Volume 3 - CH 7

Why!? Why, exactly why?

Is he really that confident about Camilla? Or did the Vassals put pressure on him to become like this?

‘It’s most likely both.’

The timing also was just so right when I decided to visit Cedric.

“I haven’t reached retirement age yet, but it won’t be too difficult. I’m thinking of planning it gradually.”

“Uncle.”

I drew out a small vial the size of a finger, half-filled with a brown potion, and placed it in front of Cedric, who poured the tea calmly.

“Do you have any idea what this is?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

Cedric’s calm response made him appear naive.

“It’s poison.”

Cedric’s smile had turned into a frown.

“It was discovered by Pennie this morning. Under my mother’s bed, to be precise.”

Cedric gave me a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t comprehend what I was saying.

‘This is why you were poisoned. Whew!’

Cedric hasn’t gone away as frequently or for as long as he used to.

Cedric hasn’t been gone from the Countdom as much or for as long as he used to these days for some reason.

‘I heard the Vassals were silent about the issue.’

That’s because Cedric’s arm is injured, I’m sure.

The Vassals would have yelled loudly in front of Camilla during the meeting if Cedric had returned intact.

It was clear that the Vassals made the decision based on Cedric’s state while under Camila’s influence.

“Why is poison in the Countess’s bedroom…… No, more than that.”

Cedric’s voice lowered, as if he was blaming me.

“Is there any proof that this drug is poisonous? You should never accuse someone without proof.”

“Take a look at it and see what you think. Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

Cedric’s brows were furrowed as he inspected the vial with a puzzled expression. He made no attempt to reach for the vial.

I opened the vial’s top as Cedric remained still.

Ppong! Although it sounded cute, neither Cedric nor I were smiling.

“What are you going to do, Selina…?”

I poured the potion into the vase in the center of the table.

The pink rose then started to burn black in an instant.

“……!”

The flowers withered totally in less than a minute.

Even the form could not be managed to identify.

The study was deafeningly quiet.

With a nasty smell.

“Selina.”

Cedric struggled to open his mouth after a long period of silence.

“The countess has a gentler heart than she looks.”

“……”

“She wouldn’t have had it to hurt anyone, even if it was poison.”

You stuffy human, sigh……

‘Then just live like that.’

It’s not that I don’t understand Cedric’s position.

He most likely does not want to fight Camilla.

Cedric does not want to become involved in a conflict between Camilla and me.

Cedric, on the other hand, had to be wary of Camilla.

“A suicide note was found near Emma’s body.”

Cedric should not be considering handing the White Eagle Knights over to Adrian at this time.

“I was frightened it may reach Mother’s ear, so I quietly handed it over to Sir Patreon.”

“……”

“Emma was also given a poison by Mother. But, Emma couldn’t take the poison, so she jumped into the river instead.”

Cedric couldn’t take his gaze away from the withered rose.

“Mother is the type of person who would easily abandon such a devoted maid.”

I locked my gaze on Cedric.

“So, Uncle, who do you believe will be the next?”

The Count Crawford family will be shattered if Camilla secures full control of the West territory.

Cedric didn’t say anything hastily this time.

I was able to calm him down, since he had become hardened.

“My uncle holds the role of White Eagle Knights leader. Adrian is still far too young for such a position.”

Cedric let out a deep sigh. Then he changed the subject, as if he didn’t want to talk about Camilla with me any longer.

“I’ll be gone for a few days.”

“Because of the barbarians?”

“Yeah. They’re not going to sit still because they know we’ve lost some outstanding knights.”

I deliberately spoke out, this time disputing my luck.

“Uncle, instead of entirely wiping them out, why don’t we welcome them as our people……?”

“It’s a load of foolishness.”

It irritates me that he rejects my suggestion without even considering it… I feel bad for him.

‘He hasn’t even taken his arm out of the cast yet.’

For the sake of his niece and sister-in-law, Cedric defends this poor and perilous land……

Aigoo……

He still hasn’t married or started a family.

‘The Vassals hold the Duke of Maple in high regard.’

How difficult would it be to ride a horse while wearing a splint?

‘If he looked like that, who would appreciate his dedication?’

Cedric was so frustrating me that I was about to leave him alone but…… I decided to change my mind.

“Uncle.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you capable of keeping a secret?”

“Secret?”

“Yes.”

“Depending on the type of secret…… If it’s justified, of course.”

I took out my Magic Stone, which I usually have with me.

“You don’t want to send me back to the monastery and make me a priest, do you?”

Cedric’s pupils dilated. He couldn’t have been unaware of Magic Stone because he had been on the battlefield for so long.

“Selina, you……?”

Cedric shifted his gaze between the softly shining Magic Stone and me, as if I were a ghost.

“You had this power……?”

He couldn’t close his open mouth even until I finished the treatment.

“Sigh, it’s because of this that I came to know Valhail.”

Cedric’s shattered arm was like a gum when compared to Valhail’s injured mody.

“Is his name Valhail?”

“Yes.”

I took Cedric’s splint off to make sure his arm was completely healed.

“It’s good to hear that. He won’t tell me his name no matter how many times I ask him. I thought he was someone who has no name. ”

Well, it’s true that he had no name.

“Valhail… is he doing well in the knight’s templar?”

“Because of his beginnings…… I believe it will take time for the others to adjust to his presence.”

Cedric swung his arm back and forth, which had become clean in an odd way.

“I had no idea you were capable of this.”

He had an entirely different expression on his face as he glanced at me.

‘Please just listen to what I said.’

Some people have to dip it to know if it is poop or soybean paste.

That’s exactly what Cedric did .

Before leaving the study, I returned a brief glance to Cedric and asked.

“How long has the Butler known Mother, Uncle?”

“They’re childhood friends, according to what I’ve heard. I heard the Butler knew the Countess before she ever started at the academy.”

“Oh, that’s why they’re so close.”

Cedric nodded again, innocently.

“Of course they’re so close since they’re childhood friends.”

“Yes, I saw the butler coming out of the annex at dawn yesterday.”

At the moment, Cedric paused.

“I was on the verge of having a weird suspicion.”

I came out of the study with an innocent smile as he always did.

* * * * *

I had a really exhausting day due to my limited stamina.

Penny promptly sat me down and began massaging my shoulders when I returned to the bedroom looking like a corpse.

“Madam has a big gut. How could she have let the poison linger in her room like that?”

Penny kicked her tongue as if it were a spectacle.

That amused me in some way.

‘She’s been serving Camila for a long time but still doesn’t know her that well.’

Cedric and Penny, too.

‘How could they be so naive…’

The skepticism would go unnoticed by those who had only experienced the original story.

Was it possible for Camilla to put the poison rolling under her bed?

She isn’t even a fool.

“Penny, that’s what you gave me.”

“What?”

“Eternal rest.”

The poison that Selina was about to drink and die.

It’s the same poison which Penny switched to sleeping drugs.

“Don’t you remember?”

The hand that had been softly kneading my shoulder had come to a halt.

For a brief while, she seemed to have forgotten to breathe.

“Don’t you know, Mother is not such a sloppy person?”

Penny was deafeningly quiet.

The hand that was kneading my shoulder moved again, but her expression was not as bright as before.

“I told my uncle that you found it while cleaning.”

“Yes! Yes, My Lady.”

The answer, which was close to salute, came back.

Penny’s concern, which had lingered in her eyes as she looked at me in the mirror, had vanished.

Instead, loyalty and trust in me were developed there.

They say, true loyalty comes from fear. It was something I read in a book