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Chapter 73
—Clatter.
Prince Alexander put his knife down on the plate.
Seeing that, the attendant and the physician both sighed in relief inside. They had been nervous, worried about when and where that knife might suddenly fly.
Alexander brushed his hands together and asked,
“What did you say?”
The attendant nudged the physician in the ribs. The physician felt wronged, but he had no choice.
He bowed his head low and stepped forward.
“Lady Michaela has passed away.”
“Ha!”
Alexander picked up his fork and knife again. Both attendant and physician flinched and glanced at each other nervously.
Alexander cut a large piece of steak and shoved it into his mouth.
“Who died?”
“……”
Neither of them answered. His words weren’t really a question, more like a bitter mutter to himself.
“Ha, unbelievable.”
He shook his head side to side, then shoved another huge bite into his mouth. Juices dripped from the corner of his lips.
“Yesterday Sophie died, and today Michaela. Who will it be next?”
His eyes gleamed with madness. The physician and attendant held their breath and avoided his gaze.
—Whoosh!
—Thunk.
Alexander suddenly threw the knife in his hand. It shot across the room and stuck into the wall—straight into a fine painting. It was a portrait of himself.
“Could it be me next?”
Alexander licked the inside of his mouth with his tongue.
The two men shrank back in fear. If they provoked him even slightly, their lives could be forfeit.
Alexander snapped at the attendant:
“Hey! Why aren’t you bringing me another knife? Do you expect me to eat with my hands?”
The attendant panicked and bowed deeply, then hurried out of the chamber.
Now only the physician remained, frozen and sweating cold.
Alexander stared at him. Sweat rolled down the man’s back.
“Cause of death?”
Alexander jabbed at the salad with his fork as he asked, making the fork clash harshly against the plate. The clanging rang in the air.
“The cause… requires more investigation… u-ugh—!”
—Whoosh!
Alexander hurled the fork at him. It pierced the wall just three centimeters from the physician’s ear.
“Uhh…”
The physician collapsed to his knees, legs giving out.
“You know I hate pointless words like that, right?”
Alexander’s lips curled upward, but his eyes stayed cold and sharp—as if he might slit the man’s throat any second.
“Speak properly.”
The physician pressed his hands against the floor and bowed his head to the ground.
“Forgive me, Your Highness… forgive me. Lady Michaela died from a curse orb. She was hit directly.”
“Is that so?”
Alexander chuckled. He didn’t look like a man who had lost his bride-to-be, their wedding only a week away. Instead, he seemed entertained.
“Hah, fitting death. She tormented others with curse orbs so much, and now she died by one herself. Sophie died by a curse orb too, thanks to Michaela. I covered that up nicely for her, and she went and died anyway. Serves her right. Serves her right.”
The physician’s body hair stood on end.
‘This… this isn’t human…’
He squeezed his eyes shut, bowing his head low, wishing only that the attendant would return soon so he could escape alive.
“Tch.”
Alexander clicked his tongue in annoyance, then swept all the cutlery off the table with his hand.
—Crash!!
The sharp noise made the physician’s body flinch violently.
“No appetite.”
Alexander threw on a robe carelessly, didn’t spare the man a glance, and walked out of the chamber.
“Goodness…! Physician!”
The attendant returned at that moment with a knife, and froze at the sight.
The physician, legs weak, couldn’t stand on his own. He crouched on the floor and begged,
“Help me up.”
“A-are you alright, Physician?”
The attendant helped him up. The physician leaned heavily against the wall, trembling. The attendant quickly began cleaning the shattered dishes and cutlery.
‘Haa…’
He sighed dozens of times in his heart. Darkness was about to fall. Soon, the imperial palace would reek of blood.
He prayed only that he could survive, while sweeping up the shards.
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone pounded on Tiago’s chamber door. Tiago quickly locked the drawer of magical tools and went to open it.
The moment the door opened, Alexander strode inside.
“Your Highness!”
“Tiago.”
As Tiago closed the door, he studied Alexander.
There was a dangerous gleam in the prince’s eyes.
‘So he heard the news.’
Yet, just as when Sophie had died, there wasn’t a trace of sadness or regret. Instead, he looked disturbingly calm—almost like he was enjoying it.
Alexander sat down on the sofa, spreading his arms wide across the backrest. Tiago sat in the chair opposite him.
Tiago asked,
“Is there something you require?”
Alexander clapped dramatically.
“Ha! That’s why I like you, Tiago. Always saying exactly what I want to hear.”
“You flatter me.”
Tiago replied plainly, shaking his head. Alexander grinned.
“Yes, I need something. I can’t trust anyone else in this palace. Only you, Tiago.”
“……”
Tiago nodded slowly.
“I’m going to use this chance to sweep away all the annoying pests. But I’ll need your help to do it.”
His eyes flashed with madness.
“……”
Tiago said nothing. He understood immediately. Alexander wanted to pin Michaela’s death on one of the noble families that had long been a thorn in his side.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely false. Many of them had indeed been using curse orbs supplied by Tiago. For that, Tiago’s testimony would be vital.
But there was a problem—doing so would put Tiago himself at risk. If it became known he had been supplying curse orb materials, he could be destroyed as well.
Alexander leaned forward with a grin.
“Don’t worry, Tiago. You’ll be safe. You’re not the only mage in this palace, are you?”
“……”
Tiago nodded again.
The meaning was clear. The one to take the fall would not be Tiago, but the Trinity family.
Alexander had long disliked the Trinitys, especially Edward, who had been Michaela’s closest ally. This incident was the perfect chance to crush them.
At first, Alexander had only planned to blame the Trinity family for failing to protect Michaela. But now he had changed his mind.
‘Why stop there? Why not wipe out the Trinity family entirely, for supplying curse orbs?’
It wasn’t a lie. Tiago had provided the raw materials, but Edward had processed them into curse orbs—and supplied them to Michaela.
Tiago said,
“Forging a magical contract will take some time. I’ll start immediately.”
He understood Alexander’s intent without needing further words.
Alexander loved that about him. Few words, but always grasping the point.
—Snap!
He clicked his fingers and laughed loudly.
“That’s why I like you, Tiago! Just be careful. They’ll come for your throat once they realize. Especially Edward, after what Frederic did to him this morning.”
Tiago nodded silently.
Alexander twirled his finger in the air.
“We’ll need another scapegoat besides Trinity.”
“……”
“Oh! I know just the family.”
He snapped his fingers again.
“Tiago, I’ll let you choose. Charlier or Leonard. Which do you hate more?”
“……”
Tiago stayed silent. Alexander burst out laughing.
“Ahahaha! Hahaha! You don’t hate either of them, do you? Alright, I’ll choose.”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“Leonard Marbo. The Marbo family. They’ve made so much money from curse orb trade, and now they’re expanding enough to threaten the throne. Perfect! We’ll link them to Trinity and wipe both out together.”
Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Alexander suddenly changed the subject.
“By the way, Tiago, how’s it going with that girl? Delphine. She looked nice—sweet girl.”
“We’re… doing well enough.”
Tiago felt uncomfortable hearing Delphine’s name in this situation, so he answered as flatly as possible, hoping to move on.
Alexander ran a hand through his hair.
“Don’t give your heart too much to a woman. Or you’ll end up like me.”
For a brief moment, his empty eyes flickered with hidden sorrow. Tiago caught a glimpse of it before it vanished.
“Ahem.”
Alexander cleared his throat and stood.
“I’ve stolen too much of your time. You’ll be busy now—rewriting contracts and spending time with your beloved lady.”
Tiago rose and escorted him to the door. Alexander’s shoulders drooped as he walked away.
