It is the season for love and murder in the court of Ravaeryn.
After a chance encounter one winter night, Lady Catarina de Fontaine had fallen hopelessly in love with Julian, the Crown Prince. However, upon discovering his untruthfulness, she immedi...
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1711, Aethiel Palace, Kestramore City
"Miss, are you alright ?" Marguerite's maid Aspen asked in concern after watching her mistress storm into the bedroom, partially shattering the glass doorknob in the process.
"Go away, you stupid hag! Leave me alone !" Marguerite shouted in rage, and the poor maid soundlessly left the bedroom, not wanting to ire her mistress any further.
Marguerite stripped off her outer layer of clothing and dumped them on the bed. Then, she squatted down and pulled out a briefcase from under the bed.
Although Princess Demitria had specifically instructed the ladies to bring nothing with them, Marguerite had broken that rule and snuck it inside anyways.
It was fairly small, and when she picked it up, there was the sound of clinking glass. Marguerite wiped off the dust that covered the top of the briefcase, and with bated breath, she slowly opened the clasp.
Strapped to the side of the briefcase were numerous vials filled with all sorts of colourful liquids, some sparkly, some viscous and some completely clear. On the other side, there were small glass jars that contained powders and dried leaves and flowers.
Nobody, not even Catarina had expected that Marguerite carried enough poison with her to annihilate the entire city of Kestramore.
The briefcase was a gift from her mother, a family heirloom of sorts. Her mother, Countess Alberta le Prince told her that she once used poison from the same briefcase to remove her archenemy, and Marguerite must do the same one day.
Eufemia Dubois was by no means Marguerite's enemy. In fact, the newlywed princess consort would never do anything that would harm her former friend. But she was a traitor in Marguerite's eyes, and that had sealed her fate.
Marguerite dragged her long nails across the rows of vials, enjoying the clinking sound of her nails against the glass.
The third from the left was a vial of vie pelkia, a deadly poison that originated from the neighbouring kingdom of Amaris. The poison was white and transparent, and in the dim candlelight, it seemed to cast off an eerie pearly glow.
Vie pelkia was a ruthless and infamous poison. The victim's internal organs would be completely destroyed, causing them to bleed from every pore and orifice of their body.
The second from the right was a vial of the Deretgana, which was created in the Isles of Vitale by an unnamed alchemist. All sales and production of the Deretgana were banned by the government, but it could still be found at the black market.
The Deretgana, thick and bright green, was known to cause the victim's blood to rapidly clot, which would lead to imminent death within minutes.
In the middle of the row was a vial of liquid atropa belladonna. The liquid was a deep reddish-purple, reminiscent of cranberry juice, and the poison was so concentrated that only a single drop could kill a fully grown adult, whereas it would take about ten to twenty berries to finish the job.
