Chapter 57
I stared in shock at the two men. And it wasn’t just me.
Everyone in the room was frozen, stunned by the duke’s unexpected command.
‘What on earth is happening right now?’
Chade had once told me that Mabel was a handmaid brought from his late mother’s family, someone the duchess had deeply cherished.
And yet, the duke had just ordered her to take her own life. Not punishment—suicide.
‘…Is there something I don’t know?’
From what I’d heard, Mabel came from a noble family, even if minor. Not even a duke could demand her suicide without clear cause.
“…There must be some misunderstanding. If I have done wrong, I will correct it.”
Even now, Mabel bowed gracefully, her posture proud and upright. She looked nothing like a woman who had just been ordered to die.
Watching her gave me chills.
I held my breath, waiting for the duke’s next words.
Then he said something so shocking it felt unreal.
“There is no misunderstanding. The truth has already been revealed. You are the one who poisoned Rubian.”
As Leopold’s words fell, Marquis Heres slammed the papers he had been reading onto the floor.
The documents must have contained every detail of Mabel’s crimes.
“You dared…!”
The marquis tried to lunge at Mabel, but the duke’s knights held him back, urging him to calm down.
“How could you betray us after all the kindness you were shown? Let me go! Leopold, tell your knights to release me!”
“Calm yourself, Heres. The questioning isn’t finished yet.”
Even in the chaos, Mabel said nothing. She only stared coldly at Leopold.
“…When I first heard this, I couldn’t believe it either. You were Rubian’s closest friend and maid.”
“…”
“To you, what was Rubian? So meaningless that you could poison her without a second thought?”
The duke asked the question his dead wife might have asked. Mabel bowed her head deeply.
And then, she began to laugh.
“…Ha, ha!”
Her sharp laughter rang through the office.
Leopold’s brow furrowed with disgust.
The marquis still couldn’t accept it. He clutched his head and muttered:
“How could Mabel of all people betray us… Wait. Then Lily too—?”
His eyes turned desperately to Leopold. The duke glanced briefly at me before replying.
“It is as this young lady said. She first pointed out Mabel’s suspicious behavior. Chade then investigated, and I confirmed it myself. And indeed, there were signs Mabel was involved in Rubian’s death. What was it—Kideum? That poison’s effects matched her cause of death exactly.”
Slowly, the duke approached Mabel. His voice was low and flat.
“One more question. After Rubian’s funeral, many servants were replaced. Was that because you feared your traces of poison would be discovered?”
I gasped.
Images of Lara and her mother, who had been driven out, flashed through my mind.
‘So that’s why she used Lily’s illness as an excuse to torment and expel them…’
The pieces were all falling into place, chillingly so. But Mabel still said nothing.
The duke didn’t seem to expect an answer. He continued.
“And this wasn’t the only thing. Just a week ago, you placed a coat belonging to a child with a viral illness in Lily’s room.”
“What?”
“Several maids who touched it became infected, too. I take it you weren’t informed of this, Heres.”
“….”
The marquis’s face went pale, drained of all blood. He looked ready to faint.
Then the duke spoke coldly.
“I’ll only ask once more. Why?”
Mabel lowered her head again.
The atmosphere in the office froze like ice water had been poured over us.
From beneath her bowed head, her lips twisted into a bitter smile.
“You want to know why I did it?”
“…Yes.”
“Because she wronged me first.”
“…!”
Everyone who had been listening in silence flinched.
“She killed my child! The baby in my womb!”
Her sudden cry left everyone horrified.
The duke, already aware of her past miscarriage, asked calmly,
“What nonsense is this? Wasn’t your miscarriage an accident?”
Mabel shook her head firmly.
“No. I miscarried right after recovering from the virus. I had caught it while caring for young master Chade at the time.”
Her next words shocked us all.
When she fell ill, the duchess gave her a well-known remedy: Ascicle oil, said to help rashes. She said she had used it on her own son with good results.
Trusting her, Mabel applied the oil regularly.
But soon after she recovered from the virus, she miscarried. Around the same time, rumors spread that Ascicle oil could cause miscarriages.
‘What? Unless she had a coconut allergy, there’s no way… If she used it consistently with no issues, it wouldn’t have been the cause.’
I couldn’t believe I was hearing such nonsense here.
“I recovered from the virus, but then suffered severe bleeding and lost my child. If I hadn’t gotten sick… if the duchess hadn’t carelessly given me that oil, none of this would have happened!”
The room erupted in murmurs.
Yes, poisoning the duchess was a grave crime. But if Mabel had truly suffered because of the household she had loyally served, perhaps she had grown resentful.
‘Seriously? They’re buying this?’
No one said it aloud, but I could tell they were believing her story about Ascicle oil.
I nearly lost my mind.
‘How could applying oil to the skin cause a miscarriage?’
I realized I had to correct this false belief.
I sighed deeply and stepped forward.
“I’m sorry, but the rumor about Ascicle oil causing miscarriages isn’t true.”
“What…?”
Mabel’s fierce eyes turned to me. But I continued calmly.
“Yes, some natural oils can affect pregnancy because of their strong scents or ingredients. But Ascicle oil is safe—even pregnant women use it for stretch marks.”
I looked her straight in the eye and asked,
“Did you ever have a reaction when you used it? Redness, itching, sneezing? Anything like that? You must not have—otherwise you wouldn’t have kept using it, right?”
“I… I…”
“Very few substances applied only to the skin can directly cause a miscarriage. And if they did, they’d harm everyone else too.”
Pregnancy has never been easy, in any world.
That’s why so many taboos surround it. Some things are forbidden, some foods are avoided, and some supplements are recommended.
But in truth, many of these only serve to burden mothers with restrictions.
“Many women, after miscarrying, look for reasons to blame themselves. And I understand that. But usually, what ordinary people do—or apply—doesn’t directly cause miscarriage. If you want, I can prove with tests that Ascicle oil is safe.”
“….”
Mabel stayed silent for a long moment. Then, suddenly, as if remembering something, she hurriedly opened her mouth.
