Episode 9
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Ludwig lifted his collar to hide the symbol.
Ah, maybe I stared too blatantly.
As I looked at Ludwig, who faintly smiled, my heart fluttered for a moment.
“Why is this happening?”
Perhaps my body hasn’t fully recovered yet.
At that moment, the door opened and Arzen entered.
“Your Grace, Sierra…”
He walked over in a single stride and spoke.
“You’re awake! Sierra, is your body okay?”
Arzen asked with concern.
There seemed to be a hint of redness around his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve completely recovered, so don’t worry.”
Upon hearing my words, his tense expression finally relaxed.
“By the way, how is the situation in the banquet hall?”
Considering what happened a while ago, it must have been completely turned upside down.
“Well…”
Arzen hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Lady Nella has been identified as the culprit who drank the Dragerus tea.”
“…What?”
* * *
“Is the young lady currently in a stable condition? Please at least tell me that!”
Lady Nella’s voice resounded with desperation.
“Our young lady, she’s not harmed, right? That’s right, isn’t it?!”
“I don’t think she comprehends the situation at the moment, Lady Nella. You have been identified as a suspect who attempted to harm Miss Sierra,” said Doctor Chesar with a furrowed brow.
Whether she was intentionally acting or simply clueless, she was a foolish girl beyond what could be described in the newspapers.
In a situation where her own life could be in danger at any moment, who would worry about whom?
Feeling that there was no use in continuing the conversation or relying on the newspapers, he decided to tell Nella the truth.
“Fortunately, thanks to the presence of a member of the Karsian family, the young lady’s life was narrowly saved. She is in a state of near-recovery.”
“T-Thank goodness. Truly… sniff… Thank you, dear God…”
Upon seeing Nella collapse as if her strength had left her, Chesar adjusted his glasses and spoke.
“Well, shall I tell you now? Lady Nella, you knowingly brought the cup of Dragerus tea despite knowing that Miss Sierra had no immunity. You even added a potion to mask the scent, preventing her from noticing. Isn’t that right?”
Nella finally regained her composure and protested indignantly.
“W-What…! Why would I do such a thing to the lady I’ve served all my life?”
“You’ve heard what has been said so far. The potion used to conceal the scent was found in your room, and there were testimonies from the maids who saw you personally preparing the tea. All the evidence points to you.”
“To think that a nanny would try to harm her mistress.”
“There are no demons worse than humans.”
“Could there have been discord between the master and servant?”
People murmured disapprovingly.
It was clear that Nella had prepared the tea herself.
However, she had used the Hieren flower, which Sierra enjoys, not Dragerus, which had remained untouched.
But as Chesar stated, the incident was indeed caused by the tea Nella brought.
“That can’t be… It, it can’t be…”
From start to finish, the teacup that Nella had held in her hands.
Just to be safe, she inspected all the food given to Sierra.
The Hieren flower had a similar appearance to the Dragerus fruit flower. Could she have been confused…?
Nella was perplexed.
No, then what did it mean that there was a potion to mask the scent?
That was unheard of.
Nella was held tightly on both sides by the maids, as if she were already considered the culprit.
They had fallen into someone’s trap.
It was a dangerous prank that could have resulted in Sierra’s death.
Who could it be?
“It would be better to investigate the details in prison, Lady Gaju.”
“….”
Tercon, who had been observing the entire situation, furrowed his tired eyes at Chesar’s words.
When he witnessed Sierra collapsing from the poison, it felt as if time had stopped for a moment.
What would it have felt like to witness such a dire situation where the young child’s life was hanging by a thread…?
Once the culprit is confirmed, he would ruthlessly kill them as a harsh price for the suffering the child had endured.
He would exact a punishment greater than any pain the child had felt.
It had been a long time since he felt such uncontrollable anger.
That thought remained unchanged even now.
But according to what he heard, the woman in question was the nanny who had followed Sierra like her own mother.
Could she really be the culprit? Even the most blatant evidence felt somewhat distasteful.
If it were true, Sierra would become a child who could trust no one in the future.
If she were to feel betrayed by the person she held most dear…
Tercon narrowed his eyes.
“My lord…?”
As his silence lingered, Chesar called out to him again.
Then, an urgent voice reached his ears.
“Nella is not the culprit!”
When he turned around, Sierra stood there, gasping for breath.
* * *
As I approached, I kept thinking.
“It was reported that a potion to mask the Dragerus scent was found in the lady’s room.”
If it was indeed true that a potion to conceal the scent was sprayed in the car, it made sense that I hadn’t noticed.
Even though the evidence was clear, Nella didn’t even cross my mind as a suspect.
She was someone who gave unconditional trust, so I believed in her.
When I was very young, my father was lost.
He didn’t come looking for me or ask about my well-being.
It was as if he had forgotten my existence altogether.
Looking back, I think I resented such a father.
It was only a few years after losing a wife more precious than life itself.
But during that time, Nella was always by my side.
In place of my mother, in place of my father, Nella cherished me like no other.
Because of her, I was able to regain a smile on my darkened face and gather the courage to approach my father first.
It was all thanks to her.
So how could I suspect Nella like this?
What kind of person is she to me?
As we hurried our steps, I passed by the front of the tea room where we were going, and I faintly caught a scent that tickled my nose.
It was the scent of Dragerus.
When I suddenly stopped, Rudvich and Arzen, who were walking with me, also halted their steps.
“What’s wrong, Sierra?”
“That is…”
* * *
I hastily headed towards the outdoor pavilion where the incident occurred.
And the moment I spotted Nella being held tightly with both arms while being interrogated from a distance, I shouted.
“Nella is not the culprit!”
At the same time, all eyes turned towards me.
Nella, Cesare, Father, and even Grandfather.
The other people present at the banquet were also in their places, gathered as witnesses to the incident that unfolded in Drenihan.
It was an incident where Tercon Drenihan’s granddaughter nearly lost her life.
If it couldn’t be resolved here, it would become a case that would involve the Royal Investigation Division.
“Sierra! Are you alright?”
Father rushed towards me, examining my condition.
He still seemed unable to recover from the shock, as his hands trembled.
“You don’t need to lie down a bit?”
“I’m completely fine now.”
In his eyes, which resembled mine, a sense of relief flickered.
“But more importantly, what’s the situation right now?”
I looked around sharply.
Nella was huddled on the floor, bound.
Seeing that, I furrowed my brow and spoke.
“Release Nella immediately.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, young lady.”
Cesare, the representative, responded promptly to my words.
“While I understand how close you were to Lady Nella, she has been identified as the prime suspect in this incident.”
“A suspect?”
“She’s the one who personally drove the carriage here. She even used a drug to hide the scent from your notice.”
“A drug to hide the scent…”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He continued, speaking to me as if comforting a child.
“And you should focus on recovering your health a bit more… Even if you seem fine, the situation is still dangerous. Please listen to the words of a representative.”
Seeing him pretending to worry, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Thank you for your concern, doctor Cesare. I don’t plan on dragging this out for long since I already know who the culprit is.”
As I replied with a bright smile, a faint look of surprise crossed Cesare’s face.
“What? Miss, what do you mean…”
As Cesare was about to question further, I gestured to Arzen.
In response, he presented an item he had covered with white cloth.
“That is…”
It was a tray containing tea cups brought from the tea room.
I picked one of them and used my ability to fill the empty cup with water.
Gradually, the water, which had been transparent, started turning murky.
“…?!”
“Currently, there’s no scent, but as time passes, the fragrance of Drengus will emerge. Arzen, bring the other cups here as well.”
Soon, Arzen brought another overturned tea cup and sniffed it.
A small amount of white powder scattered into the air from the overturned cup.
“This is Drengus root powder, commonly used in herbal medicine. It was sprinkled little by little on the cups in the tea room.”
It was so subtle that one wouldn’t notice it without careful examination.
“It was sprinkled on all the cups. Since we don’t know which cup Nella drank from, it was sprinkled on all of them.”
Thanks to that, we were able to find evidence in the remaining cups.
“If Nella were truly the culprit, would there have been a need to sprinkle powder on every cup? Leaving behind evidence like this?”
A while ago, as I passed by the tea room, I caught a whiff of Drengus fragrance.
There were Drengus tea cups placed there, as if someone had just finished drinking from them.
Nella always took precautions with what I ate.
She would check if there were any ingredients I was sensitive to or if anything strange was mixed in.
Even with tea, she would make her own and taste it before serving mine.
Perhaps Nella had certainly tasted it first this time as well.
“What’s this…?”
At that moment, I noticed something strange in another tea cup.
There were scattered white particles on the bottom of the cup.
It was such a small amount of powder that an ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed.
I wiped it off and smelled it.
A sweet fragrance, where have I smelled this before?
It felt familiar. It was a scent that seemed common yet not easily forgotten.
Hope you enjoy ❤️
