I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 21 - The King's Brother and the Temple ①
“Chalize… is alive…?”
The one who muttered in shock was Noah, who had just returned to the fortress a moment ago.
Answering him, with a deep bow, was General McGregor.
“Yes… This.”
What he handed over was a letter.
There was no sender’s name, and it had already been opened.
Noah looked at it, frowning slightly.
“What is this?”
“Right after I received the report that Her Majesty the Queen had been executed, this arrived for me.”
“……”
Noah silently took it.
He quietly pulled out the letter inside.
It was a single message card.
The words written on it were extremely short.
“Not dead yet.”
That was all.
Not even a subject. Like a riddle.
But—Noah immediately understood.
This was about Chalize.
Without thinking, he crushed the message card in his hand.
Then, with a trembling voice, he asked:
“McGregor. You said that right after the report of Chalize’s execution came in, this arrived, right?”
“……Yes.”
With a resigned look, General McGregor nodded.
He closed his eyes, as if in pain.
Seeing this, Noah suddenly slammed his fist onto the desk.
“Why did you stay silent!? Why… why!!”
“…I was unsure. But watching you that day… I thought staying silent was the wiser choice.”
“Wiser!? Wiser, you say!? You kept quiet about Chalize being alive. You tricked me—how is that wise?! Huh!?”
Noah shouted at General McGregor, clenching the fist he had slammed on the desk.
He couldn’t believe it.
That Chalize was alive.
…And that General McGregor had kept it to himself.
He had deceived him.
Even though he had seen Noah so crushed by the news of Chalize’s death—suffering, grieving, mourning.
…He had stayed silent! He had lied!!
At Noah’s cry of pain, General McGregor furrowed his brow and replied calmly.
“…The death of Queen Chalize brought out your true strength. You fully committed to the revolution, something you were hesitant about until then. You must have felt the king was unforgivable. A revolution cannot be accomplished with half-hearted feelings. A kind of cold determination is necessary… to carry it through no matter what.”
“Spare me the excuses. So? Why did you suddenly decide to tell me? Don’t tell me your conscience got the better of you? No way. I can’t believe you even have one.”
It was clear now—Noah had completely lost his trust in General McGregor.
And General McGregor knew that.
That’s exactly why he thought he shouldn’t tell Noah until the revolution succeeded.
Even if Noah stopped trusting him—if the revolution succeeded, that would be enough.
That was all he wanted.
General McGregor, still calm, said:
“Queen Chalize came to me.”
“…What?”
“She was angry… when she found out we were hiding the truth from Prince Noah.”
“…And then?”
Noah clearly had many questions.
But he held them back and urged him to go on.
“She told me to trust you. That Prince Noah is not weak… and that I should know that too. Hearing that… I began to wonder if what I did was wrong.”
“……”
Noah let out a deep sigh.
So much information was coming at once, he couldn’t keep up.
Still—one thing was certain.
Chalize was alive.
Just that was enough.
That alone.
Noah looked at General McGregor, who seemed lost in thought, his head slightly down.
He was probably still torn—wondering if he should have said something, or if keeping it secret was better.
Noah had so many things he wanted to say to him.
But at the same time, he understood his feelings.
“A revolution cannot be accomplished with half-hearted feelings. A kind of cold determination is necessary…”
He was worried about Noah.
No—not worried.
He probably sensed something dangerous about him.
Noah, like Chalize, couldn’t fully become cold and ruthless…
And Chalize had been taken advantage of because of that softness—and was nearly executed.
If Chalize had been a woman with no bl00d or tears, cold enough to do anything to win…
She might have met a crueler end than taking poison—but still, she might’ve had a different future.
But Chalize cherished human emotions, valued ethics.
As a result, there were many choices she just couldn’t make—and she was cornered.
It was understandable that General McGregor didn’t want Noah to repeat the same mistake.
He could understand it—but whether he could forgive it… was a different matter.
“…Fine.”
“Prince Noah…”
“For this matter. There will be no punishment for the general… I will let it go.”
To be honest, he wanted to cast out such a deceitful advisor on the spot.
But Chalize…
It was because Chalize had told McGregor to trust Noah—that he had confessed the truth.
If that led to him being punished, Chalize would likely feel guilty.
She might even think that what she did was wrong.
(No…)
Thinking that far, Noah shook his head.
Chalize had probably expected Noah to think all the way through this—and still told McGregor to trust him.
…She really was a tricky woman, he thought.
And at the same time, Noah truly realized that Chalize was alive.
(She’s alive… thank goodness. Truly.)
His vision blurred slightly with tears.
Not wanting General McGregor to notice, Noah blinked several times to scatter them.