Every night, the young king had a new woman—but none of them lived to see the dawn. To avoid incurring his wrath, every noble family was obliged to send him their daughter.
This continued until one day, the illegitimate daughter of a neighboring ruler entered his chambers. And the next morning, the entire palace was seized with genuine horror when word spread of what had happened that night.
Young King Adrian had a terrible secret that the whole kingdom whispered about. Every night, a new girl was brought to his chambers, and in the morning, servants would carry out her body, covered in white cloth. No one understood what happened behind closed doors, because everyone who entered the bedroom after sunset could never tell the truth.
The people lived in constant fear. To avoid incurring the ruler’s wrath, every noble house was obligated to send him their daughter at some point. Some tried to flee, others hid their daughters in monasteries, but the king’s soldiers found everyone. If a family refused to obey the order, their property was seized and their men were thrown into dungeons.
The strangest thing was that no wounds were ever found on any of the bodies. The girls seemed to simply fall asleep and never wake up. The royal physicians could only shrug, and Adrian himself would coldly say:
“Then that is their fate.”
After several years, the turn came to the neighboring state. The old ruler was silent for a long time, and then unexpectedly ordered a girl to be brought—one whose existence at court was almost unknown to anyone.
She was his illegitimate daughter, Eliza.
She had grown up far from the palace, received a good education, and was well-versed in herbs, poisons, and medicines, having spent many years helping an old healer in a small village.
Her father looked at her guiltily.
“I cannot refuse. If I do, thousands of people will die.”
Eliza nodded calmly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll try to come back.”
When she was led into the luxurious chambers that evening, the king sat on the huge bed and watched the girl with an unpleasant smile.
“My guests usually cry,” he sneered.
“And do your guests usually know what awaits them?” Eliza asked calmly.
The king laughed.
“Brave. I like that.”
The servants closed the heavy doors, and they were left alone. But in the morning, when the servants opened the doors again, they were met with true horror. (You can find the second part of our story in the first comment.)
Eliza carefully examined the room. Almost immediately, she noticed a strange, sweetish smell coming from the large braziers by the bed. The girl quietly moved closer and saw that unknown herbs were smoldering in them.
“Aren’t you hot?” she asked.
“I’ve gotten used to it long ago,” Adrian replied.
Eliza understood everything at once. The old healer had once told her about a rare plant whose smoke was almost imperceptible. If a person breathed it in for a long time in an enclosed space, their heart would gradually stop during sleep. Those accustomed to small doses might not feel the danger, but for others, such smoke proved fatal.
She quietly opened a small window while the king turned away, then took a small pouch of dried mint and wormwood from her sleeve. These herbs counteracted the effects of the dangerous smoke.
A few minutes later, Adrian suddenly turned pale.
“What… is happening?…”
He tried to get up, but his legs gave way.
“You’ve been breathing in your own poison for too long,” Eliza said softly. “It’s just that before, it was always someone else who died.”
The king stared at the braziers in disbelief.
“That’s impossible…”
“Possible. The one who taught you this forgot to warn you that the poison slowly kills the master of the room as well.”
Until dawn, the girl did not close her eyes. She made sure the fire went out completely and the windows remained open.
When the doors were flung open in the morning, the entire palace froze in horror.
On the bed lay the king—alive, but barely breathing—while Eliza sat calmly beside him, reading an old book.
The head of the guard couldn’t believe his eyes.
“How… how did you stay alive?”
Eliza silently pointed to the cooled braziers.
The royal physicians quickly examined the coals and discovered deadly poisonous plants among them. After a long investigation, it came to light that many years ago, the court alchemist had convinced young Adrian that this smoke would protect him from assassination attempts and make his sleep deeper. In reality, he had been bringing a lethal mixture into the palace for years—the very mixture that killed all the girls, while the king himself was slowly being poisoned along with them.
The alchemist was found by evening. He confessed that he had wanted to destroy the royal dynasty, but to do it in such a way that no one would ever suspect.
Adrian was silent for a long time, and then, for the first time in many years, he went out to the people without guards.
“I am guilty of realizing the truth too late,” he said quietly. “And this debt will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
After that, the terrible custom was abolished forever, and the families who had lost their daughters received all the alchemist’s property and the crown’s lands.
