Chapter 6 – Poison?
Poison?
What the hell??
Was that an assassination attempt?????
The chat window exploded with messages.
Ignoring the flashing red warning window, Elijia slowly chewed her food.
‘…There was poison in this?’
The poison intake alert looked very similar to the one she used to see back in Seros Saga. Because of that, Elijia quickly regained her composure.
‘This much won’t kill me.’
There was no pain, and she hadn’t lost consciousness.
Back when she played Seros Saga, this level of poison would just come with a penalty or a bit of HP loss.
‘If I had died, I would’ve gotten a game over screen.’
Since that didn’t happen, it was fine.
Elijia quietly inhaled and exhaled to keep her breathing steady. Then, she glanced sideways at the servants. From her experience, panicking over poisoned food in a situation like this would be the worst thing to do. She had to stay calm.
Because she didn’t know who poisoned it.
‘The chef? A servant who served the food? Or someone else entirely?’
Whoever it was, there had to be a clear reason behind it. After organizing her thoughts, Elijia spoke directly.
“…Father. The food tastes a little off.”
“…!”
The servants flinched in unison at her words. Elijia didn’t miss that reaction—she committed their expressions and gazes to memory. Observing them closely, she continued.
“It seems a bit different than usual. I think we need to check it again—”
“Elijia Semperion!”
Before she could finish, the Duke’s sharp voice cut her off. Instinctively, Elijia clamped her mouth shut. She was met with a face that looked even angrier than before.
Disappointment +20%
The Duke is severely disappointed in you.
A notification window popped up. Only then did Elijia notice the faint white numbers floating above the Duke’s head. The transparency had hidden it, but now she could see it clearly.
Disappointment 320%
‘What the hell is that?’
Disappointment? That high?
Just what happened between you and your father, past Elijia?
While Elijia was lost in thought, the Duke continued.
“Trying to twist the situation again? Do you think I can’t see through your excuse—criticizing the chef’s food just to deflect?”
“No, that’s not—”
“Trying to divert again?”
“I’m not!”
She wasn’t trying to divert. There really was poison!
How could he not even try to listen to his daughter?
Frustrated, Elijia gripped her hand tightly.
At that moment—
Crunch!
The silver fork in her hand bent like putty.
“What did you just…”
Duke Howell had been about to scold her again, but at that exact moment, he saw the fork crumple in her hand like a paper scrap.
“…?”
Only Howell saw it, and his pupils shook violently.
The chat exploded again.
? The fork just crumpled??
LOL Howell saw that
I’ve NEVER seen Howell make that kind of dumbfounded face
“…Are you making things up again?”
The Duke seemed to have missed the bent fork while setting down his own cutlery.
His angry eyes met Elijia’s.
She averted her gaze. Honestly, even she hadn’t expected the fork to bend like that.
‘Was Elijia always this strong?’
She had never seen this character display strength in the game. In fact, Elijia had always been considered frail.
‘So what the hell is this…?’
Elijia raised her head. The Duke was still waiting for her response, so she couldn’t delay.
She smiled sweetly and spread out her palm.
Clatter.
The fork dropped in front of them. It was so horribly mangled, it was hard to recognize it as a fork anymore.
“Yes, the food tastes weird, and now even my fork’s like this. Did someone pull a prank or what? What is going on?”
“You—! You just…!”
Howell was about to shout, “You just did that yourself!” but clamped his mouth shut. He furrowed his brows, clearly confused.
His eyes scanned Elijia’s small, delicate fingers—arms with no muscle, snow-white hands without a single red mark.
‘…Did I imagine it?’
The Elijia he knew was nasty in personality, sure, but physically weak. There was no way someone like her could crumple a silver fork.
No matter how he looked at it, he must’ve seen wrong. As Howell sat in confusion, struggling to understand—
“If your fork’s broken, you should just ask for a new one quietly. Why make such a fuss?”
The Duke snapped, clearly displeased.
“I’ve been trying to correct that bad habit of yours for years…”
His sigh said it all—just how little faith he had in her. Resignation, exasperation, even a hint of contempt.
“This was a mistake from the start. You won’t be seeing His Highness anyway.”
He declared firmly.
“Elijia. From this moment on, you are grounded for a week.”
“……”
“I’ll speak with His Highness myself. Consider the meeting canceled.”
Choice Prompt – Event Triggered
The Duke has canceled your appointment with the Crown Prince!
You are now grounded for one week!
Your response?
▶ That appointment was so hard to get! How can you cancel it just like that?!
▶ Nooo! Elijia wants to meet the Crown Prince!!
▶ Truthful Response (Selecting this option will make you speak your thoughts aloud for a limited time.)
‘What’s with these choices?’
Elijia sighed. She didn’t like any of them.
‘No matter what I pick, the Duke will hate it.’
The first one definitely. The second one… she didn’t want to say something that childish. He’d only get angrier thinking she was mocking him.
So the only viable option was the last one: Truthful Response.
‘If what I think just comes out of my mouth… then I just have to think carefully.’
It seemed like the most ideal choice.
She had already delayed long enough under the pretense of eating. Now was really the time to answer.
Elijia quickly selected the third option.
You have selected “Truthful Response”!
‘I have to speak honestly… but sweetly.’
Maybe she had gone too far earlier. Time to back down a little. Now was her chance to show herself as the polite, well-mannered, ideal daughter.
And then—
After a moment of silence, Elijia finally spoke.
“…Ha. I don’t know if anyone’s going to actually listen to me, but I’ll be honest, okay?”
A surprisingly cynical voice rang out through the dining hall. Elijia turned to face the Duke and added:
“First of all, Father, I really have no intention of going to see His Highness. So don’t worry. That’ll probably go down as the most useless worry you had all year.”
“E-Elijia?”
“Huh. What the— I’m really just saying whatever comes to mind, huh?”
Elijia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Across from her, both the Duke and Howell stared at her in shock.
“This filter is basically nonexistent. Is this how it’s supposed to work?”
But once started, her mouth wouldn’t stop. Harsh, sarcastic words came spilling out.
“But think about it. Why would I go there in the first place, even defying opposition? What would I even gain from it? Honestly, staying in my room sounds way bet—Oops. Sorry! Words just keep coming out! What do I do…?”
“Elijia Semperion!”
The Duke interrupted her in a low, furious voice. But Elijia didn’t stop.
“Yessir. Really sorry about this. I didn’t mean to go this far. But hey, now that I’ve started, I should at least finish, right? Anyway, Father, I’m fine staying in my room, so there’s no need for interrogation. I think the past me just went a little crazy and made that appointment with His Highness!”
And she meant it. Whatever the previous Elijia had in mind when she set that meeting—well, current Elijia didn’t care. She added cheerfully:
“I’m sane now, so don’t worry! I really won’t go.”
“……”
“……”
With Elijia’s final words, the dining hall fell into a cold silence.
After a long pause, Howell muttered stiffly,
“Sane… you say?”
That?
