The Least Deserving Man

After Treegan had explained the findings of Doctor Bundt, the exclusive doctor of King Zander, he paused and waited to hear what his Master had to say next.

However, he could not deny that he felt indignant while thinking about the fool who had gotten himself poisoned by a simple maid yet had the good graces of receiving treatment from his Master's personal doctor.

'He doesn't deserve it!' He harrumphed in his heart as among the three aides who served the King, Rein was the least qualified.

King Zander had three men who could serve him up close.

The first and one who had stayed with him the longest was Treegan Molt, his aide, his spy, and his shadow.

Treegan was given all tasks related to gathering information, relaying commands to the other subordinates inside or outside the Palace, and also cleaning the aftermath of the King's wrath that some had foolishly invoked.

The second and other most competent person around King Zander was the man who served as his Butler, managing the entire Palace and its personnel.

This man was added to the list of aides after King Zander had ascended the throne which happened roughly ten years ago.

The Butler's duty was to ensure that everything in the Palace ran smoothly which he accomplished with ease by managing the servants working here.

The last, and the least deserving man according to Treegan was none other than Rein Melk, the King's chamberlain.

Rein's duty was to serve the King while he was still inside his bedchamber.

This included making his bed, preparing his bath, making sure that everything the King might need in his room was present at all times.

For this aspect, Rein and the Butler were much closer as they interacted more often than with him.

Frankly, Treegan was glad that he did not have to meet Rein often as that would only sullen his mood.

Rein had joined much later when compared to him and the Butler which meant that he was the newest and also youngest among the King's closest aides.

'He just popped up one day and began serving the King.' He recalled one of the reasons why he had always been wary of the newcomer.

Rein's mysterious identity, his sudden appearance before the King, and his secretive behavior each day.

These had raised flags in Treegan's mind which resulted in him never liking the man.

However, today, he had seen a different side of the man who was called 'mousy' and timid by the rest of the Palace servants.

After hearing the report about Rein being poisoned, King Zander had dragged the servant with him to the dining hall where he had executed justice for his sake.

Treegan knew that his Master treated his men well and even cared for them in his own way.

One such way he had seen today was how their Master had punished Lady Marin Zolvak's maid who had served the bowl of poisoned pudding to the servant.

Thinking of that incident, Treegan's mind went back to what he had witnessed back then.

At that time when he was grateful to the King for having shielded them from the blood splatter which had covered Lady Zolvak but had not touched them, he noticed the man standing next to him lean sideways.

This made him realize that the gruesome scene Rein had witnessed was too much for him and thus had fainted immediately after.

Treegan's body had moved on reflex and he had encircled his arm around the other servant's waist and also his shoulder.

Now as he stood before the King, reminiscing how slim and slender that waist was, he could not help but shake his head.

'So frail and malnourished.' He sneered and held in the urge to click his tongue as he was still in the presence of his Master.

Yet the thought that the waist he had touched earlier was so soft that his fingers almost sunk into his flesh made him frown.

'No muscles either!' He was beyond furious at the lacking physical fitness of that man who served as the King's chamberlain.

While he was thinking of a new training regimen to put that weak man on, he heard the King finally speaking up.

"Did Doctor Bundt prescribe any medication?" King Zander inquired, thinking of the hoarse voice he had heard this morning coming from his chamberlain.

An immediate nod was received as the doctor had indeed prescribed enough to last the chamberlain for two days.

Vampires had rapid healing abilities so it would only take a matter of hours or days to heal themselves depending on the severity of the injury.

Rein having to rest and recover for two days, which was already a long period considering the rapid healing ability, was only because the poison was made by a veteran in this field.

"Confiscate her equipment and inform her that she had been grounded for the next three weeks." The King's orders were accepted with a bow.

The one he was talking about was none other than the creator of the poison, Lady Amaira.

Though she had not known who that poison was meant for, she was still an accomplice which could not be ignored.

Therefore, while Lady Marin lost her maid as punishment, Lady Amaira would be locked in her room until she ponders over her actions.

'Lady Marin will not dare to step out during this time as well.' Treegan speculated as she must have been scared out of her wits after witnessing her maid's death.

When Rein, a man, had fainted at the very sight of the maid's abrupt demise, it was safe to assume that Lady Marin, a lady would have also been stunned by that incident.

'I hope she learns her lesson.' He shook his head as her reason for attempting to poison Rein was already known to the King and himself.

"Master, thankfully, the poison was not strong enough to kill him." Treegan sighed as it would be a whole other mess to find a replacement for the position of chamberlain at a short notice.

However, King Zander did not acknowledge his words but glanced at this ignorant aide of his.

"Has Amaira's poison ever failed?" He questioned, enjoying the sight of how the other man's back stiffened.

Lady Amaira Omarun was the daughter of the Clan Leader of the Omaruns, one of the strongest werewolf clans in their Kingdom.

From her childhood, she had been trained in the art of poisons by her grandmother who once was a great alchemist and apothecary.

An alchemist was someone who practiced alchemy, the art of transformation of a substance through the means of magical powers residing in one's soul and body.

There weren't many alchemists in the land as the mastery of alchemy required a certain innate trait in the practitioner's soul which not many possessed.

However, an apothecary was someone who created poisons using magical herbs found in nature.

They did not require any special magical powers as knowledge of these herbs was the only thing needed to create poisons of different varieties.

Amaira did not possess the mandatory high magnitude of magic in her soul required to venture into alchemy, however, she was still a talented apothecary who could make poisons without the use of magic.

Thinking about the information that Treegan had collected about Amaira and her upbringing before she entered the Royal Palace, he realized that she was too skilled to create a poison that did not fulfill its purpose.

"But Master, Lady Marin's maid had requested to create a poison to help her kill a rat." He retorted, implying that a weaker poison was made with the intention of killing a rodent and hence had not worked on a vampire like Rein.

However, King Zander let out a brief chuckle before narrowing his eyes at this man.

"You never learned how to read between the lines, did you?" He scoffed at his aide who most certainly had not grasped what he had.

"Why would that maid even need help to kill a little rat?" He tossed this question over to him, waiting to see how long it would take Treegan to come to the same conclusion that he had reached soon after hearing everything at the dining table.

Treegan began pondering what his Master's words meant as his brows furrowed close together.

Lady Marin was a vampire just like him, chosen by the Elders to become King Zander's Queen in the future.

Her maid most certainly was also a vampire just like them and was also highly skilled.

Considering how powerful they were, though not comparable to their King, they would not have any trouble in disposing of a rodent.

'So Lady Amaira knew that she was making poison, not for a rat, but a person?' This discovery made his eyes open wide.

King Zander watched as his aide began putting the pieces of the puzzle together and was amused to see the plethora of changes taking place on this usually steel-faced man.

"Everyone calls Rein Melk, a rat…" Treegan mumbled to himself and was on the right path.

He finally looked up at his Master as a light of understanding flashed across his eyes.

"Lady Amaira already knew that the poison was for Rein and made it potent enough to kill him?" He began strong but by the end, he doubted his thoughts as they left his mouth.

King Zander was pleased with his attempt and gave him a nod of approval.

"Amaira understood who the poison was for but instead of stopping the maid, she went ahead and helped her." He shook his head at this young werewolf cub that had been sent to his Palace.

While she might be another one of the candidates he could choose to be his Queen, Zander never thought of her in that manner.

'That old Bastard left her here for me to babysit her.' He gritted his teeth as she had done nothing but cause mischief in his Palace ever since she had arrived.

Though he was tolerant of her misconduct due to her young age, he could not approve of what she had done this time.

"Since she knew what she was doing then she should be able to pay the price for the consequences of her actions." He declared and would not back down from his decree of placing her under house arrest.

Thus, both Lady Marin and Lady Amaira would be punished for what they had done to Rein Melk.

With this, Treegan realized that his Master truly cared for their well-being even when they were mere servants who could be replaced at any time.