The World Dragon's Heir-Chapter 104: Dragonberry Nap

Princess Alexis was on the ground, unconscious. Two servants were dead on the floor, decapitated by her guard, while one was sobbing in the corner with her hands on her head.

There was shouting in the corridors, but Dominic couldn’t tell what it was as he cast [Mage Armour] to block the first strike of the Royal Guards.

"It’s me. There were Dragonberries in my food. What were her symptoms?" He demanded.

"High fever, then unconsciousness. The room is soundproofed, and we didn’t notice until the guards inside failed to check in." The guard reported, with his blade still on Dominic’s neck.

"Where are the other guards?"

"They all ate lunch."

That explained it. Only the ones on guard duty at the door didn’t eat at the same time, for security’s sake. So, half the team was out of action. But not for much longer.

"I need your canteen." Dominic insisted, just now realizing that the coffee could well have been the drugged part of the meal.

It wouldn’t do to feed that to anyone else.

The Guard took out his canteen, and Dominic dumped the remainder of the antidote into it, then gave it a shake.

"Feed that to the Princess and then the guards."

The guard gave him what Dominic took as a flat glare, though it was impossible to tell with his visor down.

"Right, I will get her to drink. You have work to do."

Dominic tipped the Princess upright, and fed her a mouthful of water that she instinctively swallowed. Then another.

After the third, the flush began to fade from her face, and her eyelids fluttered.

"Good afternoon, Princess. I will leave you to the care of your guards, while I go treat the others." He whispered.

Princess Alexis nodded and gave him a faint smile, though her eyes remained mostly shut.

The guard tapped the door, and it was opened from outside, where Dominic saw that the other six guards were already all active.

"Oh, you found the antidote. Good work."

Guard Colonel Wilkes chuckled behind his visor. "We carry a magical antidote with us. Fortunately, one of our number was in the privy when the food came, so he didn’t eat with the rest of the unit."

So, they were waiting to see who showed up.

Dominic nodded and closed the door, returning to the Princess’ room.

"Here, sip at that. I diluted the antidote in it."

Alexis smiled at him. "Thank you. Quick thinking, coming here to check on us in that condition."

Dominic chuckled. "I rather like the flavour of Dragonberries, actually. It was the maid assigned to my room who got us here so fast. I’m over in the tower."

The guards snorted in amusement, and the Princess giggled softly.

"What?"

The Princess patted him on the shoulder. "Advisors are put over in the tower because most of them are lecherous old bastards, and the Royal Family prefers not to have them right next door terrorizing our servants." frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

The maid who had been assigned to Dominic’s floor nodded in agreement, but didn’t say anything until the Princess addressed her directly.

"If my guess is right, you should be a courtesan from the Marquis’ favourite establishment in town, right?" She asked.

The maid shook her head. "The Marquis isn’t the sort. He seems satisfied with his wife. I was chosen on recommendation from the Marquess three years ago for assignments of this nature."

The Princess gave Dominic a knowing look, and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Do I strike you as the type that would do that to someone who was afraid of losing their job if they said no?"

That made both the maid and the Princess laugh.

"They wouldn’t assign you one who wasn’t willing. But I applaud your moral convictions in this degenerate world.

Since you’re here, you should wait to see what happens. I don’t know whether they’re going to send someone to the tower or my suites first, but I am willing to wager that it’s directly here.

They put so much sedative in the food that I only got a few bites in." Alexis informed him.

Then she gestured for Dominic’s assigned maid to sit on a chair at the side of the room so that she could ask questions.

"How did you know what antidote to use, and where did you get it from?" She asked.

The maid shrugged. "The tower is fully stocked. There are two vials of every common antidote in the servants’ quarters, as well as a magical universal cleansing potion.

I don’t think that whoever sent the food up knew that, so they can’t be one of the regular chefs."

Princess Alexis gestured at the Guard, and Dominic realized that it was some sort of sign language, but not the one that he knew. City Guards and soldiers had a set of hand signals, a basic silent language, that he had learned as a youth while watching them train.

But this wasn’t the same. It was still done with one hand, but it was more detailed. But it also wasn’t the same one that the Wavemates Guards used when Dominic was a child.

A quick tap at the door let them know that something was happening, and then Dominic heard the door across the hall close.

"Everyone in position." The Guard whispered.

Alexis motioned out the patio door, and Dominic dragged the two surviving maids outside, then cast [Minor Illusion] on the Guard, to make him look like a chest of drawers.

Alexis laughed quietly, then Dominic cast the spell again, making her look flushed and sweaty, with a bit of blood from her temple onto her clothes, as if she had hit her head when she collapsed.

Neither would stand up to more than a few seconds of scrutiny, but with the Princes pretending to be unconscious on the floor, and signs of a bloody struggle in the room, it was likely that whoever came wouldn’t hesitate.

The door silently swung open just enough to let a slender figure through, and the assassin went straight for Alexis, not noticing the Guard standing behind him.

A swift strike to the back of his neck knocked the man out cold, and Princess Alexis climbed to her feet.

She gestured for silence, and the guard carefully checked the hallway to see if there was a spotter.

"All clear." He reported.

"Excellent. Now, let’s go sort this mess out. Advisor Dominic, please bring the staff with you. There will be questions. I don’t suppose that you know a truth spell, do you?" Alexis ordered.

Dominic shook his head. "I do not. But I have a ball peen smithy hammer I can loan you if you need to persuade someone to speak truthfully."

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