5. Poisoned

Claude's seizure episode caused everyone into a frenzy once again. After the incident where he was attacked by his mother, now an unexpected turn of events occurred. Claude seized and fell unconscious; when the palace healer examined him, it turned out he was poisoned.

The food and drink Claude had consumed were inspected.

Even though Claude had regained consciousness, the incident took a more serious turn as the news reached the King's ears.

All the servants who had attended to Claude were gathered in the room.

"Who gave snacks to young Master Rosel?!" the King inquired, standing before his prostrated servants.

No one wanted to admit their mistake. Instead, they exchanged glances, shook their heads, and blamed each other. Their mouths seemed sealed, commanded to remain silent.

"Who?!" the King asked angrily.

"I ask again, who?!"

Kane was still there, folding his arms while sitting at the edge of Claude's bed.

"If no one confesses, you all will suffer!" the King threatened.

The servants grew increasingly agitated, blaming each other. Panic set in; some felt guilty, while others were completely unaware that the food they brought was poisoned.

"I saw her bringing those snacks," accused a frightened servant, pointing to a middle-aged woman with wrinkles and white hair.

The accused servant's hands trembled; guilt weighed heavily on her. "But I was instructed by the head servant. I had no idea it was poisonous; believe, Your Highness," she pleaded with herself.

Kane grew furious hearing this.

Meanwhile, the head servant, peeking behind the door, began to retreat slowly. However, his hands were immediately restrained by two guards there.

"Where is the head servant?! Bring him here!" the King shouted in anger.

The head servant stammered, thrown roughly to face the King.

"I didn't instruct her to give that to young Master Rosel." He panicked, defending himself.

"Then?" Kane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was meant for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," the head servant panicked, inadvertently revealing the truth.

"What do you mean?" The King was curious, wondering why his son was the real target. "You traitor!"

"Are you the perpetrator, huh? Did you mistake your target? So, initially, you wanted to kill my son?!" the King yelled in rage.

The guards there immediately became alert, drawing their swords and pointing them simultaneously at the head servant's head.

"I, I, I didn't know." The head servant panicked in an attempt to defend himself, but trust was already lost.

"You can't escape it! Guards, take him to the underground prison," ordered the King.

'Ugh uhuhu damn,' muttered Claude upon hearing the servant's confession. So, he was indeed a victim of mistaken identity? Claude recalled when he lived in the world as the author Natan; he created this scene to make the story interesting with unexpected twists. However, now he regretted it.

He suffered as the healer treated his body. The healer stripped Claude, placing a plastic sheet beneath him and extracting poison through his urinary tract.

'I shouldn't have written this treatment scene, damn it...' Claude sighed. Though he was in a child's body, it didn't mean he had no sense of modesty.

"Is he okay?" Kane asked worriedly.

"Quite well. The extracted poison was minimal; it seems he has neutralized toxins. It should have been a lethal poison," the healer said, a bit surprised.

"Please check the Crown Prince as well," the King instructed. He feared for his son's safety too, making him more cautious about those around him.

"Of course, Your Majesty." The healer finished treating Claude, covering him with a blanket before leaving.

'Finally, he's gone.' Under the blanket, Claude raised a middle finger. "Fuck you."

Claude exhaled in relief. Now, only Kane, the King, and a personal guard remained in the room.

'I know why the head servant wanted to poison the Crown Prince. It's all because I deliberately created that character to support the third prince, planning for him to replace the Crown Prince. In fact, the head servant was also ordered by Kane's mother, the second concubine,' thought Claude.

'After this, I'm sure the head servant will survive.'

'Now I understand why it went wrong like this, besides wanting a plot twist, as an author, I always create conflicts to make the story exciting with a rising plot to reach its climax quickly and end. I intentionally made a careless character like that female servant so her snack could be mistaken for the Crown Prince's. Due to this incident, Claude will start becoming friends with the Crown Prince as the toxin neutralizer.'

Claude pondered while staring at the ceiling of his room. Unconsciously, he envisioned the adult Xavier and Claude living happily as trusted friends, before fate inevitably caught up with them.

'Yes, a toxin neutralizer, like Claude eating before the Crown Prince. I am an evil author; how did I know I would end up in Claude's body? If I knew, I would never have let Claude suffer, and if I knew it would be like this, I would have created Claude as the strongest and unbeatable character!'

'I regret it! This is all because of Eren; I ended up here! If only he could enter a novel world like this, I would put him in and throw him in as a tormented character.'

Kane observed Claude screaming silently, unsure of what was on Claude's mind. But he was a bit concerned because Claude had seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Claude?" Kane touched Claude's hair.

"Have you improved? Thank goodness," mumbled Kane, pressing his forehead against Claude's.

Claude blushed. 'I never intended to write this scene!' Claude screamed inwardly.

'I made this story not romance, so why am I unintentionally creating romance with Kane? Where is his daughter?! Damn, I remember; I didn't create many female characters in this novel.'

'If I'm not mistaken, the genre of the Prince Viera novel is Shounen. I'm sure I didn't make a mistake in the genre, so why is it turning into Shounen Ai? I created this story after marathoning an anime with a ramen-loving, blond-haired main character. I'm sure I didn't choose the wrong genre.' Claude struggled with his thoughts.

"Why are you so silent?" Kane asked, curious. The Prince had been feeling ignored for a while.

Claude immediately pushed Kane's forehead away.

'In the future, you will kill me, Kane. Stay away.'