Chapter 36
“Ever since I came to this world, every time Father leaves for battle, he tells me the same thing. The people I can truly trust are Benner, Ember, the Knight Commander, and Count and Countess Quinter.”
“What about me?”
Seeing Roil look so gloomy, Ellen poked his arm teasingly and asked. Roil, sensing her intent, gave a faint smile.
“He’s been mentioning your name too, for some time now. Oh, and Kashu as well.”
“Kashu?”
That was a name she hadn’t heard before. Ellen racked her brain, but no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t recall anyone by that name.
“Father’s been raising him since six years ago, planning to assign him to me. He’s two years older than us. Right now, he’s gone to deliver porridge to the doctor.”
“Ah, that must be the one you said you sent to the doctor earlier. But why am I only hearing about him now?”
“Because Father always kept him with him. Aside from sparring together, I rarely saw him myself, let alone anyone else from other families.”
At that moment, Benner entered Diana’s bedchamber.
“I finished questioning the most trustworthy people first, but so far, there are no leads. I’ll remain in the investigation room—call me if needed.”
After listening to Benner’s report, Ellen thought for a moment before making a suggestion to Roil.
“If you’re okay with it, how about I also search for some clues? Of course, only if you allow it.”
Upon hearing this, Roil rose from the sofa and dropped to one knee on the floor.
“As heir to House Carzel, Roilet Carzel formally requests aid, even if only informally, from Eleanor Quinter.”
Startled by Roil’s sudden action, Ellen stood and quickly pulled him up by the hand.
“I accept.”
Even though the situation wasn’t the time for such gestures, she couldn’t help but feel a ticklish amusement. Ellen added lightly:
“This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this outside of stories.”
Roil chuckled.
“Same here.”
Then he called out:
“Nesh!”
At his call, Nesh, who had been lying lazily on the floor with his chin down, flew over.
“You’ll help too, right?”
Nesh rubbed his soft paw against Roil’s cheek, as if saying, Of course. Feeling reassured, Roil absentmindedly squeezed the jelly of Nesh’s paw.
Ellen declined Benner’s offer to escort her and instead roamed around the Carzel estate with Nesh.
“Nesh,” she whispered.
Nestled in her arms with round, gleaming eyes, Nesh looked up at her.
“I don’t dislike Silla, but… why was she the first one I thought of when I heard Aunt Diana was poisoned?”
Walking forward, she glanced down at Nesh. He stared back silently.
“…Alright, I take that back. I do dislike her. But still, doesn’t it make sense? After Ember left for her hometown, Silla was practically the only one around Aunt Diana.”
She stopped before the stairs and changed direction.
“While everyone else is tied up in questioning, let’s check out the servants’ quarters. Once people are released, hanging around there would look suspicious. We should go now.”
She hurried down the stairs.
Arriving before the servants’ quarters, Ellen blankly stared up at the large building. With so many workers employed by the Carzel family, the building was enormous.
“It’s huge. How am I supposed to search all of this alone? Should I call someone?”
She sighed—coming here alone was reckless. Searching the whole place would be exhausting.
Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself.
“Nesh, let’s do this!”
Hugging Nesh tighter, she stepped inside—then froze.
“…But Nesh, I don’t even know which room is Silla’s.”
She hesitated, thinking she might have to ask Benner, but before she could decide, Nesh suddenly leapt out of her arms.
“Nesh! No time to play!” she called, chasing after him as he darted inside.
Nesh spun in circles, then bolted forward again.
“…Are you telling me to follow?”
Weaving through hallways after him, Ellen groaned.
“Nesh, we need to find Silla’s room, probably upstairs, not wander the first floor!”
But Nesh wasn’t listening. Late at night, long after the moons had crossed, Ellen—tired and bleary-eyed—chased after the mischievous creature.
Finally, Nesh stopped at the metal back door of the servants’ building and pawed at it.
“You want me to open this?”
Ellen shrugged. “Fine, lead the way.”
She opened the door, and Nesh ran outside, nose pressed to the ground like a puppy, sniffing intently. Ellen stretched as she trailed after him patiently.
Suddenly, Nesh halted in the garden behind the quarters and looked back at her. She met his gaze mid-yawn, tears brimming in her tired eyes.
“Haaaah… what is it now?”
With a sigh, Nesh thumped the ground with his paw.
It was a flowerbed beneath the row of windows. Unlike the other soil, the dirt there looked different.
Suspicious, Ellen crouched down. But as she reached out with her bare hand, Nesh bit her finger lightly.
“Ah—sorry, sorry.”
She sheepishly withdrew her hand, feeling scolded by him.
Pulling out pen and paper from her pocket, she scribbled a note:
Roil. Send Benner to the garden behind the servants’ quarters. Have him bring a jar for soil samples.
She tied the note to Nesh’s collar.
“Nesh, take this to Roil.”
He darted off.
Meanwhile, Ellen drew out the small hand shovel she had used before with Roil in the cave.
Why do I use this trowel more as a noble than I ever did on Earth?
She fiddled with it while waiting.
Soon enough, Nesh returned with a reply:
Wait a bit. Mother woke up briefly, then fell back asleep.
“Thank goodness. Nesh, did she look okay?”
Nesh circled once in reassurance.
A moment later, Benner arrived. He blinked at the sight of Ellen hopping in place to stay awake, then quickly composed his face.
Pleased, Ellen pointed to the suspicious soil.
“Benner, doesn’t this patch of dirt look different?”
Benner squatted, poking the ground with a stick.
“You’re right. Only this spot is blackened, and the few plants here are withered.”
He almost touched the soil with his hand but stopped. Ellen offered him her trowel.
“…Where did this come from?”
Benner inspected it curiously, frowning.
“Ah, I’ve just had it with me. Convenient, right?” Ellen blurted quickly before he could probe further.
“Benner, let’s bottle this soil and some of the withered plants. Send them to Doctor Reeve. If anyone can identify it, he can. You brought jars, right?”
Benner nodded and collected the samples.
As he stood, Ellen stopped him again.
“One more thing. I want the list of servants living in the rooms above this line—especially the one right here.”
“I’ll bring the roster to your room. Will you be using your usual guest chamber?”
Ellen, realizing she hadn’t even chosen a room yet, nodded.
“You should rest as well, Lady Eleanor. The core suspects are already questioned; others will soon search these quarters thoroughly.”
Looking up, Ellen saw that the moons had already drifted apart. Exhaustion pressed on her, and she finally agreed.
“Send the samples to Doctor Reeve tonight. Tell him I want results by tomorrow morning.”
Benner bowed and departed.
Back at the mansion, Ellen reached her guest room but passed it, heading instead to Roil’s door. She knocked, but no answer came. Peeking inside, she found the room dark.
“Roil?”
Perhaps he was still in the study, or at Diana’s bedside.
“Nesh, is Roil still in Diana’s room?”
Nesh sniffed, spun once, and sat—clearly, yes.
Ellen quietly closed the door.
She tapped on Diana’s door.
“Roil?”
“It’s me, Elly. Haven’t slept yet?”
“You either. Shouldn’t you rest a little?”
Dragging over a chair, she found Roil already springing up to bring one for her.
“I’ll sleep after Mother wakes once more.”
“Want me to sit with you?”
Ellen stifled a yawn so large it made her eyes water.
“You just yawned, didn’t you?”
“Haaaah…” Unable to stop it, she yawned again. Roil chuckled softly.
“Go to bed.”
Embarrassed after insisting she’d stay, Ellen nodded obediently.
“Oh, by the way—Nesh found something earlier…”
She told him about the black soil. Roil’s face hardened.
“When will we get results?”
“By morning. I told them to push Reeve to work overnight if needed. This is urgent.”
Roil nodded.
“Then we’ll look at the results together.”
“Alright.”
He rose, clearly dismissing her to rest. Ellen reluctantly followed, but before leaving, she paused.
“You won’t go to bed, will you? At least try to nap here.”
“…I’ll try,” he said, though she didn’t believe him.
“Want Nesh to stay with you?”
Roil glanced down at the creature.
“Nesh, want to stay with me tonight?”
Surprisingly, Nesh, who had been trailing Ellen toward the door, stopped and padded back to Roil’s side.
Both Ellen and Roil widened their eyes in surprise.
“Well, that’s rare.”
“Looks like Nesh really has a mind of his own.”
Pleased, Ellen waved at the two.
“See you in a few hours.”
She squeezed Roil’s hand warmly, then left for her own room.
