Chapter 30
“Shut your mouth!”
Elkios’ eyes, as he stared at the furious Grand Madam, were chillingly cold.
He glanced down at Olvia, who was sobbing like a child in the Grand Madam’s arms, then signaled to the knights standing awkwardly nearby.
“Since the Grand Madam is so intent on protecting her, I’ll withdraw for now. But do not mistake this for me having cast aside my suspicions.”
“Get out! Get out of here immediately!”
“Elkios,” the Grand Madam snapped.
“The offer I made to you before still stands. Anytime.”
Elkios no longer even smiled.
The Grand Madam only then realized that the reason was the contempt burning in his eyes.
“If you’re displeased with Ludian, just say the word. I’ll make sure you won’t have to worry about a livelihood.”
With that, Elkios turned and left with the knights.
Once she confirmed that he had completely left the Delphinium residence, the Grand Madam staggered and collapsed.
“Madam!”
Olvia rushed to support her in alarm, but the Grand Madam harshly brushed her hand away.
“You! Get out of this bedroom, all of you! Now!”
She drove out the maids and attendants from her chambers.
Once she confirmed that every door and window was shut, she finally turned to Olvia.
“I’m the only one listening now, so speak truthfully. Was what Elkios said true?”
“Madam, I…”
“Tell me the truth!”
The Grand Madam nearly screamed.
“I trusted and protected you. Don’t lie to me. Never!”
The Grand Madam’s eyes were a turbulent mix of trust and doubt as she looked at Olvia.
Seeing her mistress’s expression full of confusion, Olvia could only bite her lip and slowly nodded.
“…Yes. I did it.”
“You!”
Smack!
Olvia’s head snapped to the side with the sound of a slap.
She didn’t even make a sound.
Looking down at the bowed woman, the Grand Madam shouted furiously.
“You tried to poison the plum tree—how could you do something like that! Who told you to?!”
Olvia immediately knelt at her feet.
“Please forgive me. I believed it was of utmost importance to drive out that woman of unknown origin from this household.”
“Still… you should have told me, at least said something…”
“I intended to take full responsibility if anything went wrong. I thought it was best that you didn’t know.”
But that was a contradiction.
If she truly intended to act alone, she should’ve followed Elkios when he asked if it was under the Grand Madam’s orders—before that suspicion ever arose.
Despite having committed a serious crime, she was protected by the Grand Madam. Now the Grand Madam herself could no longer be free from the consequences.
Unaware of that part yet, the Grand Madam held her throbbing head and spoke in a helpless voice.
“You still should have told me. You should have…”
“I’m sorry, Madam. I have no excuse.”
With a firm expression, Olvia said:
“I will go to the Duke and confess that it was entirely my doing—”
“No!”
Just earlier, the Grand Madam had lashed out at Elkios for falsely accusing someone out of prejudice.
If Olvia were to now admit to it, the Grand Madam’s own dignity would crumble.
No, not just crumble—
“You must never tell the truth. You’re being framed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Madam. I am truly sorry.”
“What’s done is done…”
The Grand Madam let out a long sigh.
“But from now on, don’t act recklessly. If you plan anything, you must tell me first and get my approval.”
“Of course.”
Olvia bowed her head obediently.
She had followed the Grand Madam for decades, ever since she came down from the distant North and served loyally. The Grand Madam didn’t doubt her for even a moment.
“…I’m tired. I need rest now. You may leave.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The Grand Madam took some headache medicine and lay back down.
But the pain in her head didn’t subside easily. She would likely be bedridden for the next few days.
* * *
Returning to her room, Olvia waited for the night to deepen.
She confirmed that no one was watching her from the doors or windows. Then she retrieved a magical device from a secret compartment under her bed and activated it.
Whrrrr—
A moment later, a magical barrier was erected around her room.
After double and triple-checking that it worked properly, she activated the communication crystal.
—…Hartan.
“Ult, Fein.”
Only after responding with the correct code did the person on the other end say her name.
—Olvia. What is it?
“The plum tree of Ludian has come back to life.”
—What?
The face dimly visible through the crystal was immediately filled with urgency.
—What about the divine beast’s egg? Did it also appear?
“Not yet. But given the speed of the tree’s recovery, it may happen soon.”
—At last… after 25 years, the chance has come.
The man muttered in a voice full of elation, then gave instructions.
—If an egg appears, you must steal it before it hatches. If that’s impossible, you must destroy it. We cannot allow it to hatch.
“I understand. But during the incident with the tree, the Duke began to suspect me.”
—…The Duke isn’t beside you now, is he?
The voice turned razor sharp, and Olvia quickly denied it.
“No, he’s not. Thanks to the Grand Madam’s protection, I avoided trouble. But the current Duke shows no respect for his birth mother… He may act regardless of her opinion and drag me away.”
—You know what to do if that happens, right?
Olvia nodded.
Her expression was grim, far more solemn than she had shown in front of the Grand Madam.
“If anything changes with the plum tree, I’ll report it immediately.”
—Good. I wish you luck.
The communication ended.
Having safely delivered her report, Olvia hurriedly stored away the magical devices and lay down in bed.
Fortunately, the area was quiet. Though she had feared someone might break in, after about ten minutes she finally managed to calm her nerves.
If only that incident back then had gone well…
Twenty-five years ago, when a divine beast’s egg had appeared on the plum tree before it withered—
While Olvia distracted the Duke and Duchess, her companion infiltrated the estate and successfully stole the egg.
But before they could smuggle it out, they were discovered, and the egg vanished without a trace.
No one knows what happened to it.
The people waiting outside never received the egg, and the only one who knew where it went—her comrade—took their own life the moment they were captured by the Duke’s knights.
Afterward, many people were mobilized to search for the lost egg. But neither Olvia’s comrades nor anyone in House Ludian could find it.
Olvia had a theory:
Just before being caught, her comrade may have broken the egg rather than let it be taken.
If that were true, the tree should eventually bear another egg.
But instead of a new egg appearing, the tree had withered.
That’s why Olvia had never been certain.
Had the egg not formed because the tree had died—or had her comrade successfully smuggled it out?
Time will tell. If a new egg appears…
She would get it out before it hatched.
All for the Master’s sake.
Of course, that master wasn’t the Grand Madam.
* * *
At that moment, in the laboratory of the genius mage, Luid:
“Here. A copy of the transmission log.”
Seated at a large desk engraved with complex magical circles, Luid handed over a blue crystal orb after fiddling with several others.
“Take a look. I think it captured something interesting.”
“Sure. I doubt she was ordering tomorrow’s breakfast from a bakery with a crystal ball.”
Elkios gave a dry chuckle, but within a minute his face turned serious.
When the playback ended, he looked like he’d been smacked in the back of the head.
“…So it really wasn’t the Grand Madam’s doing.”
He had unintentionally landed a major catch.
One that had been buried for at least 25 years.
