Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 151

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: The Assassination Attempt on Queen Marguerite (2)
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The royal palace was thrown into chaos.

“No one is permitted to leave!”

The Royal Guard stormed the luncheon hall and blocked the exits. Trapped inside, the noblewomen murmured amongst themselves, unable to hide their tension.

At Queen Marguerite’s urgent summons, three royal physicians had rushed to the scene. Each carrying their own reagents, they tested the water spilled on the floor before turning to examine the now-cold corpse of the small dog.

“Rocco! Don’t you touch my Rocco!”

As a physician used a medical speculum to inspect the dog’s feces-stained rear while the ladies crowded around to watch, Countess Rubina shrieked hysterically.

At Countess Rubina’s outburst, Queen Marguerite shot her a cold glare. Noticing the Queen’s expression, Ariadne took a step forward.

“Countess Rubina, I would advise you not to act so rashly.”

Being reprimanded by a slip of a girl, Countess Rubina’s face turned crimson with rage. Her anger was twofold, as she had previously held a favorable opinion of the child.

“You! Do you not know your place, acting so presumptuously before your betters!”

Ariadne held no title, while Rubina was a countess, so in a narrow sense, she was correct. However, Queen Marguerite’s face hardened at the Countess’s tirade, and she stepped forward.

“The same could be said for you.”

Countess Rubina glared at Queen Marguerite, her face contorted with fury. But she had no retort, not a single word she could say.

Ariadne warned Countess Rubina.

“Countess Rubina, we are in the midst of a possible assassination attempt on a member of the royal family. No one in this room has been cleared of suspicion. Whoever is identified as the culprit will not escape unscathed.”

Hearing Ariadne’s words, Countess Rubina’s expression stiffened, and she fell silent, finally grasping the gravity of her own situation.

“Who could have done such a terrible thing…!”

“But why did Countess Rubina suddenly go quiet?”

“She must have realized it herself. Who stands to gain the most if Her Majesty Queen Marguerite were to die now?”

“Good heavens…!”

“Surely not!”

Amidst the noisy and chaotic hall, the royal physicians conferred in the center before announcing their findings.

“Your Most Gracious Majesty, we have a report. As for the water on the floor… by the time we arrived, there was too little of it left. We were unable to detect any significant amount of poison.”

Ariadne bit her lip. *Ah, they needed to find a clear trace of arsenic in that!*

But the physician wasn’t finished.

“…However, given the state of the deceased dog, the possibility of natural causes is extremely low. If we examine the body, we may be able to identify the type of poison.”

“Are you certain it was poison?”

Someone asked. The chief physician replied.

“Its death was far too sudden to be from natural causes or illness. In fact, the most common poison used in such cases is arsenic…”

Arsenic! The noblewomen in the hall gasped in unison. It was a poison infamous for its use in assassinations. Countess Rubina covered her face with both hands.

*Could this really be an attempt on a royal’s life?*

While no one dared to speak, the physician continued his report.

“Arsenic’s most defining characteristic is that it cannot be detected post-mortem. That is why it is a favored poison among assassins. If a person had ingested it, they would likely have developed diarrhea and nausea by this evening, suffered for about two weeks, and then died, making it indistinguishable from death by illness. However…”

He glanced at the dog’s corpse.

“Because it was ingested not by a human but by a small dog, it consumed a dose far exceeding the lethal amount, not the typical quantity used for assassinations. In such cases, a post-mortem examination of the stomach often reveals hemorrhaging. If we were to open this dog’s abdomen and inspect its stomach…”

The chief physician’s report was cut short by a shrill scream.

“No!”

It was Countess Rubina. She darted forward and snatched Rocco’s body from the arms of an assistant physician.

“My Rocco… my poor Rocco…”

There was a belief on the central continent that a soul whose body was not intact at death could not join the cycle of reincarnation.

Tears streamed down Countess Rubina’s face like a waterfall. It was a rare sight for the arrogant and overbearing countess to show such vulnerability in front of anyone other than Leo III.

Queen Marguerite watched the sobbing countess with an expression as cold as ice. Lady Carla, seemingly shocked by the gravity of an assassination attempt on the Queen, was uncharacteristically pale and trembling.

Finally, unable to watch any longer, Ariadne intervened to stop Rubina.

“Countess! I fully understand your grief, but you must not obstruct the physicians’ examination at this time.”

Even Countess Rubina’s own faction couldn’t bring themselves to defend her, merely watching the situation with caution.

“Please step aside. An assassination attempt on royalty must not be taken lightly. Every detail must be brought to light!”

“She’s right.”

“That can’t be denied.”

“Countess Rubina… is she really acting this way just because of a dog?”

Suspicion was beginning to bloom.

Just then, the voice of a royal chamberlain echoed through the unsettled luncheon hall.

“His Majesty, the King, arrives!”

The main doors of the hall, which had been firmly shut, swung open with a bang! Accompanied by the Captain of the Guard, Leo III strode into the room with a forceful gait.

At his appearance, everyone in the hall, including Queen Marguerite, dropped to their knees.

“We greet the Sun of San Carlo!”

Leo III replied with extreme annoyance.

“All of you, rise.”

He scanned the assembly and asked.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Just as Queen Marguerite stepped forward to answer, Countess Rubina, clutching the dead dog, threw herself before Leo III, weeping.

“Your Majesty!”

Leo III flinched and recoiled, wary of being soiled by the dog’s filth. Having thrown herself with all her might at a man who was actively avoiding her, Countess Rubina was left lunging at empty air and began to wail sorrowfully.

“Rocco… my poor Rocco…”

Embarrassed by having so obviously dodged Countess Rubina in front of everyone, Leo III cleared his throat.

“What happened to Rocco, Rubina?”

As Leo III feigned concern and leaned down, Countess Rubina cried out tragically.

“My Rocco is dead, and the physicians say they’re going to dismember him!”

“Not dismember, but open the abdomen to examine the stomach…”

“Hush!”

When an assistant physician tried to correct Countess Rubina, the chief physician stopped him. A veteran of the palace, the chief physician knew very well that interjecting with the truth at this moment would do him no good.

Countess Rubina seized the momentum and pleaded desperately with Leo III.

“Please don’t let them take Rocco, please? I want to bury him whole!”

Queen Marguerite watched the scene with a frown. Only a few days ago, she had greatly displeased Leo III.

She couldn’t predict how her husband might react if she were to demand Countess Rubina’s punishment in front of everyone.

But she could not let them simply take the dog away. Queen Marguerite’s hands began to tremble. Just then, a small hand quietly slipped into her sweaty palm.

*?!*

Startled by the sudden physical contact, Queen Marguerite turned to her side. There stood Ariadne. Tall for a girl, yet with a slender, child-like frame, and an air of calm confidence that was unbelievable for her age.

She could have rebuked the girl for her impertinence. But the warmth was incredibly reassuring. Queen Marguerite looked at Ariadne in silence. Ariadne looked up at the Queen and smiled.

She whispered with her lips.

“Everything will be alright, Your Majesty.”

A wave of warmth spread through Queen Marguerite’s chest, and she managed a small smile. The sight of a little girl trying so hard to comfort her was utterly endearing.

However, the one who had spoken had no intention of stopping at mere ‘comfort.’ What she would offer her queen was a ‘resolution to the incident.’

“Your wise and brilliant Majesty, radiant as the sun of the Kingdom of Etruscan, may I be so bold as to say a word?”

Ariadne’s pleasant, low voice resonated through the luncheon hall. Queen Marguerite and the other noblewomen, startled, all turned to look at the black-haired girl.

Leo III, the target of her address, frowned as he looked at Ariadne.

“You are…”

An aide whispered from the side.

“She is the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare, Your Majesty. The one from the incident with the Apostle of Acereto…”

“I know.”

Leo III cut off Sir Delpiano. What he wanted to know was why the Cardinal’s second daughter was here today, and why she was stepping forward at this particular moment.

Leo III’s narrowed eyes slithered over Ariadne like a snake, and a cold sweat trickled down her back. The King was not pleased. That was the look of a man contemplating punishment.

But fortunately, Countess Marquez came to her aid.

“Your Most Esteemed Majesty, Leo III. That young lady is the one who stopped Her Majesty Queen Marguerite from picking up the water glass.”

Hearing that she was the one who had rendered a service, Leo III’s demeanor softened slightly. He considered himself an enlightened ruler who rewarded subjects who served him well.

Leo III asked Ariadne.

“You have something to say, Lady de Mare?”

Even the audacious Ariadne felt a chill run down her spine; she was now riding a tiger. There was no getting off now. She had to produce a favorable result.

She cleared her throat and began to speak.

“An attempt has been made on the life of a royal within the hallowed palace of the Kingdom of Etruscan. A poisoned drink, specifically targeting Her Majesty the Queen, was served. This time, the Queen was the target, but the very fact that such an attempt can even be conceived of within the palace means that from now on, no one is safe!”

Leo III let out a sigh. She was right. The mere thought of poison in his own drink was enough to induce insomnia.

“We must uncover the masterminds and eradicate their entire nest of traitors, so that no one may ever again even dream of such a heinous act! To that end, the very first step we must take is to definitively identify the type of poison that was in this drink!”

Countess Rubina cried out shrilly.

“What does it matter what kind of poison it is? We just need to catch the wretched person who tried to poison the Queen and execute them! What reason is there to cut open my Rocco’s belly!”

Unfazed, Ariadne answered calmly.

“My esteemed Countess Rubina, it is because we must accurately identify the type of poison so that if someone is found to be in possession of that specific substance, we can name them as the mastermind.”

“What did you say?”

Countess Rubina appeared greatly agitated.

“Among those with access to this palace, there are surely some who keep plant-based poisons in their homes, and some who keep mineral-based ones.”

The people began to whisper.

“Are there really that many people who keep poison at home?”

“W-Well, I’m not sure…”

“Can’t they just round up everyone? Who keeps things like that in their house?”

The few who did possess poisons trailed off and shrank back, while those with nothing to hide chattered triumphantly. Ariadne glanced at the noblewomen and added another word.

“It is because most poisons are also medicines. I’m sure you all keep thyme or liverleaf in your homes as a remedy for stomachaches. But even a common stomachache herb, if boiled with hawthorn berries, can kill a person in excessive doses!”

Hawthorn berries were a remedy for headaches. The triumphant ladies who had those herbs at home immediately fell silent. They needed it to be proven that this poison wasn’t made from common ingredients like thyme so they could go home!

Ariadne looked meaningfully at Countess Rubina.

“Shouldn’t you be proving that the poison is *not* arsenic, my lady?”

“…What? Why should I?”

Countess Rubina asked, her trembling lips held firm. Ariadne stared directly at her and said.

“Because you, my lady, are in possession of a large quantity of Salvarsan, a type of arsenic!”

Countess Rubina gasped and took a step back.

*That little brat! How did she know that?*