Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 157: I’m no fool

"I don’t need your life; I need you alive for something important, and if you do what I ask you to do well, everything I know about your past will be swept underneath the rug. I’ll never talk about it again. What do you say?"

Physician Philip had a feeling whatever this woman wanted him to do wasn’t going to be good, but alas, the woman had his secret, so he could only nod to agree.

"What should I do for the Noble Lady," Physician Philip said.

"Take this and mix it into the medicine prepared for the princess consort..."

"My Lady, please, I can do anything else apart from taking a life; please have mercy. Don’t put me in such a predicament," the man pleaded.

"Take it...it’s not poison," Lady Evelyn said, not giving much details.

"Really?" Physician Philip asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Of course, it’s not poison; if I want to kill the princess consort, I won’t use such an obvious method; besides I’m sure all the medicines that are brought to the princess would be tested for poison before feeding it to her. I’m no fool," Evelyn said.

"T—Then w—why do you want me to feed this to her?" The physician asked, stammering.

"You don’t need to know," Evelyn said, not bothering to make him understand. Since she couldn’t kill the princess consort for obvious reasons, Evelyn had decided to get rid of her baby.

If Luciana was no longer pregnant, then she would be the only one carrying Nicholas’ child. Yes, her baby was Nicholas’ child, and that is how it would be forever.

Physician Philip took the little pouch containing the medicine with shaky hands; after that, Evelyn added another pouch full of gold coins.

"T—Thank you, My Lady," Physician Philip said and took everything.

"I will take my leave."

~~~

Physician Philip returned to his assigned quarters, and new imperial physicians like himself approached his desk and placed the two pouches on the desk.

He took a whiff of the herbs and poured out the contents to check.

He realized it was a very rare herb used to cause miscarriages and gasped in shock at the Noble Lady’s malicious intentions.

He also turned to look at the pouch full of gold coins and began to pace back and forth in his room not knowing what to do.

That money could help him buy both his mother and sister out of slavery but was it worth it to kill an innocent life because of his family and his own predicament?

If it was the previous him who hated the emperor and the royal family because of his family’s predicament, he would have taken this money in a heartbeat and would have already been on his way to the royal pharmacy to slip the contents of his medicine into the princess Consort’s medicine but after he found out his father was indeed guilty of all the charges labeled against him, he had decided to make this world a better place.

It was just that as the son of a traitor, no matter what he did, people were going to judge him based on the sins of his father.

Phillip felt as if he was stuck between a rock and a hard place as he continued to pace in his room not knowing what to do with his secret being in the noble lady’s hand.

~~~

Nicholas was still seated on the bed beside Luciana watching her with a worried look in his eyes. His heart continued to ache blaming himself for impulsively taking her to the lake.

He wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to her. He couldn’t live without her.

"Luciana, my love, please stay strong, don’t leave me," he whispered and brushed his hands on her face.

"Your Highness, am I allowed to come in?" James, who stood outside the door, asked.

"Come in," Nicholas said calmly.

"Good evening, Your Highness, the eunuch from the main palace has requested for your presence in the main palace. The emperor wants to see you," James said.

"The emperor wants to see me?" Nicholas asked.

"Yes, Your Highness, and also, Adam arrived some time ago and wanted to speak to you, but he decided to wait because of the Princess Consort’s situation," James added.

Nicholas’s eyes narrowed when he heard Adam was not with his second brother but was here in his estate.

That knowledge, combined with the emperor’s summon at such an unexpected time, caused him to realize that whatever was happening had something to do with David.

"Where’s Dora?" Nicholas asked James.

"She’s just standing outside, waiting for news about the princess," James said.

"Call her in, both of you should stand guard beside my wife until I return from the palace," Nicholas instructed.

James hurriedly called Dora in, and after Nicholas made sure Luciana was still sleeping soundly, he left for the main palace.

~~~

When Nicholas reached the palace, he found that both the minister for war and the minister for defense were present.

"Greetings to your Majesty, greetings to you ministers," Nicholas said and bowed curtly.

"Rise," the emperor excused him and began.

"There have been recent sightings of rebel soldiers at the border of the Southern region. The minister for war says the situation is dire and the rebels are marching toward the capital and are raiding the villages on their path. We must act fast."

"The minister for defense is ready to command the men, I’ve also sent for General Aaron and his son Joshua. I hope you will make preparations tonight and march the soldiers at dawn," the emperor said.

Both the minister for defense heard that the emperor had summoned General Aaron and his son Joshua, who were all formidable in their own right and were also close friends of the eldest prince, and their expressions shifted.

If these three powerhouses are to go to the Southern region together, how can they successfully trap the eldest prince? Besides, those three people together would surely realize everything was a setup and find trouble for them.

"Your Majesty, I think in order not to overwhelm the 3rd prince and make him surrender, it would be best if only the eldest prince goes and tries to have a peaceful talk with him. This will make the 3rd prince let down his guard so that he would be easily captured alive and brought here," the war minister said.

"Yes Your Majesty, I think the minister for war’s idea is the best," the defense minister said, agreeing with his fellow ministers.

Nicholas watched everything unfold and inwardly scoffed. Were these people planning to make a fool of him?