Primrose looked around carefully, making sure no one else could hear their conversation. "Then tell me, who exactly did you kill?"
"You asked me to make a poison strong enough to kill a vicious beast," Salem said with a shrug, looking completely unbothered. "So of course, I had to test it on a creature close to that level. The result was amazing, he died in just four seconds."
The blood drained from Primrose’s face. She hadn’t expected Salem to use a beast as a test subject.
Was his heart truly made of stone?
[Why does she look so shocked?] Salem thought. [She asked me to make a poison that could kill a beast, so why is she acting like someone with a soft heart now?]
[If she wanted someone dead, she should’ve known there’s no room for hesitation.]
But Primrose wasn’t like that. She didn’t want to kill just anyone.
She only wanted to use that poison if it meant protecting herself or punishing someone who truly deserved it.
Her morals might not be perfect, but that didn’t mean she had no empathy.
If someone had never wronged her, why should she go out of her way to kill them?
"Sir Vesper, I’ll only ask this once," Primrose said, narrowing her eyes. Her tone had grown colder. "Who did you kill? This isn’t a joke. If people find out we killed someone without a good reason, we could face serious punishment."
It wasn’t just about right or wrong, Primrose also didn’t want to be executed for something she didn’t even approve of.
Maybe Edmund wouldn’t have the heart to sentence her to death, but what about his people?
The people of Noctvaris might riot if they find out their Queen had done something so cruel, especially if the victim wasn’t even a criminal.
Salem furrowed his brow. "Why do you look so worried, Your Majesty?" he asked with a tired sigh. "Don’t worry. I’m not that reckless."
"I used the poison on a death row inmate," he explained calmly.
"He was a tiger beast. His Majesty had already sentenced him to death for abusing his wife and killing two of his daughters.
"He was supposed to be hanged tomorrow morning, but since I did God’s work, the executioner can take a day off tomorrow."
Salem had secretly added the poison into the man’s last meal.
It wasn’t much, just a single drop, so even a beast with a sharp sense of smell wouldn’t have noticed it unless they were already familiar with the poison.
The guards later testified that the tiger beast had already died when someone came to take his empty plate.
He had passed away while sitting upright, one hand still holding a spoon, the other clutching his chest.
The doctor declared it a heart attack. No one even suspected poison.
She lowered her gaze, her voice soft and filled with understanding. "It must be hard to entrust your life to someone like me."
A warm smile tugged at her lips, but her eyes held a hint of sadness. "A fragile human like me ..." she whispered with a sigh. "I must be so difficult to protect, especially compared to the strength of the beasts. Still, it’s a shame I won’t have a royal guard I can truly trust."
Callen’s face turned pale. He swallowed hard, guilt spreading across his face as he watched the Queen belittle herself.
[Why would Her Majesty think so little of herself?! If anything, I’m the one who isn’t worthy of protecting her!]
"Your Majesty, that’s not the reason I hesitated," Callen said quickly. "Truly, I’d be honored to protect someone as kind as you."
"Then why did it take you so long to decide?" Primrose asked gently.
"It’s just ..." Callen hesitated, then lowered his head. "I thought my skills weren’t good enough. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to protect you properly."
"There are so many soldiers stronger than me. So I kept wondering, why would you choose me?"
"I already told you my reason," Primrose said softly, repeating her old words. "My intuition told me you were a good person, someone trustworthy. That’s why I chose you to be my personal guard."
"Honestly, you don’t need to worry too much about your skills right now. I’ll assign another soldier to become one of my royal knights. The only thing I need from you is to be someone I can rely on."
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