Obsession... What's That? I Just Wish Someone Would Help Me Escape - Chapter 58
“Who’s pitiful?”
“I’ll take this. You don’t have any complaints, do you?”
“Go ahead. But, if you’re a god who helps me, shouldn’t you be getting me out of here and letting me live in luxury?”
The man, still claiming to be a god, pocketed the necklace and shook his head.
“Kido? What’s going on here?”
Leah’s startled voice rang out.
She had entered the scene at some point, her eyes widening in shock at the sight of 27’s lifeless body.
“Why is Number 27 dead?”
“I’m not sure. He suddenly started convulsing and then… he died.”
Leah was simple-minded, so she wouldn’t think I killed him.
“Did you kill him?”
She’s so simple that she was led to that conclusion.
I put on a wistful expression as I held up the cup of dandelion tea.
“We were just drinking some dandelion tea together. Maybe it didn’t suit his constitution?”
“Did you poison it? You’re practically a… what was it, a ‘master’s degree’ in medicine or something?”
What kind of analogy is that? I gave her a deadpan look.
“Do you think medicine and poison are the same?”
Leah blinked, confused for a moment, but then nodded as if she’d figured something out in her own way.
“Oh! That’s it, it’s like an allergy, right? If you eat something wrong, you could die from it.”
“I guess so.”
* * *
No one really cared much about Number 27’s death, considering how recently he had arrived.
Most people just gave the standard, “Oh, that’s too bad” kind of reaction.
Maybe in the past, they would have taken it more seriously, but…
In a place where human rights no longer existed and life was casually disregarded, death was just part of the routine.
When you see people dying every day, only to be replaced by new prisoners, you start to become numb to it.
But Number 25 was different.
“Don’t tell me, wasn’t this your plan from the start? You tried to kill him by throwing him off the cliff, but when you fell instead, you had no choice but to poison him in the end.”
He spoke like he had some detective syndrome. Leah frowned.
“Even if that were true, prisoners killing each other is pretty common here. If you’re weak, you die. That’s just how things work in this place.”
As nonchalant as she sounded, it could still be a problem if there was another executioner hiding among the 20s.
If it became known that I was the one who poisoned the executioner, not only would the other executioners in this place come after me, but the entire order would start keeping a close eye on me too.
I needed to keep up the act of being weak and insignificant to avoid drawing attention.
“It wasn’t me. Why would I bother denying it? I could’ve moved up to Number 27’s spot. Besides, if anyone’s getting killed around here, wouldn’t it be me?”
I let out a weak cough, putting on a fragile face.
Number 25 pointed to the cup in my hand.
“If you really poisoned him, there should still be traces of the poison. Why don’t you brew the same tea again? It could’ve been some reaction with the dandelion flower.”
“Sure, I can do that.”
The same prisoner who had brewed the tea earlier boiled the water again, and I steeped the dandelion flower before blowing on the tea and taking a sip, making a show of it.
Despite watching me, Number 25 still didn’t drop his suspicious glare.
“If you’re still doubtful, why don’t you try it?”
I extended the cup toward him, and Number 25 hesitated, glancing around nervously.
That’s when Leah stepped forward, hands on her hips.
“You’re suspicious but don’t even have the guts to check? How do you expect to survive in prison with that weak mentality?”
Leah, clearly possessing the heart of a beast, snatched the cup from my hand and gulped down the tea in one go.
Her face quickly turned red as she clutched her throat, hacking and coughing.
“Cough…! It feels like my throat is on fire!”
Seeing her struggle, Number 25’s face lit up with certainty as he pointed accusingly at me.
“See? It’s poisoned, just like I said—!”
“Oh, it’s just boiling hot!”
Of course her throat was burning—she’d just chugged scorching hot tea.
Leah fanned her mouth, trying to cool down.
“I’ve burned my whole mouth. But other than it being hot, I don’t feel anything weird.”
Any trace of poison left in the cup was now gone.
Blue centipede venom is strong enough to kill a large animal with just a tiny amount, but it breaks down at temperatures over 40 degrees.
So I had waited for the tea to cool to a lukewarm state before slipping in a drop of the centipede’s venom.
Then, once I poured in boiling water, no trace of it would be left behind.
Number 25 let out a long, exasperated sigh.
He then lowered himself, closing Number 27’s eyes as he murmured quietly.
“May you find rest in the cradle of peace.”
Wait a second. That was exactly what 27 had said to me right before he tried to push me off the cliff.
