Chapter 12

It was the day when the banquet was held at the banquet hall in the center of the palace.

For Erin, the day of the palace event meant a day of hard work.

People liked the event, but Erin, who was in charge of the imperial palace’s household, had no time to rest because she had been preparing for the event and checking this and that even before seven days ago.

I had a headache that morning because I couldn’t take a break to prepare for the event.

At the end of the banquet, Erin went to the Imperial Palace garden to cool her head for a while.

It was when Erin was resting at the side of the lake, looking at the lake. Suddenly, there was a sound of publicity.

As I turned my head, Einz was coming this way.

Erin tried to wave her hand in joy, but she didn’t have time to make a sound.

Because Einz, who was approaching Erin, whined and fell to the floor.

‘Einz!’

.

Erin rushed to Einz.

Einz was out of his mind and in a cold sweat. Erin saw blood coming out of his body.

Erin pulled Einz’s clothes and revealed his shoulder.

‘This is……’

There was a deep cut on Einz’s right shoulder that showed bone inside. The shape was like an ordinary cut, but it was not an ordinary wound.

.

The black blood vessels around the wounds were stretched around like tree roots. A little bit of black blood had seeped out from the crack.

Erin knew what it was. It was impossible not to know.

Poison of Demon.

(TN: are we in a magical world??)

It was poison by a wicked creature. If not treated, the whole body will be eaten and die.

‘Einz….’

I knew sometimes he did not look well, but I thought he was just tired. I didn’t know Einz was hiding this secret.

The wound smelled terrible.

.

A smell that was damp, dark, and cold that seemed to rise from the bottom of a basement. It was the smell of death.

The smell alone showed that it was really the poison of a monster.

If you’re caught poisoned by the venom of a beast, you’ll be isolated. You’ll be taken to the temple.

(TN: some translators say beast, some say monster and the other say evil (spirit).

If this is a magical world with demons I would go with ‘demon’, if not I would go with ‘beast’. ‘Monster’ can be used for both. It makes it a bit less confusing. But I get a lot of ‘evil spirit’ which makes me more inclined to say ‘demon’ instead of ‘beast’.)

The infected are isolated. They are actually kept in captivity and burned to death.

The poison of the devil is not contagious. If you took the time and treated it steadily, you could have recovered.

Sometimes, however, after the death of an infected person, a new monster was created through the body.

In order to prevent it, the temple searched for any infected person, regardless of whether infected or not.

It was cruel, but that was the policy in the Empire.

I could fully understand why Einz was hiding this. Erin didn’t want Einz to end up like that.

‘If you’re here, you’ll be caught.’

There were many people in the palace because it was a banquet today. This was a deserted place, but there were still nobles wandering in the distance.

‘Oh no, what should I do……….’

It was an embarrassing and frightening situation.

In the meantime, Einz was still in a cold sweat, losing consciousness.

The time to worry was short. Erin dragged Einz into the grass.

When they hid themselves in the bushes, the surrounding grass-covered the bodies of the two.

Erin wet the handkerchief in the nearby lake and wiped Einz’s face, which was covered with cold sweat.

She could have left him behind, but Erin didn’t. She stayed with Einz until the end and kept Einz.

After a while, Einz came to his senses.

‘Erin…?’

‘Einz? Are you awake?’

Einz, who slowly lifted his eyes, paused when he saw his shoulder exposed. Erin reassured him.

‘It’s all right, Einz.’

‘I’m sorry……I was getting better, but suddenly….’

Einz sat up painfully, covering his shoulders with clothes.

.

Einz was sorry that he had not told her beforehand and had trouble Erin.

Erin tried to reassure and comfort him. If it weren’t for the sudden noises.

A lot of words came from the pathway beyond the flower bed.

.

The grass was lifted and people appeared.

‘Your Grace? Oh my Goodness……….’

Serena, with her maids, was looking at them with astonished faces.

It was a matter of seconds before bad rumors spread.

Midnight garden. A man and women hiding in the grass.

The Duchess, who is ignored by her husband, and the young and handsome knight. They’ve all been close friends since childhood.

It was perfect for being the main character of a dirty rumor.

After a week or so, there was no one in the Imperial Palace who did not know about it.

Some said that the rumors were getting more and more colorful and adapted, and some were even ridiculous enough to the point Erin and Einz were naked and hugging.

‘Can you explain what happened?’

Eventually, exactly a week after it happened, the emperor called Erin to ask.

‘…….’

.

But Erin couldn’t answer.

I couldn’t say, ‘Einz suddenly fainted and was taking care of him.’

If he had fallen down. Normally, she would have called a servant to take him into the palace, she would not have hidden him in the grass after picking up a fallen person.

‘…… I didn’t do anything dishonorable.‘

I just had to say that.

Without further questioning, the emperor sent Einz to the southern battlefield. After a while, he himself went on a trip to the South.

After a while, Raymond, who was in the South, returned to the capital.

And as soon as Raymond heard the rumor, he asked Erin for a divorce.

*   *   *

‘It’s definitely weird to think about it again.’

Was it a coincidence that Einz had a seizure at that time on that day, and that the maids and Serena appeared there?

Absolutely not.

Einz couldn’t remember how he got there. She just had a formal drink at a banquet and didn’t remember after that.

“You should have told the truth.”

Erin turned her head to the distressed voice, and Einz was looking at her painfully.

His pale purple eyes showed a clear pain and guilt.

“I should have stayed here and told the truth instead of going to the south. If I did, you wouldn’t be like this.”

It was Erin who asked Einz not to say anything.

I told him to go south at the emperor’s command.

‘I told you to go and trust me because I’ll take care of this.’

At that time, Erin herself didn’t know it would go this far.

The emperor issued a command in the Imperial Palace about this and believed in Erin’s innocence.

In fact, among the nobles,  affair was no different from daily routine.

Even if Erin lived in the palace.  Raymond,  would live with Serena in his own palace.

I never thought Raymond would ask for a divorce on the pretext of it.

‘You wanted to seize the opportunity and kick me out.’

My parents had passed away anyways. I didn’t have to live for them anymore.

Erin was relieved that things had turned out to be like this, but Einz didn’t.

“I will reveal the truth now. I’m going to go in front of the Duke and explain what happened. You were only trying to help me, and all the other rumors are false….”

Erin looked at him with calm eyes.

“No. You don’t have to.”

It was a visible trap.

And the trap was clearly aimed at Erin, not at Einz.

.

Erin couldn’t make Einz fall victim for herself.

.

It was better to just get divorced.

‘I feel much better and more comfortable after the divorce, actually. I don’t want to go back to Raymond even if he asks me to come back.’

.

Erin had nothing to do with the truth now.

However, one thing caught my attention.

Did the man who set up the trap know that Einz was in that horrible state?

Did he know he was infected with the poison of the demon and used drugs to amplify the poison?

Or did he just send Einz to Erin, who was alone, to make a rumor by tying them together, and the drug caused a side effect on Einz who was already poisoned?

At present, it was impossible to tell.