I had suspected it, but it really turned out that way.
“Oh my. Poor thing, you haven’t heard anything, have you? Well, that makes sense. Actually, even without life threats, there’s only one way for a servant of lowly status to survive. Unconditionally attach yourself to the side with power. So you’d better side with the crown prince too.”
I pretended not to understand even though I knew what he was saying.
“Um, what are you talking about…”
“I’ll teach you, so listen well. Actually, there’s been a rumor going around that the food the prince eats has been gradually mixed with poison that makes you go crazy or weakens your body if consumed over a long period.”
Hearing those words, I forgot I should act calm and gasped. I knew that Crown Prince Kalroy was desperate to kill William, but I couldn’t even imagine that a child who wasn’t even an adult yet would commit such vicious acts.
“What? Do you feel sorry for the prince? Don’t even think about siding with the prince. Not long ago, an old slave who worked here tried to report that fact to the prince because he felt sorry for young Prince William, and he disappeared without anyone knowing.”
“Ah…”
I groaned and trembled. It was an action from being unable to contain my anger, but to the servant’s eyes, it probably looked like a young child acting scared.
“Right. It must be frightening. So just read the atmosphere and behave well. Otherwise, you never know when you might die. You just need to be careful of Behern, so the rest isn’t really difficult.”
I nodded obediently. Then I escaped the dining hall because I felt like I might scream if I stayed any longer. Cold sweat streamed down my back.
Poison…
When exactly did William start eating that poison… Ah!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind. William’s abnormally fast manifestation. That might not have been because William was excellent, but a side effect of the poison.
As I had that thought and stared into space, an information window immediately appeared.
[Correct. The poison caused abnormalities in the nervous system, making the dominant Alpha traits prominently appear.]
Ha, so that’s how it was. That’s right! Poor William… I need to report this to Behern immediately.
Having that thought, just as I was moving quickly, my neck stung and suddenly my vision went dark and I began to suffocate. I felt some force dragging me along, but I couldn’t see anything because my vision was blocked.
I lost consciousness like that.
***
When I opened my eyes, Crown Prince Kalroy appeared in my blurry vision. Perhaps because I had somewhat expected this to happen, I wasn’t even surprised.
Though my expression did sour when I recalled how he had frowned at me in disgust when I first saw him.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Since he seemed unaware that I had awakened, I called out to Kalroy as loudly as possible. In the process, I felt dizzy again. Whatever they had done to me, even though I wasn’t tied up, I could barely move a finger.
Kalroy spoke in a chilling voice.
“Don’t move. If you try to force yourself to move, your body will be harmed. So even lower-class Omegas are still Omegas, I see.”
When I asked the book silently, it said they had covered my mouth with a cloth soaked in a liquid that disrupts Omega hormones. No wonder my head had been splitting with pain since earlier…
And Teacher Seo Ajun’s dignity was completely ruined. To be kidnapped by a young brat.
“Why are you doing this to me? I’m just a lower-class Omega who knows nothing…”
I tried to play innocent to remove suspicion and then escape from here. However, before I could finish speaking, Kalroy took out a piece of paper and waved it in front of my eyes.
That!
It was the secret message I had intended to use to clear William’s suspicions of me. Ah, was I already caught? Then it becomes difficult to pretend ignorance…
“You don’t seem to know nothing.”
“……”
“Actually, if you suppress William’s rampage, it becomes troublesome for me. So I was going to just eliminate you. But…”
Kalroy stopped speaking there and suddenly looked straight at me.
“What did you say your name was?”
I didn’t want to, but rebelling in this situation would only hasten my death, so I answered.
“It’s Daniel Lambert.”
“Hmm, right. Daniel… you saved your life thanks to this secret message. Looking into it, you didn’t report to William even after seeing this. That means you’re willing to become my person and work for me, doesn’t it?”
No, it doesn’t. That’s just your misunderstanding. I was going to report it but the timing was just off.
“Hm? Answer me, Daniel. Your future depends on your answer.”
Hasty judgment was forbidden. The important thing was to first find out what the other party wanted. Though he’s acting like he’s told me everything, actually the crown prince only mentioned the secret message and that he tried to kill me. I had to keep acting like I knew nothing until the end. I had a premonition that this was what would protect my life.
“Your Highness, if you have orders, please command me. How could someone like me go against the will of the great Crown Prince? I didn’t mention that secret message because it didn’t seem to be meant for me, and I didn’t interfere because I know nothing about palace affairs.”
“Hah!”
Kalroy threw the teacup he was holding toward the wall where I was. The teacup that narrowly grazed past me hit the wall and shattered with a crash. Is throwing things when angry a characteristic of this family? Having the same thing done to me by brothers in succession, it wasn’t even scary anymore.
After silence flowed, Kalroy, who had been breathing roughly, glared at me with a frightening face.
“You know nothing?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then I’ll teach you what you need to do from now on. Will that satisfy you?”
“I will follow whatever you command.”
***
Even though it was a short time, after overcoming several life-threatening crises, I left the crown prince’s palace when it was nearly dinner time.
I ended up agreeing to cooperate with Crown Prince Kalroy. Of course, I had no real intention of cooperating. My goal was to become a double agent of sorts and safely protect my cute William.
As long as he grew up to be a sage king and didn’t kill me, I could take on such adventures.
Moreover, I had one more thing to rely on. Though unconfirmed, if I couldn’t avoid the ending of dying at William’s hands, I thought I wouldn’t die no matter what happened before he became emperor and turned into a tyrant. Still, I had to always be careful since I didn’t know how the original story might change.
What Crown Prince Kalroy wanted from me wasn’t orders to poison William or harm him. Knowing that I had come to work closely by William’s side, he asked me to spy.
‘Once a week when I call for you, you must report everything about William to me. If we can’t meet directly, I’ll send someone separately.’
‘Yes.’
I felt I could manage that appropriately without harming William.
By the way, William hadn’t already finished his meal, had he?
The poison that Kalroy gradually mixes into the food might not immediately threaten William’s life, but it’s still poison, so it wouldn’t be good to keep eating it.
Come to think of it, it was quite ironic. He put poison in the food to kill William, but the side effect of that poison helped with Alpha manifestation. For Kalroy, it was falling into his own trap.
My heart was urgent but my legs were short, so I couldn’t walk as fast as I wanted. How could the crown prince’s palace and the prince’s palace be so far apart? With an Omega’s weak body, just reaching there was exhausting.
“Hah, hah…”
Breathing roughly while running and running, by the time I arrived at the prince’s palace, it was already dark around me.
“Where have you been?”
Behern looked at me with suspicious eyes.
“I was looking around the dining hall and got lost, wandering around wrongly here and there before finally finding my way back.”
The palace, especially where princes or crown princes stayed, was the most maze-like part of the palace. It was a design that contained the wisdom of people who believed that even if an accident occurred, at least the next generation should be protected. So it would be quite a natural excuse for a young child arriving at the palace for the first time today to get lost.
Behern clicked his tongue as if pathetic.
“That’s why I told you to be careful.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem suspicious. After looking around to confirm whether there were people nearby or not, I led Behern to a place where no one was around. Perhaps noticing something was strange, Behern followed me without saying much.
“Um, Sir Behern. Is His Highness currently having his meal?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“It’s urgent. Just trust me and answer please.”
“No, the meal time has passed, but he’s insisting on eating when you come, so we’re reheating it.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Behern looked toward the opposite end of the corridor and said.
“Just in time, here they come. His Highness has missed his meal time because of you alone, so hurry and take the food!”
I nodded vigorously. I had planned to tell Behern what had happened and suggest getting food from elsewhere, but it seemed too late already. Since it had come to this, there was no choice. I had to take that food and prevent William from eating it.
“Yes. I’ll carry it myself.”
I took the food the servant was carrying and entered the prince’s room. William, who had returned from meeting the emperor, had his face full of anger for some reason.
“Where have you been?”
“As you can see, I’ve prepared dinner.”
William narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
