I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep

Chapter 48 Floria, her cheeks puffed out in frustration, muttered under her breath before leaning toward me and whispering as if tattling.“Mother suddenly sent people over. Not just one or two, either! It’s so suffocating, I could just die.”“The Empress must be very worried about you, Your Highness.”I smiled gently, though my thoughts told a different story.The Princess’s palace had always been under the Empress’s domain. There was no real need to go to the trouble of sending new maids.“There’s no reason to send someone new just to control her snacks.”In other words, it was highly likely that these new maids weren’t here simply to care for Floria.“Could it be… because of me?”

Devit’s obvious approach toward me already suggested the Empress was suspicious of my relationship with Caesar. Add to that the fact I had deliberately leaked the Emperor’s alignment with Caesar and the imperial faction.It was now beyond doubt that the Empress saw me as someone of importance to Caesar.I subtly surveyed the room. Five maids were present in Floria’s reception room. Two were familiar faces from the Princess’s palace, while the other three were strangers.“So, she’s being this blatant about it, huh?”This was nothing short of a warning directed at me. A warning not to harm her daughter or face the consequences.“I’m going to threaten the Empress eventually, but… I have no intention of using Floria to do so.”If only I could tell her to focus on the Spiegel faction instead of worrying about me. They were the ones who had genuinely tried to kill her—and even Floria.Feeling unsettled, I watched Floria as she chattered away obliviously about her daily life.“And they keep comparing me to my brother! Do you know he extended his study hours recently?”“Well, he’s been busy, so I think he’s cut them back again.”“Really? Why’s he so busy?”“Who knows…”I glanced around once more and replied playfully.“I have no idea.”“Ugh, you’re no fun.”Floria pouted as I withheld the information. She glanced between the overly healthy-looking cookies on the table and the strict maid with a dissatisfied look in her eyes. Eventually, she picked up a teaspoon and heaped sugar into her teacup, stirring it with fervor.I watched idly, only to suddenly notice that the tea in Floria’s cup was darker than mine. More alarming, the teaspoon she had dipped and removed from the tea had an unusual discoloration.“Wait… it was the same earlier, wasn’t it?”Floria raised the cup to her lips. In the fleeting moment before the tea touched her mouth, countless images flashed through my mind.“No way…”I shot up from my seat and smacked the cup out of Floria’s hand with a sharp motion. It was an instinctive reaction, so swift that no one had time to stop me.Crash! The teacup shattered against the floor.“W-What are you doing?”Floria looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes.“What’s going on?”The maids rushed over, shouting. I raised my hand to stop them.“Don’t move!”The atmosphere grew tense as everyone froze, staring at me with a mix of fear and suspicion. After a brief silence, I finally managed to speak, my voice trembling.“Poison… It’s poison.”Why hadn’t I realized it sooner? Because Floria was a protagonist who couldn’t die? Because I thought there was no reason to harm Floria when the Emperor and Crown Prince remained alive?The original story had long since veered off course. The moment Caesar survived his fifteenth birthday, everything began heading in an entirely different direction.“I was foolish to feel at ease.”It was clear now: I couldn’t predict where or how danger would strike. Protecting Caesar alone wasn’t enough. This time, they had targeted Floria.“Poison? What do you mean poison?”Some of the maids tried to move, but I hastily stopped them again.“I said don’t move!”My gaze fell to the shattered teacup on the floor. It had landed on the marble outside the carpet, shattering into pieces. Fortunately, the spilled tea hadn’t been absorbed into the carpet, leaving it intact for inspection.“There’s poison in that tea! No one moves until the guards arrive to investigate.”“How can you be so sure it’s poison?” a sharp voice asked. It came from one of the unfamiliar maids.Because it matches the exact description of the poison the Empress drank in the original story.The poison the Empress had consumed was one of the potions created by the mage Lavies. In the story, it was described that the tea she drank appeared unusually dark.And then there was the matter of the teaspoon. Most utensils in the palace were made of pure gold or silver. Spoons, in particular, contained a high percentage of silver, which was known to discolor upon contact with certain poisons.“The guards will confirm it soon enough,” I said instead of explaining.I shouted for the maid outside to summon the guards. Then I turned back to Floria, who looked shaken and clutching her hands tightly.“Are you okay, Your Highness?”“Y-Yes…”Floria nodded absently, her small hands trembling in her lap.“I’m sorry for startling you. Are you alright?”“I-I’m fine… But are you saying there was poison in that tea? Really?”“…Probably.”The tea had clearly darkened midway through. That meant the poison hadn’t been there initially but had been added later.“Someone poisoned it while we were here.”I scanned the maids. If someone had poisoned the tea, the culprit had to be among them. Naturally, the most suspicious were the unfamiliar faces, but…“There’s no way the Empress would try to kill her own daughter.”That wasn’t an act. If I’d been even a moment slower, Floria would have…“Who… Who would do such a thing?”Floria’s small body trembled as if she were cold, too shocked to even cry.Fortunately, the guards arrived quickly and took control of the situation.“The court apothecaries will arrive shortly to analyze the substance.”While we waited for the apothecaries, the guards questioned us about our identities and affiliations. Afterward, they allowed us to leave but restricted everyone’s movement within the palace for the next few days. They said it would take over a day to analyze the tea.“Evelyn…”Floria, who had been left alone in the adjacent room during the questioning, rushed toward me. I wrapped her small body in a reassuring hug and patted her back.“It’s going to be alright, Your Highness.”“Hm…”“Please be careful. I mean it.”Noticing the sharp looks from the guards, I decided it was best not to say anything more to Floria. I left the Princess’s palace with heavy steps. ***** “Who could have done this?”Back in the dormitory, I wrestled with my thoughts. Since it was work time for most, the room was empty, leaving me in complete solitude.“The Duke’s faction…”The method mirrored what they used in the original story to kill the Empress, so naturally, Spiegel’s faction came to mind. The real question was their motive.In the original story, the Duke’s faction had killed the Empress—and attempted to kill the Princess—as part of their plan to eliminate the imperial family and establish a new dynasty.“But now?”Currently, the Emperor was still alive. What purpose would poisoning the Princess serve at this point?“If anything, the person who stands to benefit from Floria’s disappearance is…”A chilling realization seized me, rendering me frozen.The person who would benefit most from Floria’s death… Simplistically, it would be Caesar, the current heir to the throne.Of course, I didn’t believe for a second that Caesar would commit such an act. But what if the poisoning had succeeded? How would others perceive it?With one of the two heirs dead, suspicion would inevitably fall on the other. Every finger would point at Caesar.“Could this have been the goal? To isolate Caesar?”Killing the Princess and framing the Crown Prince—this was a way to take down both heirs in one stroke.And the timing wasn’t coincidental either. The attempt occurred while Floria and I were having tea together. Was this because they knew I worked in the Crown Prince’s palace? Were they trying to implicate me as well?A shiver ran down my spine. Who? Who could be so calculating, so merciless?At that moment, the dormitory door burst open.“Evelyn!”A large shadow lunged toward me, making my heart leap in alarm.“…Your Highness?”It was Caesar. His face was flushed, as if he had run all the way here.“Are you alright? Are you okay?”“Huh? What are you…”“They said you were drinking tea together—the poisoned tea…”“Oh…”I blinked at him blankly as he leaned in closer, his worried eyes searching my face.“Are you hurt? Do you feel strange?”“N-No, I’m fine.”“Really?”“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I think it’s because… the poison wasn’t in the teapot, but specifically added to Her Highness’s teacup.”Hearing my explanation, Caesar hesitated, the tension in his expression softening slightly.“Haa… I see.”He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He really must have run here.