Chapter 44: A Noble Family Banquet
Chapter 44
44.1
No one expected that before the banquet at Castle Ravenmont even started, a shocking incident would occur:
The appetizers for dinner had not yet been served, the waiters were still carrying silver trays in and out of the banquet hall, Duke Hugh Carragher had just delivered his speech, and the banquet was just beginning.
However, a crisp sound suddenly interrupted everything——
“Bang!”
The glass of wine broke the syllables of the musician's instrument, and the musician stopped playing in astonishment; all the guests turned their heads subconsciously to look:
The glass in Mrs. Agnes Felix's hand fell to her feet, shattering completely. Cecilia, who was sitting beside her, stood up in surprise and called out, "Mother."
Lady Agnes turned pale and her eyes widened slightly.
The Duchess reached out her hand to Cecilia, and moved her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something. However, before she could make a sound, she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!
Bright red blood stained the tablecloth and Cecilia's dress, and a waiter screamed loudly.
"Someone...someone is trying to murder the Duchess!"
Lady Agnes Felix was no longer able to utter a single word. The Duchess collapsed into Cecilia's arms, where she supported her. Panic and agitation erupted in the banquet hall, with waiters running about and guests looking at each other, bewildered.
Cecilia was clearly shocked by the scene before her. The usually calm and composed noble girl was also momentarily panicked when she saw her mother vomiting blood.
Euridice stared at her, not missing the genuine panic in her eyes; however, Cecilia was a young noble with very strong self-control. After only a moment of trembling, she quickly regained her composure.
Cecilia exchanged glances with her father, then said decisively, "Please don't panic."
Duke Karagaran remained silent with a sullen expression. Cecillia, supporting her mother, said calmly, "It seems an accident has just occurred. My mother... has suddenly fallen ill."
Cecilia said, looking decisively at the Duke: "The most urgent thing now is to summon the Merman Medical Officer to treat my mother's acute illness."
The young viscount had a calm demeanor and a steady voice, and her light voice soothed some of the guests' restlessness.
The guests looked at Duke Karagaran, who waved his hand and said, "Knight Commander, please ask the mermaid doctor from Castle Ravenmont, Morman, to come to the banquet hall."
Following Duke Karagaran's order, a water tank half a person's height was slowly pushed by four knights, and a medical officer with long dark blue hair was pushed into the banquet hall.
"We seem to have seen him." Hesong whispered.
Olidesi looked at the magnificent mermaid tail fin in the tank and curled his lips. "Last time, at the wedding ceremony of Princess Matilda and Alex Karagaran, it was this Morman mermaid medical officer who saved Alex. Perhaps there aren't many Morman mermaid medical officers in Ravenmount Castle. After all, their tail fins need to be immersed in a tank to survive on land, and their numbers are very scarce."
He Song suddenly realized: "Yes, it's him, this medical officer."
This medical officer from the Moman mermaids always exudes a damp and salty smell from the Little Sapphire Sea. There are some dense fish scales on his arms, which gives people a magnificent and magical atmosphere.
In front of the mermaid medical officer, the guests did not make any loud noises, but waited quietly for the medical officer's treatment.
The mermaid medical officer was pushed to the side of Madam Agnes. He did not reach out to touch or examine Madam Agnes' body. Instead, he spoke in a low voice and began a low and strange chant.
That was not the language of the human race, and the people present did not understand it. The expression of the mermaid medical officer Moman gradually became solemn while chanting.
When the medical officer stopped chanting, he called out heavily, "Duke."
Duke Karagaran frowned slightly and looked over inquiringly. The mermaid doctor said softly, "Duchess, she's not suddenly ill."
“That’s…?”
"It's poison," said the doctor. "Duchess, you have accidentally ingested a deadly poison."
44.2
When the mermaid doctor whispered: "The Duchess accidentally ingested a deadly poison."
The entire banquet hall was like the glass in the Duchess's hand, and the sound of these words was heard:
"What? Poison?" someone exclaimed in surprise.
A buzz of discussion and whispers rose up. "Could it be that someone really wanted to poison the Duchess? At the banquet at Ravenmount Castle?"
Someone shifted uncomfortably in their seat, their chair scraping against the floor with a soft, snapping sound. "The poison must be in the red wine... Is there something wrong with our drink too?"
"How horrifying," someone whispered, their eyes wandering. "Poisoning the Duchess at the Karagalang family's honor banquet? This is a declaration of war against the Karagalang family."
Hesong subconsciously looked at Oulidsi: "...What happened?"
Oledsi looked back at her and blinked innocently: "I don't know - I really don't know."
The guests' chatter grew louder, and Cecilia Karagaran instinctively glanced at Olidesi, but Olidesi didn't look at her. Cecilia closed her eyes, then quickly opened them.
The young noble said clearly: "Silence!"
Cecilia wasn't a strong person, but when she gave the order calmly and clearly, most of the guests subconsciously stopped talking. Even Duke Hugh Caragaran turned his head slightly to look at his daughter.
"Now is not the time to criticize Poison and the Karagaran family," she said coldly. "My mother is still vomiting blood."
Some guests shut their mouths awkwardly. Cecilia looked at the mermaid doctor, Moman. "Doctor."
"Miss Cecilia."
"You said your mother accidentally ingested a deadly poison." Cecilia stared at him. "So, is there any antidote for this poison?"
The Merman Medical Officer hesitated for a moment before replying, "I have a guess as to the type of poison. However, I need to verify my guess before I can treat the Duchess."
Cecilia nodded slightly: "We need to determine the toxicity of the poison before we can treat it. But how should we confirm it?"
The mermaid medical officer Moman waved to the knight beside him, and someone handed him his medicine box; the medical officer took out a slender glass dropper and a bottle of colorless reagent from the medicine box.
"There's a poison called 'Bloody Curse,' made from a mixture of human blood and Jingge grass extract," the medical officer said. "Its color and flavor are very similar to red wine, and the damage it causes is massive vomiting and blood loss."
Cecilia paused slightly and said, "It sounds very similar to my mother's symptoms."
"Yes," the medical officer replied, "and this bottle of reagent contains an extract from the thorngrass. When it comes into contact with the 'bloody curse', it will turn a bright yellow."
As the mermaid medical officer was speaking, someone from the Ravenmont Knights had already picked up the broken pieces of the wine glass that Lady Agnes had dropped and handed them to the medical officer.
The medical officer took two drops of the reagent with a glass dropper and dropped them on the broken pieces of the wine glass.
A bright yellow color immediately appeared on the sharp glass.
The guests gasped, and someone murmured, "It really is the 'Bloody Curse'... Is the 'Bloody Curse' real? I thought it was just a legend from the wartime era."
Hesong listened to these discussions and for some reason, he felt an ominous premonition in his heart.
"'The Blood Curse,'" he whispered. "Have you ever heard of that, Ouldsey?"
Olidisi seemed to be thinking. "The master mentioned it. It is said that the poison was made from the poisoner's own blood."
He Song was stunned: "Use the poisoner's own blood?"
"Yes." Oledsi nodded. "I heard that this poison is made from the blood of the poisoner, and can only be cured by the blood of the poisoner. People regard it as a legend."
Of course, Duke Karagaran knew clearly what the guests were talking about.
The Duke frowned deeply and said in a deep voice, "'Bloody Curse', is this - the kind of poison that can only be cured by the blood of the person who poisoned it?"
The mermaid medical officer said solemnly, "That's right."
He shook his head slightly as he spoke, "My chanting can clear the poison from the Jing Ge grass in the Duchess' body. However, the powerful thing about this poison is that when the poison from the Jing Ge grass is cleared, the blood of the person who poisoned it will seep into the Duchess' body."
Duke Karagaran mused for a moment, "Let the blood of the person who poisoned me seep into the Duchess's body..."
The Duke made no comment, and Cecilia said calmly, "I know the academy's master mentioned that if two people's blood types can't mix, they will produce a mutual repulsion reaction. Then, my mother's life could be in danger."
The mermaid medical officer nodded slightly. "In this case, there's only one way to counteract the poison—to find the person who poisoned her, obtain a blood sample, and carefully compare the blood types of both individuals. With the sample, the experienced Morman mermen will be able to identify the abnormal blood in the Duchess's body and use chanting to prevent its invasion."
The medical officer said this, his eyes glancing at the guests.
"So," he said, "to save and cure the Duchess, we must find the person who poisoned her and get a blood sample from him."
The mermaid doctor said this, and the guests began to whisper anxiously again:
"Are we going to find the person who poisoned me now?"
"What do you mean, are you searching us like criminals?"
"Does everyone have to donate their blood?"
Hearing the guests' uneasiness, Cecilia suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Extract of Jingge grass." she said.
The mermaid medical officer was slightly startled, and Duke Karagaran also looked at her.
Cecillia said: "When the extract of Jinge grass comes into contact with the 'blood curse', it will show a bright yellow color."
The mermaid medical officer paused, as if realizing something: "Yes."
"The 'blood curse' in Mother's wine glass is very fresh," Cecilia said clearly. "Its residue will stick to the poisoner's fingers, dress, and even the rim of the glass. So, we just need to sprinkle the extract of the thorn grass on the suspect's hands, sleeves, and the wine glass and utensils they have touched. Then we can test who has touched this poison."
When Cecilia said this, Euridice suddenly laughed.
"Ah," she said, "so they are waiting for me here, Herson."
He Song obviously understood. He looked over in surprise, his face slightly changed: "Oulidesi——"
However, it was too late.
The knights of Ravenmont Castle, holding glass droppers, came to Hesong and Oulidesi with serious faces.
Olidisi laughed: "Oh, starting directly with me and Hesong, huh?"
The Grand Master of the Knights of Ravenmont glanced at Hesong, Eustace, and Simon, and said seriously, "Yes, all the new barons at the banquet are suspects."
Euridice understood:
If anyone murdered the Duchess, he would have clipped Cecilia's wings and increased the possibility that the Duke of Karagaran's illegitimate son would inherit the title.
Therefore, all new barons were initially viewed with suspicion by the Knights Templar.
Without waiting for the knight to say anything, Oridesi simply stretched out his right hand.
"Save some time," she said. "No need to explain—just start with me."
Hesong looked at her in surprise. Before he could stop her, Oulidesi had already reached out and touched the drop of Jingge grass extract.
A bright yellow color suddenly appeared on her hand!
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