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Chapter 16
Eshi, as usual, was the last to remain behind, finishing all the dirty work before heading back to her quarters.
But then—Grace was standing there, smiling and waving at her.
“Grace?”
It was the first time she had seen her since being driven away by Rivanu’s order, after daring to go meet him first.
Startled, Eshi hastily set down the basket she was carrying and rushed over.
“What happened?”
“Mmm, I came just to see you, Eshi.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Are you done with work?”
“Of course. Grace, I’m so happy you came.”
Eshi looked genuinely delighted.
Grace, however, knew the truth. Rivanu had given the order, the head maid was already shadowed, and Grace had seen that very head maid pass along medicine to one of the maids under her.
That meant Eshi would soon be in danger.
And Grace couldn’t allow that.
Grino had called it a paralytic poison, but judging from his expression, there was no way it was just that.
Grace’s years as one of his experimental subjects told her otherwise.
It might have some paralytic effect, yes—but it was far more than that.
He probably wanted to test the effects of his new poison…
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Soon enough, that maid would pretend to be innocent and approach Eshi.
Better poison than abduction, Grace thought.
At least thanks to Grino, she had built up resistance to most toxins.
If it was something he made himself, she had almost certainly tasted it before.
Grace quickly finished her calculations and decided she would drink the poison in Eshi’s place. Sticking close to her, she walked at her side.
“I’ll take you back to your quarters.”
“Eh? It’s fine…”
“You need rest too. And honestly, I just want to be with you a little longer.”
Eshi looked flustered, but she didn’t dislike the idea—she didn’t push Grace away.
“Grace… me too. But aren’t you tired?”
Her voice rose half a tone; her excitement was obvious.
And then, just as Grace had expected, the maid appeared—holding a bottle of milk.
So that was where she put the poison. Grace’s eyes gleamed.
“Eshi. Been a while, hasn’t it?”
The maid approached Eshi, greeting her as if they were familiar.
Eshi looked caught off guard—they clearly weren’t close—but she forced an awkward smile and accepted the greeting.
“Y-yeah, it has.”
“You work so hard, staying this late again.”
“…Thanks.”
“Did you eat dinner?”
“…I’ll just grab something at the quarters.”
“Why don’t you have this with your meal?”
As if waiting for her cue, the maid held out the milk. Eshi, startled, reflexively accepted it.
“She’s being nice to me,” Eshi thought, “so I should respond.”
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
With a bright smile, the maid walked past her. Eshi stared blankly at the bottle in her hands, then turned to Grace with excitement.
“Just like you said—someone’s finally starting to see me for myself.”
Her face was so full of joy that Grace couldn’t bring herself to answer.
“This feels so good.”
Eshi’s cheeks were flushed red, her emotions overflowing.
But she didn’t notice the maid hiding behind her, watching intently.
“Hey, Eshi.”
“Mm?”
“Can you give me that instead?”
Eshi blinked in surprise, then smiled brightly and handed her the bottle.
“Of course! Grace, do you like milk?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Then from now on, if I get milk, it’s all yours!”
And just like that, the bottle fell into Grace’s hands.
If she let this pass, the maid would surely target Eshi again. Without hesitation, Grace unsealed the bottle.
The maid, still watching, panicked and ran forward.
“N-no, don’t!”
But before she could stop her, Grace had already downed the bottle in one gulp.
“Urgh!”
She gagged violently, black clots of blood spewing out.
“Haa…”
“G-Grace! What’s happening to you?!”
Eshi’s face went pale as she caught the collapsing Grace in her arms.
“Cough!”
Every cough sprayed blood.
The maid, who had never expected such a reaction, fell back in shock. She had been told it was just a paralytic—blood vomiting had never been mentioned.
At that moment, knights—agents of the duke, who had been monitoring—rushed in.
The situation escalated instantly.
“Seize that maid!”
“W-wait! It’s not me! I only did what I was told!”
Dragged away, the maid cried out, insisting on her innocence.
“They told me it was just a paralytic!”
“That will come out in the investigation.”
The knights paid her no heed.
“Take her to the physician,” one knight said, his eyes softening with pity as he looked at Grace—convulsing, on the verge of suffocation—and at Eshi, frozen with terror.
For Grace, who had resistance to most poisons, this wasn’t truly fatal.
Still, vomiting blood was her body’s way of rejecting it.
She had ingested something she never should have—her system was expelling it.
The taste was familiar; she couldn’t place it exactly, but she was certain this wasn’t any ordinary paralytic. Most likely, it was one of Grino’s newest concoctions.
At least it hadn’t reached a lethal dose.
Perhaps that wasn’t the intent in the first place. But if Eshi had drunk it, she would have been severely damaged.
Grace was relieved that she had taken it instead.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Grace, what do we do?! Are you okay?! Why is this happening?!”
Eshi was frantic, holding Grace as she coughed up blood.
Meanwhile, the head maid—secretly watching from the shadows—was struck speechless.
A paralytic, you said!
Shaking in shock, she ran off somewhere.
Eshi burst into uncontrollable sobs, trembling as she cried.
Knights appeared, helping carry Grace. Eshi followed behind, weeping loudly.
“Waaah… Grace!”
Even in that moment, Grace’s mind was turning. She had seen the head maid flee.
The woman must have felt betrayed by Grino—and terrified as well.
This would surely spark conflict between them.
Though she wasn’t truly in pain, Grace decided to collapse dramatically. Only by making herself look helpless could she tilt the situation against Grino and the head maid.
“Grace!”
Eshi screamed desperately, almost choking on her own sobs.
The knights quickened their pace.
“Grace, Grace… please…”
She could barely keep up with the armored men, gasping for breath—but she didn’t give up.
Watching her struggle so earnestly, Grace almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
The truth was, even if Eshi had died, Grace wouldn’t have felt much.
She might have thought it was unfortunate, but it wouldn’t have weighed on her conscience.
Even now, as Eshi ran herself ragged, panicking for her sake, Grace’s heart didn’t change.
And she didn’t believe that made her wrong.
Life, after all, was driven by necessity.
Cold and detached as it was, Eshi didn’t know. To her, Grace’s safety was everything, and she did all she could as they reached the physician’s chambers.
“Physician!”
A knight shouted, and the door swung open.
The physician stepped out, irritation on his face—until his eyes widened at the sight of Grace, bloodied and limp.
“What on earth happened?”
“She seems to have been poisoned. Check her immediately.”
At the word poison, Eshi staggered, gasping.
“Poison? Never mind that, bring her inside first.”
Grace was laid onto a bed in the laboratory. She kept playing unconscious, letting her body hang slack.
The physician took her pulse.
“What makes you so sure it’s poison?”
“She drank milk and vomited blood.”
“She drank milk… and this happened?”
The physician asked a few more questions while running additional checks.
As he examined, his expression grew more serious.
“…It seems someone did lace the milk with poison.”
Her breathing was steady, almost suspiciously so—but the sheer volume of blood at her lips proved it wasn’t an act.
Her internal organs were damaged, her blood carried toxicity—the diagnosis was undeniable.
“S-state… is it serious? She’s… she’s going to be okay, right?”
Eshi’s tears streamed uncontrollably as she spoke.
“This is strong poison. Who gave her the milk?”
“A colleague. Not someone I was close to. She suddenly approached me today, told me to drink it… but Grace said she wanted it, so I gave it to her…”
“I see. Well, she’s still breathing, but…”
“Hhh…”
Eshi sobbed harder, fearing what came next.
And indeed, the words weren’t reassuring.
“It doesn’t look good. I can’t yet say exactly what kind of poison, but anything that provokes such a violent reaction—vomiting blood immediately—is an extreme toxin. The fact she’s still alive and breathing… that’s the real miracle.”
