Banquet of Blood and Poison
The air in the grand banquet hall froze ice-cold.
...
...
...
Everyone held their breath, staring at the princess and me with stiff faces.
"Heh."
Surprisingly, the princess, Belakir, was the only one whose lips curved upward.
"What an amusing human."
"I'm glad you think so."
I smiled as I looked back at her.
"Smile while you still can, Princess."
"..."
"After all, you won't be able to laugh once you're dead."
"..."
Finally, the smile vanished from the princess's face.
I could feel it clearly.
The murderous intent flickering in her crimson eyes.
"Welcome, Princess Belakir."
The Emperor cut in, breaking the tension at just the right moment.
"Now, return to your seat and enjoy the banquet."
With that, the brief battle of nerves came to an end.
Music began to flow once more through the frozen banquet hall.
Spirits fluttered through the air in time with the melody, scattering gentle light.
Servants bustled about, serving wine and dishes.
The princess quietly returned to her seat.
"..."
"..."
Of all places, she had to sit right across from me.
When our eyes met, I smiled and raised my glass to her.
Belakir simply stared back, neither smiling nor raising her glass.
"Lord Taepyeong, provoking the Dark Elf Princess further might..."
Nairin, standing behind me, whispered softly.
"It's fine."
"...Pardon?"
"If the princess causes trouble here, the Emperor will kill her before I even stand up."
"..."
"She doesn't look stupid enough to not realize that."
My glass was filled to the brim with a fruit wine as red as Princess Belakir's eyes.
Just as I was about to take a sip—
Shatter!
Something flew through the air and struck my glass with pinpoint accuracy.
Shards of broken glass rained down onto the floor.
The red fruit wine spilled over, soaking my hand.
...
...
...
Silence fell.
And then—
"P-Poison!"
With someone's sudden shout,
"Subdue Princess Belakir!"
"How dare she target the youngest prince!"
The guards moved in unison.
Shring!
Shring!
Shring!
The guards drew their weapons, pointing their blades at Belakir.
Yet, Belakir did not show the slightest hint of agitation.
She merely stared in my direction with her chillingly crimson eyes, a cold smile playing on her lips.
"T-The princess was an assassin!"
"To dare commit such an act in the heart of the Empire!"
"Even if he is a human, he is still His Majesty's son!"
"You filthy traitors!"
The nobles poured their vitriol onto Belakir.
Even amidst the chaos, Belakir remained perfectly composed, smiling.
No, she wasn't just smiling.
She was mocking them.
"The heart."
Belakir's cold voice rang out.
"If my intention was to kill him, I would have pierced his heart."
"..."
"Instead of using poison."
"..."
The banquet hall instantly erupted into a clamor.
"I could kill the prince this very instant if I wished."
But the princess paid them no mind.
"I am merely showing restraint out of respect for my mother."
"Ha..."
Listening to her, I couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle.
A smirk played on my lips as I looked at the princess.
"You're wrong."
At my words, Belakir's brow furrowed.
"...What did you say?"
"Oh, of course."
I raised the back of my hand, showing the blisters bubbling up on my skin.
"You're right that there was poison in the glass."
"...Then what exactly am I wrong about?"
"About you..."
I shrugged.
"...being able to kill me."
Once again,
murderous intent flashed in Belakir's crimson eyes.
This time, it lingered a bit longer.
"Nairin."
"Yes, Lord Taepyeong."
The spirit summoned by Nairin washed and healed my hand.
The bubbling blisters vanished in an instant.
"Father."
I stood up from my seat.
"Speak."
The Emperor looked at me with an amused expression.
"Princess Belakir was not trying to kill me."
Of course, even if she wanted to, she couldn't have.
But that wasn't the important part right now.
"Then?"
"Surprisingly, it was the exact opposite."
"..."
"If the princess's knife hadn't shattered my glass, I would have swallowed the poison."
Of course, even if I had swallowed it, Nairin would have saved me in time, so I wouldn't have died.
But considering how potent it was just from touching my skin,
it certainly would have been a massive pain to deal with.
"So, calling Princess Belakir the assassin makes no sense."
"Hmm."
The Emperor smiled instead of answering.
As expected...
The Emperor already knew.
He knew Belakir wasn't the one trying to kill me.
He probably just stayed quiet because using this as an excuse to execute her wouldn't have been a bad outcome either.
"Then who exactly dared to try and kill my beloved son?"
At the Emperor's question, I slowly reached out my hand.
The tip of my finger pointed toward
the far end of the banquet table.
Standing there was...
"N-No, it's not me...!"
The noble who had screamed "Poison!" the very instant Belakir's knife shattered my glass.
"Y-Your Highness! Why...! Why would I ever do such a thing?!"
The elf noble protested, his face pale with terror.
"Who knows?"
I shrugged.
"I wouldn't know."
"T-Then why...!!!"
I picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor.
The very knife that had shattered the poisoned glass.
"That's why I'm about to find out."
Whoosh!
The knife flew at a speed invisible to the naked eye,
Thud!
piercing straight through the noble's hand and pinning it to the table.
"Aaaagh!"
The noble screamed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Indeed, dignity goes right out the window when pain is involved.
"Y-You crazy human bastard!!!"
Ah, there's his true colors.
I glanced back.
I looked at the Emperor.
"..."
The Emperor gave a silent nod.
Okay.
Permission granted!
Step.
Step.
Step.
I walked toward the noble with leisurely strides.
Drenched in cold sweat, the noble desperately tried to pull the knife from the back of his hand.
But whether it was because it was slick with blood,
or because he had lost his strength,
the knife wouldn't budge.
"D-Don't come any closer! Stay back!"
The noble shrieked as I approached, stopping right in front of him.
"H-How dare you! A mere human! A filthy human...!"
Tsk, tsk.
He's completely lost his mind.
Still, I should probably explain to him
what's about to happen.
"Listen carefully."
I pulled Jeoldanchamgeuk from my inventory.
And with Jeol...
Slam!
"Aaargh!"
I pinned his other hand to the table as well.
Holding Dan, I spoke to the wailing noble.
"You have exactly ten chances."
"Ugh...!"
"Ten chances to tell the truth."
Smiling, I gently pressed the edge of Dan against his thumb.
"I'm going to cut them off, one by one."
"W-Wait! Hold on!"
"When you choose to answer is entirely up to you."
Personally,
I didn't care if he talked or not.
I was just enjoying the show.
"Shall we begin?"
"Wa—!"
Before the noble could finish his sentence,
Slice!
his thumb was severed.
"Aaaaargh!"
While he was screaming,
Slice!
I took off his index finger next.
"Agh! I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'm sorry!"
"That's not an answer."
Slice!
As his middle finger fell,
the table became drenched in his blood.
The moment I raised Dan to cut the next finger,
"It was me! I did it! I put the poison in!"
Was it a scream or an answer?
Either way.
"I figured."
Crunch!
I brought Dan down, slicing off the remaining two fingers on that hand at once.
Why did I cut them off even though he answered?
Well,
consider it a penalty for insolence.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
The noble thrashed, but pinned by the knife and Jeol, he couldn't even collapse.
Any semblance of dignity was long gone as he wept and sniveled in agony.
"Now, you have five chances left."
"Wh-What? Five...?"
"Who ordered you?"
"Ah, ah, ah...!"
The realization that losing five fingers wasn't the end
filled his eyes with sheer terror.
He swallowed hard.
The noble was likely running calculations in his head.
Trying to weigh his options.
But,
calculations only work when you have the luxury of time.
I raised Dan once more.
"That is...!"
Just as he shuddered and opened his mouth to speak—
Flash!
A blue flash of light erupted.
In the blink of an eye,
a massive hole had been blown through the noble's chest.
His body went limp.
Thud.
He collapsed onto the table.
"..."
I turned toward the source of the flash.
Standing there was the Crown Prince.
"I apologize, brother."
The Crown Prince looked at me with an expressionless face.
"I should have weeded out such treacherous elements beforehand, but I failed to do so."
"..."
"Accept my apologies."
The Crown Prince then bowed deeply toward the Emperor.
"This incident is entirely due to my oversight. I apologize for ruining the banquet, Your Majesty."
The Emperor glanced at me.
I nodded.
"The disturbance ends here."
The Emperor's voice echoed throughout the banquet hall.
"Dispose of the traitor's corpse, and banish his family from the Empire."
The corpse was dragged away.
And then—
"Princess Belakir, despite the disturbance, please enjoy the banquet."
At the Emperor's single command, the guards sheathed their swords and withdrew.
Princess Belakir said nothing.
"..."
She stared not at the Emperor, but at me.
However, it was impossible to tell what thoughts lay behind those crimson eyes.
Whew...
I returned Dan and Jeol to my inventory.
"Lord Taepyeong, your formal attire..."
"Ah."
My suit was a mess, splattered with the noble's blood.
I can't exactly enjoy a banquet looking like this...
I glanced around.
The cold stares of the nobles
had now turned to sheer terror.
...Well, maybe this is actually better.
I gave Nairin a nod to reassure her.
Then, drenched in blood, I walked back to my seat.
Yes.
This banquet was practically thrown in my honor anyway.
It would be strange for me to leave.
"Nairin."
"Yes, my lord."
"Bring me some wine."
And make sure it's poison-free this time.