Secrets of the Villainous Empress

Chapter Four: Long Live The Blood-Crazed Empress.

“So, what? She hasn’t died yet.”  The head maid, Hilda, said to the doctor, who was now packing up his tools after illegally examining the Empress’s body.

It was the dead of night, and the invited doctor was not the royal one. Rather he was a childhood friend to the head maid, and though he was good at his job, he was not saying the words that she longed to hear.

“Are you telling me that a ruler should still bear their title even when they have not left their bed in six months?”

“Are you a physician or politician? I recall seeking assistance from only one of those!” the maid fussed at his response.

“Face it, Hilda, the Empress, is as good as dead.” The doctor said, then sighed. He picked his suitcase from the chair he had dragged next to the Empress’s large bed. “If it makes you feel any better, I will not tell anyone unless I am summoned by proper nobility; by then, you should have left this place. All the staff working within castle walls will be slaughtered for poisoning the Empress, even though the main culprit is nobility. The pretences are nauseating, so I really hope you will leave before her death is announced.”

“Gods!” Hilda sighed. Her hands flew easily to her hair as the weight of his words grew heavier. “I am going to die!”

“Don’t say that! Perhaps…” he sighed, “I wish...no, even if you had warned her, she would have left you defenceless.”

“Warn her? Are you insane? She slaughters people with only her bow!” Hilda shuddered as she spoke, “Seven months ago during the full moon, she sat in the ballroom and played the violin for her concubines. The men bled out of their ears!!”

“The next day, there was no discussion about their lives or justice. She called them weak then went back to her daily activities.”

“They bled out of their ears?” the doctor asked. “Is that exaggeration for how bad she was?’

“No! No, I am not exaggerating! The previous head maid told me on such nights, when the moon shines, to keep my head down.” Her voice softened.

“She killed the men with only her bow, can you believe it? They didn’t just suffer damage to their hearing, but apparently, their internal organs were damaged!” Hilda explained further, “She deserves to be poisoned, there is no question about that, but only yesterday did I understand that if she died, so do we, so I just want her to hold on longer so that I can retire; without looking suspicious.”

“But I know that if I leave now, my mum and dad will be in trouble. The Empress’s uncle is ruthless!”

“The Theodores?”

“Yes, they are ruthless and very pretentious! What do you think they will do with me just to clear their name?”

“Hoo…sounds like you are in a pickle. So, all I have to do is not die now, is that correct?” a voice as smooth as silk replied to the head maid’s words.

“Yes, that is what-!!” both the doctor and the head maid turned slowly to the body seated upright on the bed, even in the room illuminated only by moonlight, her mischievous smile glimmered.

Both the maid and the doctor fell to their knees. Despite the woman being inches away from her death, she was still beyond them.

“F-forgive us for our transgressions.” The doctor said, his mind racing a mile a minute, so much so that he was surprised he could actually form a sentence.

“Shhh, there, there.” She hummed, “if forgiveness were acceptable, the execution grounds would not reek of death.”

“Y-your i-imperial majesty.” Hilda spoke, her soft voice trembling from fear, “Please, please-,” the head maid began, but a soft laugh from the Empress halted her words.

“Even if I execute both of you for sneaking into the Empresses’ quarters in the dead of night to touch her body without permission and spare your families, that would be considered mercy.”

“Your imperial majesty, we…all we wanted to do was confirm your health-,” the doctor defended.

“And to lie to my face.” The Empress sighed, “Say it, you did not come to confirm my health but my death.”

Both stilled, unable to utter a word in justification of their actions.

The only challenging part of sneaking into the castle had been the ground floor and first floor of the central wing. The East wing was known as the Empress’s quarters. No one, not even her knight, was permitted to enter at night.

Hilda had believed that it was because of the rumours that the Empress slaughtered people in her sleep.

-Could that be true?-

 The doctor thought as he stared at the woman facing them; though her eyes were shut, she followed his movements.

Will this be his last night all because of a few measly Keris?

“Doctor?” she called.

“Yes?”

“Your gaze should be on the floor. Why are you gawking at me? Do you wish to add to your crimes?”

“NO! n-no!” he answered, then dropped his gaze to the floor.

-Her eyes were not open!- the doctor thought, -How…how the hell could she see him?-

Azalea Oleander Cursix

-I am freaking blind, and there are people in my room!!-

 {The host requested the synchronisation of Appraisal}

 {Progress is at 29%. Does the host wish to cancel?}

-Twenty-nine? Are you kidding me!! I was in sleep mode for more than twelve hours, is that all!!-

{The hosts inhabited body was severely damaged by the ‘Weeping Moonlight poison’, apart from rendering the hosts body permanently unable to bear children, the hosts' internal organs were ‘frozen’.}

Barren? Nothing new. I have never been able to bear children in any of my roles. I either inhabited a person who was already a mother or came into a body damaged in that sector or one that that area just didn’t function.

-Why the quotations? Does that mean that they do not work or?-

{The poison forces the body to produce unnecessary heat as the poison coats most of the internal organs and mimics the effects of freezing-}

-Bah! Excuses!-

-So I have to deal with the intruders blind?-

-s**t, activate a mana field using Azalea’s mana-

 {The synchronisation is not complete}

-Then use my mana!-

 {Understood}

Weak, my mana was weak because it was being replaced by Azalea's, but it could do the trick.

I slowed my breathing and emitted some of my mana in the air until it attached itself to the two intruders, enabling me to see their rough outline.

“Understand that as of now, you have both forfeited your lives to me.”I said, and both the maid and doctor flinched, “Please, blame your stupidity.”

“Y-you-,” The maid began.

“Silence,” I said, then sighed. “I want both of you to trace the root of the poison to buy back your lives.”

“What?” the doctor responded, shocked.

“For you, doctor, the name of the poison is ‘Weeping moonlight’. It is indigenous to the southern isles, so the south port is the best place to start,” I paused, “because of its nature, it is always packaged in silver flasks approximately the size of the little finger.”

“I-if it is as you say, how are we suppose-,”

“Let me finish.” I interrupted, “Surely, now that you have gotten a glimpse of my intention, you think it wise to interrupt me?”

“N-no I am-,”

“The poison is expensive; thus, the crate will be small, it is normally packaged inside cooling stones because of its nature, so it is very conspicuous.”

Thanks to the system, I know that the supply is not currently in the castle, but there will be movements as news of my recovery spreads.-

“There will be another shipment soon, so I want you to keep an eye on who picks it from the docks.”

“You, maid.”

“YES!” she yelled in a startled voice, “yes?”

“You will check the shipments coming in the castle, especially in the kitchens, if possible find the spy as well. It will most likely be the first person to protest when you search the crates, so before you use my name, watch your surroundings,” I instructed, “Both of you take a seal from my office that shows a member of the imperial family sent you, but do not use it unless you absolutely have to. Otherwise, you will be killed.”

“Both of you are to go to ‘Eyes and Goole’s pub’ after you have found out enough, request to see Henderson, the password is Heathens, tell him, ‘The favour you owe Basilica is due.’ Afterwards, tell him everything you have seen, what you have done, and where you have been. However, do not mention anything pertaining to my position or the identity of the person who sent you.”

“Let him think for himself.”

The plus side of successive reincarnations is connections.

-System, is it possible to identify them?-

 {Yes, they have touched the host's body; therefore, identification is possible.}

-I am going to miss the system when it goes offline-

{Male: Inger James, a physician. Female Hilda Frier, one of the two imperial head maids. Hired a year ago. }

“Do not question how I know all this or the certainty of the task. That will be insulting.” I said, then turned to face away, “but know this, your lives are mine, Inger James and Hilda Frier.”

“I will wait seven days before I take any actions. I can guarantee that you will not like what I will do if I do not hear word from you in those number of days, so be careful.”