Althea froze, her hand hovering uncertainly above the servant. She looked up, startled, her brows knitting together. “No—I’m only trying to help her.”
Dorothy’s lips curved in a mocking smile. “Help? You call ddling with her body ‘help’? Everyone here can see what you were about to do.”
lva quickly stepped forward in protest. “That’s not true! My Lady was only trying to heal her—”
“Silence,” Dorothy snapped, cutting her off. Her glare returned to Althea, cold and unrelenting. “Every breath you take in this palace is already a burden. Don’t think I won’t report this to the Queen Dowager.”
The fallen servant groaned softly, her body trembling, but Dorothy ignored her completely. All her attention was on Althea, waiting for her to make a wrong move.
She ignored Dorothy and turned to Rudy, “Get her to a healer this instant before it’s too late. She’s been poisoned and it’s seeping through her body already.”
Rudy instinctively bent down to lift the servant, but before he could, the woman’s body jerked violently. A frothy white liquid spilled from her mouth.
“No!” Althea gasped. She dropped to her knees beside the servant, pressing her palms lightly against the woman’s chest without hesitation.
“Stop this at once!” Dorothy snapped, her voice cutting like a whip.
Althea didn’t flinch. Her eyes stayed on the trembling servant. “If she dies right now, it will be on you,” she shot back, her tone firm and steady.
The servant’s hands clawed weakly at Althea’s dress. “Please... I don’t want to die. Please save ,” she sobbed, her body convulsing harder.
“Don’t worry,” Althea murmured, her voice soft but resolute. She let her inner energy flow, a gentle white light glowing from her palms as it spread over the servant’s trembling form. “I’ll save you.”
Dorothy’s eyes widened, her face twisting in outrage. “This is witchcraft! She’s just a weak human, yet she dares perform such forbidden acts! Rudy—stop her at once!”
But lva stepped forward, her voice sharp with anger. “This is not witchcraft!” She stood protectively by Althea, glaring at Dorothy. “My Lady is a Mage Healer. So why don’t you hold your tongue and let her save one of your own?”
She arched a brow, her words dripping with accusation. “Unless, of course, Lady Dorothy, you’d rather see this servant die right here in front of us all.”
Althea shut out Dorothy’s sharp voice behind her, focusing only on the woman trembling beneath her hands.
“What’s your na?” she asked softly, trying to ground her in sothing other than the pain.
“E-Elsa,” the servant gasped, her body twitching violently.
“You’re doing well, Elsa. Just a little longer,” Althea murmured, her own voice calm though her heart raced. The glow from her palms spread across the servant’s chest and down her arms, pulsing with steady waves of light.
Elsa arched with a strangled cry as black lines crawled beneath her skin, snaking up her neck and across her arms. Althea’s brows furrowed, sweat dripping from her temple as she pressed harder, channeling more of her energy.
“Stay with ,” she urged.
A hiss escaped from Elsa’s lips as thick, tar-like liquid began seeping from the corners of her mouth, darkening the white froth that had spilled earlier. The sll was bitter, tallic, burning at Althea’s nose.
The veins that had blackened across Elsa’s skin began to fade, slowly retreating as if chased away by the white light pouring from Althea’s hands.
Finally, with one last convulsion, Elsa coughed hard, spewing a stream of foul, black fluid onto the floor beside her. Her body sagged, trembling but breathing more evenly now.
Althea exhaled heavily, her shoulders trembling from the strain, but she gave the servant a faint smile. “There... it’s gone. You’re safe now.”
Elsa’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, My Lady... you saved ,” she whispered, clutching Althea’s wrist as if afraid to let go.
But before Althea could answer, Dorothy’s sharp voice cut through the mont like a blade.
“Open your eyes, all of you!” Dorothy hissed, pointing at the black ss on the ground. “Does this look like healing? She pulled poison from thin air—what kind of human does that? This is witchcraft! A trick ant to earn your trust while she corrupts us from within!”
lva’s fists clenched at her sides. “You saw her! That poison nearly killed Elsa, and My Lady saved her. That’s not witchcraft—it’s healing!”
Dorothy’s gaze burned with fury, her tone venomous as she sneered at Althea. “And yet she hides such power until now? A traitor’s daughter, suddenly able to perform magic no human should wield. How convenient.”
Rudy glanced uncertainly between them, torn, while the other guards who finally ca to check what had happened shifted uncomfortably.
Elsa, still weak but conscious, shook her head desperately. “No—please, Lady Dorothy. She saved . I would be dead if not for her.”
Dorothy’s expression hardened. She stepped closer to Althea, her voice lowering to a hiss.
“Enough. The Queen Dowager will hear of this at once. Whatever trick you’ve hidden in your blood, girl, it won’t fool her. You’ll answer for this.”
Althea straightened, refusing to let Dorothy’s hostility shake her. Her voice was steady, calm, and clear as she spoke. “Please don’t accuse of things I didn’t do, My Lady. Even though I’m my father’s blood, that doesn’t an I’m like him. This event requires a full investigation to know who is really responsible for this poisoning.”
Her gaze shifted briefly to the black sludge staining the floor, then back to Dorothy. “This is the North Palace—the Alpha King’s headquarters. And yet soone dared to commit such a cri.”
A hush fell over the area. Her words carried weight, making even the guards uneasy.
Elsa weakly raised her head, her voice breaking. “She’s right... Soone wanted dead.”
lva stepped closer to Althea, protective and firm. “And they nearly succeeded. If not for My Lady, we’d already be mourning Elsa’s death.”
Dorothy’s eyes narrowed into slits, her lips pressed thin, but for once she could not imdiately respond.
After a mont, she coldly declared, “I am in charge of the North Palace while the King is away, and I’ll decide on this matter.” She raised her hand, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. “Take this traitor’s daughter to the dungeon while the investigation is conducted!”
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