"The Emperor is showing no sign of recovery, Your Majesty..."
The Imperial doctor, who came in to check-up the progress of the Emperor, presented Calester with bad news. He sighed and wiped the beaded sweat on his forehead, but said nothing else.
"What else did you find?"
Calester, who had started working on some paperwork that had filed up after the Emperor became bed-bound, was skimming through the documents that were in front of him because work had piled up. For a few minutes, there was only silence present in the room. Then finally, the green eyes that were skimming the pages shifted its gaze to the middle-age man who was standing in the corner and biting his lips as if he was holding his tongue to speak further.
Calester, who sensed the tension in the air, spoke readily, "should I expect something much worse than him not recovering...?"
The man hesitated a little, but soon opened his mouth to speak, " Yes, Your Majesty..."
Calester's mouth wrinkled in dejection. But, gesture to the man to speak.
"His majesty might have been poisoned. I can only speculate because his condition is not getting any better. I have worked with the magician to, at least, ease the pain, but his Majesty's body is rejecting the medication that was prepared for him..."
"I want you to work with Roy to investigate this matter."
***
Invites of Lady Arquilie and Prince Calester's wedding were sent out as soon as the pair made the agreement between them.
As part of the paperworks that he received, Calester was given the list of his invited guests. He reviewed the names of the people who were invited for the wedding while scratching his head in exhaustion. There were too many invites for such an unexpected wedding. Even so, he was diligent on reviewing it.
There were some who the Prince knew personally and some he only knew by name. Among these names were names of nobles from foreign countries that Goldivia has international relations with. The same lists of names were given to Emerald and just like Calester, Emerald felt overwhelmed. As Emerald reviews the lists, names of nobles women acquainted with Calester's past love affairs start appearing.
"Wow. That's awkward."
As she flipped through the lists of guests attending the wedding, one of her assigned ladies-in-waiting commented lightly when she accidentally took a glance over the list.
Awkward was the right word to describe the invitees for her wedding as it bothered her lightly.
"Lady Talia..."
"Yes, your Majesty? You can call me Kathleen."
Lady Kathleen Talia from the house the Marquis, has just recently debuted from high society. The names of the woman that the Prince has been involved in were all familiar to her.
The dark blonde young maiden bent her knees to properly greet Emerald and smiled.
"What do you think of it, your Majesty?"
Emerald blinked at the question, refusing to answer. The black haired woman in the room sipped her tea as she observed the exchanges between the ladies. Being the older of the two, she felt it was interesting to see how the Future moon of the empire would react to such a situation.
Emerald cleared her throat as she put down the empty cup of tea in front of her, shooting her eyes elsewhere to dodge the question. Her eyes widen at the opportunity to change the subject.
"Did someone send me letters, Lady Monte?"
The black hair woman stood up from her seat to approach Emerald, handing her the letters that were in her hands.
"Yes, your Majesty. It was from your dear friend"
Lucia Monte from the House of Marquis was also Emerald selected lady-in-waiting with years of experience serving the Royal family.
"Baron House of Baldivis."
Emerald mouthed the name she read that was written on the envelope, carefully opening the letter by separating the glue that sat in between the papers.
Quietly, Emerald took a moment to read the short letter in front of her.
[Dear Radia,
I heard you are getting married! Why am I the last one to hear of this?! ]
Emerald giggled as she imagined the shocked expression on her friend's face.
[I received the invite! But, why use just your initials? Is this supposed to be a secret?]
Emerald held her laughter as she continued to be amused by what was reading on the letter. As soon as she reached at the bottom of the page, her heart pounded loud from the impulsive question.
[When did the Crown Prince come back?]
The joy dissipated quickly after reading the letter. But, she kept her smile, pretending that she was not at all bothered by it. She folded back the letter and returned the paper inside its envelope.
"I'm marrying a different man." Emerald said weakly under her breath.
***
"Roy, are you there?"
Calester called out.
Roy was his personal assistant assigned by his older brother before he left for his journey to help Calester navigate through the duties of the Crown Prince.
"Any information on my brother?"
From the other side of the room, the presence of the old man became known as he spoke, answering the young Prince's anxious curiosity.
"I have send out some people to investigate Prince Calisto's whereabouts"
Calester, who felt frustrated towards the whole situation, stood up from his seat, leaving the files of papers that have scattered on the table. As soon as he approached the door, He swung it open and the bang of the door that hit against the hard wall echoed outside his chamber.
Roy's eyes shook a little from witnessing such strength. Then, quickly followed where the young Prince headed.
As the loud footsteps echoed through the hall, Roy silently followed from behind as Calester walked towards the Emperor's chamber. Upon reaching the entrance, they were greeted by the imperial guards who stood behind the thick wooden doors.
"Your Majesty, we were given strict instruction to not let anyone come in while the doctor examines the Emperor."
Calester took a second to look at the guards. He breathed a little deeper to calm his anxiousness as his eyes continued to watch their unmoved expressions.
The detachment he was in, at that moment, made him think this whole situation was part of a great scheme.
His parted lips almost touched each other into a close.
"I have trouble sleeping... send the doctor's on my way when he's done."
"Yes, your Majesty."
***
As the sun went down, Calester waited. He sat on the table gazing at the outside view from his window. A few more minutes passed by and the silence in the room was suddenly disturbed. Calester was quickly brought back to his reality. Outside the door, he heard the urgent tapping sound coming from the hall, getting closer.
"Your Majesty!!"
It was Roy, who was out of breath, frantically calling for his attention. Calester approached the door quickly to open, desperate to know what the chaos was about.
"Your Majesty!"
Again, Roy repeatedly called him until he reached Calester and as soon as he saw a glimpse of the young Emperor, his knees gave in unexpectedly, falling into the floor in front of Calester.
"What's wrong, Roy?"
Calester calmly asked, knowing the agitation that was present in Roy's heart as he approached the old man to help him get up to his knees. 'What is it this time?' he unknowingly thought.
"Your Majesty!"
Those were the only words that Roy kept repeating to Calester as if he became an empty shell, unable to speak his own thoughts. The old man contemplated what he should say. He knew for sure that Calester would not like what he was about to hear. Roy gulped harshly, finding the strength that has left him after seeing the young Prince.
It was more apparent to Calester that something must have happened to his father. His chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down.
"What is it, Roy?"
Roy, who was struggling to find the right words, felt too disassociated. His eyes swell from the overwhelming feeling that was overflowing.
"T-the Emperor... h-has died."
Roy mumbled the last words. But, it was clear as the wind delivered his words to Calester effortlessly. In an instant, he felt unable to move as he was suddenly frozen in place. He could not feel his body moving as if he was completely numb.
Denial, anger and anguish were all mixed together that Calester does not know how to express his own emotions. He did not even know that tears had started falling from his eyes.
***
After a long time, Calester was able to get a hold of himself to summon the Imperial doctor to his chamber.
"Your Majesty, it was too late. I was only able to detect the poison in his body after his Majesty passed."
"What is it?"
Calester showed no emotion as he asked the question coldly.
"It was a substance that was mixed in his drink."
Calester was shaking a little upon hearing the truth. He carefully spoke, making sure that his tone was steady and calm.
"How did it pass security?"
The two guards that were actively patrolling the Emperor's chamber were unable to answer the question. Both of the guards were down on their knees as they shook in fear.
"Answer me."
The imperial doctor couldn't bear to remain silent and quickly explained to the young Prince.
"Your Majesty, that poison cannot be detected easily. It's a drug that does not show symptoms at an early age."
Even the Imperial Doctor's expert opinion, it was not enough to convince Calester. Putting it simply, it was implied that the Emperor was too fragile for a weak poison. It sounded like an insult to him as the son of the Emperor. House of De Morgues had always been known to be one of the strongest Royal of their clan.
"Then.... who should we punish?"
Calester remained calm on the surface as he fought the urge to go crazy. He was met with silence in the room. No one could provide him the answer to who was responsible for his father's death.
"Roy."
He called. As quickly as he spoke his name, Roy moved forward approaching Calester closer, acknowledging his next spoken words.
"Investigate."
"Yes, your majesty"
***
In a few hours of investigation, Roy has come back with some baffling answers. He has met people through connections that suggest that the drug that was used to poison the Emperor was not from the East.
The statement from the Investigator made Roy's brow crumpled. The possibility of it being done by a foreigner ignited a fury in him. It was for sure that Calester would feel the same on such discovery.