The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 61.

What?
‘Eleanor — what happened to Eleanor?!’
The world went white.
Poisoning.
That single, vicious word struck through my mind like lightning.
‘Eleanor was poisoned?!’
My heart stopped.
I saw her face from yesterday — warm, smiling as she offered me tea.
I turned to the knight holding the letter sealed with the Emperor’s Seal.
“The First Princess — is she safe?!”
The knight’s lips parted slightly as if to answer, then closed again, the words dying unspoken.
A scene from the original novel flashed through my mind.
The Attempted Poisoning Incident.
‘… Was it around this time?’
In the original story, there had indeed been an attempt to poison a member of the royal family.
But that incident had never been treated as particularly grave within the narrative.
It was merely a light episode — something to heighten the tension early on before the main characters swiftly resolved it and moved forward.
The Emperor had other princes besides the Crown Prince, and the one poisoned was a royal with no backing, no presence, not even a proper name in the text.
I lowered my gaze, my brow tightening.
But…
‘Why has it become Eleanor?’
In the original work, the one poisoned was clearly an insignificant royal — a mere extra.
Yet now it was the First Princess herself, Eleanor.
The Emperor’s eldest daughter. The Crown Prince’s own blood.
Though she was meant to be sacrificed through an International Marriage to another nation, the symbolism of a First Princess was worlds apart from some nameless prince languishing in a side palace.
‘Eleanor’s fate was supposed to be a tragic death — later, on a ship bound for a foreign land, not poisoned within the Imperial Palace walls.’
Of course, I had no intention of letting her die aboard that ship either.
I exhaled slowly.
This was, without question…
‘…because I’ve interfered with the original narrative.’
What do I do now?
From what I could see, Eleanor’s condition was grave.
She might even be hovering between life and death.
‘I can’t wait for Floria to appear.’
The truth was, this incident in the original work had been resolved by Floria, the female protagonist, working alongside Crown Prince Cain.
‘Which means Floria should already be somewhere inside the Imperial Palace.’
Floria came from common birth — she’d entered the Palace to earn money for her ailing brother’s treatment.
With her sunny disposition, optimism, and selfless nature, she had an annoying tendency to poke her nose into everything, involving herself in one incident after another.
This Attempted Poisoning Incident was one such case.
And it was while resolving it that she naturally met Crown Prince Cain.
But there was no guarantee Floria would appear in time to resolve this.
‘And I can’t comb the entire Imperial Palace searching for Floria just to hand her the case.’
Then it came.
“Move aside.”
A low, chilling voice cut through the Bedchamber entrance and into the room.
My head snapped up.
Varcan.
A killing intent so sharp it seemed to flay the skin radiated from the doorway, pouring into the chamber in waves.
The armed Imperial Palace Knights surrounding the room instinctively parted, spreading to either side.
Varcan walked through the gap they’d opened.
His black uniform coat swayed with precise, measured steps.
His expression remained unchanged, but the aura emanating from his body was far colder than usual.
Behind the approaching Varcan, the Eclipse Knights of House of Escar stood arrayed in opposition to the Imperial Palace Knights.
Varcan drew near and looked down at me, his question quiet and measured.
“Are you injured?”
His dark gaze swept across me, swift and keen.
I shook my head slowly.
“There isn’t one.”
Only then did Varcan’s gaze lift from my fingertips to my face.
Somehow, he was furious.
No—furious didn’t begin to cover it.
It was as though a finely honed blade had taken human form and was standing before me.
I stepped closer to Varcan.
“Your Majesty.”
I spoke in a low whisper.
“It appears something has happened to Princess Eleanor. They said they would accuse me of attempting to poison her.”
Varcan’s eyes narrowed to slits.
He turned immediately to Roan.
“The situation.”
Roan stepped forward, glancing at me once before he spoke.
“Yesterday, you and the Princess took tea together.”
Roan swallowed hard.
“After that, the Princess’s condition deteriorated suddenly, and she suffered high fever throughout the night, or so it’s reported.”
It seemed I’d become the prime suspect simply because I was the last person to share tea with Eleanor.
“And now? How is she now?”
When I asked with a note of urgency, Roan replied with a grave expression.
“She’s lost consciousness, they say.”
……
My chest tightened.
I hadn’t used poison, true enough—but my presence had nonetheless disrupted the original flow of events, and Eleanor was clearly bearing the consequences.
That was when it happened.
The knight at the front spoke in a heavy voice.
“We cannot afford further delay.”
……
I lifted my gaze to them.
The situation was clear enough.
‘Even so, isn’t this terribly disrespectful?’
They could certainly suspect me.
By all appearances, I was indeed the most likely suspect.
But to break down the bedchamber door of the Duchess of House of Escar?
And to come pouring in with armed Imperial Palace Knights, a letter bearing the Emperor’s Seal leading the way, treating me as a criminal and attempting to drag me out?
‘……It’s excessive.’
Fake or not, I was the Duchess of House of Escar in their eyes right now.
The proper course would be to request an investigation formally or to conduct the arrest with courtesy.
Was this how they showed contempt for House of Escar?
‘Or was it only because I was a mere Duchess that they dared?’
Either way, it was a blatant insult.
Perhaps they meant to use this Attempted Poisoning Incident as a pretext to drag House of Escar’s honor through the mud.
Whether the Emperor himself stood behind it, or Crown Prince Cain—either way, it mattered little.
That was when it happened.
Before I could even react, Varcan turned and fixed the Imperial Palace Knights with a direct stare.
Shhhhhh—.
Then suddenly, a translucent, sword-purple Aura began pouring from his entire body in a sinister flow.
The Aura penetrated the spaces between them and crept along the floor like something alive, and the Imperial Palace Knights who had stood with such boldness went deathly pale.
The pupils of the knights who had gripped their sword hilts so confidently trembled finely. They exchanged glances, then faltered and retreated backward.
The knight holding the letter cried out with a blanched, sickly face.
“Your Grace! This is an Imperial Decree!”
“And?”
“If you defy an Imperial Decree, it will become v-very troublesome!”
Varcan let out a low, quiet laugh.
“Troublesome? For whom?”
The knight mustered his courage once more and spoke.
“Attempted assassination of the Imperial family is a c-capital crime!”
Varcan tilted his head slowly.
“Who.”
……
“Someone tried to assassinate me.”
“That—well, if we conduct a proper investigation—”
As Varcan stepped forward, the knights drew in a sharp breath and retreated in unison.
To my eyes, it was merely a mysterious deep-violet Aura, but to them it seemed to radiate something far more menacing.
“Simply because she happened to be in the same room.”
His voice dropped lower.
“You would drag the wife of House of Escar away like a criminal?”
Varcan took another heavy step forward.
“Without proper evidence, you simply burst in—”
“…….”
“Is this how the Imperial Palace conducts itself?”
I stared at Varcan’s back.
I could only see his silhouette, not his face, but watching the knights standing across from him was enough to tell me they looked absolutely terrified.
‘This is insane. Absolutely insane.’
If I let myself act on instinct, I’d be begging the Duke to tear this whole palace to rubble.
But no matter how fictional this world might be, what unfolded before my eyes was very real.
‘If the Duke clashes with the Imperial Palace Knights here, it really will become Treason.’
The secondary male lead who was supposed to die for the heroine would be arrested for Treason right here—and then executed?
In a way, that was certainly a proper twist on the original plot.
But I had no intention of letting Varcan die that way.
Because it might be exactly what someone lurking behind these knights truly wanted.
I quickly scurried to Varcan’s side and grabbed his arm to hold him back.
The ferocious knight looked down at me with a start, his fierce momentum suddenly checked.
‘Don’t worry, Duke. I’ll handle this.’
Then, with an imperious lift of my chin, I called out sharply to the knights.
“I demand—”
At the clear, ringing tone of my voice, every knight’s gaze snapped to me at once.
“—an audience with His Majesty immediately!”
“…….”
“…….”
The air that had been drawn taut by Varcan’s Aura fell suddenly silent.
I flashed a sideways smile at the bewildered knights staring down at me.
“Well? Lead the way.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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