23 Chapter Twenty-One: The Cake Is A Lie

It's been a few days since Ren moved in with Lucilia, and despite her constant teases at night, he managed to control himself from acting on any urges he felt.

Ren had been getting along with some of the servants, who were more open to talking to him, while others tended to ignore him whenever they could.

Except for Cilan, he obviously despised Ren and didn't talk to him unless he was told to. Cilan would even refuse to cook for him and tended to pawn off some of his responsibilities to another maid when it came to Ren.

This hadn't gone unnoticed by Lucilia, who was becoming more furious with Cilan, even more so as she was getting more attached to Ren. It was as if she was tied to him by the hip, which irked Cilan.

Cilan had served Lucilia for years, and now she couldn't be seen without Ren by her side. Every day, Lucilia showed Ren a new part of the house. Her botanical garden, the pool—she looked for any excuse to spend time with Ren, and today was a special day.

It was a holiday on the planet, and while a minor holiday, Lucilia still wanted to celebrate it with Ren. So she asked Cilan to make dessert for the two of them to eat together at a table in the center of the botanical garden.

She had it all thought out: a nice table, tea, and dessert. She planned a romantic date with him.

"So what kind of holiday is it?" Ren asked as Lucilia was escorting him to the botanical garden.

"It's one celebrating the end of one of the wars we had won. We call them victory days." Lucilia explained.

"How many of these victory days do you celebrate? Ren asked.

"Sixteen." Lucilia said plainly.

"Sixteen? That means sixteen wars have been won. How big is this empire?" Ren thought to himself.

Lucilia and Ren finally arrived at the table Lucilia had arranged. However, there wasn't any dessert or tea on the table.

"Cilan must've pawned off his responsibilities again...how aggravating! I'll make him pay for this." Lucilia thought to herself.

Ren sat down as Lucilia went to go find the nearest maid to get them to get the dessert and tea from the kitchen.

"These flowers are quite beautiful." Ren thought to himself, looking at the flowers all around them, coming in various colors.

Soon, Lucilia came back and sat down next to Ren, a maid carrying a tray with what seemed to be a cake along with a tea pot.

"It's impressive how similar some of our food and drinks are." Ren thought to himself.

"You should try this dessert; I really like it." Lucilia said.

Ren looked at the desert and noticed a strange fruit on top of the icing.

The fruit had a similar shape to a strawberry, but its color was purple, unlike the red color strawberries usually have.

It looked awkward for Ren, considering he had never seen purple strawberries and wondered if they were edible.

"What's wrong, Ren?" Lucilia asked with a confused look "Do you not like desserts?"

"No, I do; it's just that these purple fruits on this dessert look similar to a fruit we have on Earth except they're red, not purple." Ren explained his reasoning.

"Oh! Then try one; trust me, it tastes perfect." Lucilia said.

Ren trusted her word and took a bite of the fruit. It tasted very similar to a strawberry, but there was something else to it.

"Why does this taste like a strawberry watermelon flavor?" Ren thought to himself.

"Is it good, Ren?" Lucilia asked expectantly.

"Honestly, it's very good." Ren said with a smile.

This excited Lucilia, knowing they have even more in common now.

However, something started to make Ren feel wrong very quickly.

He started to hear ringing in his ears, sweat pouring from his forehead, and his vision becoming blurry to the point where he couldn't see two feet in front of him.

"Oh no..." Ren thought to himself. "Either I'm allergic to these strawberries...or someone poisoned me.

Ren tried to speak to warn Lucilia, but he couldn't get a word out. He could just barely hear someone saying his name, but the sound was muffled, and soon he blacked out.

* Lucilia Perspective*

Everything was going perfectly until Ren collapsed; he was struggling to breathe, and Lucilia didn't know what to do but yell as loud as she could.

"Someone help me!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, and not a half-minute later, over a dozen maids were by her side, half of them trying to help Ren, who was now unconscious, while the other half supported Lucilia.

"Take him to our room and call Doctor Anessa; we need her help immediately." Lucilia said as she was trying to keep herself together.

The maids knew this was a serious situation if she wanted to call Doctor Anessa; she was the royal family's personal doctor and was only on call for them. This made the maids even more determined to help Ren, because of their princess.

The maids all needed to help each other in order to carry Ren back to their room.

Lucilia grabbed the dessert the two had and took it with her. She knew what most likely happened, and she also knew that whoever made a move, either against her or Ren, was someone in the mansion. She also made sure to grab what was left of the fruit Ren bit into. She had to be sure of what she thought. After all, a false accusation would tear the house apart.

Once the maids got Ren back to his and Lucilia's room, they laid him out on the bed and immediately put a bag of ice on his forehead, while the others started to undress him in an effort to cool his fever down and attempt to help him as best as they could until the royal doctor arrived.

The maids were extra motivated to help Ren due to the mistress' fondness for him; none of them wanted to disappoint the princess.

As the maids did their best to treat Ren, Lucilia was overwhelmed. Somebody just made a move against her, and in turn, Ren was affected. She promised him nobody would dare harm him, and she was proven wrong. She was infuriated, but sadly, until the royal doctor arrived, all she could do was wait and pray to the gods and goddesses.

Then an idea came to Lucilia's head; she asked the maids in the room a question.

"Who was in the kitchen today?" she asked.

"Oh, I believe Petra, Mona, Rumia, Linde, and Cilan were all in the kitchen today, princess." one of the maids explained.

The last name mentioned shocked Lucilia. "That means any of those five could've poisoned Ren, Petra, and Linde; they wouldn't harm a bug if they could help it; that leaves Mona, Rumia, and...Cilan. I know Mona and Cilan haven't been pleased by Ren's presence, so they are my top suspects. Rumia doesn't care either way, but never say impossible until we have evidence." Lucilia thought to herself.

She was doing her best to deduce who it could've been, with her maid Mona and the only butler Cilan being the top suspects.

"Get Cilan, Mona, and Rumia to meet me in my office. We have things we need to discuss. When Anessa gets here, bring her to this room immediately and tell her she can't leave until he's better." Lucilia said with darkness in her eyes.

She was angry beyond belief that someone hurt Ren, especially if it was someone she had always trusted.

"I will get revenge for you, Ren; you have my word; just don't die...because even if you think about dying, I will drag you out of the afterlife myself; you're mine; death can't have you." Lucilia thought, with the darkness still clouding her eyes.

*UNS Eternity*

"Ma'am, the UNS Kyoto has recovered the sentinel. The cockpit was empty, but there was a message inside of it." the vice captain said to Captain Aurora.

"A Message?" Captain Aurora asked.

"Yes, it seems he attempted to transfer a message to his handler; however, the upload was stopped, so it was never received." the vice captain explained.

Captain Aurora took a seat in her chair and said "Play it."

Ren was in his sentinel cockpit, noticeable exhausted, with warning signs on all of the computers around him, and then he started speaking.

"I'm currently in battle with an enemy in a specialized unit, and there's no chance I will be coming out unscathed, so this is for the worst-case scenario. I'm sorry, Scarlet; I'm sorry, Lily; I'm sorry, Tyler; I'm sorry, Serenity and the rest of Fireteam Epsilon; and lastly, I'm sorry, Captain Aurora. I failed on my first mission. I screwed up big time. I wish I could be with all of you again, but right now I don't see a way out of this, so just please listen to my final words.

Scarlet, you're amazing. Honestly, you're the most amazing person I know. You're not only beautiful but also strong and caring, and I know you will be affected by my possible death, but don't give up hope. You're strong, and I know you can bounce back and shine brightly.

Tyler, you are the best friend anyone could ask for. Through the best and worst times, you stuck by my side and didn't think twice about helping me whenever I, Scarlet, or Lily needed it. So thank you for being my brother.

Lily, you are the smartest girl I know. You always helped me, no matter what, when I needed you. You need to be more confident in your actions because when you do something you truly believe in, that's where you shine the most.

Serenity I know we just reunited, and I'm already leaving you, but please stay strong. You changed so much from that shy girl I first met, so I know you can get even stronger from this. Keep talking with Scarlet, Lily, and Tyler; they are the best friends anyone could ask for.

Lastly, Captain Aurora, thank you for telling me about my mother. I may not have shown it, but I will always appreciate it. Hopefully, if today is my last day, I will be reunited with her in the afterlife."

The message quickly cut out after that.

The vice captain looked at Captain Aurora, who was in tears.

"I'm sorry, Ren... I'm sorry I failed you."

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