The heat was especially strong this morning. Elliot was drenched in sweat, feeling like he was melting just by sitting in the garden. With only a white parasol umbrella shading him from the harsh rays of the sun, he took a refreshing sip of his cold lemon black tea. The taste slightly relieving him from the heat. His breakfast was a simple chicken soup, easy on the stomach.

The empty plates were quickly collected and replaced with some honey toast to satisfy the prince’s sweet tooth.

Elliot glanced at the bread drenched in honey and couldn’t help but lick his lips. Despite his situation, he had to admit that living life as a prince was pretty great. Food comes when he asks, and he’s able to lounge around nearly all day.

“You called for me?” Flynn’s voice drifted above the prince, making him look up at the dusty gardener. The man kept his distance, his gaze to the ground as if he was a respectable servant.

Elliot waved away the remaining servants before he placed a small teacup before Flynn.

Flynn blinked and glanced at Elliot before slowly lifting the saucer plate that covered the cup’s light blue rims. He frowned, seeing the contents inside, “this…?” he coughed.

“I want you to find someone capable enough to test it for poison.”

Flynn was taken aback. His eyes quickly darkened as he placed the saucer plate back onto the cup. “You think…” he stopped himself and glanced around the garden before taking the cup with a somber look, “if it’s true, I need your blood.”

Without hesitation, Elliot tossed a small vile. A cork plugged the red contents inside. He prepared this earlier with a slight laceration on his arm. It was well hidden, but if discovered, he already decided to play it off as getting snagged from climbing a tree.

Flynn swiftly caught the vile and swirled it lightly, “you’re quite calm about this.” He eyed Elliot lifting a brow.

Elliot stiffened but folded his hands, covering his mouth as he leaned into his chair. “What good would panicking do?”

His words were simple, but Elliot could feel the cold sweat on his brow trickle down like pouring rain. If he really was poisoned, would there be an antidote? Who was responsible? Was if it was Mathew?

Truly, he was trying his best to hide his panic.

Flynn couldn’t hear the prince’s distraught thoughts and knowingly kept his mouth shut. He swiftly put the vile into the inner pocket of his shirt and picked up the teacup.

“I will take care of this then.”

Elliot tried to keep his princely appearance and nodded, “find anything, you report back to me…”

Once Flynn left, Elliot let out a deep sigh. He pressed his forehead into the heart of his hand, trying to ease the aching pang on his temples.

If his assumptions were correct, he felt that Gabriel would suspect two main people. Mathew and Ginny…

The two were the most trusted people in his life, and one of the two were prime candidates to help him seize the throne! If not Mathew, then Elliot figured that at least Ginny would stay by his side!

It was never good to lose allies...

As if the universe wanted to make things more difficult for Elliot, he heard a few consecutive beeps before the robotic sound of the system.

System: Side Task Loaded: Test Ginny and Mathew’s loyalty.

Elliot nearly spouted blood at the words. Test their loyalty? Brother system, are you trying to get this one killed?!

He bit his lip, restraining himself from shouting curses. He heard the system’s excuse, er no… explanation for his torture.

System: Gabriel would test their loyalty if he ever suspected foul play. Complete tasks or risk punishment.

Punishment…Elliot didn’t want to think what this sadistic system would come up with to punish him. He clenched his teeth. Testing Ginny’s loyalty would be the safest…he was more worried about Mathew’s reaction.

Elliot put the thought in the back of his mind as he went about his day.

The life of a secluded prince was pretty easygoing. Study a bit, eat three meals a day, play around, and sleep. If his ambitions weren’t so large as to become a king, Elliot felt he could die in this easygoing life.

But alas, this plot just had to become more complicated.

Elliot nearly forgot about the poison until Flynn appeared before him nearly a month later. Just finishing his daily lessons, Elliot was going to enjoy the garden when he saw the stoic male cut him off from the study's doorway.

Elliot blinked and promptly turned his lazy expression to a more serious one. He could have sworn he saw the corners of Flynn’s mouth lift into a mirthful grin, but upon second glance, it was back to a boring frown.

“The results are back.” Flynn walked into the study and placed a vile of clear liquid onto the desk. Elliot let his body sit back onto the chair as his eyes stared at the vile. His mind left with only one word. Got Dammit.

Elliot dispiritedly said, “I was correct.” It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Flynn lifted his chin as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ve gotta say, you’re pretty sharp to notice something like this. This poison is known as Everest; it’s highly lethal, slow-acting with chronic use, and hard to track. The doc was surprised to see this type of poison…” Flynn then paused and looked over at the pitifully thin child sitting in the chair. He carefully spoke, “…there was an alarming amount in the blood sample you gave me…”

Elliot's eyes darkened before he licked his dry lips, “how long do I have?”

Flynn was silent for a moment, seemingly observing the small prince. He seemed calm, but he could see the uneasiness within the child’s eyes. Somehow, Flynn also felt uneasy…

“The antidote is even harder to make... The doc said you have about two or three years left if you continued like this.”

Elliot stiffened. This bullshit system! Giving him a body that has a time limit! What’s up with that?! Would he even be able to become king in two or three years?!

Elliot was silent, cursing at the system. Flynn watched the dazed child, assuming he was frozen stiff from the news. He let out a deep sigh; he couldn’t help but pity the child in front of him.

“I’ll try to make the antidote, in the meantime…do you want me to look for the trail?”

Elliot’s eyes flashed; he was grateful for recruiting Flynn beforehand! His loyalty may be slim, but he's useful!

Elliot was going to let Flynn take care of everything when the side tasks that he gained earlier popped up in his head again. He paused and bit his lip. “No, bring Ginny here.”

Flynn glanced at the child; he could see the boy’s usual bright watery eyes dim with cold darkness. He figured the prince figured out some prominent information.

Without further words, Flynn brought Ginny over. The wet nurse seemed uneasy. Why was the gardener calling her over? Since when was he close to her prince?

“You called for me, prince Gabriel?” her uneasiness grew when she saw the child sitting languidly on the chair. His usually naïve expression had sharpened and cooled to a spine-chilling gaze.

Ginny could feel the sweat trickle on her back and couldn’t help but kneel before this small prince.

Flynn lifted a brow at her reaction before subconsciously glancing at the prince. To his surprise, his aura seemed much different once Ginny walked into the room.

Elliot watched his most trusted servant shiver on the ground. His eyes narrowed. Was the pressure he put on too strong?

Still, he didn’t hold back. His usual warm voice was sharp like an icy blade, “you’ve always given me my medicine-”

Ginny shivered, and Elliot quickly connected the two. He quirked the corner of his mouth into a sneer, “you knew, didn’t you?”

Ginny quickly lifted her head to meet the cold gaze of the young prince, “what – what do you mean?”

Flynn rested his back onto the door with his arms crossed as he watched the young prince let out an icy chuckle. This laughter was more from intense anger rather than amusement.

Ginny felt her spine shiver when she heard it; her face grew dark as she quickly averted her gaze from the small prince. “This one doesn’t understand his highness, please - please explain.”

Elliot was silent for a while, going through Gabriel’s memories as things slowly glued together. He rested his cheek onto his hand. He crossed his leg over the other, making him appear like an arrogant young prince.

“I know you’re smart, and you also care very deeply about me, don’t you?”

Ginny quickly reacted as she heavily nodded her head.

Elliot smirked and continued, “You've taken care of me for so many years now, and from all of that, I’m sure you’re smart enough to notice that my condition wasn’t getting better, but instead, was getting worse. Perhaps you even confronted the royal doctor about it.”

It was now noticeable that Ginny’s face paled before contrasting between purple and green. She didn’t know why the prince has suddenly come up with this idea. In fact, she believed he was bluffing. He glanced up at the prince with uneasy eyes. He had to be bluffing; not once did the prince provided proof to corroborate his assumptions. 

With this thought, Ginny’s pale face grew color again as she stared sternly at the prince, but before she could say anything to defend herself, she heard the prince’s chilling voice.

“Alas, if I find that you’re lying to me, which I’m sure I will find the truth sooner or later, then I will have no choice but to kill you and anyone else with your blood.” His smile then curved, not revealing any sign of warmth in his eyes, “as what my brother said, I don't tolerate anyone that takes our royal blood lightly...”

That moment, Ginny felt everything around her cave in. It didn’t take her long to grovel at Elliot’s feet. She didn’t dare lift her face as her voice quivered with fear,

“No! My prince! Please understand! I-I didn't mean to, no, I couldn't do anything else! I did notice something wasn't right with the medication, but when I went to confront the royal doctor, I was stopped by prince Uriel's men! They said if I did anything, they would kill my sister! She's the only family I have left! Please, my prince- your highness, believe me! I didn't want to do such a thing!"

Elliot’s eyes darkened at the name. Prince Uriel, he was the second prince, Gabriel's second eldest brother by five years, but why bother trying to kill Gabriel? A small prince with no merit? According to Gabriel’s memories, this poisoning may have happened when he was nearing six or seven years old...that would mean Uriel was about eleven or twelve at the time! What kind of brother was Uriel?!

He couldn’t find anything in the hazy memories that would warrant Uriel’s thirst for Gabriel’s death!

Elliot was silent for a moment, leaving Ginny in suspense as her body quivered. His cold eyes glanced down at the small body. This person was the one the practically raised Gabriel, yet she would still sacrifice him over her own sister.

No, Elliot understood that such a decision would be hard to make, but to Gabriel, this would be a heavy blow. It would take a lot of strength for Gabriel to keep himself from killing Ginny's sister and then her. Elliot sighed as he ran through his mind, trying to figure out a way to save Ginny.

He glanced over at Flynn, who was still leaning on the door. The male's eyes were fixated on him, making him somewhat uneasy. Elliot closed his eyes and glanced over at the vile on the table. His expression dimmed, test her loyalty...right?

He picked up the vile and tossed it beside her. Ginny bewilderedly blinked at the clear liquid before picking it up and looked up at Elliot, puzzled.

"Drink it."

Ginny was visibly confused but suddenly realized something as her face quickly grew pale. She eyed the poison in the vile and quickly wanted to throw it away.

Elliot noted her hesitation and said with a smirk, "drinking this alone won't kill you...probably. Truly, Ginny, I'm giving you this chance to save yourself. If you manage to survive, I promise to find your sister and have her live here. Safe and sound. Don't assume that my brother would stay true to his word. For all you know, your sister is lying in a ditch somewhere, while you're over here, foolishly poisoning your prince." He emphasized the last two words, making Ginny tremble.

She eyed the vile one last time before quickly pulling the small cork and downing the contents within. Her face twisted as she violently coughed, subconsciously wanting to retch out what she had just consumed. Elliot lightly swayed his leg as he watched her closely.

The amount wasn't a lot, but the poison was lethal, and there was no telling if that amount was enough to kill her or not. 

After wringing quite a bit, Ginny started to calm down. She panted as she saw Elliot stand up and slowly make his way towards the doorway.

"look for her sister and bring her over." He said languidly to Flynn. 

Flynn only responded with a nod before looking back at Ginny, "and her?"

Elliot looked back, seeing Ginny rest on the ground, seemingly in a daze. "Find someone to watch her closely. If anything, lock her up for the time being."

Flynn nodded before Elliot finally left the study. He fixed his light blue suit jacket and ran his thin fingers through his golden hair. He could feel his heart pound a mile a minute. He wasn't sure how, but he managed to play the dark prince.

Elliot thought to take a gamble on the poison. It would have satisfied Gabriel's thirst for revenge, and the possibility of Ginny surviving was quite high, considering the poison was slow-acting.

He bit his lip, still unsure of the outcome, when two beeps caught his attention.

System: Side task completion: Ginny, 50% method, poisoned loyalty. Pending completion, Ginny 50%, Mathew 100%. 

Please continue your hard work! ☆*ヾ(-∀・*)*+☆

Elliot squinted at the alert screen. Why was the system using emojis?! He could only sigh as he closed the screen. 

Still, the message reassured him. Ginny drinking the poison meant that she trusted him to bring her sister. If he completed this, then perhaps Ginny's loyalty would reach back to 100%.

Elliot could only hope.

-

Elliot made his way towards the garden; he was looking forward to some time to relax after what had just happened. Making his way, the servants' gossip reached his ears.

"You're sure? But it hasn't even been three months yet! Isn't the kingdom in trouble right now? Why would he come back so quickly?"

"I'm sure! I heard sir Jones speaking to the prince over the phone. There's no doubt about it!"

Elliot paused and listened. Apparently, prince Mathew was going to come back to his estate. Elliot frowned; he didn't mind a chance to get closer to the prince, but why so soon?

Elliot swiftly left the gossiping servants. For now, he just needed to go about his day as a betrayed prince; as for when Mathew shows up...how should he deal with him? 

[comment below :'3]

> Investigate Mathew's reason to visit.

> Focus on getting closer to Mathew.

> Tell Mathew about Poisoning.

> Leave him be, for now.