Chapter 126
“That’s what happens when you eat those black things. You suffer hallucinations, and feel burning pain throughout your body.”
“Y-yes, that’s right! I keep feeling pain like I’m burning!”
Even while being restrained by Reno, the man nodded vigorously as if excited.
This was exactly the response I wanted. By asking about something I already knew, I made him agree and acknowledge his symptoms.
This would have impressed upon people both the man’s actions and their cause.
“When I went to the healers, they said I looked fine and there was nothing wrong, that I was just crazy. How did you know?”
“I told you. You have ergotism.”
At my words, the man murmured, “Ergotism……?” I turned to face the people, leaving him behind.
‘This is my chance.’
Although I had submitted the ergotism issue to Evgenia, it would be difficult to fix right away. The royal family couldn’t afford to check each house individually, and even if possible, it would take too long.
With so many people gathered now, warning them about ergotism and its dangers could prevent many cases.
“When you return home, please check if there are any black, hard lumps on your rye stalks. It’s a difficult disease to cure, and the poisoning is painful, so don’t eat anything with black lumps.”
“But what should we do if we can’t eat it? Are you telling us to throw it away? Even a single stalk is precious…….”
“Don’t throw it away – bring the whole sack here. If we confirm the black lumps are ergot, we’ll exchange it for clean grain.”
I spoke with the intention of using not only the grain Evgenia had provided but also my own budget if necessary.
Though it was an unexpected expense, it was better than leaving it alone and creating more poisoning victims.
“Well, in that case…….”
People seemed quite willing to my words.
“Everyone, hurry home and check your grain. As I said, ergotism is difficult to cure and painful, so time is of the essence. Please tell others about this too.”
At my words, people nodded and quickly dispersed. Of course, not everyone left.
Some still wanted to receive iron supplements and grain, so I said we would distribute to those already here and then take a brief break to reorganize.
And the man who tried to stab me was handed over to the royal knights to be taken to the palace.
After handing the man over to the royal knights, Reno bowed to me.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I should have been more vigilant to prevent this.”
“It was an accident. The man who tried to stab me is the one at fault.”
“It’s my failure. As a guardian, your safety should have been my top priority.”
“It’s fine. This happened because you prioritized my request. If anything, I’m sorry for making unreasonable requests since yesterday. More importantly…”
I turned my gaze from Reno to look at the healer.
“How is Isaac’s treatment going? How’s the wound? Is it serious?”
“The treatment is complete. It’s not serious enough to worry about, but the wound is deeper than expected and will take some time to heal. The poker went in quite deep.”
“That thing earlier was a poker?”
Isn’t a poker the rod used to arrange burning wood or stir the fire? I knew it wasn’t a weapon like a knife, but a poker?
“Yes. Though relatively short, its tip was curved sharply like a bird’s beak. That’s why it went in so deep, but since we treated it quickly, it should be fine.”
The healer who explained the progress added, “Still, it’s fortunate Your Highness is safe.”
Leaving the healer’s concerns behind, I went with Reno to see Isaac. And the moment I faced him, my eyes unconsciously went straight to his wound.
At first glance, he looked as neat as usual, but there was a large dark stain on his uniform jacket. It must be the bloodstain from the recent wound.
Although I was somewhat prepared, having seen it myself and heard from the healer…… seeing it again, the extent was wider than I thought, making me feel even worse.
“Lord, it must hurt a lot?”
“I’m fine.”
Isaac answered my question immediately. Though it was a very typical response from him, it was also hard to believe.
‘How could it be fine…….’
Even if he seemed impervious to injury, that wouldn’t mean he couldn’t bleed or feel pain.
Moreover, the wound I glimpsed earlier looked quite painful even to me. Especially considering the healer’s explanation of his condition and treatment.
“I apologize for causing Your Highness unnecessary concern.”
“Don’t say that. You’re the one who’s injured.”
“I could have blocked it sufficiently with the mana Your Highness gave me and my sword energy.”
Could have blocked it?
I became quite confused by Isaac’s confession. If he could have blocked it, why did he throw his body in the way?
“Did you get stabbed on purpose?”
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