"Bang!"
Bertade’s eyes reddened as he turned the back of his sword and knocked dina to the ground. Then he extended his long sword and flicked the azure dagger away. Following that, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the girl’s neck and shouted angrily.
"What is this poison? Where is the antidote?!"
"Cough, cough!"
dina moaned painfully and with difficulty, she said.
"There’s no antidote... I don’t have an antidote on ."
Bertade quickly searched her but found no vials. Then, he recalled the clay pot the girl had brought into the tent and urgently commanded.
"Ters, bring that clay pot! Trusted aide, quickly summon the herb priest from the army!"
A few trusted aides imdiately left the tent. The xica legion always carried several priests skilled in herbs, who were not at the service of ordinary samurai, but were always ready to treat important leaders.
Ters picked up the clay pot, Bertade quickly opened it, but saw yesterday’s hibiscus tea untouched. His eyes reddened once more as he forcefully grasped dina’s neck, as if he might strangle her at any mont.
"Speak! What poison is this?!"
dina struggled painfully while trying hard to shake her head.
"There’s no antidote..."
Xiulote leaned against the tent as if sensing the passing of life. In this lifeti, there were still too many things he had not done... Frustration grew in his heart, along with a sense of powerlessness that eventually turned into a self-deprecating chuckle.
"In the end, I’m just an ordinary person... unable to withstand the trials of human nature..."
Then, before death approached, Xiulote looked at the girl and smiled miserably.
"dina, why?"
Bertade released his grip. The girl took a few difficult breaths, tidied her disheveled hair, and said seductively.
"Your Majesty, the Clan Leader said the entire kingdom rested on you alone. By assassinating you, the kingdom would lose its leader, and the officers he had previously contacted would also start their rebellion, securing our family’s fief. Even the Tarasco Kingdom could have a chance to be restored and perhaps, even more, is unknown..."
Xiulote was silent. He nodded slightly, then shook his head, and asked again.
"dina, I’m asking why you were so willing to die?"
dina stood frozen. Her gaze was blurry and vacant, looking at the handso King with a pitiful smile.
"Why? Your Majesty, while I live, I am but a tool and plaything, accompanied by pain and fear, a beautifully plumaged caged bird... Even you, Your Majesty, only thought to lock in the Temple for your leisurely pleasure!"
Hearing this, Xiulote cast down his gaze. He stared deeply at his own desires, sighed softly.
"dina, isn’t it good to be alive?"
The girl shook her head, graced him with a gentle smile, like a lovely daisy exuding the beauty of death.
"Your Majesty, it’s not good to be alive! In death, I gain freedom and relief, and I can even take many with , many people I want to... I used to hate them so much, now I don’t hate them anymore, but let’s go together!..."
Xiulote didn’t speak. He silently watched the girl with the vacant gaze, listening to her soft whisper, until two xica-born herb priests hurried into the tent.
"Bertade..."
"Your Highness!"
"Don’t be sad... After I die, make sure to bury my body under the Moon Pyramid in Teotihuacan City..."
"Your Highness!"
"Rest assured, my King, you will not die. You have been kind to , how could I bear for you to die? Besides, if you die, who will help send them on their way..."
dina smiled alluringly, her gaze tenderly fixed on the King, and suddenly she spoke.
Xiulote looked in her direction, only to see dina pressing her fingertip to her lips. Her cheeks once again took on an odd red color. The girl coquettishly kissed her hand, chuckled, and blew the King a kiss, her pale blue nails enchantingly swaying.
"My King, please be sure to rember dina!..."
Having said that, dina laughed and placed her slender hand on her neck, forcefully scratching hard! The pale blue nails cut deep into her skin, and red blood flowed out instantly. With a carefree smile, she threw her head back, gazing at the dark sky through the roof of the tent.
"... Mother, I’m coming!~"
In just a few breaths, dina’s pupils lost focus. She lay silently on the ground, like a rose in full bloom, yet deflated – so dazzlingly stunning, yet carrying hurtful thorns.
Xiulote stared blankly at the deceased girl, feeling a surge of emotions in his chest, yet unable to utter a single word.
Bertade had no ti to care. His gaze was fixed intently on the two herb priests. An older priest was inspecting the King’s wound, carefully cleaning it. The younger priest was examining the azure short dagger, then brought it close to his nose to sniff. After a mont, both priests looked at each other with surprise on their faces.
"What is it! What herbs will counteract the poison?!"
Bertade grabbed the arm of the older priest, urgently pressing for an answer.
"This... this... there is no antidote..."
The aged priest answered slowly. Xiulote sighed silently, closed his eyes, waiting for life’s end. The Head Warrior felt darkness before his eyes, and he suddenly brandished his bronze sword, placing it on the old priest’s neck.
"Treat the King!"
"...Your, Your Reverence, the Head Eagle Warrior!"
The young priest, looking terrified, hastily responded.
"This is ordinary indigo dye, it’s not poisonous!"
A deathly silence fell in the tent. Xiulote instantly opened his eyes. The Head Warrior stood stunned for a few monts, then lowered his bronze sword.
"Not poisonous?"
"Yes, yes. There’s no antidote because there’s no poison."
The old priest finally finished speaking. The King clenched his teeth and looked again at the deceased girl. Her lips had turned purple, as if a rose had withered and decayed.
"Go, examine her nails!"
The priests hurried to the girl’s side, carefully taking so of the blue substance from her nails with a special bone plate. Bertade personally took action, using a cloth sterilized with agave juice to bandage the wound of the King. Monts later, the priests had a unanimous result.
"Your Highness, this is a special frog poison, extrely toxic. The frog must co from the southern Mistec or the Zapotecs rainforest."
"Indeed. The exact species still needs to be identified..."
"Is there an antidote?"
The King suddenly asked. He rembered several occasions when dina’s nails had grazed his skin, tenderly caressing him, but never truly breaking it open.
"...There is... but, but the poison is too fierce, it’s too late to use it."
The priests lowered their heads, not daring to et the King’s eyes.
Xiulote felt a deep chill of fear within him. Tonight was the closest he had co to death, kissing the God of Death’s rose amidst the intoxication of gentleness. After so ti, he stood up and walked to the deceased girl, his expression changing.
"dina..."
Xiulote sighed deeply, a mysterious sadness appearing on his face. He watched the peaceful dina, as if she were simply asleep before him.
The King closed his eyes, recollecting the brief encounters with the girl over the past two days: the innocent doe, the enchanting kitten, the beautiful lady, the helpless girl, the sharp assassin... and the rose that chose death for the sake of freedom.
After a long while, Xiulote opened his eyes to look at her in sleep.
"You’ve won! From now on, I will be unable to forget you... Rest in peace~"
"Your Highness."
Bertade knelt in front of the King, his face full of self-reproach.
"I failed to protect you! ...There are no won in the camp, and before entering the tent, the trusted aides did not inspect carefully..."
"Ha! It’s not your fault... It is my own mistake... Besides, the real poison was not on the dagger, but under the nails. The trusted aides are pure samurai, lacking such experience..."
Xiulote shook his head, lowered his gaze, and let out a long breath.
He reflected on his own mistakes; he hadn’t maintained his guard in the face of temptation. He had let down his defenses against the exceedingly beautiful girl and thus had stepped closer to danger...
"Ha... I am already powerful enough, glorious enough. My enemies can hardly defeat head-on, and so the assassins lurking in the shadows have beco sothing I must face! In this era, poison and daggers have buried many a hero..." Xiulote looked up, at this mont when death had brushed past him, gazing into the dark sky.
The sky held no moonlight, nor stars, as if it was the path the King was destined to take. On this path, he was fated to make enemies of countless people, a path strewn with bones. And he, must be as hard as iron, ever vigilant.
"Bertade."
"Your Highness."
"Bury dina well... Place a jar with her, and a rose on top."
"...As you command."
Bertade bowed deeply. After so ti, he hesitantly asked,
"Your Highness, you ntioned earlier, the Moon Pyramid in the Holy City?"
Xiulote gave the Head Warrior a deep look, kept silent, and explained nothing. Bertade didn’t ask further, as if he had understood.
A mont later, the King, expressionless, issued a Royal Decree.
"At dawn tomorrow, the Imperial Guard Legion shall march south, bring all the cannons! ...I shall sacrifice Guramo with my own hands!!"
"As you command! My supre sun, may you never fall!"
On Bertade’s face appeared a fervor long unseen, just like when he first t his sovereign.
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