Chapter 17…………………………………….
At present, Olivia was seething with dissatisfaction.
‘They said I’d be attending Her Highness the Princess’s meals! But all I’m doing is menial work!’
Only senior maids were allowed to approach the princess’s side, and being stuck carrying wine around infuriated her.
But there was nothing she could do.
After bringing the wine, she still had to help set the main dish—roast duck.
“This wine was made from grapes harvested in the year 923 in a certain region of the Kingdom of Iota…”
Perhaps because wine was considered the exclusive domain of gentlemen, few ladies showed interest, and even those who were knowledgeable regarded it as a virtue to keep silent.
As a result, hardly anyone truly understood Countess Yudel’s explanation, and discontent naturally began to surface.
“Didn’t she criticize and rage against Her Highness, saying her dress shop was ruined because of her?”
“Now that she’s got a chance to flatter, she’s wagging her tail. How laughable.”
“Exactly. Thanks to Her Highness introducing a new trend to high society, Countess Yudel’s dress shop went under, and she even had a public fight with her husband over it.”
“I heard she reopened the shop recently. Where did she get the money?”
“Right? Count Yudel is under house arrest, so it’s not like money could come from him.”
The murmurs even turned to how strange it was that Count Yudel had suddenly fallen into house arrest, but perhaps realizing the setting belatedly, everyone shut their mouths as if on cue.
Still, they couldn’t stop their cold gazes from being fixed on Countess Yudel.
“I hope this wine suits your tastes perfectly.”
As the explanation ended, the maids waiting nearby poured wine into each guest’s glass.
The one who poured wine into the princess’s glass was Olivia.
‘Why am I being made to do this too?!’
Fortunately, Olivia managed to step back without spilling a single drop.
But then—
“Your Highness, it would be better not to drink that wine.”
Trisha, who had risen from her seat at some point, spoke toward Hestia.
“Something seems off.”
“Off?”
Hestia frowned.
Instead of answering, Trisha swiftly approached Hestia.
“Madam.”
She then snatched the princess’s glass and held it out toward Countess Yudel.
Everyone stared at Trisha in shock.
“Please, try it.”
“What did you say?”
Countess Yudel cried out in disbelief.
“The Grand Duchess is truly rude and seems ignorant of the rules of high society!”
“It’s true that I don’t socialize much, so there are many things I don’t know.”
Trisha readily admitted it.
She meant to keep things amicable, but Countess Yudel seemed to interpret it differently.
“If you insult me like this, neither I nor my family will remain silent!”
“Then we can simply obtain Her Highness’s permission, can’t we?”
“What?”
“What do you think, Your Highness?”
At Trisha’s words, Hestia, who had been observing the situation, tilted her head.
“Me?”
“Yes. It seems we need Your Highness’s permission.”
“I grant it.”
“Y-Your Highness!”
Countess Yudel cried out in alarm.
She clearly hadn’t expected Hestia to side so easily with Trisha.
“Why? Let’s see what the Grand Duchess intends to do.”
Contrary to her assumption, Hestia wasn’t siding with Trisha.
“However, if this turns out to be nothing, I won’t stay silent either. I’ll throw you into prison for insulting the royal family.”
“So you say.”
Even in the face of Hestia’s icy threat, Trisha remained unfazed and extended the glass again.
When Countess Yudel still hesitated, Trisha firmly grabbed her hand.
And before anyone could stop her, she poured the wine into Countess Yudel’s mouth.
“What is that!”
“How utterly rude!”
Even those who had been criticizing Countess Yudel gasped in shock.
But the outrage aimed at Trisha quickly vanished.
“Cough! Ugh—! Hack! Hack!”
Countess Yudel, having swallowed the wine, writhed on the floor in panic.
“Ugh—! Urgh!”
She struggled desperately to vomit it out.
“Aaah! Save me! Aaaah! Cough! Cough!”
“Ah.”
At that moment—
“This isn’t the wine you mentioned, is it?”
Trisha, who had been checking the bottle, continued,
“I was told it was made from grapes harvested in 923, but this one is from 925.”
“……”
“It seems there was some sort of mistake. Perhaps a maid brought the wrong one.”
A suffocating silence fell.
Over the now-motionless Countess Yudel, a calm voice poured down.
“Luckily, it’s not poisoned wine, so you won’t die. Isn’t that right, Madam?”
It really was fortunate.
Listening to Trisha, she didn’t seem to be in any serious pain.
The problem was—
“Then shall we check the real wine that the madam prepared?”
With a single gesture from Trisha, the poisoned wine was on its way over.
‘No, that’s not right.’
The plan had gone slightly awry, but there was no need to worry.
An escape route had been prepared from the beginning.
‘If I do as planned, Marchioness Devon will take care of the rest.’
If she were caught, the Marchioness of Devon wouldn’t be safe either. For that reason alone, she would keep her promise.
Having made her decision, Countess Yudel hurriedly prostrated herself.
“I have committed a sin worthy of death, Your Highness! But I swear before God that if I am guilty of anything, it is only that I failed to notice poison in the wine meant for Your Highness!”
At her words, murmurs rippled through the room.
“I did nothing so heinous as to poison the wine meant for Her Highness the Princess!”
Perhaps struck by a headache, Hestia pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Then what was that reaction you showed after drinking the wine the Grand Duchess gave you? You acted as if you knew it was poisoned.”
“In truth, I was once threatened by the Grand Duchess. She ordered me to poison the wine meant for Your Highness.”
As she spoke, she pulled a letter from her bosom and presented it to Hestia.
“I was reminded of the proposal Your Highness once made to me, and that made me uneasy.”
The situation was taking a dangerous turn.
“Then was Grand Duchess Mason trying to assassinate Her Highness?”
“I wondered why someone who never participates in social events suddenly showed her face.”
“But even so, the Grand Duchess’s attitude is far too… calm.”
As someone pointed out, Trisha herself was remarkably composed.
Of course, she didn’t look indifferent as usual.
Given the seriousness of the situation, she couldn’t afford to appear insincere.
Even so, watching Countess Yudel babble as if her tongue had been greased—
‘She’s putting on quite a show.’
That thought naturally came to mind.
Yes, just as expected.
Trisha looked down coolly at Countess Yudel, who was bowing her head to the floor.
In her previous life, the princess had drunk the problematic wine and remained unconscious for quite some time.
She survived, fortunately, but her body was said to have suffered greatly.
‘And Countess Yudel…’
In her previous life, Countess Yudel claimed she had been framed and pointed the finger at another noblewoman.
‘She must have received a promise from my aunt.’
A promise that if she poisoned the princess, she would be allowed to escape safely.
But the Marchioness of Devon never keeps her promises.
Instead, evidence of her attempt to frame another noblewoman came pouring out, and Countess Yudel was ultimately executed.
‘And this time, it seems she was instructed to throw me out as bait and escape.’
That must be why she so readily handed over the invitation to the banquet hosted by the princess.
While Trisha remained silent, Countess Yudel’s tongue continued to wag.
“If I attempted poisoning, wouldn’t I be the first to be suspected, since I brought the wine? I’m not stupid enough to scheme something while accepting that risk.”
She looked genuinely wronged.
She’s a good actress.
Trisha glanced at her indifferently, then looked around.
“Now that you mention it, it did seem strange, didn’t it?”
“Right. Her Excellency acted as though she knew the wine was poisoned.”
Even planted supporters.
If Edwin had been the one investigating this incident, Trisha would have been dragged to prison again without even being able to open her mouth.
“Enough.”
Hestia’s cold voice silenced the murmuring crowd.
“Grand Duchess Mason, speak for yourself. Is what she says true?”
“Esteemed Princess Hestia.”
Trisha stepped forward gracefully and took the wine from the table.
“I only intervened because the label on the wine Countess Yudel introduced seemed a little strange.”
She then lifted the bottle so everyone could see it clearly.
