Chapter: 163
After parting ways with the owner of the flower garden,
the Duke and I continued our conversation.
“Why did Seraphina give false testimony that she received the ink from the Young Lady?”
Ever since she had been dragged into prison, Seraphina had continued making the same claims targeting the Young Lady.
‘Of course, it was complete nonsense.’
I narrowed my eyes.
“It means she either had something to gain, or she was in a situation where she had no choice but to lie…”
Honestly, I couldn’t imagine that any ordinary benefit would be enough to outweigh the charge of attempting to poison Her Majesty the Empress.
If so, could someone have gotten hold of some kind of weakness concerning her?
If it was a weakness, whose?
“And we also need to find out who she got the ink from.”
“First of all, Lady Lopes could not have obtained that ink herself. It would have been impossible.”
The Duke stated this firmly.
“The material used to make the ink is an extremely rare mineral. Not only could Lady Lopes not obtain that mineral with her financial means, but it is not something one can acquire simply by having money.”
Which meant…
“As expected… the real culprit is someone else, isn’t it?”
“It would be more reasonable to think so. Also…”
The Duke slightly furrowed his brow.
“I heard that Chief Priest Evans has been visiting Lady Lopes regularly these days.”
“…Chief Priest Evans?”
“Yes. But the Chief Priest Evans I know is the type of person who never gets involved in something unless there is something in it for him.”
The Duke continued cynically.
“Lady Lopes is currently accused of attempting to poison Her Majesty the Empress.”
“You mean…”
“Yes. It means there is absolutely no benefit to be gained from remaining close to her.”
The Duke nodded and suspiciously let his words trail off.
“And yet, the fact that Chief Priest Evans has not abandoned Lady Lopes…”
“Means there may be a reason why he cannot abandon her?”
“At least, that is what I think.”
Hmm.
After pondering for a moment, I looked straight up at the Duke.
“I’ll go meet Seraphina myself.”
“Are you sure that’s all right?”
“Of course. I’ve known Seraphina since we were children.”
I shrugged and gave a bitter smile.
“Well, our relationship was closer to that of a lady and her maid than friends… but we’ve known each other for a long time.”
“…Lari.”
“From Seraphina’s perspective, it will probably be easier to talk with me.”
Since I spoke so firmly, the Duke did not try to stop me any further.
“In that case, I’ll look for the employee who recommended the roses to Eva.”
“Yes. I’ll share anything I find out.”
At my answer, the Duke looked genuinely apologetic.
“…Somehow, I feel as though I’m always indebted to you, Lari.”
“Indebted? Not at all. I’m doing this because I want to.”
I shook my head and finished firmly.
“Eva is my precious friend.”
Dietrich alternated between looking at the Mercenary Guild’s records and the two documents he had obtained this time from the Delis Flower Garden.
A farmer who grows grapes in the Evans Marquisate.
He has lived his entire life in the Evans Marquisate and has no record of ever traveling to another region.
A merchant who runs a general store in the Evans Marquisate.
He purchases goods in small quantities for resale, with all deliveries handled by the Tomen Merchant Guild.
‘Their names and identities are different, but…’
Dietrich’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at the documents.
‘Both of them are residents of the Evans Marquisate.’
The Evans Marquisate was quite a large territory, even among the various domains of the Empire.
Most merchant guilds of any significance passed through the Evans Marquisate.
Which meant…
In Warren’s case, there was no need for him to travel to another region.
He could run his general store entirely with the goods supplied by the merchant guilds.
The same was true for Paul.
According to the investigation, he was an utterly ordinary farmer.
He had been born and raised in the Evans Marquisate, married, and had two children.
If he had been alone, perhaps there might have been some reason.
But a man who had established a family had no reason to leave his territory for no particular reason.
‘If the person using that identity really is someone acting under the orders of House Evans…’
Dietrich carefully organized his thoughts.
It had been a major incident in which none other than the Empress had been poisoned, with the crime then pinned on Lady Claudius.
Naturally, they would have entrusted such a task to someone they trusted.
And if it was someone they trusted that much, rather than using them once and sending them somewhere else…
‘There’s a high chance they would keep using them as their hands and feet while watching how the incident unfolds.’
If that was the case…
‘The capital.’
As the saying went, the darkest place was right beneath the lamp.
There was a possibility that they had hidden the culprit somewhere surprisingly close.
‘How dare they… As if targeting my parents wasn’t enough, they went after Eva too.’
His clenched jaw tightened.
A vivid hostility flickered in his deep-blue eyes.
It did not matter who the person was.
Dietrich had no intention of ever forgiving those who had pointed their blades at his family.
Seraphina sat inside the prison with a haggard face.
‘…The pills.’
She moved only her eyes as she looked down at the glass bottle clenched in her hand.
There were exactly two weeks’ worth of pills left.
‘What should I do?’
Seraphina felt her mouth growing terribly dry.
At first, taking a single pill a day had been enough to make her symptoms disappear completely.
But lately, that was no longer the case.
Now she was taking one pill in the morning and one in the evening, two pills a day.
…Because otherwise, she could not endure it.
‘No wonder I thought he had given me such a generous supply of medicine…’
Her eyes, once a fresh green reminiscent of young foliage, had now sunk like a withered plant.
There had been one time when she had tried enduring without taking the pills, just as an experiment.
As the price for that, Seraphina had even suffered from difficulty breathing.
The fear that she might really die like this crushed her.
…After that, Seraphina never even dared think about defying Isaac again.
‘What if Chief Priest Evans doesn’t make sure I get my medicine in the future…?’
As Seraphina imagined the ominous possibility, she hurriedly shook her head.
‘No. He’ll give it to me.’
That ink.
Seraphina gritted her teeth.
If she testified that Isaac had given her the ink and instructed her to use it to write regular letters of greeting to the Empress…
It was certain that Isaac would also be arrested.
‘So that man wouldn’t take such a risk either.’
Seraphina desperately tried to reassure herself.
Isaac had a lot to lose.
So…
‘I’m scared.’
Seraphina, who had been desperately trying to think positively, gritted her teeth and curled herself into a ball.
The feeling of having someone else hold your life in their hands…
…was truly horrifying.
But then.
“Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
The sound of two people quietly conversing reached her from a distance.
‘Who is it?’
Seraphina quickly raised her head and instinctively hid the medicine bottle she was holding beneath her skirt.
The clicking sound of dress shoes.
The sound of the heels of the boots worn by the prison guards.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
Seraphina tensed her entire body.
“I can’t give you much time.”
The voice of the prison guard who regularly walked through the prison,
“I know. Thank you.”
And the calm voice of a woman.
‘Wait, that voice?’
Seraphina’s eyes widened slightly.
And the person who appeared was…
“…Laritte?”
Seraphina muttered in a heavily hoarse voice.
