Episode 5. Even Deadly Poison Can Sometimes Be Medicine (2)
Aconite.
An ornamental plant with beautiful violet flowers. In reality, however, it is a poisonous herb that harbors a lethal toxin in its roots. Because of that, it has been used countless times in the manufacture of poisons.
In ancient Athens of Greece, merely possessing it without permission was punishable by death. In Joseon, it was widely used as a poison for royal executions. Its toxicity was so potent that it continued to be put to use even in modern times.
A representative example?
"The so-called Aconite Murder Case that occurred in Japan in 1986, I suppose."
In any case, one could say that the toxicity of aconite has been thoroughly proven across East and West, throughout all ages. There was a very good reason why Sir Gardin was currently staring this way as if he were looking at a complete lunatic.
"...Your Highness?"
"Yeah."
"May I check to see if you have a fever?"
"I've got a slight one, but it's not serious."
"But, Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"You must not let go of hope yet."
"I haven't."
"Life is beautiful, Your Highness."
"I know that too."
"Life is precious."
"I already know."
"So please, Your Highness, never again say that you intend to eat such a vicious poisonous plant."
"Nope. I'm going to eat it."
"Y-Your Hiiighness!"
"...Whoa, damn it. You startled me."
Rakiel sharply furrowed his brow.
"Sir Gardin. Do you really trust me that little?"
"That is not the case, Your Highness. However—"
"However?"
"I cannot stand by and watch as Your Highness gives up on everything and destroys yourself. That is my duty and my responsibility."
"I'm doing this to help you fulfill that duty and responsibility."
"That is sophistry, Your Highness. First self-harm with needles, and now you're even attempting suicide by poisoning!"
"...Hoo. It's not self-harm. And it's not suicide by poisoning. It's part of the treatment."
"However, Your Highness—"
"I'm going to weaken and control the poisonous components and use them as medicine."
"…Pardon?"
"Enough talk. Bring it. You have five minutes."
"...Your Highness."
"If you're late, I really will self-harm."
"…!"
"One, two..."
"Snff, hic—!"
Sir Gardin, who had been holding out with all his might, finally began to sob. To be honest, he could not understand it. The crown prince he served had become strange.
More precisely, he had truly become strange ever since regaining consciousness after collapsing last night. His way of speaking had changed. His gaze, his expression—everything felt subtly different.
"He used to be prickly, sure… but at least he never did insane things like this… sniff."
How had it come to this? They said that when a person nears death, their personality can change—could it be that?
"But even so… this is too much…"
Everything had changed far too suddenly. In the dead of night, he demanded a large number of needles. Then he heated them over a candle and stuck them into his shoulders and arms.
And among all of that, the most shocking part was—
"He made that kind of expression while stabbing himself with the needles!"
Yes.
There was no doubt.
He was enjoying it. He had surrendered his body to the pleasure brought by pain. Like that, he had crossed a river from which there was no return.
"Your Highness…!"
Sir Gardin swallowed his tears in earnest.
He had never imagined that a long illness could break a person so thoroughly. It was his own failing. He should have taken better care of the crown prince. With a heart full of endless remorse, he fell to his knees.
"Your Highness? Please, could you reconsider just this once?"
"No. I won't change my mind. Leave."
"However, Your Highness—"
"Hoo..."
Sir Gardin's eyes were now genuinely brimming with tears. Seeing that, Rakiel let out a deep sigh. It seemed that forcing the issue alone would make him refuse even at swordpoint.
In the end, Rakiel decided to share a bit of knowledge with him.
"Sir Gardin."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Listen carefully now. I'll tell you why I'm looking for aconite."
"…Yes?"
"As you know, aconite has a deadly poison in its roots. In some foreign lands, those roots are classified into two types. What I intend to consume is the child root that grows from the mother root—that is, fuzi."
"Fu… zi, you say?"
"Right. Buja. In the language of a foreign land, it's also known by the herbal name Aconiti Lateralis Radix Preparata. It contains large amounts of aconitine-type virulent toxins. Those compounds excite and then paralyze the brainstem and the terminals of the peripheral nerves. They send the parasympathetic nervous system into overdrive and, in the end, stop the heart."
"..."
Gulp.
Gardin's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
Rakiel continued his explanation calmly.
"But I know how to neutralize and control that toxicity. Don't ask how I know. I have no intention of telling you."
"You mean… you can neutralize the poison?"
"That's right. In the language of that foreign land, the process is called beopje (legal system)."
"Beopje…."
"Once you go through that process, you can use buja's toxicity as a medicine suited to me."
"Is… is that really true?"
"Of course. Do you think I'd lie?"
Rakiel let out a small chuckle.
Suddenly, memories surfaced of the days when he had run a traditional Korean medicine clinic back in the Republic of Korea. Even then, there were occasions when he had prescribed buja as a medicinal ingredient. Of course, the buja he used at the time had already been processed by specialized companies.
"Fortunately, I know the beopje methods in detail. Not just one, but several."
"..."
"So that's why I'm telling you to bring it. Does it make a bit more sense now?"
"...Your Highness."
"Yes."
"To be honest, I can't accept it at all."
"..."
"It's knowledge I've never heard of before. I don't know its source, nor whether it's truly reliable. However…"
"However?"
"If, as you say, it can be used as a medicinal ingredient… is it certain to benefit Your Highness's health?"
"No medicine can ever be taken with one hundred percent certainty. That's just the nature of medicine. But at the very least, I don't believe it will do any harm. That should be enough of an answer."
"…Yes, Your Highness."
"Then what is your answer?"
"…As you command, I will bring the monkshood."
Sir Gardin made up his mind.
He knew better than anyone the recent state of the Crown Prince's health. It had been worsening day by day. No medicine had worked. These had been desperate times.
If only it were possible.
If there were even the slightest chance.
He wanted to try anything, even clutching at straws. Perhaps that was why.
"Beopje, huh. Might it be… worth trying at least once?"
He wanted to place a bit of hope in it. He wanted, at the very least, to make some attempt.
"Once the beopje process is finished, though, I should be the first to take it and confirm its safety before Your Highness does."
Only after that would he allow the Crown Prince to take it. Having made his resolve, he left the bedchamber with a solemn expression. About ten minutes later, he returned carrying an armful of monkshood roots.
"Your Highness, I wasn't sure how much you wanted, so I brought all of it."
"Well done. Now bring two large basins, enough clean water to fill them, and a sack of salt as well."
"Are those items necessary for the beopje?"
"Of course."
"Please wait just a moment."
The preparations were completed swiftly. Two large basins filled with clear water were placed in the center of the bedchamber.
That was when it began.
"Now, dissolve the salt in the water."
"How much should I add?"
"A lot."
"…By 'a lot,' you mean?"
"Dump it in. Until I tell you to stop."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Swoooosh!
He poured in the salt by the sackful.
Rakiel dipped his finger into the water and tasted it to check the salinity.
"All right, now put them in. All of them."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Splash, splash!
Sir Gardin moved diligently, submerging the monkshood roots—buja—deep into the saltwater.
But the work didn't end there. Rakiel summoned the attendants of the detached palace and handed each of them a sheet of paper.
"From now on, you are to scour every inch of the garden of this palace."