Aefia was seated at her desk, her eyes scanning the text on the book she was currently reading. About how an intended death may cause a erasure from the every universe. 'Once the intention in one's mind has been interlinked to the astral form, it forms as a dismissal and thus, leaving the body death and the soul hovering. Although this part isn't truly verified.'
"Darn... That's interesting. Writing a text about something you don't even know or can't even prove. They really were confident when they published this print... I wonder what year it was written..." She whispered to herself while flipping shut the cover and standing up, to stretch her sore limbs before they blanked out and left her body.
"I don't understand... Was it really a necessasity for me to tell that woman I don't even trust... Something I would have told my mother if I ever had one that cared to give a mind to me... And not as a pawn or a property..." She spoke to herself while looking towards the full-length mirror at the corner of her room.
"..." She let out a deep breathe as she looked away, then grabbing the book and walking towards her shelf with a blank mind. It was organized, colour-coded, and arranged alphabetically... And it was all that she hand done alone. Not even allowing the servants to do it for her. She glued back the pages, and relied on her everyday items, completely aware that she gave away her element while trying to save Nada.
"Lady Elanor's sister... I had killed her... But how do I inform her? Now that I am in some sort of new problem about leaving this room?" She sighed while glancing at her empty room. "Did I just quarantine myself while trying to take my life? ... But I think a much accurate answer would be that I just lead a failed project... They even sent a delay letter... George probably cancelled it... Now what? I just have to sacrifice my fingers this time..."
She walked towards her bed while sitting at the edge, holding her phone in a determined mind that she would force Helio to hand the phone over to chat with Nada. No matter the circumstances or the problems. Her thumbs hovered over her keyboard, as she thought about what she would tell him or what she would just text. Or even if Nada were to ask what was going on, what she would reply it.
Just then, a knock was heard against her room door, then a servant entered. "Young master... If you don't mind... The duchess was asking for you to attend the breakfast at her room. She says she had a few things to discuss with you, and that it would be better if you personally went there without further requesting... And even if you are busy... You would be forced to attend it." She spoke while bowing her head to face the flooring, where have the room had a huge red carpet spread over it.
"No... I am not busy..." Aefia answered back while slamming onto her bed with her eyes glued to the ceiling in a desperate need to escape the reality. Why is she being like this again... What did I do this time? I can't even cry or speak about my problems to anyone... What a beautiful life I have! I guess this is what my mirror image wanted to warn me about... Too bad I had to shut her up... Although she is probably the only thing that keeps me sane in situations like this.
"Just give me five minutes to rest my soar limbs... I am coming out any time sooner. I will be there by myself too... So you are free to go and do whatever you were previously doing... Thank you for delivering the message."
Aefia answered back while shutting her eyes for a short while, then resting her forearm over her shut eyelids as she rested up within the few minutes that she could afford, before she had to drag out the pocket watch at her coat pocket to read the time. I am hating my life... It would have been better if I shot my own self... But my pistol is stuck inside my inventory and I can't even open it...
She sat up while clicking the lid open, then immediately shutting it back shut. I wonder how Cindy is doing... The last time... I sent it along with Helio to take care of... I wish I still had my skills so I could go and visit them... At least it would help to keep me from becoming drained mentally and physically... But for now... I have a long day left to go through... A huge day honestly.
But then, just as she stood up, an idea popped into her mind as she immediately ran towards her desk drawers and flinging them open until she felt the hidden latch at the end of one of them. Then, by clicking it, she unlocked a secret chamber on the underside of her table. She pulled out a key, which belonged to the safe that stayed to try side of her table, and hidden out of other's eyes. She unlocked it, revealing a few viles lined up in a pattern and organized in a way that told her which one was which type of poison.
There was her snake venoms in a vile, a few leave extracts that could kill people, and a few dried flowers alongside the extracted nectar to those few specific poisoned flowers. She took out a vile, then holding it out in the light to take a closer look. This should be... It... A smile popped onto her face as she came to stood up, then walking towards her bed and pulling out the medical kit where there were intake syringes.
She set the vile on the table and then looked directly at the written numbers on the syringe, then the name of the poison on the vile bottle. 'English Ivy'. It wasn't lethal and she knew exactly how much was enough to do damage but not too much damage. "Perfect... I will take this..." She whispered to herself while quickly taking a very small amount onto her syringe and then scramming to place the poison and key back into their places and out of the eyes of everyone else so she didn't get caught until she intended to.
Her steps then lifted towards her sofa, where her overcoat lay. She pulled it over her arms and shoulder, then buttoning it up and adjusting the bowtie at her neck to look like she didn't just go around and calculate how much poison was going to be lethal. She smiled as she looked towards the mirror and then walking towards the desk to pick up the syringe, checking it one last time and then walking out of the door.
Let's just say... If luck is by my side... I have a very stable way to get entangled into the most indirect way of doing it... Poison... And then leave. No one will be able to doubt anything other than what I force them to doubt...
She arrived early on purpose, and the servants let her in with suspicion at the way they gazed at her. It was a plus point to her since she was about to attempt the most unexpected move that might cause multiple problems to arise at once. Once inside the room, she took in the environment, the pretty cakes and bright coloured desserts were all lined up on the coffee table at the sofa. But her eyes stayed locked at the teacup on the other side. It seemed that it hadn't been poured yet.
She let out a sigh, in hopes of getting the right amount of time to calculate how much she was going to place onto the teacup to the opposite direction to where she was going to sit. Then, while slowly withdrawing the syringe form underneath her sleeve, she leaned forward and against the table to take a closer look at the bottom of the teacup.
What in the world?!
Her eyes scanned the entire table, then landing on the tissue box in front of her just as an idea popped onto her mind. She remembered the way girl's back at her class would be sharing lip glosses on tissue to keep hygienic, and she realized that she could use the tissue to polished the tea cup inside and at the edge with the poison.
Aefia immediately plucked out a white tissue, folding it quickly into a triangle just as the footsteps started to echo towards the door. Despite the short time and the need for perfect precision, her fingers didn't tremble even a bit as she slowly injected the poison onto the tissue. Her eyes traced the areas that seemed more used on the surface of the cup, and she worked to rub the wettened tissue onto the surface evenly.
Then, she took a little bit more of the poison and dropped a single droplet onto the bottom, and using the tissue to even it out. The door from the outside was about to get turned open, and she was finished too, but the only thing was that she needed to put back the things the way they were. She had intentions to leave traces of this being her doing, but not this early.
Just the door spun open, she gently placed down the cup and then stepped back to flop onto her side of the sofa, but the syringe was still at her fingertips and she had no choice but to hide it behind a pillow. The duchess entered not even a second later, and she found the room too silent when she saw that Aefia was already there and bowing without a single word.
"You are early today... Is there anything inside your mind?" The woman asked while walking over to sit directly opposite to Aefia. When she didn't reply back, her mind made an official choice to change the quesiton and try to bring up the matter later on when they are on a more friendly tone. "Sorry... Well I was thinking of asking about how you were feeling."
"I am fine... And I hope you are too." She replied while keeping a straight face and then sitting down on the same sofa she had hidden the syringe in a very fast speed, that she had forgetting the placing immediately. The sudden coldness in her voice had flipped the duchess's mood completely. It wasn't within her expectation to meet this version of her after the way Aefia had been crying at her shoulders and complaining about her life until she fell asleep like a little kid.
"I– I am fine..."
Her stuttering was too hard to cover up, due to the pure shock she had received just a few seconds ago. Then, she immediately diverted her attention to the food trays in front of her, which seemed to have turned gray and white within an instant. What is the matter? Why is she so... Stern? Did I do something wrong? Is something to do with yesterday?
Finally, she lifted her gaze to look at her confused face on the opposite side. "Listen... About yesterday... I hope you didn't see it as a negative thing... I was just... Concerned... As a mother... Just an instinct that I had since I raised three sons." She spoke while staring at her pale complexion to try and find at least a hint of something, or any expression.
"No... It's alright... I get it. I am completely fine with it." Aefia answered while watching the servant move around and place a few things onto the plates on either sides of the table. "I was hoping you wouldn't take anything about me seriously... I was just mindlessly blabbering about things that probably sounded like I was speaking nonsense."
"No! What is nonsense about talkign to someone about your problems?!" The duchess spoke while leaning forward. "In fact... It would be a good thing if a child decided to ask a mother for help! You said it yourself yesterday... You wanted a 'mother's advice'."
Aefia stared up at the woman with widened eyes.
"It would be a good thing if a child decided to ask a mother for help!"
The words rang into her mind back and forth as she looked down at the table to distract her mind from the thoughts that were circulating inside her mind. She reached for the knife, to cut the cake on her plate in half. The way she held it represented how she would hold a dagger when faced with combat situations and before she could allign her grip around the knife properly, the duchess eyes caught the sight and she immediately sprung up from her place.
"The leader said that since Aefia had chosen to attempt 'it' once... She might try to do it again..."
The words running back and forth inside her mind as she gripped the knife at Aefia's hand and pulled it out. "You can't use cutleries like that... You are too young for it..." She spoke in panic. "Take the knives away... Forks and spoons are enough to eat a piece of cake." She added while pulling it out and handing it to the servant.
Then, the duchess picked up the spoon, broke out a piece of the cake and held it up in front of Aefia's mouth. "I will feed you..." She spoke while standing in front of her, and almost as if she was about to force feed it to her. "I can eat it myself..." She answered back while glancing at the spoon, then wrapping her finger around the handle and putting it inside her own mouth.
The duchess, now calculating what she had done, decided it was better to let her do it by herself instead, and stepped back as the servant poured the tea onto the cup at her side of the table. "You are right..." Her voice turned hoarse as her fingers wrapped around the handle of the tea cup. "I am sorry for misjudging you about it. I didn't think twice when I saw the way you were holding the knife... The thing about the hitman... Still scares me, even when you are sitting right in front of me."
She spoke while lifting the tea cup up and towards her mouth. At last... Aefia thought to herself as an unconscious smile slipped onto her face. At last she has decided that it is time to have some Imperial 'tea'. Now it is about to brew into a huge nationwide tea.