CHAPTER 59……………………………………..
“Yeah. Seeing that the traces continue up to this door, I think whoever it was went inside and disappeared right after coming out.”
“If they disappeared right away, does that mean they used magic?”
“Well, yeah. But more importantly…”
Kyle-dad looked around and continued speaking.
“This place is the herb storage room.”
“The herb storage room?”
If the place they came to after meeting Berthold was the herb storage room, then…
“Poison.”
Derrick-dad must have reached the same conclusion as me, because he immediately said it out loud.
At the same time, Kyle-dad gave a small snort.
“That bastard’s careful to a fault, but still stupid. Poison wouldn’t even work on Yuria anyway…”
“No.”
I quickly shook my head.
“It’s not Mom.”
The conversation I’d had with Fer before flashed through my mind.
Anyway, the important thing is, this time he might aim for the same target again.
Since she’s still alive, she could still be a useful card to play.
Finishing my thought, I looked up at my dads.
“He might be trying to poison Grandma.”
“The Empress? Why? To frame Yuria for it?”
I quietly nodded.
Even if the activation is incomplete, the story still follows the original plotline—so wouldn’t he try to make events play out that way?
“But wait a sec.”
Kyle-dad frowned, as if my reasoning didn’t quite make sense.
“Didn’t you say another servant was already arrested for attempted regicide? Then why would Yuria be blamed? They’d just assume the real culprit’s still at large.”
“That’s true…”
Everyone knows Mom isn’t someone who’d do such a thing.
But still—
There’s no way Berthold doesn’t know that poison doesn’t work on Mom.
If he chose this method anyway, he must have something up his sleeve.
“Hmph!”
Something’s definitely fishy.
After thinking that far, I slipped out of Derrick-dad’s arms and ducked out from under the cloak.
Both dads stared at me in surprise.
“What’s up, Cici? What are you doing?”
“Uncomfortable?”
“No, I just want to check something.”
I can’t just sit here waiting for the answer to drop into my lap.
If you want clues, you’ve got to go find them yourself!
I need to figure out whether they really plan to frame Mom for poisoning—or if there’s something else going on.
Clenching my little fist, I turned away from my dads and knocked on the door to the herb storage room.
Before long—
“Who is it this time… huh?”
An elderly man opened the door, met my eyes, and blinked in surprise.
I quickly bowed politely.
“Hello, sir! My name’s Cecilia Miller, and I’m seven years old.”
A few seconds later—
“Ah!”
He seemed to realize who I was and exclaimed.
“My apologies, but your mother just left a short while ago.”
“Huh?”
I blinked back at him in confusion.
What did he just say?
Mom was here?
At this time?
Mom never leaves the Empress’s quarters while treating Grandma.
If anything, she’d send someone else instead of coming herself.
This smells fishy.
Quickly assessing the situation, I gave him a bright smile.
“Oh, I see! I guess I’m a little late, hehe.”
“Yes, not too long ago. If you hurry, you might still catch her.”
“I think I know where she went. But, um…”
Putting on my most innocent expression, I asked,
“Could you tell me what my mom came here to get? It’s my dream to become a great healer like her!”
I didn’t actually know if anyone took anything, but if he said “nothing,” that would still be useful information.
And if he did tell me what herb she took—that’d be even better.
“Having a dream is a fine thing, child.”
The old man smiled kindly.
“Come in. It’ll be easier if I show you.”
Oh, that’s… more than I expected.
“Thank you?”
I awkwardly thanked him and followed him inside.
He soon took out a box from the pantry shelves and handed it to me.
“What the lady took was dried Bifrons. This is it.”
Aha—so this is dried Bifrons.
…Whatever that is.
“It’s mostly used for coughs and colds. Usually, we dry it like this and grind it into powder when needed.”
“I see.”
A cold remedy, huh.
There had to be a reason they specifically chose this.
I tilted my head and asked,
“Is it something anyone can take?”
“Of course. At least, we humans can.”
“At least humans?”
“The name Bifrons means ‘the one with two faces,’ you see.”
He slowly continued his explanation.
“It’s harmless to humans, but to monsters, it acts as a poison. That’s how it got its name.”
“Ohhh.”
Only then did I fully understand, nodding vigorously.
A herb that’s harmless to humans but poisonous to monsters—
And Grandma, who’s been tainted by demonic energy.
Even though Mom has purged a lot of the miasma, it hasn’t completely vanished yet.
Someone disguised as Mom must’ve taken this herb to feed it to the Empress—
Leaving behind a witness on purpose.
To frame Mom as the culprit.
But they got caught, didn’t they?
“Oh, by the way,”
the old man added, as if remembering something.
“Lady Miller said she needed it for her daughter’s cough.”
Then he tilted his head, studying me.
“But you look perfectly healthy to me.”
“Hehe.”
I scratched my head awkwardly.
Well, I am a pretty sturdy kid.
But really, using me as an excuse?
That impostor sure knows how to act like my real mom!
Still, I couldn’t just blurt out, ‘That wasn’t my mom!’—that might cause a scene and alert the culprit.
“I never know when I might get sick again.”
I said smoothly, scratching my head again.
Not exactly a lie.
Once Berthold truly harbors killing intent toward Mom, my coughing fits will return.
Conditional cold, you could say!
“Can I take this one?”
I’d gathered all the information I needed.
I smiled innocently and twisted my fingers together.
The old man chuckled and nodded.
“Of course. And if you have more questions, feel free to visit anytime.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
Next time, I’ll come with the real Mom!
I bowed again and stepped out of the herb storage room.
After just a few steps—
“Whoa!”
An invisible force suddenly lifted me into the air and pulled me under the invisible cloak.
“Dad!”
“You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days, kid.”
Kyle-dad clicked his tongue but couldn’t quite hide his fond look.
“So, did you find anything?”
“Of course!”
Who do you think I am?
I nodded confidently and handed him the Bifrons.
“This is Bifrons.”
Kyle-dad recognized it immediately and frowned.
He knew what it was—great, that made things easier.
“Someone disguised as Mom came and took this.”
“Her beauty’s not something you can fake with a disguise.”
Kyle-dad muttered, taking the herb.
“Agreed.”
Derrick-dad quietly seconded him.
Ugh, hopeless Mom-lovers, the both of them.
(Not that I disagree.)
“Anyway, looks like your theory was right.”
“Yup.”
Back to the main point—I nodded firmly.
“They’re after Grandma.”
To drive Mom into a corner.
