison! Hurry and call the physician, hurry!”
Soon, people who heard the shout began flocking into the dining room.
The unconscious Elcai was immediately moved to his room.
* * *
The chief physician thoroughly examined Elcai.
He took the alcohol bottle and glass to check what poison he had drunk.
And with a heavy expression, he dropped his gaze to the floor.
“You should…… prepare your mind.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Edenber, having lost his composure, raised his voice.
He had pushed aside all work and come hurrying upon hearing that Elcai had collapsed.
“It seems he ingested a poison called ‘Angel’s Tear.’
“Angel’s Tear?”
“Yes. It’s named that because even one drop sends you painlessly to see an angel, but because the fatality rate is high, there isn’t really an—”
“Say something that makes sense!”
Viante, who had been squeezing out fake tears while saying ‘Father, Father!’, raised his voice.
“In this world, where is a poison without an antidote!”
“……I’m sorry.”
The chief physician bowed his head deeply, as if he couldn’t continue speaking.
At that, Viante began to wail openly.
“Oh, Father! I should have drunk it first, I! What are the knights doing? Hurry and go catch the one who poisoned it!”
Really like someone who knew nothing, he pounded the bed and burst into false sobs.
Inside, he was grinding his teeth at Asil, thinking ‘I should have disposed of the bottle so they wouldn’t know what poison it was, that damn lizard.’
On the other hand, Edenber silently looked down at Elcai with a bloodless face.
His pale lips and trembling fists clearly revealed how much emotion he was suppressing.
The chief physician, looking at the two with pitying eyes, cautiously opened his mouth.
“There is one way to detoxify it, but…… that is……”
“What is it?”
Edenber, brightening up, looked at him.
Wondering if he was giving false hope for no reason, the chief physician answered with a half-doubting face.
“According to ancient texts, a priest born on the day of the God’s Nativity receives special divine power. It says even a dying person can be saved with a single gesture…… All the saints and saintesses in history were cases like that.”
Only then did Edenber realize what the chief physician was talking about, and his face hardened.
“However, the owner of such special divine power is born once every century. Since a century has passed since the last saintess passed away……”
“There could be a saint or saintess that fits the condition?”
“……Yes.”
The chief physician bowed his head.
It’s nonsense. If such a being existed, the temple would have announced it grandly long ago.
At the unrealistic condition, Edenber felt his facial muscles stiffen.
“No other antidote?”
“……Yes. There isn’t.”
The chief physician answered with a gloomy face.
Right then, the knight who had gone to catch the culprit returned.
“They say they saw a suspicious person in the kitchen area, we’re searching.”
“Divide the personnel in two.”
Edenber, suppressing his surging emotions, clenched his fist tightly. His nails dug into his palm, leaving long scars.
“No matter what means, find a priest born on the day of God’s Nativity.”
“Isn’t it better to focus on catching the culprit rather than wasting personnel on a false lead?”
Viante, who had been tense at the mention of an antidote, interjected.
Edenber cut him off sharply without even looking at him.
“No, finding the priest is the priority.”
“……”
“Minimize the culprit search and find the priest first. Bring them no matter how much it costs.”
And without even hearing the reply, he immediately left the room.
He walked with quick steps like fleeing, then stopped in a deserted corridor. And he shed tears silently.
“Grandfather……”
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By Anna 💓
