Chapter 10: Eat It (4)

To Caellum's surprise, the queen didn't do anything to him all day.

When he entered his room, everything was exactly the same as the morning.

Vomit and all.

Nobody had tried to hide something in his room to blackmail him.

There was no threat carved into the walls.

Toenail wasn't hiding behind the door to beat him up the moment he came inside for daring to leave the room after the morning's threat.

There weren't even poisonous fumes meant to knock him out the moment he stepped into the room, so that his body could be dragged into an unknown place and tortured.

It was rather disappointing after the thrill of being poisoned and slapped around in the morning, and Caellum couldn't help but deduct a few more marks in his mind from the queen.

If you're going to be wicked, do a proper job at it, not this half-hearted nonsense.

Stepping back outside, he caught the attention of the female guard who had taken over the post.

"Hello, Miss?"

"Yes, your highness? How may I help you?"

The guard was a tall woman in her twenties with golden-brown skin, auburn-red hair with a white stripe at the front, and amber eyes.

Wearing the black uniform of the guards with a short silver sword at her waist, she stood at full attention, unlike the sloppy poses of the previous guards.

Surprised at the unexpected polite tone, Caellum blinked before flipping her a silver coin.

"I'm hungry. Would you be able to ask the kitchens to send a meal? Specifically from a maid named Masha. She works in the east kitchens. And feel free to add your meal order as well. I'll cover it."

"Of course, your highness. I'll have someone fetch the maid and your meal right away. Please go back to your room, and there's no need for this. It's my duty to serve, and my salary is covered by the household department."

The female guard bowed politely before handing the coin back over to a surprised Caellum.

An honest guard?

What kind of nonsense was that? And how had she survived for so long in the palace?

"Really? What was your name?"

"I'm Zahra Foxvaine, your highness. I'm working the night shift for the next several nights since your guard yesterday is sick for unknown reasons. Please let me know if you need anything. I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes within the current constraints."

The guard from last night was still sick? What kind of weak immune system did that guard have?

Even Caellum, who looked as frail as can be, felt decent enough to move around despite the cramping and pain he felt internally from eating poison yet a royal guard was out? How useless.

"Zahra, is it? I'll remember it. Thank you."

"Of course, your highness. I'll knock and alert you when the food is here."

"Thanks."

At the unexpectedly honest guard, Caellum went back into his room with a slightly bemused expression.

While it was nice that she was honest, it was a bit inconvenient having someone who couldn't be bribed around him.

Perhaps he hadn't offered her enough money?

He would try again later.

As he sat on the bathroom floor, the only clean place to sit while waiting for Masha to show up, Caellum reviewed what he had learned today.

Firstly, those books on plants, medicines, and poisons?

Useless.

All he learned was general information that was useless unless he decided to live in the wilderness, which he had no plans to do.

Secondly, when he checked through the royal family and aristocratic genealogy books, it was odd.

Every name in the genealogy book was listed along with a physical description, their birth year, their position, and other minor relevant details.

Each king, each queen, each concubine, and all of their children.

It was all listed with a description, as long as they were a child with at least one parent who was a member of the royal family.

But when Caellum searched for his name, although he found himself, the portion that should have been his mother was burnt out.

Her name, age, appearance, or even position had been completely removed.

Not scribbled or blacked out with ink, burnt out entirely with no hope of reconstituting it unless there was some amazing magic spell that could reverse the damage.

What the hell was going on in this palace? What was Caellum's background? Why was it so suspicious?

He had briefly been tempted to ask the royal librarian about it, but in the end, he didn't bother.

He would be renouncing his identity and leaving the palace in less than six months, so whatever secret the king was trying to hide could stay hidden.

The main issue was the queen's antagonism toward him.

While he had no plans to duke it out with her, being on the receiving end and constantly on guard?

It was unacceptable, it was inconvenient, and it needed to be resolved before his confinement was over since he had places to visit.

Knock knock.

"Come in!"

As Caellum stood up, the door opened, exposing Masha standing there with a tray of food.

Compared to the night before, when she had been crying, sweating, and vomiting while Caellum forced her to do physical labor, she looked much better. Still plain, but much more put together.

As she took a step into the room, she wrinkled her nose, but wisely didn't say anything.

She just held the tray containing a simple loaf of bread, a piece of strange-looking fruit, and a bowl of red stew toward Caellum with an expression of sucking up.

To be honest, it smelled delicious, especially because he hadn't eaten all day, but instead of diving in, Caellum sniffed it, then gave Masha a knowing smile before asking.

"Is it poisoned?"

"No, of course not, I've learned my lesson, your highness. I would never do such a thing, and nobody asked me to do such a thing. If you want, I can eat some right now to prove it." Masha promised with bright, innocent eyes.

"Is that so? Then let's chat. How did your meeting go with the poison giver? Did you call out of work?"

"Of course not, your highness. A missed day equals missed pay, and I can't have that! I simply powered through it all. As for the meeting, it went well. I told them you ate everything, and they seemed satisfied, though they were curious why you had me clear your room of furniture. I told them that you were vomiting so much that everything had to be removed. Did I do well, your highness?" Masha asked with eyes signaling that she expected money for her actions.

Caellum rightfully waved a silver coin at her, laughing quietly as her eyes followed the coin.

"Solidly. Tell me about the interesting news in the palace today. If it's good, this is all yours for the day."

"Of course, your highness! You were actually the origin of quite a few. People speculated that you got into a fight with the 9th prince. Others thought that the 12th prince beat you up for daring to disrespect his mother. Even more, the king slapped you for the prank you pulled in the kitchen. The staff in the king's kitchen are apparently cursing your name since they were all dragged away for questioning and are now being deeply investigated. And there are a couple of bets on how often you'll actually go to the library since people think you're pretending to study. It's been quite busy, and there's so much gossip that I intentionally found out for you!" Masha cheerfully announced in hopes of securing the reward.

While she was still a bit bitter that the 9th prince had made her eat something poisonous, she was already feeling much better, and when she thought about the 2 gold cold coins added to her savings, the silver she would gain now, and how much closer her retirement was, the ill feelings melted away immediately.

No pain, no gain.

And if she thought about it, she was eating what royalty ate, which made her half royal.

Plus, if she did well, wouldn't the 9th prince end up looking fondly at her and forgive her for getting him sick?

Let's work hard, Masha!

"I want to hear all about it. Also, did anything interesting come into the palace? Any fun events planned in the future? I know the queen is in confinement as well. Are the concubines planning anything? Or are my siblings? Am I missing out on fun things?"

"Not, well, actually…"

As Masha began chatting about this and that, Caellum listened carefully, mentally categorizing the news and asking questions to see what was true and what was made up.

By the time Masha finished, her voice hoarse and her throat completely dry, several hours had passed, and Caellum felt as if he knew everything about the palace's common servants.

She was quite useful.

Seeing those greedy eyes focused on him, Caellum tossed her 2 silver coins, which were quickly caught and bitten.

"Many thanks, your highness. Are you not going to eat your food? I promise that I really didn't poison it this time. Nobody instructed me to do so, and I received it straight from the kitchen. If you want, I can taste it so you can see." Masha said, her hands reaching out as if she were ready to devour the entire plate so Caellum would believe her.

Aish. Just greedy and a bit stupid. If he let her eat it, wouldn't she just drop dead?

"No, it's fine. I just don't like eating in front of people, so you can go. I'll hand it to the guard when I'm done."

"Then…can I help you with anything else tonight, your highness? Would you like me to clean the place up?"

"For free?"

Masha's expression immediately became stiff, and Caellum wanted to laugh again.

How stingy of her.

"No, it's fine. You may go. And remember to tell your maid friends to come by and share any interesting news with me. You know I pay well. And even if it's duplicated information, I won't short you." Caellum quickly added when he saw her expression become stubborn.

"Understood. See you tomorrow night, your highness." Bowing politely, Masha left.

And after waiting a couple of minutes, Caellum opened the door and got the guard's attention.

"Miss Zahra, would you like some food? It's a bit too much for me to eat, and I haven't touched it yet. See." Caellum held it out to her.

Zahra glanced at the tray of food in his hand, twitched her nose, and then shook her head.

"No, thank you, your highness. Actually…" she stared at the plate, and then at Caellum's face with the large, handprint-shaped bruise before biting her lips, then speaking up with a determined expression.

"You probably shouldn't eat that."

"Oho? Why?" Caellum asked, curious as to what she would say.

Zahra paused again, glancing between the tray of food and Caellum before eventually speaking again.

"…it will make you sick."

"It looks well-cooked to me. And it smells alright. Not rotten at all this time." Caellum pretended to sniff while observing Zahra's expression.

She sniffed the air once again before reiterating her words.

"I wouldn't recommend eating it, your highness."

"Why? You know it's poisoned. You can smell it," Caellum stated plainly, tired of beating around the bush.

Zahra's eyes widened slightly before she regained her neutral expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about, your high-"

"Which poison is it? I couldn't find any hint in the library, and I'm starving. I haven't been able to eat because all the food brought to me from the kitchens smells of it." Caellum interrupted.

As Zahra stared at him silently, Caellum sighed pitifully before scolding her.

"What kind of half-hearted behavior is this? If you were not going to be helpful, you should have just stayed quiet instead of saying something. Let me eat poison in peace and drop dead since that's what everybody wants, even though I'm just a poor prince with no parent to love me."

"...As a guard, it's not my duty to get involved in the struggles between royal family members. I just obey the orders of my commander and the king. Plus…it wouldn't kill you, just make you sick." Zahra said as she flinched before becoming stoic once more.

"Do you see this body? Do you think I can afford to be sick?" Caellum asked her as he put on the most pitiful expression he could come up with.

Zahra looked him over, taking in the bruised face and neck and thin fingers and face that were lacking fat, before a look of pity crossed her face.

Truly, he looked more like a beggar from the slums than a royal prince in the imperial palace.

"Fine. I won't put you on the spot any longer. Please just get me something to eat. If it's money, I'll pay however much you need. Even if it's just a simple meal of bread and stew, as long as it's unpoisoned, I'm okay with it. If you have leftovers, I'll eat that too. I'm just really hungry right now, and I spent all morning throwing up. If you go into my room, you can smell it. You're a guard. My guard, to be exact. Even if you want to stay out of royal family fights, you should feel bad for me and help me with this simple task. Please."

As if to enunciate his point, Caellum's stomach rumbled loudly.

Feeling a bit bad, especially after hearing Caellum's desperate request, Zahra glanced around before speaking quietly.

"I'll get you a meal, but you can't tell my mother."

"I don't know your mother, but even if I did, I would never tell her," Caellum swore.

Although he was a bit curious, he was hungrier.

"I'm serious. You can't tell her." Zahra insisted.

"The little prince can't tell your mother what?"

At the mellow yet amused voice that sounded out of nowhere, Caellum turned to the side to see a woman who looked like an older version of Zahra approaching with a tiered food box in her hands.

Shorter than her daughter and wearing an all-white outfit with a black apron, with her auburn hair tied back except for the silver stripe in the front, it was apparent that she was a chef.

Meeting the golden brown eyes that were a darker shade than her daughters' and the gentle smile on her face, Caellum had one thought.

Dangerous.

This was a very dangerous woman.

And a very different beast from the overly honest Zahra.

Curving his eyes gently, Caellum smiled back.