After crying on Prince Shiro’s shoulder, I felt a lot better. We both went over to where the guards kept the woman who came into my lab and tampered with the medicine. When the guards saw me, they all moved aside and cleared the way so I could walk directly towards the cell where the woman was being kept. When I was outside the cell, I noticed she still had her cloak on even though she’s been arrested and her hands were bound together with handcuffs.
“Who are you?” I asked her. I saw her hood move a bit, she must’ve looked up at me but I couldn’t see her face due to how long her hood was. I wanted to know who did all of this and why. Were they after the citizens? The Royal Family? Or could they be here to sabotage me? I had a lot of questions and I know only one person can answer me.
“Remove her hood.” I ordered the guards and they complied. They entered the cell and pulled back the hood revealing her face. I didn’t know who she was but she did look familiar to me. She looked at me, there was a mix of fear and anger in her eyes. I could already tell that she did this to ruin me. She was angry at me, but for what reason? I tried thinking of all the enemies I’ve made. There was the incident back in our Empire, and there was that one time I uncovered a slave trade although I doubt the people operating that slave trade knew I was the one that tipped off the guards. I looked at her again and I felt something familiar with her. I just couldn’t put a finger on it. She looked at me and she smirked as if she had the upper hand even though she was caught and now she’s in jail.
“How does it feel? To kill so many citizens of an Empire that you don’t belong in.” She asked me. I observed her movements and I could tell she was nervous. I knew people like her, they would do anything for revenge but they fear death. I don’t understand why such people even exist. They’re a contradiction of themselves. If you wish to do anything for revenge then you must be prepared for the consequences. Even as she was speaking to me, her voice was trembling and her fingers were fidgeting. “These citizens will live.” I told her. She looked at me for a moment and then she began to laugh. Her laugh was forced and she was clearly trying to act like a villain. I wanted to tell her that this isn’t a novel, pretending to be evil isn’t worth it.
“How are you so sure? I’ve destroyed everything. You have no medicine left to treat the infected citizens. Their deaths will be on your hands and the people of this Empire will turn on you and sentence you to the most gruesome death.” She said confidently. I shook my head seeing as I wouldn’t be able to get a proper answer from her. She wants to humiliate me and make me suffer but for what? I tried to think about where I’ve seen her face before. I knew she was familiar but I just couldn’t remember where I saw her. Before I left, I decided to ask her once more.
“Who told you to do this?” She looked up at me and I glared at her. I wanted her to know that I wouldn’t be easily affected by her words. I don’t care what happens to me but as a doctor, I just can’t stand it if I see people trying to harm others. This woman, she was clearly scared of me, it makes me think that she's probably seen what I can do, for her to fear me like this. If I think about it, the only time I’ve ever shown my capabilities was back in our Empire, when I uncovered the truth behind the Empress’ schemes. Could she be connected to the Empress?
“You will suffer the way we suffered!” She screamed as she aggressively shook the bars of her cell. This further solidifies my suspicions on who she could be working for. If that were the case then maybe the Empress still has her minions out in the open. But for them to follow me all the way here and cause trouble for this Empire, if they were to be found out, I don’t know what will happen. That could really cause a war between the two Empires. I can’t let that happen. “Make sure she doesn’t try anything funny and always keep an eye on her.” I instructed the guards when I was on my way out. As soon as I walked out, Prince Shiro was waiting for me. He immediately walked closer to me and wrapped me in his arms. I felt his warmth and it made me feel slightly better.
“Did you find out who she was working for?” He asked. I looked up at him and sighed. It’s not like I actually got a confession out of her but these were all my speculations. I don’t know if I should even be telling this to him since this could only cause a lot more drama. If I were to tell him that I think it was his stepmother, two things could happen: One, he’ll get really angry and demand to investigate the Empress once again, or two, he will become wary of what I say. If someone were to look at it from an outside perspective, it would seem to be impossible for the ex-Empress to make a move while I’m out here in the Taiyou Empire. However, I know how cunning she can be and this certainly isn’t something impossible for her. As for now, I just have to keep these
“No, she’s tight-lipped. Don’t worry, the guards will take care of it and I know that the Empress has probably been informed of what happened. While they investigate this matter, I’ll have to go back and recreate the medicine that was tampered with. If I hurry now, it’ll only take me half a day to remake them.” I told Prince Shiro. He nodded and escorted me to the lab. He promised that he would keep guard outside of the lab while I worked. I felt secured when he said that. I immediately went straight to work on remaking the medicine.
It annoyed me that the woman who tampered with the vials knew exactly which ones were the medicine that I was focused on. It made me think that there could be a rat somewhere near me. If there was, it would have to be someone who had access to the lab and would have been around while I made the medicine. I could think of a handful of people who fit that criteria. A proper investigation needs to happen so that we can find out if there are more rats hiding in the shadows. “I’ve brought you some food, Hima. You should eat first. You’ve been working really hard for the past 4 hours now.” Prince Shiro walked into the lab carrying a tray of food. I wasn’t in the mood to eat yet since I’ve been really focused on the recreation of the medicine however, I knew I need