FPLNC 53

Chapter 53

“Damn human.”

“Thanks for the compliment. So, we’re making this deal, right?”

“If you want a deal, at least show your face first. What makes you keep telling me to make a deal?”

“Oh, you really think it’s a deal just because I said so? It’s a threat.”

Saying that, the man pulled back his hood and removed his mask.

A handsome man with blue hair and blue eyes smiled at her. Seeing his face, Silla momentarily forgot everything and was stunned.

He’s really handsome. Royalet is good-looking too, but his appearance is still less mature. And this man here…

Silla, who had been briefly mesmerized by his face, snapped back to reality.

Blue hair and blue eyes?

Even without revealing his identity, she could roughly guess. He must be from the Norman clan’s ruling family. No wonder he was so confident about promising her the position of Countess.

The man studied Silla’s changing expression intently, still grinning.

He extended his hand toward her. Silla hesitated briefly, then took it.

The man, looking satisfied, lightly tossed something toward her. Reflexively catching it, Silla examined what was in her hand. It was a vial of clear medicine.

“What, do you expect me to poison the teacup too? Do I look stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice?”

“I’ve heard that the Countess cherishes the greenhouse and manages it herself. This is medicine that, when administered to plants, turns them into strong poison. But if it’s applied for too long, the plant will die first, so calculate the timing carefully.”

Silla shook the vial back and forth.

“I heard the greenhouse manager is a bachelor named Murphy. Try using your pretty face to coax him once.”

The man brushed Silla’s face with one hand. Despite his handsome face, his touch felt unnervingly serpentine.

“Now that you’re done, disappear.”

Silla impatiently swatted his hand away.

“Wait, you made a deal with someone from the Norman clan? And you were going to kill Mother?”

A vein bulged on Royal’s forehead. As his body trembled, Ellen beside him tensed up as well.

Kash grabbed Silla by the nape. The moment Royal gave the order, her neck would be twisted.

Silla felt Kash’s cold touch on her neck, closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked directly at Royal.

“I haven’t betrayed Karzel.”

At Silla’s words, Royal let out a strangled breath.

“You said that if the Countess died, I would get her place? That’s absurd. My life would vanish without anyone knowing. Even if I became the Countess, by then Karzel would already have been trampled by the Normans. It would take forever to recover.”

Ellen frowned, twisting in her chair. She had no idea what Silla was trying to say.

“You can’t let Karzel become a battlefield. As usual, the Count has gone to the border again this year. That’s why I planned to kill the Countess and fabricate evidence to make it seem like the Normans did it. It’s not exactly wrong, right? They proposed it to me first. If the Count hears it was the Normans, he’d purge them at the border.”

Does she even make sense? Royal thought. He was losing interest in trying to understand.

Ellen pressed her hand to her forehead.

“So, what do you gain from this? Why are you doing it?”

“The hooded man is a witness and threatening me, so I had to accept the proposal. And as I said, I can’t trust him. Would you keep me alive after using me?”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Even if I were kept alive, I don’t want to be the Countess of a ruined territory. I don’t want a life where I carry all the responsibility without enjoying wealth. I want a rich and comfortable life, not one where I labor myself to take care of everyone else.”

“So?”

“Before the war between Karzel and the Normans starts, I’m running away. From Karzel.”

“You could have escaped without harming the Countess.”

“The Countess ruined my entire blueprint. Why would I help her? You may dislike me, but I was a capable maid. If I had been acknowledged as I was and paired with Royalet, none of this would have happened.”

Ah, just a typical person consumed by paranoia, Royal realized.

Realizing there was no solid reason for killing the Countess made him even angrier.

Mother’s death, all because of this delusion.

He had heard enough. He hoped no more nonsense would come from her mouth.

Royal stood up.

“Eli, let’s go.”

Ellen rose, and Sir Letty followed.

Royal walked toward the door, then stopped and turned his head.

“Any last words?”

Ellen, Letty, and even Venner, who had been waiting to open the prison door, all looked at Silla, waiting for her response.

“…….”

Silla said nothing, just stared at Ellen.

Ellen met her gaze but couldn’t read her thoughts.

After a long while, Ellen looked away first. Royal, irritated by Silla’s unwavering stare at Ellen, placed his hands on her shoulders and left the prison.

Feeling Royal’s hands on her shoulders, Ellen glanced at his face.

“Are you okay?”

Royal only nodded silently.

He attempted a faint smile toward Ellen, but it barely lifted the corners of his mouth. His face didn’t look okay at all.

Even though the spirit’s testimony made Silla’s interrogation largely meaningless, it drained more energy than expected, Ellen thought, pressing her temples.

Walking down the underground corridor, they passed the iron-barred door Silla had entered earlier. Beyond it, Neshu was sitting quietly.

When Venner opened the door, Neshu leapt into Ellen’s arms, rubbed his head against her hand, then looked at Royal and mewed.

Royal petted Neshu silently, and Neshu licked his hand. Rarely affectionate, Royal immediately tickled under Neshu’s chin again.

The clanging sound behind them was Kash, locking the prison door last.

No one spoke while ascending from the underground. Only on the second floor did Ellen break the silence.

“Go rest a bit. Dinner separately? Should I tell the kids?”

“No, let’s eat together. See you in the dining room soon.”

“Okay.”

Seeing Ellen enter her room, Royal went to his study. Venner and Kash exchanged a glance and sighed.

Venner gestured Kash to go first, then called the maids around him.

“Uh?”

Ellen’s friends were waiting in her room.

“Sorry, we stayed in your room while you weren’t here.”

“We were worried since you weren’t around, but it seems you couldn’t go to Royal’s room anyway.”

“We just sat quietly on the sofa.”

Each child spoke briefly. Masha poured out some cold tea by the table.

“Good job. Want some more?”

“No, I’m fine. Shouldn’t you eat too?”

Shaking her head, Ellen said, “I have no appetite. We’ll eat with Roy later.”

The children wanted to ask questions but stayed quiet. Ellen didn’t speak of the interrogation either.

They simply chatted about themselves and the people around them.

“So Ellen and I rode horses to the lakeside…”

“Prince Gilbert received a sword passed down through generations…”

“Our family’s trade guild opened a new trade route, and His Highness the Crown Prince…”

Though talking, their eyes kept glancing toward the door.

Finally, a knock. Santuque jumped up, then sat down cautiously. Seeing him sit, Ellen said,

“Come in.”

“Dinner is ready.”

“I’ll come down now.”

The maids closed the door, and the children leapt up.

“Let’s go.”

“Come on.”

“Hurry, hurry.”

“Ellen, your dress…”

Serel trailed off, looking at Ellen.

All the children were in evening dresses, but black ones, so it wasn’t obvious.

They changed right after lunch, waiting for dinner, Ellen thought. Seeing them curious but not speaking, she realized how much they had grown.

“I’ll change quickly and come down too.”

“I’ll watch then.”

“Me too.”

Erica and Serel decided to stay, while Adrian and Santuque left quietly.

“They’ll probably go to Royal’s room.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Behind the dress room curtain, Ellen changed into her evening gown, while Erica and Serel helped adjust each other’s ribbons.

“This reminds me of old times,” Serel said, fixing Erica’s ribbon.

“What?”

“When we secretly went to the market before, wearing commoner clothes. We couldn’t even tie a single ribbon properly and panicked.”

“Oh, that time,” Erica laughed.

“Now we can tie ribbons and have improved, right?”

“Yeah. We know what to give up, what to organize. We’ve improved a lot.”

Serel gazed at Erica meaningfully.

Ellen emerged from behind the curtain.

“And another friend is learning to let go of someone important.”

She had already learned a lot, but repetition didn’t hurt.

“You should go down now.”

Masha followed her out, saying, “Yes, let’s go.”

The meal was quiet. After greeting upon entering, no one spoke.

The children glanced at Royal occasionally but focused on their food until Serel put down her fork.

“Dessert upstairs,” Royal said, signaling no need for the maid to serve it now.

“So you got the greenhouse key from Murphy. You can go in whenever the Countess isn’t there.”

“And applied the medicine day and night, especially to the prized Saiellata.”

Royal and Ellen took turns explaining.

“Where did he hide the vial? Maids’ rooms are often cleaned by other servants. They have roommates too.”

Adrian asked.

“Yes. Cleaning days are scheduled. Usually hidden among carnivorous plants.”

“Carnivorous plants?”

Erica’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer.