Dragon King's Harem Chapter 559. Some Poisons Work Better on an Empty Stomach
Dragon King's Harem Chapter 559. Some Poisons Work Better on an Empty Stomach
Marissa drank hers first.
Sela hesitated.
Then followed.
A second later both of them visibly relaxed just slightly.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
The tension around their shoulders eased a bit.
The exhaustion in their eyes softened.
“Huh,” Sela muttered quietly.
Marissa looked smug immediately.
“See?”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Still suspicious.”
“Alchemy is just socially accepted gambling.”
That explained way too much.
Evelina finally laughed softly into her hand while drinking her own tonic.
For a second nothing happened.
Then the tonic activated.
No explosion.
No sudden mutation.
No one caught fire.
Honestly, already exceeding expectations.
A soft pulse of mana spread through the room like warm water flowing under skin. Thin blue traces shimmered briefly around Marissa and Sela before fading into their bodies naturally.
And immediately.
Yeah.
Difference.
Visible difference.
The exhaustion sitting on Sela’s face eased first. Not completely. But enough that the tightness around her eyes loosened slightly. Her shoulders lowered just a fraction too.
Meanwhile, Marissa straightened slowly.
Then blinked.
“Oh.”
Evelina’s reaction came next.
Golden light suddenly spiraled lightly around her fingers without her even casting anything consciously.
“Huh?”
The glow followed her movements like ribbons dancing to music, weaving around her wrist and fingertips in smooth arcs.
Evelina’s eyes widened slightly.
“Oh, I could feel the power surge.”
She moved her fingers again.
The light followed.
Elegant.
Fluid.
Like a melody.
“Wow.”
I nodded repeatedly immediately.
Marissa folded her arms instantly. “Why are you acting surprised?”
I pointed at the glowing healer wife and then at her.
“Because I’ve seen too many weird potions in my life.”
That was real trauma.
“I watched Al make elixirs before,” I continued seriously. “A lot of them.”
Sela muttered quietly.
“That sounds dangerous already.”
“It WAS dangerous.”
I looked at Marissa with complete sincerity.
“Most of his experiments either exploded or froze something unexpectedly.”
A pause.
“Once he accidentally created smoke that screamed.”
The room went silent.
Marissa blinked.
“Screamed?”
“Like a dying spirit.”
Evelina immediately covered her mouth trying not to laugh.
“It followed me for twenty minutes.”
“That sounds traumatic,” Sela admitted.
“THANK YOU.”
Finally, someone understood.
Marissa huffed and crossed her arms tighter beneath her chest.
“But I’m your wife.”
“I know.”
I pointed at her gently.
“But trauma is trauma.”
She pouted instantly.
The dangerous thing about Marissa’s pout wasn’t that it was intimidating.
It was effective.
Especially because she looked genuinely hurt that I doubted her alchemy skills despite her potion literally working perfectly.
Fair.
Still traumatized though.
Before I could defend myself further…
-Knock knock!
The room immediately quieted.
Every single one of us glanced toward the door.
“Your Majesty,” came Al’s calm voice. “Breakfast is ready.”
A short pause.
Then…
“I mean… the party awaits us.”
I snorted immediately.
Yeah.
That sounded more accurate.
Sela groaned softly from beside the window.
“Sela cannot believe they made us attend this first thing in the morning.”
Same.
“Not even a proper breakfast,” she added bitterly.
Marissa sighed softly.
“Some poisons work better on an empty stomach.”
The room paused.
Of course, the poison specialist would know that.
Evelina blinked. “Really?”
Marissa nodded immediately. “Especially in the morning.” Her tone shifted slightly into lecture mode now. “The body absorbs nutrients more aggressively after waking up. Faster circulation. Faster processing.”
A pause.
“So if what enters the body is poison instead…”
She smiled weakly.
“…it works perfectly.”
Yeah.
That sentence ruined morning food permanently.
I rubbed my face slowly.
“So we’re going hungry into a royal assassination banquet.”
Sela looked at me flatly.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“I’m dramatic when hungry.”
Very important distinction.
“A hungry dragon usually has a bad mood.”
I paused.
“…Especially me.”
Evelina giggled softly beside me before looking toward the antidote pouch on the table.
“But Almeric already mixed the antidote into the poison, right?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded once.
“But I still need to be careful.”
Because antidote or not, I wasn’t stupid enough to trust unknown poison completely.
The antidote only covered one layer of the problem.
The political trap was the real danger.
Sela suddenly stepped closer toward me.
“Don’t worry.”
Her voice was quieter now.
Focused again.
She held out a ring.
Simple silver.
Tiny runes carved inside.
I raised a brow slightly before taking it.
“Sela already put extra antidote inside,” she explained.
My thumb brushed lightly against the ring’s surface.
“Good work,” I muttered.
The faint flush on Sela’s face immediately returned.
Cute.
Then she turned toward Evelina and Marissa, pulling out several bracelets from her storage pouch.
Dark metal.
Thin.
Elegant.
Way too elegant considering what they were for.
“The antidote is also inside these.”
Marissa immediately took hers without hesitation.
Evelina accepted hers more carefully, examining the tiny runes glowing faintly along the inside.
“These are beautiful,” she whispered softly.
Sela looked away slightly. “Thank you.”
Then…
She reached into her pouch again.
This time slower.
More carefully.
When her hand came back out, she held two darker bracelets.
Different from the others.
Heavier.
More dangerous.
My expression shifted immediately.
“Those are.”
Sela nodded slowly.
“Magic restraints.”
She handed them toward me.
“This could transform into bracelets or chokers,” she explained quietly.
Adaptive binding type.
My fingers closed around them carefully.
Dense mana.
Layered enchantments.
And beneath that… Rage.
Not magical rage.
Personal one.
Sela’s.
“This is for Seranaya and the Nymph Queen,” she said.
The room quieted slightly after that.
Because this wasn’t preparation anymore.
This was intent.
Sela continued softly.
“I made them stronger and more durable than…”
A small pause.
“…Glasha’s.”
I stared at the restraints for a second longer.
Yeah.
That explained the absurd mana density.
She upgraded them personally.
Specifically.
For this.
My chest felt strangely tight for a second.
Not pity.
Not sadness.
Something quieter.
I looked up at her slowly.
“Thank you.”
Simple words.
But genuine.
Sela lowered her gaze slightly after that, ears faintly red again.
It was cute and terrifying simultaneously.
Dangerous combination.
I stored the restraints carefully inside my dimensional storage.
[Items Stored]
Then exhaled slowly.
“Alright.”
The room shifted immediately.
Focus returning.
Masks preparing themselves.
Roles settling into place.
I stood fully and adjusted the cuffs of my coat once more.
“Let’s go.”
No one joked after that.
No one teased.
Because now?
It was time.
Time to walk into the lion’s den smiling.
Time to attend a wedding knowing half the guests might end up poisoned before sunset.
Time to pretend everything was normal.
I glanced toward the girls one last time.
Evelina calm but worried.
Marissa focused.
Sela tense but determined.
Then I walked toward the door.
“We need to play this carefully.”