The Crimson Magister Chapter 59: V2-C40: Snake’s Folly

Read chapter 59 of The Crimson Magister by Okram on NovelPedia.

V2-C40: Snake’s Folly Soleah took a seat on the bed while Lucia took a kneeling position. “Lucia, I told you. No kneeling, rise and tell me everything.” Soleah gestured for Lucia to stand up, to which she obliged with great enthusiasm. “Yes, your majesty!” She stopped for a moment; she would not wish to waste Soleah’s time. Lucia opened her palm and held the small glass bottle. “In the kitchen, I was visited by the Spymaster Lira.” “And she gave you the vial?” Soleah reached out and took the vial from Lucia’s palm. Lucia nodded. The queen keenly observed her every action; she had to be as truthful as possible, lest Soleah suspect her of procuring the poison of her own volition. For a moment, an image of her being accused of attempting to poison Aqua invaded her mind, yet with a shake of her head, she dispelled it. Soleah was not someone who would judge people with such haste. Yet instead of any anticipated action, she responded calmly, “I am truly glad that you were smart enough to report this.” She smiled. Lucia sighed. She should learn her place, yet she had her own ambitions. She wanted to climb the ranks and become someone her mother would be proud of. She adjusted herself and puffed out her chest, “I could not merely obey such a heinous order; it just is not right.” The queen stared in her eyes for a solid minute, which made Lucia shrink down as she expected to be reprimanded; however, Soleah merely giggled. “It seems I have gravely misjudged your character.” Soleah pushed herself up and grabbed Lucia’s hand, and placed it between her palms. “Huh?!” She tried to retreat, yet Soleah overpowered her. “Did she do anything other than ask you to deliver the poison?” “No, the only thing she did was use some kind of mind spell… however, it seems to have failed, as I remember everything.” Soleah’s grin widened. “You can probably thank Aqua for that one.” Lucia tilted her head, “Why?” “She told me she grew to like you, so she placed the heart of the phoenix on you. It prevents death… and apparently mind-wiping spells.” “She…She can do that?” “Indeed, she can.” “I…” Lucia raised her palms before her head, her body shook out of sheer shock. “We can continue with that later on. I was about to go meet with Aqua. There are urgent matters to conduct, you should tell her everything you did to me just now.” “Sure…” She nodded. So Aqua is someone very influential, as I suspected. She had to make sure she was in good standing with her; otherwise, her ambitions would have been crushed beyond repair. Soleah grabbed the vial and put it inside her dress. “Aqua and Sheira met to go and search for Azure; however, I think they shouldn’t have headed out just yet. Let’s go.” Lucia nodded as she closely followed the queen outside the chambers. “May I ask, who exactly is Aqua?” “You wouldn’t be satisfied with my answer that she was only my daughter’s tutor?” She shook her head; she had no reason to fear retribution. Soleah was far too forgiving to punish her over something so small.”I… would like to know the truth.” “Curious.” Soleah brought a hand to her mouth and let out an elegant chuckle. “I am afraid I do not know much; you would have to ask her or Sheira.” The young servant nodded. It was not her place to question Soleah despite her graciously allowing her freedom to speak. They passed the elegant halls toward Aqua’s assigned bedroom, and Soleah gently knocked. “Enter.” Aqua’s voice was more stern than usual, which made Lucia shake slightly. Despite interacting with the woman, she had never seen her sounding mad. Soleah opened the door and stepped inside the bedroom, closely followed by Lucia, who held her arms in a V shape before herself. Lucia looked around the bedroom, which was far too luxurious for a servant; it made sense considering that she was far above what she thought. What made it even more apparent was that the princess Sheira herself was seated right next to her on the bed. “Your majesty. Lady Aqua.” She nervously bowed, while she