The Duke's Arsenic Cure

Christian Farnese gripped my chin with his own hands and forced that glass of arsenical wine down my throat.

He hated me for taking what was never mine to take for taking credit for what my older sister had done, for playing him like a fool for five whole years.

What he didn't know was that the cup of arsenical wine didn't take my life. On the contrary, it used poison to counter poison, curing the five years of mental sluggishness that had left me dull and slow.

The moment my mind cleared, I left without looking back.

And when he realized I was truly gone Christian lost his mind.

"Drink it."

Christian Farnese's voice was colder than ice in the dead of winter.

His long fingers locked around my chin, squeezing so hard I thought my bones might shatter.

Forced to tilt my head back, I looked up at the man I had depended on for five long years.

His eyes were shot through with red, swirling with undisguised disgust and the desire to kill.

He poured that crimson liquid down my throat without a shred of mercy.

"Urk ghk"

I tried to spit it out. Though he clamped his hand over my mouth.

"Swallow it!" he said through gritted teeth. "Charlotte Lacy you owe me this!"

It felt like I'd swallowed a red-hot blade.

The burning pain exploded from my stomach and tore through every inch of my body.

I convulsed, and tears fell in heavy drops onto the back of his hand.

"Christian it hurts it hurts"

I cried out in a broken voice, the way I had so many times over the past five years, hoping to stir even a flicker of pity in him.

But this time, he didn't pull me into his arms and soothe me like he used to.

He shoved me away like he was throwing out something filthy and I crashed hard onto the floor.

"Don't say my name. You don't deserve to."

He stood over me, watching me writhe and curl up on the ground, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a corpse.

"You stole Margaret's place and lived in the Farnese Palace for five years, draped in luxury."

"You sat back and watched me act like a fool treating you, the real fool, like you were something precious."

"Charlotte Lacy, you've put me through hell."

The pain was too much for me to speak. All I could do was shake my head over and over.

I never deceived him.

I was dull and slow, and my brain was foggy with the mind of a five-year-old child.

Five years ago, my older sister Margaret Lacy had carried him badly wounded up from the bottom of a cliff on her back. But the effort drained her completely, and the medicine she'd tested on herself left her unconscious.

My parents, desperate to latch onto the powerfu, grabbed my hand and pointed at Christian Farnese lying in the bed. "Remember," they told me, "you're the one who saved him."

I didn't understand what saving someone meant. All I knew was that my sister wouldn't wake up.

When Christian came back to consciousness, my parents pushed me in front of him.

He took my hands that are covered in cuts from the herbs and branches and promised he would take care of me for the rest of his life.

He brought me back to the royal capital.

He dressed me in the softest silks and fed me the sweetest pastries.

He taught me to write, holding my hand and guiding it stroke by stroke through "Charlotte" and "Christian."

I hated bitter things, and he never once lost patience coaxing me to drink those awful medicines that were supposed to heal my mind.

I thought it would always be like this.

Then, three days ago, my sister Margaret Lacy came to the door.

She had woken up.

She stood at the foot of the Farnese Palace steps in a plain white dress and said only two words: "Your Grace."

Christian trembled. His eyes went red as he rushed toward her.

The truth came out.

And I became the shameless thief who had stolen someone else's place out of greed.

"In your next life," Christian said coldly, tossing the words over his shoulder as he walked away, "don't ever try to lie to anyone again."

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him, cutting off the last sliver of light.

I lay curled on the cold, damp floor as the pain about to tear my very soul apart.

For five years, Christian had fed me those bitter medicines meant to heal my mind. Now, in this moment, they collided with the poison from the arsenical wine like a thunderbolt splitting open the sky.

The fog that had clouded my thoughts for five years began through that searing, unbearable pain to slowly lift.

Blurry, broken memories came rushing in like a tide.

I finally remembered the purple Arisaema flowers at the bottom of that cliff.

I remembered the dark blood my sister coughed up when she tested the medicine to save him.

I remembered the greed on my parents' faces and the condescending charity in Christian Farnese's eyes.

The pain gradually went numb, replaced by a clarity I had never known before.

I was not dead.

The arsenical wine hadn't killed me. Instead, it had done the opposite poison fought poison, breaking through the clot that had clouded my mind for years.

I, Charlotte Lacy, was no longer the silly Lottie with the mind of a five-year-old.

I pressed my hands against the ice-cold wall and pulled myself to my feet, unsteady but standing.

Through the gap in the woodshed door, I could see snow falling thick and heavy outside.

This absurd dream that had lasted five years I had finally woken from it.

The lock rattled.

Pale daylight stung my eyes.

Christian Farnese stood in the doorway, backlit, holding a candlestick in his hand.

He had come to collect my body.

When he saw me leaning against the wall in the corner, watching him in silence his pupils shrank.

"You didn't die?"

His voice was laced with disbelief, and beneath it, a tremor he could barely conceal.

I looked at him calmly.

I didn't throw myself at his legs the way I used to. I didn't cry or wail about the pain.

I simply stood up straight and smoothed out the wrinkles in my disheveled skirt.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Your Grace."

My voice was soft, but every word came out clear.

Christian froze where he stood.

He stared at me, and the chamber candlestick in his hand tilted slightly. A drop of wax fell into the snow with a faint hiss.

"What did you just call me?" He stepped forward, his eyes sharp with suspicion. "You you're not the silly girl anymore?"

"Thanks to that poisoned wine of yours, it all came back to me."

I met his gaze and didn't look away.

"I remember how my parents pushed me to take the blame. I remember how my sister was the one who tested your medicine and fell into a coma. And I remember"

I paused. A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"I remember how, for five years, Your Grace kept me in this manor like a pet."

The color drained from Christian Farnese's face.

He seemed unable to reconcile the woman standing before him clear-eyed, composed, every word deliberate with the silly Lottie who used to trail after him begging for sweets.

"If you recovered your senses long ago, why did you keep pretending?" he asked through gritted teeth, anger rekindling behind his eyes.

"And if I told you I only just came to my senses would you believe me?"

I looked at him and almost laughed.

"But I suppose it doesn't matter either way."

I stepped past him and walked straight toward the door.

"Stop." He grabbed my wrist, his grip was iron-tight. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Away from the Farnese Palace." I pulled against his hold. He didn't let go.

"Away?" A cold laugh escaped him. "You deceived me for five years. You lived in luxury for five years. And now you think you can walk out with a single word?"

I stopped. I turned to look at him.

"What do you want for me then? Another cup of poisoned wine?"

His breath caught. The hand gripping my wrist loosened, just slightly, without him seeming to notice.

"Christian Farnese, I don't owe you anything."

I said it slowly, one word at a time.

"Back then, I had the mind of a child. My parents told me to go along with it, so I did. For five years, you gave me every comfort and luxury, and I gave you everything I had in return. You made me drink those bitter medicines even though I would I gag, I swallowed them down anyway because you said it was for my own good."

"And what did you do?"

I held his gaze and forced him to see the coldness in mine.

"The moment you learned the truth, you didn't ask for any explanation. You just tried to kill me."

"The moment that the arsenical wine went down my throat, whatever was between us was even."

His lips trembled. He looked like he was trying to say something, but no words came.

A flash of panic crossed his eyes and then he buried it.

"Even? It's not that simple." His face stayed cold. "Your sister is recovering here at the Palace. If you leave, what will she think? She would believe that I drove you out."

"That's your problem."

I wrenched my hand free.

"Christian, don't use my sister against me anymore. If you truly care for her, make it right with her. As for me... from this day on, I want nothing to do with you or the Farneses. Nothing at all."

I walked out into the wind and snow without looking back.

Behind me, Christian stood motionless for a long moment.

The candlestick slipped from his hand and fell into the snow. The flame struggled against the wind and then eventually went out.

I didn't leave the royal capital right away.

My elder sister Margaret was still in the Farnese Palace.

She had been unconscious for five years, and her body was weak to the point of breaking. I had to see her.

I rented a modest room at an inn in the back alley of the Farnese Palace, using the only piece of silver jewelry I had left to exchange for a few copper coins.

It was something Christian Farnese had casually given me five years ago. Now it served as travel money fitting, I suppose.

On the third day, my sister's personal maid found me in secret.

"Miss Charlotte Lacy, Miss Margaret wishes to see you."

I followed the maid and slipped into the Farnese Palace through the side gate.

My sister was staying in the most secluded courtyard of the Palace.

Christian Farnese had brought her into the estate, but had given her a legit identity only calling her his "benefactor."

When I pushed open the door, my sister was leaning against the bed, coughing.

She was gaunt, emaciated, her face as pale as paper. Only her eyes remained the same gentle as ever.

"Charlotte"

Her eyes reddened the moment she saw me, and she struggled to sit up.

I hurried forward and pressed her back down.

"Margaret, don't move."

She grabbed my hand tightly, her eyes sweeping over me from head to toe, tears streaming down her face.

"Your illness are you all better now?"

I nodded. "Yes. I remember everything now."

Margaret sobbed, unable to hold back her tears. "It's my fault. If I hadn't fallen unconscious, Mother and Father never would have put you in this situation. These five years you've suffered so much."

"I didn't suffer." I wiped her tears away. "You're the one who truly suffered. You nearly gave your own life to save him."

Margaret let out a bitter smile, her gaze dimming.

"Saving him I did that willingly. I just never imagined he would treat you like that"

She paused, didn't say the word "poison" out loud.

"He thought you had deceived him, and his anger got the better of him. But he's not a bad person at heart, Charlotte. Don't blame him."

I looked at my sister's sickly face still making excuses for Christian and felt a dull ache in my chest.

She loves him.

She had loved him ever since the moment she carried him up from the bottom of that cliff five years ago.

"I don't blame him," I said calmly. "Margaret, I came today to say goodbye."

Margaret froze. "You're leaving? Where to?"

"Leaving the royal capital. Southward, to Napoli."

"But" Margaret's voice turned anxious. "You're a young woman, all alone, with no one to rely on. Where can you go? Stay. I'll plead with Duke Farnese to arrange a proper place for you."

"Margaret." I cut her off, my voice was firm. "I can't stay."

"If I stay here, I'll only remind Christian Farnese every day that he was once made a fool of. And it will put you in an impossible position between us."

"I'm clear-headed now. I am perfectly able bodied. I can support myself."

Margaret looked at me, reluctant and worried.

She knew my nature. Once I'd made up my mind, nothing could change it.

"Then will you ever come back?"

"I don't know." I shook my head. "Maybe. Maybe not. Margaret, take care of yourself. Christian Farnese owes you. Demand what you're owed. Don't sell yourself short."

Margaret nodded, tears still flowing.

I stood up, ready to leave.

Just then, a commotion erupted from outside the door.

"Let us in! We want to see Duke Farnese! We're his father-in-law and mother-in-law!"

My brow furrowed.

It was my parents.

I pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

My parents were wearing worn-out cotton coats, struggling with several of the guards.

When they saw me, they froze for a moment, then broke into wide grins.

"Charlotte! You wretched girl, so this is where you've been hiding!"

My father George Lacy rushed forward, raising his hand to hit me.

"You ungrateful daughter! Now that you are living a fancy life, you've forgotten your parents, haven't you? Five years, and you haven't sent a single coin back home!"

I stepped aside and dodged, looking at him coldly.

"This is the Farnese Palace, not a place for you to cause trouble."

My mother Tavira Lacy's eyes darted around, and she quickly plastered on a fawning smile.

"Charlotte, sweetheart, I know you resent us. But if we hadn't set you up with Duke Farnese back then, would you have lived like this all these years?"

"And now that your sister is awake too you two sisters sharing one husband what a blessing that would be!"

"Where's Duke Farnese? Tell him to come out and see us. We traveled all this way the least he could do is gift us a thousand gold coins or so, right?"

I looked at their greedy faces and felt sick to my stomach.

Five years ago, they sold me simple-minded as I was to Christian Farnese as a scapegoat, all for a handful of silver coins.

Now that my elder sister had woken up, they came swarming back like flies drawn to blood, hoping to squeeze every last drop of value out of the two of us.

"He won't see you," I said coldly.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you ungrateful girl!" George Lacy flew into a rage. "I'm his father-in-law! He wouldn't dare refuse me!"

"Father-in-law?"

A cold voice drifted in from beyond the courtyard gate.

Christian Farnese strode inside, a squad of armed guards following close behind him.

He was dressed in a black brocade robe today, his expression sharp and severe commanding without even trying.

George and Tavira Lacy's legs buckled with fear, and they dropped to their knees with a thud.

"We we greet Your Grace."

Christian Farnese looked down at them, his eyes filled with contempt.

"So it was you two who pushed her to deceive me all those years ago?"

George Lacy trembled from head to toe, stammering, "Y-Your Grace, please understand we were foolish then but this girl did serve you for five years. Surely that counts for something"

"Counts for something?" Christian Farnese let out a cold laugh. "If it weren't for your greed, why would Margaret have suffered so much? Guards drag these two out of the royal capital and make sure they never set foot here again!"

"Please, Your Grace, have mercy! Your Grace!"

My parents were hauled away by the guards, wailing and shrieking.

The courtyard fell into a dead silence.

Christian turned his head, his gaze landing on me.

"Are you satisfied?"

There was a faint note of expectation in his voice as if he was waiting for my gratitude.

I looked at him calmly. "Your Grace was simply upholding the law. What does that have to do with me?"

His expression darkened.

"Charlotte Lacy, do you have to speak to me in that tone?"

"Then how should I speak to you?" I shot back. "Like before kneeling on the ground to thank Your Grace for the generosity?"

Christian Farnese was left speechless.

He drew a slow breath and forced down his anger.

"Your parents have been dealt with. From now on just stay here at Farnese Palace. Margaret needs someone to look after her. Stay and keep her company."

The words came out stiff and hollow, like he was tossing me a scrap.

I laughed.

"Your Grace, I think you've gotten something wrong."

"I came here today to say goodbye to my sister."

Christian Farnese's pupils shrank sharply.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"To the ends of the earth. It's none of your concern."

I turned and walked toward the gate.

"Stop right there!"

Christian stepped forward in an instant, planting himself in my path.

His chest heaved, and his eyes churned with emotions I couldn't understand.

"Charlotte, do you think the Farnese Palace is somewhere you can just come and go as you please?"

"I am a Duke. Without my permission, you won't even make it past the city gates of the royal capital!"

He finally let his authority show the full weight of a powerful noble bearing down on me.

Looking at him like this, flustered and furious, it was pathetic.

Slowly, I reached into my coat and pulled out the jeweled pin I had been planning to sell.

It was the same one he had once placed in my hair with his own hands.

I pressed the sharp end of the pin against my own throat.

"Duke Farnese, your power is truly beyond measure."

"But if I truly want to die, even you can't stop me."

The pin broke the skin. A thin line of blood trickled down my pale neck.

The color drained from Christian's face instantly.

He stared at the blood on my throat, his voice trembling.