When the Crown Falls

Chapter 21 - Tea

SUJIN SEIMU

Hours had passed, but she still hasn't woken up.
I remained by her bedside, refusing to leave her side for a moment—I couldn't find the will to.

The physicians had tried to nudge me away, insisting they needed space to check her condition, but it was futile, they would've had to kill me and drag my corpse away for that to happen.

I stood my ground, perhaps one could even say, I knelt unmoved and unwilling to, refusing to even remove my hand from her cheek, almost as if I had hoped to will her back to health through sheer willpower alone.

The physicians had long given up on even trying and merely began their work.
They took a small, silver pin and swabbed it gently inside Emi's mouth, against her cheek.

They watched in horror as the metal began to change color in a matter of minutes, turning a dark green, almost black coat. Poison.

A heavy silence hung in the room as they confirmed the poisoning.

Unconsciously, my grip on her hand tightened. Anger, fear, and desperation had warred within me, blocking every fibre of my sense of righteousness.

One of the physicians gasped. "My lord,"

My eyes widened and then narrowed.

I knew what she had eaten and touched throughout the day, having been her constant companion.

The tea. It had to be the tea.

"The tea..." I muttered. "Bring me whoever was stationed in the kitchen today."

The physicians nodded and quickly dispatched guards.

The wait was torturous.
Each second ticked by like an hour and my patience was wearing thinner than a thread.

Finally, the guards ushered in a few kitchen staff. They filed into the room, heads hung low, and apprehension in each of their faces.

My gaze scanned the group, taking in their dreadful faces.

"Which one of you prepared the empress's tea today?"

They exchanged nervous glances, fear and anxiety written all over their faces. No one wanted to step forward and admit their involvement.

The room was eerily quiet as they waited for someone to speak, when finally, a female servant at the end quivered, her voice shaky as she whispered. "I— I served the Empress her tea earlier, my lord."

Not even letting the words sink in, everything went dark and I no longer even attempted to stop myself from grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up to the air with a hand.

Everyone gasped in shock and the servants that neared us screamed as they watched her dangle helplessly in the air, her feet thrashing wildly as she continued to struggle against my grip. It was pointless, not when my fingers had already dug themselves into her neck.

"Who sent you?" I snarled, voice dripping with barely contained rage.

The physicians, in a vain attempt to intervene, started yelling for me to stop. They rushed to my side, trying to pry my hand away from the terrified girl.

"My lord, please. You'll kill her!" One of them yelled and tried reaching out, only to be yanked away by a guard.

"Talk" I didn't waver.

Enough force and I could easily snap her neck—

The girl's face had turned red and her fingers had tried to claw at my hand, as if to pry it off her throat.

"I...I can't...can't..." she managed a few more broken gasps before slowly drifting away, her eyes had begun to tear up and her lips had tried to gasp for imaginary air.

I loosened my grip and threw her to the ground.

She fell with a thud, coughing and gasping for air while her hands clutched her bruised throat.

I turned my attention to the guards and ignored the screaming physicians.

"Take her."

The girl begged and wailed as they dragged her by the arms.

I turned to leave, but stopped in my tracks and swept my gaze over the physicians, who went tense and finally silent.

"If the empress doesn't make a full recovery," the threat hung heavily in the air. "Every single one of you will follow that girl. Is that clear?"

Their faces went pale as they nodded hastily, and one eventually fell to his knees, as if his legs had just been cut off.