Emrys glanced at his younger brother, the 13th Prince, with an intentionally neutral expression that hid his internal panic.
'Saint.'
It was a word nobody was supposed to associate with him and a fact he had carefully hidden from everybody, including his own birth mother.
'How did Caellum find out his secret, and what other things did he know?'
'Who had he shared the secret with?'
'Even though he had sworn an oath to the God of Eternal Flame, how was the 13th prince able to threaten Emrys. Was he lying? How?'
Numerous questions ran through Emrys's shocked mind.
Still, the greater shock was that he couldn't believe the person now wiping tears with a wronged yet hopeful expression after viciously blackmailing him was that little prince, who had no presence and was treated like dirt by the entire royal family, visitors, and even servants.
Catching Caellum's vicious eyes that quickly turned soft as the 13th prince turned away, Emrys deferred the floor to him, vowing that once this situation was over, he would figure out what Caellum knew and silence him if he had to.
One way or another.
***
And seeing that Emrys was ready to cooperate, Caellum turned to the queen and began his argument.
"Mother, is your claim that I attempted to poison the king because I was in the kitchens?"
"It's not a claim, it's a fact! If not for the quick thinking of my servants in restraining you, you would have been successful!" the queen yelled back, not sure why they were still entertaining this farce.
The evidence was there, everything was laid out, nobody actually cared about this prince, so he should just be sent to his death.
"I keep telling you that you're wrong and someone is trying to throw mud on my name. Sure, I was in the king's private kitchen sprinkling something over his food, but it absolutely wasn't poison! Your servant is misleading you; there's a dirty plot afoot! And the 9th prince here can back me up as I explain what really happened."
Before the queen could say anything, Caellum stepped forward and began speaking toward the royal family sitting behind her.
"Firstly, as we all know, this is the royal palace where not everyone can enter or leave as they please. With the father of the nation here, his safety is paramount, so things can't just be brought in and out of the palace. And people can't just enter his kitchen where his food is prepared without permission, correct?"
"You're just stating the obvious to waste time." The queen interrupted snidely.
"Please let me finish, mother." Not offended at all, Caellum gently replied before turning back to the other royals, "Everyone knows that I am a person with nothing. I have no money and no prospects. The only reason I am alive today is my father's grace and care. Now, as a person with nothing, how would it make sense for me to not only acquire poison in the palace with such tight security, but also use it on the one person who is making sure I don't live in a gutter somewhere? Does that make sense to any of you? It sounds illogical, right? Something out of a silly fantasy book written by a crazy author."
Seeing that a couple of people were nodding in agreement while looking a bit more interested, Caellum knew he was on the right track about the 13th prince's life and continued pointing out the flaws in the queen's argument.
"It doesn't make sense that I would or even could attempt to do such a thing. It would be like shooting myself in the- no, like stabbing myself in the foot then. Like I said before, I'm being framed, and the queen is being lied to by her servants."
"How are you being framed when you yourself admitted that you were in the kitchen adding something to the king's food. You were caught doing so!" the queen quickly pointed out when she saw others nodding along, but Caellum was ready for her.
"Exactly! Mother! The king's food is of utmost importance as the kingdom depends on him staying healthy and strong. The chefs have been screened, the ingredients carefully selected, and each meal expertly crafted before being presented to the king. The only way I could have even approached the kitchens and touched the food meant for the king was if I had permission to enter! Or do you mean to tell me that anyone can just enter the kings private kitchen as they please. Or do you think I am so clever and so strong enough to force my way into the kitchens, wrestle the king's food away from the chefs without causing a fuss, and poison the king in broad daylight, but I'm not strong enough to escape from the guards who came to capture me? Does that make any sense at all? Or are you insinuating that that I somehow paid off all the servants to let me march into the kitchens and poison the king, but didn't pay them enough to let me finish the job?"
Caellum asked, his voice steadily increasing in volume as he slowly approached the queen.
The royal family members looked at Caellum, who looked absolutely pitiful and pathetic in this moment, and couldn't help but agree with him.
There was no way this extremely skinny, almost malnourished, pale young teenager would be strong enough to do such a thing.
And as for money, heh.
They all knew how the queen was oppressing him with tactit approval from the king for being born.
The 13th prince's clothes were from multiple seasons ago and fit poorly, his body rail thin, his hands were callused from doing his own chores not from training with the knights, and everyone knew the househould department, run by the queen never paid him his allowance that was granted to all the royal family members from concubine to the queen herself.
Since he had no money and no backing, no servant would be willing to support him either.
His words were making sense.
"I-"
The queen found herself stunned as well.
For some reason, the 13th prince was speaking so smoothly and eloquently today.
And if she didn't know the truth, she truly would have believed him.
But she did!
She knew that he was lying and that he had truly tried to poison the king.
After all, she was the one working in the background, setting things up and encouraging him to do it.
But before she could get a word in, Caellum had thrown himself on the ground once more and began wailing louder than before.
"I am being framed, mother! Either that or your servants have a grudge against me! Whatever poison was seized was not the item I originally had. What I was sprinkling on the king's food was a special spice that I received from my brother, the 9th prince, and he can vouch for me. I did the research in the royal libraries, I pored over the records over and over for something I could contribute to the royal family until I found a trace of it. Using my findings, the 9th prince spared no resources; he searched high and low to find the spice for the king. Once found, feeling bad that I had never once contributed to the royal family or given anything to father, he gave me the opportunity to do so, despite most of the effort being his. He permitted me to enter the kitchens to personally give the spice to the chefs to add to the king's food. That's why I was there! If you don't believe me, you can ask the 9th prince himself!"
Caellum lied before pointing back at the 9th prince, who was standing silently.
"Right, brother?"
"9th prince, is this true?"
"What the hell are you talking about? A spice?"
As both the king and the queen questioned the 9th prince, while his own mother stared at him curiously, Emrys froze for one second, catching sight of Caellum's vicious gaze, before swallowing his true feelings and nodding.
"Yes. What the 13th prince says is true. I found…a spice beneficial to the king."
"What was this wondrous spice that you put in so much effort to find for me?" The king asked with a pleased smile.
After all, if it was something his favorite son was looking for, it must be good, and he should give a reward equal to the effort spent by the 9th prince.
"It was cinnamon." Before Emrys could talk, Caellum randomly listed a spice from his world that had a somewhat mystical-sounding name and couldn't possibly exist in this novel world.
After all, he couldn't have the 9th prince ruining things by mentioning something he had no knowledge about if questioned in detail.
But contrary to expectation, everyone freaked out.
"Cinnamon?"
"You found cinnamon?"
"Are you lying? Seriously? Cinnamon?"
"There's still cinnamon in the world? I thought it was all gone."
Everyone, from the king to the concubines and children, was so surprised that they temporarily broke decorum.