I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 191
10_The story of Rufus, a demon, and Iruel, a human
Two princes were dead.
The Third Prince, Prince Tarek, was poisoned by Prince Camus. The Second Prince, Prince Camus, fled into the forest but was killed by monsters. What the royal knights who belatedly followed Rufus found was the cold corpse of Prince Camus.
A body, torn by sharp teeth, with skin melted and punctured, in a pitifully ravaged state, with no part intact.
Some suspected that Rufus might have pursued and killed Prince Camus himself.
Isn’t it strange? That a royal, born with the blood of the royal family and possessing powerful magic, could be killed by such lowly monsters.
However, when they saw the prince’s corpse brought back to the palace, they immediately fell silent.
“He was simply unlucky.”
The royal mages, who examined the body of Prince Camus, shook their heads. All the wounds on Prince Camus’s body were undoubtedly the work of monsters.
Yet, curiously, there was an unusually large hole at the center of the prince’s chest. The mages speculated that perhaps the monsters had focused on that area. It was a plausible assumption, as many monsters tend to target human hearts.
Prince Tarek’s condition was marginally better than that of Prince Camus. At least his limbs were still intact, so it could be considered a slight relief.
“Prince Camus… had previously attempted to poison Prince Tarek, and now it’s come to this…”
Everyone in the palace whispered as if they had anticipated something like this would happen.
The royal mages struggled to determine the exact poison that had killed Prince Tarek. The toxin found in Prince Tarek’s body resembled the poison Hiramith. However, though similar, it wasn’t exactly the same.
The royal mages wrestled with this mystery.
“Hiramith is supposed to react only to demonic beings, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t only react to demons. It can affect humans as well.”
“That may be true, but even if Hiramith comes into contact with a human, it merely causes mild paralysis, not a fatal reaction.”
The human body can naturally detoxify Hiramith to some extent. In other words, it was improbable that Prince Tarek died from Hiramith, which only induces paralysis.
Unaware that ‘Prince Tarek’ was, in fact, half-human, half-demon—a being called Iruel—the royal mages grew increasingly perplexed, wondering how they should report this to the king.
“It is certain that Prince Camus used Hiramith.”
Someone listening to the royal mages’ discussion interjected. It was a young man with a sword at his waist.
“Ah, Lord Rufus!”
The royal mages quickly bowed upon seeing Rufus.
“How can you be so sure that Prince Camus used Hiramith? It’s not a poison potent enough to kill a person,” one of the mages cautiously remarked, glancing at Rufus.
“I’m well aware of that. But it seems that while you mages have a great thirst for knowledge, your practical insight falls somewhat short.”
“What an impertinent remark!” a mage retorted, visibly offended.
“Mage, think about it. The banquet was even attended by the crown prince of an allied nation.”
Rufus strode toward the table around which the royal mages were gathered.
“His Majesty ensured that no one could bring unnecessary weapons into the banquet hall.”
In other words, any poison that Prince Camus brought should have been detected at the entrance to the hall. Yet no one realized he had brought poison inside.
Thud.
Rufus placed a glass vial on the table.
“This is…?”
“It’s Hiramith.”
Rufus opened the cap of the vial filled with a green liquid. Instantly, a faint foul odor permeated the air.
“Try detecting the poison within this vial.”
The royal mages quietly complied. Their magic failed to identify the liquid inside the vial as poisonous.
“As you mentioned, Hiramith is not deadly. Therefore, it doesn’t register as toxic.”
Rufus, expressionless, continued.
“My belief is that Prince Camus brought the Hiramith into the banquet hall and then used magic to amplify its toxicity.”
“Magic… you say?”
“Yes. Isn’t there a high-level spell recorded in the magic tomes that enhances the properties of poisons?”
“But that is advanced magic, and even the strongest magic users can’t easily perform it….”
“Prince Camus could have done it.”
Rufus showed a cold expression.
“Prince Camus was of the royal family. With strong enough magic, he could accomplish anything.”
The royal mages looked at each other, exchanging glances. Though Rufus’s explanation wasn’t entirely satisfying, it was at least somewhat plausible. Besides, they could no longer delay the report to the king. Further delay would harm the royal mages’ reputations.
Thus, a conclusion was reached regarding Prince Tarek’s death.
“Prince Camus smuggled Hiramith into the banquet hall, amplified its toxicity with magic, and killed Prince Tarek!”
Though some harbored doubts about this conclusion, they held their tongues, silenced by the royal mages’ unanimous consensus.
