As Caellum fell to the floor from the unexpectedly strong hit, he just lay there quietly, like a statue.

  This was something the original Caellum had experienced many times in his life, so he planned on experiencing it personally before he chopped the hands of this disrespectful servant.

  After all, it was good to verify things for himself rather than take one party's word for it.

  Even if that word was actually memories in the head of this new body.

  "Huck Ppbbbt."

  Thick spit fell on his hands as the servant spat on him, but still, Caellum didn't move.

  "How does it feel becoming an adult, your highness? Did you enjoy your dinner with the king? Oh, wait, it ended in failure, and when you tried to beg, he kicked you out of his study, didn't he? Useless thing. Wasting the time of your betters. You should just drop dead already." The servant's mocking tone could be heard above him.

  Caellum didn't say anything, just lay there as if he were in pain.

  Not satisfied, the servant yanked him by the hair and forced his head upward, but Caellum kept his eyes closed.

  He felt as if he didn't; he might snap the servant's neck, and that would just ruin everything.

  "I've brought your breakfast, little prince. Specially made, just for you. And you should be thankful to the queen. If not for her, who would care for a worthless brat like you? The king certainly doesn't. You would have starved to death and turned to dust. You know that, right? You're just a nuisance in this palace, taking up the resources of the other princes, and you should just die. If you did, then at least you could do one good thing in your life."

  Caellum just kept his eyes closed while counting off the infractions.

  Chop off a finger for every second he was held against his will.

  Chop off a toe for every slap given.

  And a thousand cuts for everything the original Caellum had endured.

  And if the man was still alive, slit his stomach and see if he could live through that.

  "Peh!"

  The servant tossed Caellum away before leaving and returning with a plate of food for him.

  "Take it."

  Caellum took the plate that was shoved at him, looking at it expressionlessly.

  A piece of hard black bread on a chipped plate, a mixed sludge that he supposed could be called soup if you squinted, and a sweet-smelling floral tea in a black cup.

  The breakfast of champions.

  A meal so amazing that nobody would believe it was eaten by a prince in the royal palace.

  There wasn't even a piece of cutlery to use, much less steal for later.

  As Caellum sat on the floor quietly staring down at the plate, the servant began tapping his foot impatiently while glaring down at him.

  "Eat. And swallow everything. Otherwise…"

  Otherwise, he would get a beating, just as all the previous times when the original Caellum tried to rebel.

  Without saying a word, Caellum began eating, dipping the bread into the tea to soften it, before biting chunks and pouring the soup down his throat without tasting it.

  And as he swallowed, the pain in his body got worse, and his heart began racing as sweat poured out of his body.

  Obviously, it was poisoned.

  He knew it, the original Caellum knew it, but nothing could be done about it.

  Each time he tried to complain, he was cut off by the queen, and his refusal to eat was met with beating and starvation until he caved in.

  The original Caellum often wondered why the queen didn't just kill him outright, but no answer ever appeared.

  Caellum didn't say a single word, just forced the food down his throat.

  As he swallowed the last bit of food, the servant grabbed him by the chin, prying his mouth open and shoving his gloved fingers in there to make sure every bit of food was swallowed with nothing left behind.

  Satisfied that the prince had eaten everything, the servant took off the now-wet glove, slapped the prince in the face with it before tossing him to the ground, and collected the tray before heading toward the door.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Before shutting it, the servant gave the prince a twisted smile.

  "The queen is worried about your health and mental state after the incident yesterday, so the door will be locked until you're deemed well. If you dare to sneak out, well…you remember what happened last time. And don't worry, I'll properly collect your monthly allowance and hold onto it for you. Stay put until dinner." The servant laughed as he turned away.

  BANG!

  The door was slammed shut with the lock clicking, and Caellum waited several seconds before standing up, staring at the chamberlain who had magically reappeared.

  He was curious about the magic used and wondered whether he could learn it.

  But for now, the more pressing concern was the poison, and....

  The chamberlain, whose face had turned an ugly purple color.

  "Are you alright?" Caellum asked him.

  Was the man having a heart attack? Or was he poisoned by breathing the same air?

  If he died here, not only would it be inconvenient, but it would ruin everything that Caellum was planning.

  "Am I alright? Are you alright? The food was poisoned!" Winston yelled at the 13th prince, who had reverted to a confident attitude as if his cowardly act had never existed.

  He even had the nerve to be concerned about him when he had just drunk a very poisonous tea.

  The scent of amaranth, a flower found only in the Emerald Isles, filled the air, and Winston quickly cast a wind spell to disperse it.

  Even breathing it in could cause weakness in the limbs, much less imbibing it.

  "I'm aware," Caellum replied calmly as he dusted himself off.

  "You need to call a physician! Immediately!"

  "No need."

  Winston just stared at the prince with his mouth open.

  Even though his face was bruising and swelling in the shape of a handprint, and had an ugly red bruise on his forehead, those purple eyes looked as confident as ever.

  It was as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Winston couldn't forget what his eyes just witnessed.

  The disrespectful attitude of the servant toward a prince of royal blood and the audacity to not only strike him, but to blatantly force-feed him poison, make threats while using the queen's name, and then lock him in his room.

  Even if his majesty didn't care about this son, he was still of royal blood, and there were certain lines that should never be crossed.

  Especially by a low-ranked servant.

  Was this how the prince had lived?

  Is that why he requested his presence from the king, so someone could personally witness what he was going through?

  Unaware of the chamberlain's thoughts, Caellum began sticking his fingers down his throat to induce vomiting while walking into the bathroom.

  Blarghhhh.

  As the semi-liquid food came out along with bile, he continued forcing himself to throw up.

  Cough cough urarghhhh.

  And when it seemed like his stomach was empty, he swallowed some soap and began another bout of vomiting, only stopping when his stomach began cramping, and the only thing coming out was bile.

  "Huff. Huff. Huff."

  For several seconds, Caellum just stood there, hunched over the sink as water ran over his head to cool it down.

  Amaranth?

  He didn't know what the poison was, but his mouth was still tingling, his joints ached worse than before, he felt dizzy, and his heart felt like it was about to burst.

  Still.

  This much was fine.

  It wouldn't kill him immediately, after all, the original Caellum had eaten this almost every day for 16 years and was still alive.

  Besides, after today, he would never eat a poisoned meal again.

  And that was all that mattered.

  Once Caellum felt like he was stable, he swished his mouth clean and dried his hair before heading out of the bathroom.

  The chamberlain stared at him with his mouth open, but thankfully, his face had regained its normal color.

  "Since you're feeling better, let's go."

  "Go?"

  The chamberlain stared at the 13th prince in shock.

  Where the hell did he want to go?

  He should be resting and insisting that a physician come to see him, while getting the guards to arrest and interrogate that servant rather than moving around.

  "Yes, go. We need to get breakfast."

  "Breakfast?" the chamberlain repeated stupidly.

  "Yes. Breakfast. I'm hungry. As requested, please keep yourself hidden and come along. You wanted to know who tried poison the king, right? I'll show you who really runs this palace."

  Giving the chamberlain a warm smile, Caellum picked up a wooden chair and swung it at the door handle.

  CRASH!

  Although the door shook, it was still locked, so Caellum continued bashing it with the chair until he began panting.

  CRASH!

  CRASH!

  Wow.

  This body was quite weak.

  Let's just take a breather so I don't pass out.

  CRASH!

  CRASH!

  "Do…do you need my help?" the chamberlain asked.

  He still felt pity for the prince who had been secretly going through this right under the king's nose and never said a word.

  Or…maybe he had, but the queen had kept it under wraps?

  There were too many suspicious things going on.

  "Help?" Caellum glanced at the chamberlain, his purple eyes flashing with a cold light as a dangerous aura flared out of him, causing the chamberlain to turn pale and pull out a staff with a large gemstone from who knows where.

  'DANGER!'

  The chamberlain's senses were screaming that the panting, frail-looking prince in front of him was dangerous!

  Very, very, dangerous!

  This was similar yet different from the ominous aura he had felt last night!

  Seeing the tall staff with a glowing, green emerald pointed at him like a gun, Caellum chuckled before restraining his aura until he felt like a regular person once more.

  "I cried and begged for help every day for the past 16 years. No one cared. Today, all you need to do is stay quiet, stay hidden, verify I'm not lying, and take the tray of food I give you to test. I told you, right? I'll show you who really runs this palace."

  CRASH!

  Gathering his strength, Caellum smashed the door, shattering the wooden chair and knocking the door askew.

  BANG!

  As he kicked it open with all of his strength, the door came off its hinges and crashed to the ground.

  "Phew."

  That was quite painful.

  But it's done.

  Let's get going, shall we?

  In the imperial palace, apart from the private kitchens in the residences of some members of the royal family, there were five main kitchens that provided food, each under the control of the queen's people.

  Today, he planned to recreate an incident that happened when the original Caellum was younger, during the most peaceful time the young prince remembered.

  An incident in which the queen was caught, censored, and had to retract her claws for a while.

  Glancing at the chamberlain, Caellum beckoned for him to follow.

  Let's see how many plates of poison he'd be given today.