CHAPTER~60
“Morris!”
At the same time, Mela immediately left the banquet hall and went to find Morris as soon as the incident concluded.
She couldn’t help but worry about what had happened earlier. Even though he confessed his wrongdoing, he had betrayed his parents and brother, so he must be feeling down.
Or perhaps he was drowning in deep self-reproach and guilt.
With the help of a maid, Mela arrived at the door where Morris was isolated.
The brothers were separated into different rooms to prevent any potential collusion.
“I’m coming in, it’s me, Mela.”
Carefully entering, Mela found Morris with his head bowed like a criminal, sobbing.
“Hic, who…?”
Morris weakly lifted his head at the sound of her voice.
Mela stopped in surprise upon seeing his tear-streaked face.
His entire face was soaked in tears, and his eyes were swollen as if something had gotten into them.
“…Mela-nun?”
Morris sniffled and spoke, still calling her “nun.”
“You dummy. You don’t have to call me ‘nun’ anymore. Just call me Mela. But… are you okay?”
Always unnecessarily kind. Mela dragged a chair from the corner and sat across from Morris.
“Y-you… how did you get here? You shouldn’t come. What if you got hurt too…?”
“Hah, it’s fine! Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself first… I came to say thank you.”
“Huh?”
Morris tilted his head in confusion, unsure if he really understood or was pretending not to.
“Being able to confess your mistakes without fear… even I would have struggled to do that.”
“Of course, but… oh! And I heard from the Duke, you were the one who told him we were trapped in the basement.”
“That….”
At first, when trapped in the basement, she had been terrified they might never escape.
Reia was already struggling from a lack of oxygen after being confined for so long.
The endless darkness was terrifying, and tears fell like a child’s. Yet, they prayed and believed that the two of them would come to save her.
‘…Mela! Are you inside? Mela! Can you hear my voice?’
‘Mela!’
Just as she was about to lose consciousness, the miracle she had waited for occurred.
She then heard that Morris had told Perzen about Reia being in the basement.
“…If it weren’t for you, Morris, Reia and I might have suffered terrible things in there.”
“…”
“You said before that you’re not good at anything, that you can’t do anything. That’s not true. Morris, you can do things others can’t.”
“…Mela.”
“You’re the bravest and kindest person in the world.”
There were many exceptional people in the world—skilled in magic, swordsmanship, or other talents.
But few had a heart that remained good and brave to the end.
“So don’t let yourself feel down. Straighten your shoulders!”
“Ouch! Why are your hands so rough for a kid? Geez.”
“Just my hands?”
Morris frowned but smiled. Seeing him smile, Mela finally felt relieved.
“Mela. Actually… watching the Duke and Madam desperately look for you made me jealous. It made me realize that is what a loving family looks like.”
“…”
“Even though our family has become like this, I hope at least you and your family don’t suffer. That’s why. Thanks to you, I understand now.”
Morris’s face looked firmer than ever as he spoke.
“For the first time, I have something I want to do, even if I’m not good at it. I want to protect it. Thank you for letting me know, Mela.”
Morris smiled freely, unburdened, without any regrets or lingering attachments.
But his swollen face looked so silly that Mela couldn’t help but laugh.
“Pfft, you look ridiculous.”
Then she thought for a moment and finally her eyes welled up with tears.
‘I was jealous. It made me realize that is what a loving family looks like.’
‘I was jealous.’
“Me too.”
“Huh?”
Mela quickly brushed off her emotions and spoke in a cheerful voice.
“No, nothing. Anyway, don’t worry too much and think of this as a time to rest. I’ll be going, Morris.”
“Wait, Mela!”
Just as she was about to leave, Morris, flustered and panicked, grabbed her. Mela turned and tilted her head.
“Actually… I forgot to tell you something earlier.”
“Receiving treatment? Then the child must be in the infirmary now.”
“Ah, it’s been a while, so she should be back soon. She went to help in the kitchen but got burned on something hot. She got blisters and a rash, so I covered her shift… oh! There she is, Madam!”
Turning toward the direction the maid pointed, I saw a short-haired maid walking toward us.
“Loren!”
Loren ran ahead to the maid before I could speak.
I sent the remaining maids back to their posts and hurried toward the short-haired maid to check inside her sleeves.
“M-Madam. What are you…! Ah! Why are you suddenly doing this?”
The maid was startled by my sudden action and desperately pulled her arm away. But in that brief moment, I could see the discoloration inside her sleeve.
“So it’s you… the one who broke my vial. Pretending you didn’t do it won’t work, I’ve already confirmed everything.”
“W-what do you mean? Please don’t, Madam! Ah…! Let me go!”
Amidst the confrontation, Loren spoke, having noticed something.
“Madam, look at this. There’s a strange mark on this maid’s clothing… Ah!”
The maid, barely freeing my hand, pushed Loren and tried to run. I shouted for others nearby to catch her.
“Let go! Quickly! Hands off! Don’t try to escape!”
Fortunately, the maid was soon caught by nearby knights. She screamed and revealed her true nature, her voice harsh and piercing, far from her youthful appearance.
I first examined the mark on her clothing, as Loren indicated.
It had turned brown. Moving closer, I could see faint silver particles glinting in the sunlight.
‘This isn’t from the medicine I put in the vial. It must be something else….’
At that moment, the maid’s earlier words crossed my mind. She hadn’t been exposed to high heat for long, so could she really have gotten injured that badly?
“…Tell me straight. What are you plotting?”
The maid, who had been struggling, now twisted her lips into a sinister smile, calm yet menacing.
“I’m afraid it’s too late, Madam, even if you catch me.”
“What?”
Her malicious expression reminded me of Grimora shouting that things weren’t over yet.
“I put poison in Artemene’s food! It’s already been served, so catching me now won’t help.”
And with those words, I realized the worst had almost happened.
‘Will Grimora die alone like this? It’s not over yet! My plan will…!’
Right. I knew from the start something was off. She wouldn’t give up this easily.
“…Aunt!”
I ordered the maid to be sent to the dungeon immediately and ran toward the banquet hall.
Checking the kitchen just in case, the banquet food and drinks had already been moved into the hall.
“Huff… gasp.”
Then the poison she put in Artemene’s food must have been…
By the time I caught my breath, I barely made it to the banquet hall. Someone grabbed my shoulder urgently and turned me around.
“…Evlyen! What’s wrong? What happened?”
It was Perzen.
Seeing him, my anxiety surged and threatened to overflow.
I took a deep breath and began explaining frantically.
If it were Perzen, he might be able to stop the banquet.
“P-Perzen… Duke! It’s a disaster! We need to stop the banquet immediately…!”
“What?”
As I pointed toward the banquet hall in panic, Artemene was about to eat the food in front of her.
“Aunt, you must not eat that!”
“…Stop the banquet immediately and lock the doors, now!”
Perzen’s shout froze everyone in the hall. Artemene also paused and looked at him. Fortunately, she lowered her hand just before eating.
“Thank… goodness.”
As I exhaled in relief, someone moved through the chaotic crowd and stopped in front of Artemene.
“…Mela?”
It was Mela.
Seeing her bright smile, my unease returned and made it hard to breathe.
Pushing past the people blocking her, I rushed toward Mela.
And the ominous premonition was confirmed.
Clang!
“Kyaaa!”
A plate shattered and a sharp scream echoed through the banquet hall. My lungs tightened with every breath.
And what I saw was Mela, in Artemene’s arms, vomiting blood onto the carpet amid scattered food.
“…Mela, Mela!!”
