CHAPTER 22: THE QUEEN HAS BEEN POISONED

"Lucky," Harvey studied the gravity in Camilla’s eyes, sensing something unspoken.

His own gaze grew inscrutable as he turned to Rasky.

"Have them leave and prepare what she needs."

Lucky’s displeasure was evident, but he held his tongue.

"All of you, out.

Fetch a silver basin with some water."

The medical staff nodded without question and filed out.

Camilla watched them go before turning to Sonia.

"Orange, go with them."

Sonia understood—her mistress didn’t trust the others.

"Understood."

With that, the room fell silent, save for the unconscious queen lying on the bed.

Only Camilla, Harvey, and Lucky remained.

"You’re being overly cautious," Lucky muttered, his brow furrowed in irritation.

Once the door clicked shut, he finally voiced his frustration.

"Now, will you speak?"

"I suspect," Camilla ignored his dismissive attitude, her gaze lowering to the pale, sickly queen lying on the bed.

"Her Majesty isn’t suffering from some mysterious illness—she’s been poisoned."

Her words, though spoken lightly, instantly plunged the room into a suffocating tension.

Lucky was the first to react, staring at Camilla in disbelief.

"Impossible!"

"Why impossible?"

Camilla fired back without hesitation.

"There are no clear symptoms or causes, yet the queen’s organs are failing, and she remains unconscious for prolonged periods," she said, locking eyes with Lucky.

"As a medical expert, you should know better than anyone that this defies all pathology.

Or are you telling me you’ve never even considered the possibility?"

He had considered it. Not just him—the entire royal medical team had.

But.

Lucky met Camilla’s gaze and spoke the truth.

"But we’ve conducted thorough examinations on the Queen multiple times and found no traces of any toxins."

Camilla’s expression remained unperturbed.

"Given the Queen’s status, if this were indeed poisoning, it certainly wouldn’t be caused by some common toxin.

It’s only natural that conventional methods wouldn’t detect it."

Lucky pressed his lips together.

Harvey, who had been silent all this while, fixed his gaze on Camilla and spoke.

"Are you confident you can identify it?"

"No," Camilla shook her head, answering bluntly. "But we have to try, don’t we?"

No confidence, yet daring to make such claims based on mere suspicion?

Harvey hadn’t expected this response.

His brows furrowed deeply.

"Sir, let her give it a try," Lucky suddenly spoke up, siding with Camilla.

Though medicine knows no hierarchy, traditional medicine, with its millennia of heritage in San Francisco, holds a depth of wisdom far surpassing that of the more recently developed Western medicine.

He also wanted to see what method this young woman would employ.

Harvey seemed to recall something, sighed, and then nodded.

"Alright, let’s give it a try."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Madam—" Sonia entered, carrying a silver basin filled with clear water, and placed it beside Camilla.

Without delay, Camilla retrieved a needle case from her medical kit and unfolded it before them.

Dozens of silver needles of varying lengths gleamed coldly inside.

Lucky was about to say something when Camilla’s voice cut in.

"Don’t worry, they’ve all been thoroughly sterilized."

Pursing his lips, Lucky fell silent.

Camilla selected a silver needle, located the precise acupoint on the queen’s exposed arm, and inserted it with practiced ease.

Her movements were methodical and unhurried.

Soon, the queen’s neck, arms, and calves were studded with silver needles of different lengths—an almost unsettling sight.

Like a porcupine, Sonia thought to herself.

She knew she shouldn’t think that way, but she couldn’t help it.

"What are you doing?"

Lucky finally spoke up when Camilla paused her movements.

"These acupuncture points are where toxins tend to accumulate the most."

Camilla gave a brief explanation before rummaging through her medical kit again.

"I see."

Lucky nodded and pressed on.

"How long until we see results?"

"Fifteen minutes."

Camilla pulled out a small black porcelain vial from the kit and poured a fine white powder into a silver basin filled with clear water.

The powder dissolved instantly upon contact, leaving no visible trace.

Harvey frowned slightly.

"What is that?"

Camilla glanced at her watch.

"A blend of over a dozen traditional herbs, ground into powder. It amplifies the toxicity in silver by several dozen times."

Harvey’s brows furrowed even deeper, his tone laden with implication.

"You prepared this antidote... did you suspect all along that the Queen was poisoned?"

"No," Camilla met his gaze squarely, her voice calm and measured.

"This was something I prepared for myself and my family."

A faint chill laced her gentle tone as she continued,

"We have a saying in San Francisco: ’Never harbor ill intentions toward others, but always guard against the malice of men.’"

Harvey remained silent.

Camilla didn’t particularly care whether he believed her or not.

Fifteen minutes passed swiftly.

"Time’s up," she announced methodically, carefully removing the silver needles from the Queen’s body and placing them one by one into a basin of clear water.

Every eye in the room fixed on the basin.

Soon, wisps of black began to seep from the varying lengths of silver needles, tainting the once-clear water with a murky haze.

Harvey and Lucky’s expressions grew increasingly grave.

"What does this mean?"

Camilla stared at the gradually murky water, her voice icy. "It’s definitely poison."

Lucky frowned but remained silent.

Harvey’s suspicions were confirmed, yet he couldn’t shake a sense of disbelief.

"Can you identify the poison?

Is there a cure?"

"It’s not that simple," Camilla shook her head, ignoring the disappointment in Harvey’s eyes.

She turned to the queen and continued, "But I can bring Her Majesty back to consciousness—for now."

As for the antidote, she’d need her grandfather’s help.

His knowledge of medicine far surpassed her own.

Bring the queen back to consciousness?!

A flicker of hope flashed in Harvey’s eyes, and his demeanor toward Camilla grew noticeably more respectful.

"Then we’ll be in your debt, Madam Luther."

The queen herself had harbored doubts about her condition.

Before this latest coma, the queen had briefly regained consciousness.

During that fleeting moment of clarity, she had entrusted him and several ministers with the task of thoroughly investigating those around her.

However, the entire palace was already under the control of Princess Luna’s faction, leaving them with nothing to uncover.

Shortly after, the queen fell into unconsciousness once more and had not awakened since.

"I need half an hour," Camilla said bluntly to Harvey, without any pretense of politeness.

"During that time, no one is to enter or disturb me.

Otherwise, all efforts will be wasted."

After waiting for half a month, another thirty minutes hardly mattered.

Harvey gave a firm nod. Lucky, curious about Camilla’s methods, spoke up immediately.

"Madam, I can stay and assist you."

Camilla neither agreed nor refused.

Instead, she regarded Lucky with a calm, measured gaze before stating plainly, "I need to remove the queen’s upper garments to administer acupuncture and expel the toxins."

Remove her clothes?

Understanding dawned on Lucky in an instant, and a flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes.

Though in a physician’s eyes, a patient is simply a patient—gender holds no significance.

However, given the queen’s status, it was necessary to maintain proper decorum.

Without delay, the two left the room. Camilla instructed Sonia to unfasten the queen’s garments and help her lie face down.

Meanwhile, she prepared the silver needles she would need, her expression focused as she began the acupuncture procedure.

Outside the door, Harvey and Lucky waited with tense expressions when suddenly, the sound of commotion reached them from outside.

Exchanging a glance, their faces darkened.

Due to their suspicions regarding Princess Luna’s involvement in the queen’s illness, they had deliberately kept today’s arrangements secret from her.

If she were to find out now, there was no telling what might happen.

"Mrs. Luther made it very clear—the procedure must not be interrupted," Harvey said, his voice icy and stern.

"You stay here.

I’ll go see what’s going on."

Lucky pressed his lips together and nodded.