The Web of Knightspur-Chapter 168

"I am staying in his mansion..." Princess Eleanor murmured as she repeated it. She understood the deep meaning behind the words.

The Crown Prince wanted her to misunderstand but she knew that she had to act dumb and confused for the time being. "Are you talking about Duke Beaumont?" Princess Eleanor’s voice trembled as she tried to maintain the volume.

The Crown Prince smiled. Seeing that the Princess was intelligent enough to catch on to the implied meaning of his words, he nodded his head as he thought, ’I did not make a bad choice. I only have to convince her and half of my work will be done. After all, I have already paved the path for House Beaumont’s destruction.’

Crown Prince Richard nodded his head as he looked at Princess Eleanor, "Well, yes. I know that I should not say this here. We are still at Beaumont mansion, but I cannot help it. The Princess wants a reason to accept and I wish to give her that."

Princess Eleanor’s eyes darkened but she maintained her calm. "I am not sure if I can believe it. The Duke has always been good to me. He even allowed Doctor Raul to treat me... if what the Crown Prince is saying is the truth, then ..... But it just does not make any sense. Why would the Grand Duke do it?"

"Because of the guilt." The Crown Prince answered almost instantly. His eyes were sharp as he continued, "When a person is guilty, they tend to try and rectify their mistakes. But that does not change anything now, does it?"

Crown Prince Richard looked into Princess Eleanor’s eyes as he leaned forward, "After all, dead people can never come back. And nothing done after would be able to rectify that."

Princess Eleanor nodded her head. "Yes, nothing can rectify it." Princess Eleanor’s voice was filled with many emotions and no matter how hard she tried, she could not control it. Her eyes were filled with revenge and she did not bother to hide it anymore.

Princess Eleanor looked up at the man who wanted her to play the fool. The worst part was that Princess Eleanor knew that if she had not already known the truth, she really would have believed his words. She really would have thought that the Beaumont’s family were the ones who had plotted to kill her family. She would have killed an innocent man.

Princess Eleanor looked up at the Crown Prince as she said, "But how can the Crown Prince be sure about this matter? Do you have any solid proof?" Princess Eleanor’s eyes brightened as she looked at the Crown Prince, eagerly waiting for his reply.

—---

The chief healer walked into Doctor Raul’s laboratory and his eyes widened.

All he could see were colourful liquids in vials, but he could not understand what each of them were at all. No matter how hard he observed and thought about it, nothing made sense.

The chief healer knew that if he did not control himself now and understood how Doctor Raul was able to cure the Princess, he would not be able to make it out alive once he entered the temple. After all, even God has no mercy for the people who were useless, so how could their priests?

"How did you do it?" The chief healer asked in a dull tone. He was informed that he had to get the information, but he should not sound too desperate about it. After all, Doctor Raul was someone who had refused to help the temple. And if now the chief healer is desperate to get help from such a person, how can the temple maintain their reputation?

"Do what?" Doctor Raul was enjoying it. He could feel a lingering fear in the chief healer’s eyes even though he was trying hard to cover it up. Doctor Raul could guess what was going on in the man’s mind. He was afraid of Priest Erasmus. Everyone in the temple was and he had seen it with his own eyes.

"The cure..." The chief healer walked towards the chair that was left at the corner of the room and he sat there before continuing. "This particular poison that the princess of Angevin Kingdom was infected with is something new. No matter what medicine we tried, we could not find the solution and yet she looked much healthier today."

The chief healer smiled innocently, but his eyes turned sharp as he said in a small tone, "As the first ray of hope for the people, we should know the cure of such things. After all, common people cannot afford to come to the Grand Duke’s mansion for treatment."

Doctor Raul listened carefully as if he understood all the points that the chief healer was making. But once the room fell silent, Doctor Raul’s laughter filled the room.

"How can you ask me to help you?" Doctor Raul’s voice was filled with ridicule as he walked toward the chief healer as he sat on the chair opposite to him, his hand tapping on the table. "Did you forget how you have treated me?"

"You were the one who decided to leave." the chief healer said in a natural tone. His meaning was clear, it was your decision so do not blame us.

"It was because of your actions," Doctor Raul did not back down. He knew this argument would continue as one will blame the other. The situation that happened was already in the past. But even if that was the case, Doctor Raul could feel that Priest Erasmus’s cruelty had not reduced in the least.

"Doctor Raul should think before he blames us." the chief healer said but when he saw the dark gaze of Doctor Raul, he swallowed his next words. The chief healer knew that he was not here to argue with the man. He was here to ask for his help and get his life saved.

The chief healer closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. His eyes and thoughts were only on the goal and that was to understand the poison and get the solution from Doctor Raul so that they could be ready against all odds to save the royal family. "Look, we both are doctors. All we care about is the wellbeing of the patient. And Princess Eleanor is my patient."

The chief healer lowered his gaze as he continued, "I am happy that the Princess could get help from someone like you who is so talented. But Doctor Raul, you should know that not everyone has such luck. We at the temple try to help all the people regardless of their social status. Imagine how helpful it would be to those people who cannot afford to come to the Beaumont mansion if they also get infected with this poison."

Doctor Raul listened carefully and when he looked up, he knew that the chief healer was observing him. He could deny it and be stubborn and the chief healer or the temple would not be able to do anything about it. But he also knew that according to Princess Eleanor, he had to lay the ground for her and this was the right time to do it.

Doctor Raul swallowed as he rubbed his chin as if he was in deep thoughts. He knew that he had to show his reluctance a little so that no one would doubt his intentions. It was his time to shine and prove to the Grand Duke that he too, can be a reliable person and could also get things done in general apart from medicines.

Doctor Raul closed his eyes as he sighed heavily. He looked straight at the chief healer as he nodded his head, "Yes, you are right. What if others get poisoned in a similar pattern and you do not have a solution? I get what you mean."

The chief healer took a breath of relief when he heard Doctor Raul’s words. He knew it then that his words had made their way to Doctor Raul’s heart. He waited patiently for Doctor Raul to explain the situation clearly to him.

Doctor Raul got up as he walked in the opposite direction. The chief healer was confused. He had just felt a little happiness, but now it felt like it was about to get snatched away even before he could savour it. But to his surprise, Doctor Raul did not walk out of the laboratory but went to a desk where he opened one of its drawers slowly.

The chief healer’s breath hitched seeing that. He could see Doctor Raul take some papers out and his heartbeats increased drastically.

’Is he bringing the formula to me? Or does Doctor Raul want to show me the reports and how he came up with the solution? Whatever it is, I am excited. Just bring those pages here.’ The chief healer thought as he saw Doctor Raul walking towards him.

And when Doctor Raul held the pages in front of him, the chief healer’s breath hitched. He held onto his breath as he took the pages from Doctor Raul’s hands. His eyes were filled with expectations but as soon as he looked down, the upwards curve on his lips turned downwards.

The chief healer’s hold on the pages tightened as he looked up at Doctor Raul angrily as he asked, "What is the meaning of this? These are blank pages."