DFBE 12

Chapter 12

A Deadly Poison?

“An extreme poison?”

Then does that mean Bartholomew’s emergency medicine was actually poison?

Lucy looked at Cecil with curiosity, and he spoke again.

“It used to be used as a painkiller long ago. But once its strong toxicity was discovered, it fell out of use.”

Cecil examined the medicine bottle as he continued.

“It’s called a deadly poison because continued use without knowing this would eventually cost someone their life.”

Cecil found it strange that Lucy possessed such a dangerous drug.

“Have you taken this before?”

If she had been suffering unbearable pain, perhaps she might have resorted to it.

Lucy shook her head.

Then again, there was no way Cecil—who checked on her condition every day—would fail to notice if she had been in agony.

“It’s also difficult to obtain these days. Who exactly gave this to you?”

A deep crease formed between Cecil’s brows.

“The person who gave you this likely intended to harm you.”

His voice became even more serious.

“This is not something that can simply be overlooked.”

Seeing how firm Cecil was, Lucy became flustered.

After all, it had originally been Bartholomew’s medicine bottle.

So someone tricked Bartholomew into taking poison?

Lucy quickly shook her head and reached for the bottle.

But Cecil pulled the hand holding it away from her.

“It’s dangerous. I’ll dispose of it myself.”

He tucked the medicine bottle into his robe.

“Please tell me who gave this to you.”

This was not a matter to ignore lightly.

Harming a member of the imperial family was a grave crime.

If an unsuspecting Lucy had taken the drug, she might have lost her life without ever knowing why.

Faced with Cecil’s questioning, Lucy blinked slowly.

Is he… worried about me right now?

Her eyes sparkled with expectation as she looked at him.

Even without her saying it aloud, Cecil could easily guess what she was thinking.

He gave a small cough.

“I merely cannot stand by as a healer while a deadly poison is circulated as medicine.”

Though he deliberately spoke in an even colder tone, Lucy paid it no mind.

Come on, he’s definitely worried about me, isn’t he?

It sounds like he’s going to track down whoever gave me this and make them pay.

The item I found for him before must’ve been really important to Cecil.

Perfect.

This was her chance to raise his affection level even more.

Remembering how his affection had risen when she smiled earlier, Lucy smiled again.

However, her scheming smile backfired completely.

Ding!

[Affection Level Change Detected!]

[Cecil’s affection level has decreased.]

[Affection: ?? → Affection: ??]

Huh?

This time it went down?

Lucy was dumbfounded.

Cecil truly was impossible to understand.

* * *

The next morning, a visitor came to see Lucy bright and early.

It was Bartholomew.

In an anxious voice, he asked her,

“Have you perhaps seen my medicine bottle?”

As expected, he was searching for the bottle he had lost in the library.

Lucy had actually been planning to visit him herself, but she hadn’t expected him to come first.

He really had been relying heavily on that medicine.

Without even knowing it was poison.

Lucy led Bartholomew to the sofa, sitting across from him.

“Lord Bartholomew, how long have you been taking that medicine?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because that medicine is a deadly poison.”

Lucy answered firmly.

“It relieves pain, but its toxicity is severe enough to threaten your life.”

Bartholomew’s eyes widened slightly.

“You thought it was medicine, but in reality, it was no different from poison.”

Watching him carefully, Lucy asked cautiously,

“Who gave you that medicine? Whoever handed it to you likely intended to harm you.”

“……”

“Could it be that your body ended up like this because of that medicine…?”

“That is not the case.”

Bartholomew cut her off.

He fell into thought for a moment.

Then he crooked the corner of his lips.

“A deadly poison, huh.”

Murmuring to himself, he lifted his gaze to Lucy.

His blue eyes had darkened.

“How did you find that out?”

Lucy explained that she had learned it through her personal healer, Cecil.

“Your personal healer… you mean that white-haired healer?”

Lucy’s eyes widened.

“You know Cecil?”

Bartholomew replied that he only knew of him by face.

“What happened to the medicine?”

“Cecil said it was dangerous and took it away.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to see him to get it back.”

“You’re not planning to take it again, are you?”

Lucy asked with disbelief.

“I’m not foolish enough to keep taking it after learning it’s poison.”

Bartholomew rose from his seat.

“I owe you a great debt, Princess.”

Lucy was about to wave her hands and insist it wasn’t a big deal when—

“I shall become your dance partner at the imperial banquet.”

“What? Really?!”

The unexpected words made Lucy’s face brighten instantly.

She jumped to her feet.

“Thank you, Lord Bartholomew!”

She clasped both hands together and looked at him with an emotional expression.

Bartholomew merely stared at the delighted Lucy with a stiff face.

* * *

Bartholomew headed straight to see Cecil.

Cecil looked puzzled upon seeing him.

Since Bartholomew was treated in the special care ward, there was usually no reason for them to meet.

Well… there was one time.

On the day Lucy collapsed in the rain, Bartholomew had shown concern for her and spoken to him.

“I heard you took the deadly poison from the Princess.”

Cecil’s brows narrowed.

“Was it you who gave it to Her Highness?”

At the hostility in his voice, Bartholomew let out a short laugh.

“As if. That medicine belongs to me.”

Cecil’s eyes widened slightly.

“What were you thinking, carrying around a deadly poison? Don’t tell me you’ve already taken it?”

Instead of answering, Bartholomew simply held out his hand.

“It’s originally mine, so return it.”

Cecil hesitated briefly.

Since he was not Bartholomew’s personal healer, he didn’t know how far he should interfere.

If I dig too deeply into this, I may get dragged into troublesome matters.

Thinking that, Cecil retrieved the bottle and handed it over.

Without realizing that he was acting very differently from how he had when Lucy possessed it.

“You must neither take that medicine nor give it to anyone else.”

At Cecil’s warning, Bartholomew casually nodded and accepted the bottle.

He tucked it back into his clothes and returned to his room.

Unlike his expressionless face, his thoughts were in complete turmoil.

He felt betrayed and hollow.

Soon, anger welled up inside him.

The Duke Faraday had personally given him this medicine, claiming it was specially made for him.

So he gave me poison while pretending it was treatment.

And yet, the medicine had worked.

When he had been wracked with unbearable pain and the medicine eased it, he had even felt grateful to the duke for a brief moment.

How pathetic.

Bartholomew felt disgusted with himself.

What had he expected from Duke Faraday?

He had clung to the very person who pushed him toward death as though that person were a lifeline.

There truly was no fool greater than him.

Now that he realized the truth, everything revolted him.

Even without going this far, I would have disappeared eventually anyway.

Clearly, the duke had prepared this poison in case Bartholomew failed to do so himself.

At this point, Bartholomew no longer wished to endure silently.

He wanted to see Duke Faraday—who had looked down on him—end up troubled because of him.

And so, Bartholomew decided to grant Lucy’s request.

Duke Faraday had forbidden Bartholomew from appearing at official events.

Bartholomew had obeyed without resistance.

Since childhood, he had been told endlessly that this was how things must be, so he had never even considered rebellion and simply lived in submission.

Bartholomew pulled the medicine bottle from his pocket.

After staring at it for a long while, he hid it deep inside his luggage.