NOVEL NEXT Chapter 89
The previous head of the family, Hershel, who had lost his divine beast, had left Camilla a gift: a fruit that looked like a seed, discovered at the grave where he had died.
“It will neutralize all poisons,”
he had said.
The moment Camilla heard from Ferrol that Duke Sorpel had collapsed from poisoning, that seed fruit immediately came to mind.
Swish.
“Miss!”
“Wait a moment…!”
As Camilla brought the unknown medicine to Duke Sorpel’s lips, the healers cried out in urgency once again.
“Silence.”
Ludville stepped in front of them. At his calm yet firm words, the healers had no choice but to close their mouths.
Without a word, Ludville placed a hand on Camilla’s shoulder.
With his silent approval, Camilla didn’t hesitate further. She put the fruit Hershel had left her into Duke Sorpel’s mouth.
“Just swallow it,”
Hershel had said.
Camilla worried whether an unconscious man could swallow it.
But contrary to her concerns, the hard-textured fruit melted instantly in his mouth, disappearing smoothly.
And then something extraordinary happened. A faint light began to emanate from Duke Sorpel’s body.
The light briefly enveloped his entire form before vanishing as though it had never been there.
“Oh… The Duke!”
The next moment, everyone saw it. Duke Sorpel’s complexion had changed significantly from just moments ago.
The healers rushed forward to examine him, their jaws dropping in astonishment.
“My goodness!”
“He’s been detoxified!”
“Miss Camilla’s antidote worked!”
His pulse and breathing had returned to normal. His body temperature, which had been icy cold, was now warm again.
“Hah…”
Only then did Camilla let out the breath she had been holding.
“Camilla!”
“…I’m fine.”
As her legs gave out momentarily, Arsion quickly stepped forward to support her.
“I was just a little nervous…”
Although she hadn’t shown it outwardly, her heart had been pounding the entire time she used the medicine. It was unverified, after all.
She had relied solely on Hershel’s words, fearing the worst if something went wrong.
The healers’ warnings against using untested medicine had heightened her anxiety, but it wasn’t as if she had any other options.
“Thank goodness…”
Camilla exhaled deeply once more, her gaze lingering on Duke Sorpel, whose color had visibly improved. Her eyes then shifted to the mirror standing in one corner of the room.
“…Ha.”
Camilla let out a laugh at her reflection.
‘I look completely insane.’
Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were still rolled up from playing in the water earlier.
No matter how generously one looked at it, this wasn’t the image of a duke’s daughter. But at the time, she hadn’t had the luxury of worrying about her appearance.
The moment she heard from Ferrol that the duke had collapsed, her mind had gone blank. Learning that he had been poisoned left her with only one thought: she needed to get the antidote to him as quickly as possible.
She couldn’t even count how many times she had nearly fallen while rushing to her room to retrieve the fruit.
If not for Arsion catching her each time, her knees would’ve surely been in ruins by now.
Thinking back on all of this, Camilla laughed again, incredulous.
‘Why did I do that?’
It was so unlike her.
Why had she done it? Why…
“Ugh…”
“Father!”
A small groan escaped Duke Sorpel’s lips as he slowly opened his eyes.
Ludville and Ravi rushed to his side, and Camilla also checked his complexion once more. Their eyes met.
Forcing a smile despite his stiff expression, Duke Sorpel’s dry voice emerged softly.
“You’re… back.”
At those words, Camilla’s eyes reddened instantly. Memories of him waiting to greet her every time she returned home flashed through her mind.
“Yes… Yes, Father…”
Father.
For some reason, that word felt especially overwhelming today.
Looking at the faint smile on his face as he gazed at her, Camilla couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
****
“Failed again, have you?”
“I…!”
“I told you, I don’t want excuses.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Rania bit her lip, frustration etched across her face.
“This time, the poison we provided was something very special. A masterpiece, refined over years,” Daniel, the high priest, said with a cold smile.
The poison was undetectable by magic and had no known antidote—except for one specifically engineered to work with Rania’s detoxification magic. Everything had been meticulously prepared for her.
“Failure is unacceptable.”
Daniel clicked his tongue, his tone dripping with disdain.
“I didn’t know there was an antidote,” Rania muttered.
After the Duke of Sorpel collapsed from the poisoning, she had intentionally delayed using her magic. She wanted to escalate the situation to its breaking point for maximum impact.
Her plan was to step in during the most desperate moment and save the Duke with her detoxification magic, ensuring she would be recognized and accepted as his daughter.
But then
she
appeared—Camilla.
The antidote Camilla brought worked instantly, reviving the Duke and earning her his heartfelt gratitude.
As she recalled the tender look the Duke had given Camilla, a look that should have been hers, Rania bit her lip harder. Why did everything have to go wrong?
“That woman must be dealt with,” she hissed.
“Lady Camilla, you mean?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm.”
“She’s interfering with our mission,” Rania added.
“I’ll report this to those above us,” Daniel said with a nod.
“Thank you!”
He seemed to share her sentiments, which reassured Rania.
“By the way,” he continued, “where did she obtain that antidote?”
That was the most perplexing part. The poison had been crafted with great secrecy, its formula known only to the church. How had Camilla gotten her hands on the antidote?
“Well…”
Rania could only laugh bitterly.
***
“Did you say ‘Hershel’?”
“Yes.”
The Duke of Sorpel had made a swift recovery. In less than a day, he was back to his usual self, leaving everyone astonished.
Naturally, Camilla’s antidote drew significant attention. Healers who had declared the Duke’s condition untreatable were eager to know where she had acquired it.
“I saw it in a dream,” she said nonchalantly.
As always, Camilla blended truth and lies seamlessly.
“A bald man appeared in my dream and introduced himself as Hershel,” she explained. “He thanked me for reconnecting the severed vein of the sacred beast’s power and told me to visit his grave.”
“And then?”
“He said to dig behind the grave.”
“So, you dug it up?”
“Yeah.”
“You actually dug it up?”
“Yup.”
Ravi’s disbelief was palpable. Though he acknowledged her ability to receive visions tied to the sacred beast, the idea of her digging up a grave based on a dream was hard to swallow.
“And that’s where you found the antidote?”
“Yes. Apparently, Lord Hershel, one of the previous heads of the family, died from poisoning. The antidote was developed as a result.”
“…”
“I wasn’t entirely convinced, but it felt too ominous to ignore, so I went to check. Sure enough, there was a seed-like substance buried behind the grave.”
Everyone who heard her explanation was left speechless.
“I kept it aside since it was supposed to neutralize most poisons. I didn’t expect to use it like this.”
Her account was so specific, and the antidote’s efficacy so undeniable, that even the skeptics were forced to believe her.
“And what about the culprit?”
Camilla shifted the topic.
“We haven’t identified them yet,” Rube, the butler, admitted, his expression grim.
Despite interrogating everyone who had come into contact with the Duke’s food, they had found no leads.
“What about the kitchen staff? Where are they now?”
Clang!
The sound of iron doors opening echoed through the dimly lit corridor.
Camilla walked down the narrow hallway of the Sorpel family’s underground prison, following Ludville. Cells lined the walls, some occupied by those under investigation.
“This way.”
Ludville led her to a larger chamber where the kitchen staff had been gathered.
“Miss!”
The first to spot her was Gerard, the head chef. He looked pale and haggard, clearly shaken by the recent events.
“I swear, it wasn’t me! None of us would ever do such a thing!”
Tears welled in his eyes as he pleaded.
“How could anyone tamper with food meant for the Duke? It’s unthinkable!”
[“He’s telling the truth,”] Ferrol, the ghostly chef, chimed in. [“That guy wouldn’t mess with food, no matter what.”]
Nine people were imprisoned—kitchen staff and maids who had handled the Duke’s meals. If the poisoner was among them, it had to be one of these individuals.
“I know Gerard isn’t the culprit,” Camilla said.
“Miss…”
Her calm confidence brought Gerard to tears again, this time in relief.
“You know my ability, don’t you?”
“Your… ability?”
“Ah!”
Recognition dawned on Gerard’s face. Camilla’s unique powers were widely known.
One down,
she thought.
Her reputation for unmasking liars was well-established. A previous incident had seen her expose a con artist masquerading as a business partner to the Duke.
There was a ghost haunting him—a man he had swindled who later took his own life.
Camilla had used the ghost’s testimony to identify the scammer, but to outsiders, it seemed as though she had a supernatural gift for seeing through people’s true natures.
“Eyes that see into the essence of people,”
they called it.
With Gerard cleared, Camilla turned her attention to the remaining suspects.