✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Translated by: Alina
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
At the Duke’s words, Medelin flinched for a moment before glaring at him.
‘He doesn’t have any evidence against me, anyway. I didn’t directly try to kill Cornelia.’
Yes, she had indeed encouraged the Grand Madam to sabotage the carriage, but it was ultimately the coachman who caused the damage. And that coachman had already met his end under the very carriage she had been riding moments ago.
‘Marquis Philippe is simply trying to gauge my reaction.’
The key here was to take the upper hand, so Medelin raised her voice.
“Ha, what nonsense is that? As the Commander of the Central Knights, surely you are aware of the crime of false accusation.”
The Marquis then held up a letter and said,
“Earlier, I received a report from Twinkle Jewelers that a chandelier fell, so I ordered an investigation team to look into it. They found evidence of deliberate cutting of the rope supporting the chandelier. And the person who nearly got crushed underneath was the missing Duchess of Blant.”
“So what? How could I, who was in the waiting room, have possibly cut that rope?”
“Yes, you didn’t cut the rope yourself. To do that, one would need to be proficient in the tools. However, you did instruct the Duchess on how to access the restroom, which is exclusively accessible through the lobby.”
‘Wow, they’re pushing this so far?’
Medelin clenched her fist in frustration.
She had subtly instigated the Grand Madam and used her subordinates, carefully avoiding leaving any clear evidence. Yet somehow, all the circumstances were unfolding in a way that was unfavorable to her.
Furthermore, she had truly not ordered the chandelier incident, making her all the more frustrated.
However, she had no desire to become entangled in the Marquis’s questioning.
“Well, Cornelia asked me to show her a quiet place to change her clothes! And if I really wanted to kill Cornelia, I wouldn’t have used the chandelier from our own store. Just the fact that it fell would surely damage the reputation of our store.”
“That’s true. But from what I’ve heard, while the Duchess was away…”
At that moment,
“Grand Madam, what is this?”
A booming voice suddenly interrupted, and everyone turned their heads.
Giselle was grasping the Grand Madam’s wrist, and in the Grand Madam’s hand was a vial of medicine.
At this sight, Medelin’s face twisted into a grimace.
Meanwhile, the Grand Madam, not wanting to be caught, was shouting desperately.
“What impertinence is this? This is my personal medicine!”
Despite the Grand Madam’s response, Giselle looked at the vial suspiciously and cried out.
“I believe I saw you put this into the Duchess’ tea in the VIP waiting room at Twinkle. Am I mistaken?”
Giselle then turned to the Marquis and said,
“Your Grace, would you please allow me to examine this medicine?”
The Marquis’ eyes narrowed.
‘An unexpected ally.’
“Grand Madam, it would be best for you to show the vial to Lady Schultz to prove your innocence.”
The Grand Madam gritted her teeth at the Marquis’ words.
‘No, if I show the vial, they’ll inevitably accuse me of being the culprit!’
Lady Schultz, a member of the Schultz family that dealt in medicinal herbs, would most likely be able to identify the contents of the vial.
‘Hmph! It’s colorless, odorless, and transparent, like water. If I destroy it, how could they possibly prove anything?’
Having made up her mind, the Grand Madam opened her mouth.
“Alright, go ahead and take a look.”
As the Grand Madam was about to hand it over to Giselle, she intentionally let her hand slip.
Crash!
Seeing the vial shattered in an instant, the Grand Madam suppressed a laugh and said,
“Oh, how clumsy of me.”
But that was only for a moment, as the Grand Madam’s eyes widened at the sight of the soil turning red where the liquid had spilled.
‘What is this?’
Amidst the Grand Madam’s confusion, Giselle’s voice rang out.
“Yes, at first glance, it looks like water, but when it comes into contact with the soil, this liquid turns red. It’s the sap of the Taesalcho.”
“Taesalcho?”
“Yes, it’s not highly toxic to the human body, but it is a poison to pregnant women. That’s why women seeking secret abortions often purchase it.”
Then Giselle fixed her gaze on the flustered Duchess and spoke.
“Now, Grand Madam, what possible reason could you have for secretly carrying a Taesalcho sap? Why were you attempting to dispose of it clandestinely? And why did you pretend to slip and drop the vial?”
At this, the marquis nodded and spoke.
“Grand Madam, I think you’ll need to cooperate with us regarding this incident.”
“Marquis, I was only keeping this as a remedy for menopausal symptoms. How dare you suspect me based solely on the words of this young lady?”
Then the Marquis shook his head.
“How could I possibly suspect the Grand Madam just by hearing what the Lady said?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“People at the jewelry store testified that you seemed to have put something in the duchess’ tea.”
The Marquis smiled as he looked at the stiff-faced Grand Madam.
“We are currently analyzing the tea; once the analysis is complete, we will determine your innocence.”
Upon hearing this unexpected turn of events, the Grand Madam laughed inwardly.
‘Well, it’s fortunate that I didn’t put any poison in.’
The Grand Madam then spoke confidently.
“Yes, but if no poison is found in the tea, then you too should be prepared.”
At that moment, Giselle interjected again.
“Marquis, taesalcho needs to be taken consistently for five days to be effective! If you search the mansion, you will surely find some taesalcho.”
To this, the Grand Madam gave a self-satisfied smile.
‘Hmph, what a fool! Those herbs have already been completely disposed of!’
For the past five days, the Grand Madam had thoroughly ensured, through the head maid, that Cornelia was taking the poison on time.
‘There will be no evidence.’
The Duchess spoke with confidence.
“Marquis Philippe, if you are so suspicious of me, then you may search the manor.”
Initially, searching a nobleman’s mansion required a search warrant stamped with the Emperor’s seal.
Marquis Philippe, however, had no reason to refuse the owner’s voluntary permission.
“Are you truly alright with that?”
“Yes, I have nothing to hide.”
Soon, the Grand Madam directed her angry voice towards the audacious Giselle, who had dared to slander her.
“How dare you conspire against me, the mother of the leader of the noble faction? If my innocence is proven, I will never let you off the hook, Giselle Schultz.”
The Marquis then signaled the knights, and together, under the Marquis’s leadership, they headed to the Blent ducal residence.
It was only late at night when the investigative team of knights arrived and began the search, but the Grand Madam and Medelin acted as if they had nothing to hide.
However, the Grand Madam’s face turned deathly pale after the manor’s search was complete.
“We have found a tea bag made with taesalcho!”
A taesalcho tea bag was found in Cornelia’s room?
‘How could this be…?’
The head maid had clearly reported that Cornelia had consumed all the taesalcho teas.
Yet, a tea bag remained. The Grand Madam couldn’t understand this situation.
‘Could it be that Cornelia didn’t drink one and the head maid didn’t report it?’
But the Grand Madam’s misfortune didn’t end there.
“We also found a letter showing that she colluded with the Marquis’ daughter, Lady Arzen.”
The letter, which the Duchess had clearly instructed the head maid to burn, was still intact.
“Where is the head maid?!”
At the Grand Madam’s piercing question, a nearby maid flinched and inadvertently replied,
“She has been missing for a while now…”
‘How dare she…!’
The moment the Duchess realized the betrayal of her trusted confidante, Marquis Philippe said,
“Arrest the Grand Madam of Blant immediately!”
For the first time, those insignificant people sent contemptuous looks toward her, who had always been above them.
Seeing the approaching knights, the Grand Madam shouted.
“How dare you lay a hand on me? If you dare touch me, my son…”
At that moment, the Duchess faltered, realizing her son was not by her side.
Eventually, she spoke with a venomous gaze.
“You must know that the arrest of a noble requires the approval of His Majesty the Emperor. If you wish to arrest me, come with a proper warrant.”
She was both a mother and the hostess of the Blant duchy.
She had a duty to protect the Blant duchy until her son returned.
She would not crumble under any circumstances.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Your Highness, the Grand Madam, has been arrested by the investigative team. It seems a trial will be held soon.”
Despite Chester’s words, Erich seemed not to have heard them, as he continued giving instructions to the knights and soldiers while surveying the area around the river.
Chester bit his lip.
The knights and Chester had also been doing their utmost to find the Duchess.
However, it had been more than a week since the Duchess was swept away.
Yet his lord was obsessively pouring all his energy into the search, like a madman.
