Garden Of Poison-Chapter 30: Missing from the guest list

Music Recommendation: With My own Eyes- Dario Marianelli

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Mr. Gilbert bowed and stepped out of the room. He walked to the front guards and ordered one of them,

"Bring Mr. Hakim to the palace. Tell him that one of the guests is sick and needs attention. Quick."

Seeing the guard leave, Mr. Gilbert walked towards his room to find the guest lists handed to him by the Vizier. Pulling open the drawer, he grabbed the sheets before looking for the name the Mother Queen mentioned.

"There’s no mention of the name Tasia in here," Mr. Gilbert frowned after going through the three parchments. Wondering if he had perhaps missed it, he went through them once again, but on not finding the name, a frown came to settle on his face. He asked himself, "Did the Mother Queen give another name?"

Stuffing the parchments inside his vest, he left his room and made his way back to where the Mother Queen was with the rest of the royal family and the guests. When he reached the place, the Mother Queen had already stepped out of the room, and she exclaimed,

"Good that you are here, Norrix!" The Mother Queen was in an elated mood after downing one glass of wine. She ordered, "Take me to Tasia’s room," she brought her hand forward.

Mr. Gilbert respectfully bowed before he replied, "Your Majesty, I think there has been an error with the given name."

The Mother Queen tilted her head and asked, "What name?"

"Lady Tasia’s. I didn’t find any name as such on the guest list," Mr. Gilbert informed her. "I have checked it thoroughly."

"No name, that can’t be true," the Mother Queen’s mood lowered, and she said, "Maybe that is her nickname for her real name. She said her name was Tasia Flores. Look for it once again. You will find it right there." novelbuddy.cσ๓

Mr. Gilbert nodded, "Yes, my Queen," he pulled out the guest list before taking it near the burning torch of fire next to the wall. His eyes scanned it cautiously before he looked up to meet the Mother Queen’s eyes. He informed her, "There’s no Tasia nor anyone named Flores on here."

"Huh," the Mother Queen softly harrumphed, wondering what was going on and murmured, "How tricky. I would have called the young girl to be a ghost, but everyone has seen her. It seems like something is not right, is it not, Norrix? Any thoughts on it?"

But Mr. Gilbert was at a loss for words as he didn’t know what was going on. At the same time, King William and Queen Sophia stepped out of the room and caught the Mother Queen and the servant standing close to the fire torch. King William asked,

"Are you doing alright, Mother?" Because the Mother Queen held a serious expression.

"Not particularly. A young woman is missing from the guest list. Tasia Flores," the Queen Mother responded.

"Tasia Flores?" Queen Sophia asked with a question in her eyes.

"The young lady that Dante danced with last evening at the celebration," the Mother Queen reminded, while internally questioning if it was her or the others growing old. She said, "She wore a dark green dress. You know, the one you invited."

Queen Sophia’s eyebrows furrowed, and she replied, "I don’t recall inviting anyone by that name. I thought you were the one who invited her, Mother Queen."

"I wish I did, but that’s not the matter," the Mother Queen waved and said, "The more important question is, why has the young lady’s name been erased from the list? She has been staying in the palace since yesterday and has spent time with the guests. So what is going on?"

Queen Sophia murmured, "If she wasn’t invited by any of us, does that mean she was an intruder? What if she was a spy posing to be from a wealthy family?" Her eyes widened.

Even the Mother Queen found it odd that the lady had been living in the palace without an invitation, which raised questions about her intentions and background.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned serious, and silence filled the corridor except for the voices of the guests that spilt from the room ahead of them.

King William turned to look at Mr. Gilbert, who felt like he was going to be punished for not knowing what was happening in the palace. The servant stared at the ground when he heard the King demand,

"Tell Zion to inquire with the guards at the tower walls and the gate guards of the palace if they saw a woman leave and have the guest rooms checked. Find this woman as soon as possible and bring her before me."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Mr. Gilbert bowed and scurried away from there.

After informing the Vizier about the situation, Mr. Gilbert quickly returned to the common room at the servants’ quarters. He demanded everyone’s attention as they were preparing to sit down for dinner. He questioned loudly,

"Who has been in charge of Lady Tasia Flores?" His eyes looked left and right, skimming through the servants. "Who is it?" But like before, nobody stepped forward.

He then said, "The servants who work in the inner heart of the palace, follow me. We need to find Lady Tasia Flores as the room she has occupied is unknown. Follow me now!"

Soon the search began without disrupting other guests’ stay in the palace. And while the guest rooms and the other rooms were being investigated, Theresa quickly returned to Anastasia, who was still in the room and informed her,

"Anna, we are in trouble! The royal family has found out and is looking for you!"

"How do you know...?" Anastasia’s face paled.

Theresa closed the door behind her and said, "Mr. Gilbert is looking for Tasia Flores right now. He didn’t say much, but I am guessing the Blackthorns know. What are we going to do?!" Her hands shook out of fear.

Anastasia had hoped to flee from here quickly, but she hadn’t expected to create a storm before that.

In the inner heart of the palace, after the search was complete, Mr. Gilbert returned to stand before the King along with the Vizier. The Vizier informed, "My King, the merchant traders left the kingdom an hour or two ago, and the lady isn’t in the palace. All the rooms have been checked. She must have left in one of the merchant carriages. I have already sent our men to catch up with the merchants and search for the woman."

King William’s lips held a frown, and he stated, "If the woman is not out there, it means she’s still somewhere in Versailles. And where is Dante? Tell him to see me immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness," Mr. Gilbert obliged with a bow.

The Vizier said, "Maybe another search should be conducted, Your Highness; who knows if someone in the palace was trying to pretend to be one of the wealthy?"

"People have been too brave to attempt to fool the royal family, and if it is true," King William said without any remorse, "The woman will be punished in front of everyone in the middle of the town."

The Mother Queen, who was in the same room, didn’t like the decision, but at the same time, she didn’t like the thought of someone taking her for a fool.

The Vizier turned to look at Mr. Gilbert and said, "I will come with you. Every person in the palace shall be interrogated."