Chapter 67

Adolph walked into the room where they brought Maria and took a steadying breath, hearing her weep. He sat across from her and offered her a handkerchief. She took it with a little whimpering cry.

"Y-Your Majesty Is she okay?"

"The priestess has said she will recover with time."

She nodded stiffly, "That's That's good. I After this I I wish to tender my resignation."

Arthur tilted his head, "Have you passed on the recipes?"

She sniffled, looking up at him with confusion, "The imperial jam's recipe is recorded in the archives, of course."

"Not the imperial jam," Adolph smirked, "*Your* petal jam recipes."

She blinked as he relaxed into his seat, "I'm not prepared to start eating someone else's petal jam, Maria, so I can't allow you to resign."

"B-But" She sniffled. "I Someone I I didn't see it."

"I'm not worried about what you didn't see. I'm worried about what you did."

She nodded, "I-I understand. W-Where should I start?"

"The poison has been determined to be crimson oleander and wolfsbane."

She frowned wiping her face, "I don't understand."

"What?"

"Why use both?" She shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense."

She explained that they were both highly toxic on their own. Combining them had no use other than to drive up the cost of the poison.

"The kitchens are being searched for poison and all the pots are being tested. Though I understand it may be a bit too late for that."

She scoffed, "Not likely. I put Tina on dish duty to keep her busy, but that woman never does anything unless I'm standing over her."

Adolph narrowed his eyes, "She's been insubordinate?"

"Of course," Maria scowled. "I stepped aside when Minister Mirabelle and Prince Basil decided to give her my old position. It wasn't a hardship. My first love has always been the kitchens."

He nodded remembering sneaking into the kitchens for snacks in between lessons. Maria had always been glad to give him something for his growing appetite.

"But the woman is more concerned with her connection to the late luna and Prince Basil than the affairs of the castle." She shook her head. "Since she was promoted, she did so little work the other heads of the castle's functions were picking up the slack. I wanted to complain, but Prince Basil wouldn't listen to a word against her. Not even with proof of taking bribes from the employees!"

Adolph scoffed. Of course, his idiot son was mixed up in Tina's prolonged employment. "An issue I must apologize for."

She shook her head, "You were off defending our lives, just as your father had. There is no blame to be placed at your feet for issues inside the castle. I blame the ministers, especially Minister Mirabelle for it."

He made a note to talk more with her about the effect of Gavin and the ministers' actions. There was so much gossip that passed through the kitchen she was bound to know something useful.

"A topic for another time," Adolph said and met her gaze. "Tell me about the preparations."

She started just as he expected her to: with the ingredients. Her testimony was much like a recipe, but he understood that organizing her mind in that way was how she kept the castle and the armed forces fed. She went over where she'd sourced everything for the meal and where it was stored, who watched over it, and every part of the logistics down to the list of servers who had been chosen.

Though Basil had placed a gate at the entry of the orchard, there was a secret passage Laura had created for the kitchen staff to use for ease of access. The orchard produced enough produce to supplement the kitchens' needs and supply the front lines, but after Laura's death, they had been harvesting the food produced and using the budget to procure meat. She sourced all the produce from the orchard and had the meat slaughtered freshly that morning, transported to the castle under army guard as usual.

She'd picked the flowers by hand as she usually did from the royal gardens while being escorted by the royal gardener. She'd gathered the flowers needed for the jams while the other servants had been gathering the flowers for Laurel's bouquet.

It was unlikely that someone would have managed to slip oleander or wolfsbane into the jams without her noticing as she was the only maker of the jam for the entire castle and she kept them under lock and key. He frowned as she started to go over the preparation of the meal. She'd overseen every stage of the cooking process, so he ruled out that being the time the poison was added, but there was a detail that stuck out to him.

"There are no flowers used in any of the dishes?" It was odd since a lot of the usual cuisine used flowers for nearly every dish.

"No, not for a king's marriage," her jaw trembled. "Even the guests' jam uses a different ratio of flowers than the traditional Crystal Castle recipe or my own."

Adolph took note, "Why?"

"Because of how much the Rosa multiflora, mahoe, and the winter daphne resemble the oleander flower," she said seriously. "It would be like wishing doom upon the wedding to use any of them and they're staples in most varieties of petal jams! They aren't used in any jam eaten at a wedding as far as I know."

He took note of that and thanked her before having the guards escort her back to the kitchens. He glanced over the list and tilted his head. Her assignment lists had been clear. Everyone under her command had an assigned position, even Tina. She'd been on dish washing duty since she'd been sent back to the kitchen.

So why had she been named as someone who had been in the lunar parlor that morning? If he recalled, they said that she pushed in the cart carrying the luna's food ahead of the rest of the servants.

The door opened as he decided to interview Tina next.

"Sir, we've tested all of the dishes in the kitchen," the knight walked in. "The pots and pans used were all poison-free. The only bowl with traces of oleander or wolfsbane was the bowl of the king."

Adolph stood. He would make sure to tell Maria that she had no fault in any of this. The food hadn't been poisoned in the kitchen but sometime between the kitchen and delivery.

"Keep that information secret Bring Basil to this room. Take Delia to the north room and take Tina to the west I'll be over Tina's interrogation. Have them brought within the half-hour."

Adolph left the interrogation room for a breath of fresh air and a break. He took the fastest path to Laurel's room. The guards nodded at him as he came down the hallway. He entered the room quietly, hoping that by some miracle she was sitting up in bed and could tell him that she was perfectly alright.

The priestess had set up a small working set-up on the table in the antechamber. The scent of crushed flowers filled the air and something tangy like vinegar twined with it. It was a medicinal scent that made him feel a little better. Eden was crouched beside the fire drawing a pot of boiling water out of the fire as the priestess ground flowers in a mortar.

She looked up and held his gaze, her clear Raymond blue eyes were trying to tell him something and he nodded, telling her that he would hear what she had to say later.

"Your Majesty," the priestess said softly, smiling up at him. "My I haven't seen you this nervous in all my years of knowing you."

He smiled lightly, "I think you know I have every reason to be nervous."

She wiped her hands on the apron she wore and waved him around the table towards the door to Laurel's room. He glanced at Eden as he brought the boiling water over to the table and began to ladle some of it into the mortar and grind the flowers.

"Before I let you in," she said, pulling him from watching Eden. "I have to tell you that she will recover. We haven't given her the first dose yet. She'll need to take it for at least a few weeks even after she wakes up."

He nodded stiffly, "I only want to see her for a bit."

"Of course." She nodded and stepped aside. "You remind me of your father."

Adolph smiled at her, "You would know best, wouldn't you?"

She chuckled and nodded him inside before turning back to pick up her work.

Laurel lay still, barely breathing in the center of the bed. Her gown had been removed and likely destroyed. When they married, he wouldn't want her to wear the gown again.

The memory of her blood staining the white of that gown, mingling with the gold and silver thread around her color nearly made him sick.

*Blood spilled out of the corner of her mouth in a long red stream as she fell into him.*

*"Laurel!"*

He shuddered, hearing his voice calling her name from his memories and the spike of panic that went through him. His wolf was still prowling and furious, demanding blood, wanting to tear through the castle to find the culprit.

He felt the edges of a blackout rage ebb and recede as he sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand, smiling at the ring and the charms dangling from her wrist. The warmth of her hand and the sight of her breathing calmed him.

He hadn't chosen the next charm yet, but it was something else to focus on to keep calm and rational. He hadn't explained how anxious he'd been about not having a mate in his youth. He hadn't allowed himself to think about all the time he'd lost on the battlefield before he'd married Olivia.

He bowed his head and pressed a kiss to her hand before standing and pressing a kiss to her cool forehead.

"I'll find who did this, Laurel. You have my word." He nuzzled her gently. "Wake up soon, love."

He turned and found Eden coming into the room carrying a bowl of heated water. Adolph observed him for a moment before lifting his head to meet his gaze. His eyes were neutral, devoid of emotion, not even fear. It was odd and set his wolf on edge at how still he was.

His heart didn't speed up. He just seemed to be staring at Adolph and waiting for him to speak.

"Thank you, Eden," he said, watching every flicker in his eyes. "For looking after Laurel."

His grey eyes turned warm as he lowered his gaze to Laurel's face.

"I am only doing it for Laurel's sake. You don't need to thank me."

He nodded, mulling over his thoughts as his instincts were nudging him.

"We should speak formally about your merchant caravan," Adolph said. "You and your operation have proved indispensable."

"As you wish," he murmured, casting his gaze low. Adolph left then.

There was something off about Eden. He didn't think Eden was behind the poisoning attempt, but he wasn't a simple human, just caught in the crossfires of werewolf politics. There was something unnervingly placid about him like the surface of a lake hiding a deadly beast in its depths.