CHAPTER~50
Once again, the sun was hidden behind clouds, leaving the sky gloomy and dull.
I wondered when the sleet-like snow would finally stop.
After roughly finishing my morning duties, I headed straight for the glass greenhouse.
Inside the greenhouse, it was always warm as if the sun were shining, a beautiful space filled with lush trees and flowers of every color.
That was why, every time I visited for a walk, it felt like stepping into another world, something I could never quite get used to.
Rather than strolling, I looked around restlessly, searching for something.
“Where was that place again……?
I’m sure it was around here.”
“My lady, where are you going?
Are you looking for something?”
The maid who had come with me approached carefully and asked.
Today, instead of Loren, I was accompanied by a different maid from the annex.
Just in case, I had sent Loren to Mela.
If Nanny Grimora were to find out that Reia and Mela were getting close, she would surely try to harm them.
I had firmly instructed her to stick close and never leave Mela’s side, so it should be fine.
Of course, even aside from that, there were more than one or two people watching both Mela and me.
‘The atmosphere around here has been strange lately.
There are unfamiliar faces in the mansion.’
Over the past few days, new figures had entered the estate.
Not only guards, but even maids.
Servants could be dismissed and replaced at any time, but still, a woman’s intuition counted for something.
It was eerily peaceful.
Like the night before a storm rolled in.
Above all, the fact that there had been no movement at all from Grimora was the most suspicious.
‘Count Leella, you were right.
The nanny is in contact with someone.
We’ll have to find out who’s behind her, little by little.’
Just as I had expected, Grimora was secretly colluding closely with someone.
She must have reported even the fact that I spoke with Artemene.
And according to what I heard from Frezen Decart, during the elders’ council held that morning, Artemene had even said she would have Reia attend the family banquet.
So far, things were proceeding exactly as I had planned.
If Reia safely recovered and attended the family banquet, people would naturally focus on how she had been cured.
More than anything, with an epidemic spreading through the imperial capital, the timing could not have been better.
Still, I hoped the children would not fall ill like they did in the original story.
In any case, after this elders’ council, it was clear that Uncle Julich was pushing Artemene away.
Uncle Julich would try by any means to prevent Reia from attending the family banquet.
Then, wouldn’t he also be keeping an eye on those involved?
More precisely, on me.
“I’ll help you look, so just tell me!
Hehe.”
“Oh my, I was worried I might be asking too much of you.
But if you can help, I’d appreciate it.”
“Oh, not at all!
How could it be too much when it’s for you, my lady?
Of course I should help!”
The maid’s bright voice cut into my thoughts.
She was a maid who had recently joined on someone’s recommendation, and according to Loren, she had been suspiciously eager to accompany me.
To insist on serving the lady of the house when she should still be adjusting to her duties was strange by any standard.
Unless she was someone driven purely by ambition for quick advancement.
Still—
‘It never hurts to be cautious.’
So I deliberately smiled even more brightly and took the maid’s hand, giving it a shake.
“Yes.
Actually, there’s an artificial pond somewhere in this greenhouse.
I had picked it out as a picnic spot, but the greenhouse is so large that it’s hard to find.”
“A, a picnic spot?”
“Mela loves picnics, you see.
I thought we could take a walk as well.
Come on, we don’t have time to waste.”
“Y-Yes!”
I took the flustered maid’s hand and led the way forward.
Along the way, I exclaimed over the flowers, looking exactly like a thoughtless noblewoman to anyone watching.
“Oh my, the flowers are so beautiful.
If the weather improves, I’d love to have tea with other young noble ladies.”
In truth, my thoughts were quite different.
If Uncle Julich was indeed watching me as expected, he would be looking for something suspicious.
Then which would be better?
Showing an unexpected side, or—
Perhaps the weak, fragile image they spoke of five years ago, smiling too easily and lacking any strength.
Maybe the answer was simple.
I had to be Evlyen Leella, who knew nothing.
The powerless Duchess who, even after returning, was not treated as such and was dismissed as “Count Leella.”
At that moment, the maid’s loud voice rang in my ears.
“Oh! My lady, there’s the artificial pond over there!
We found it!”
“Oh my, really?
That’s wonderful!
Let’s hurry and take a look.”
Making a fuss, I quickly walked toward where the maid pointed.
“Wow! My lady, it looks so real.
It’s really beautiful.”
“Isn’t it?
Just thinking about how much Mela will love it already makes me happy.
Oh, and the flowers here are lovely too.”
While the maid was distracted by the artificial pond she was seeing for the first time, I scanned the area under the pretense of looking for flowers to give Mela.
‘……Found it.’
At last, I discovered the true reason I had come here.
As I stepped closer to the flowerbed, the petals in the garden were withered, just as they had been when I found them before.
I had worried the gardener might have tidied things up in the meantime, but thankfully not.
I immediately leaned down and smelled the soil.
‘As expected.’
There was no scent at all, just as I had thought.
Only the color of the soil was different.
Now, all that remained was to take this soil and analyze its exact components.
Just as I was about to take out the storage bag I had prepared—
“What are you doing here, my lady?”
A maid I hadn’t noticed suddenly appeared and spoke to me.
“Eek!”
“…Oh my, my lady!”
I couldn’t be discovered here.
In the end, thinking “to hell with it,” I deliberately fell forward with a thud.
As I did, I naturally scooped the soil into the bag and hid it inside my dress.
The maid’s face was plainly filled with confusion.
After all, I had been fine one moment and suddenly collapsed the next.
“Haha, look at me.
The flowers were so beautiful that I leaned in too close……
Could you help me up?
I’ve had no strength at all lately.”
“Yes! My lady, are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine.
I just got a bit of dirt on me.
It seems we’ve seen enough, so let’s go.”
For a brief moment, I wondered what on earth I was doing, but it didn’t matter.
If it meant finding ‘that,’ I would gladly cover myself in dirt again and again.
Still, I hoped my guess was correct.
With that thought, I left the greenhouse behind.
* * *
Time passed, and in the late afternoon, I left my office and ran straight to the main mansion.
Thud, thud, thud—my heavy footsteps echoed loudly through the corridor.
“M-My lady!
What if you get hurt!”
“My lady!
You mustn’t run!”
Ignoring the maids’ shocked gazes, I flung open the office door.
Frezen Decart was seated at his desk, deeply engrossed in his work.
“Huff, huff, D-Duke!”
Frezen Decart stood up, staring at me with a bewildered expression.
“It was you?
I thought some monster had barged in.
I almost grabbed a sword.”
As if to prove his words, an actual sword lay on the desk.
Ignoring that, I stepped forward.
“Hoo, huff.
That’s not the issue right now.
Huff……”
I was so out of breath from running that my breathing came out raggedly.
“It looks like an issue to me.
I’ll have them bring water, so sit on the sofa first.”
“I’m serious……!
This is important.
Just listen to me—
*Cough, cough!*”
“At this rate, you’ll seriously collapse.
It can’t be helped.
Stay still, Evlyen.”
Frezen Decart sighed, shaking his head, then approached and lifted me up in one smooth motion.
“W-What are you doing!?”
My sudden change in perspective stopped my coughing short.
Frezen Decart ignored my struggling and carried me to the sofa, gently setting me down.
I had expected him to drop me carelessly, but instead, he placed me down with surprising care.
He even tidied my disheveled hair with his own hands.
It felt oddly like being treated as a pet.
As I froze in embarrassment, he asked,
“Do you feel better now?”
“…More or less.
Thanks to you.”
“That’s a relief.
I was worried you’d pass out from choking.”
“…Ahem.
I’m not that fragile, you know?”
“Then that’s even better.
So, what did you want to say?
If you ran all the way here, it must be urgent.”
“Oh, right!”
As we continued our usual childish bickering, his words suddenly reminded me of the reason I had come.
I immediately spoke.
“I found it.
What kind of poison killed Lady Artemene’s grandson.”
