Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 215

Howdunit?

Connie was enjoying the scene of the beautiful garden at night through the window when the door opened and a man in an official’s light blue uniform came in. Tucked in both arms that would snap at the touch was a thin leather book. His face was gaunt and lack of sleep was evident under his eyes.

“Forgive us for keeping you, Duchess Steelheart. My name is Kerrig Gremly. An Official directly under Lord Advisor,” the man said, with the cadence of someone who had not spoken to another living person for weeks.

“It’s unavoidable. It was indeed an egregious thing to happen. You have my full cooperation,” she paused. “How is Lady Julia?”

“She is currently under the care of a Cleric of the Junnaveil Church,” the man showed no intent of unveiling any further info. “I will now begin my questioning. Please be at ease. This is just protocol.”

Connie answered with a nod.

“Thank you for your understanding,” the man said as he opened his book. “My first question, Witnesses had said that the last person that was with the victim was you, Duchess Steelheart. Is this true?”

“Yes. Lady Julia had graciously offered to take me to a room to rest,” Connie began, telling the story of how she had drunk too much wine and had drifted off while she was being taken to the room. That she woke up in the room where the incident happened due to having to relief herself. Which was when she met the female servant who helped her.

“Yes. I see. Then, do you know these names?” Kerrig then recited a list of names and studied her face.

“No. I don’t think so. Should I?” Connie said. For all the lies that she had told thus far, this was the only truth that she told today. As she had no interest in knowing names of pebbles that would be swept away by the waves of the incoming current.

“One of them is the brother of the person you took down after he sparred with your servant.”

“Is that so?” Connie raised an eyebrow with mild interest. “What a strange coincidence.”

Official Kerrig stared at her for a few seconds, unable to discern anything out of place from her expression.

“I hope that the vile things would be punished severely according to the Kingdom’s law.”

“We will…do our best.”

“Good, any other question?”

“That’s all I have at this time.”

“Then, may I leave now? It’s getting late and I’d like to get some real sleep. I haven’t been able to get one for some days now.”

“I…don’t have the ability to decide that.”

“I see; Then Official Kerrig, I’m asking you this. Am I under any suspicion?”

“Not at this moment. No.”

“Then for what reason are you keeping me from going home? I am just a bystander who got involved in this annoying mishap due to bad luck,” Connie spoke with a calm tone, whilst exuding a pressure that caused the hair on back of the man’s neck to stand on end. “If you don’t have the authority, then get me someone who can decide!”

“…! I’ll see what I can do,” the thin man said quickly as he half-ran towards the door.

An hour later, Connie and her entourage were already plodding back home. Aside from Lihua, who had promised Bazit a further private talk into the night.

Waiting for the investigation to be finished, Alrond was nursing a warm sweet wine in front of the fireplace in his office. He let out a small groan, as the brief respite that he was expecting when he returned home changed into him having to take care of this distasteful occurence.

Alrond’s trusted maid opened the door after announcing her presence and entered with a few pieces of paper in her hand.

“Master, I have the report from our interrogation.”

“Give it to me.”

The man held his hand aloft. Alrond’s trusted servant saw this and handed the report to him.

“And the witnesses?”

“Everyone had been sent home, aside from Lady Serin. She…insisted on meeting the Crown Prince.”

“…hm,” he harrumphed softly. The side of his brow twitched in irritation.

“Another thing. I found this while I was cleaning Lady Wendell’s body,” The woman placed a ring onto the wooden table beside his chair. The knob atop the ring had bent slightly from impact, revealing the hidden compartment within.

“I had one of our Officials analyze it. There is a trace of very potent poison inside it. We have not determined what it is yet, but we will find out soon.”

“…what about the perpetrators?”

“There is no sign of Charm or any mind-control skills being used.”

Ever since they were blindsided by the Hero of Vorzenny’s damnable Charm, Alrond had been employing more people with high level Analyze-Type Skills in his department.

“Then, do you think they are doing this out of their own will?”

“It’s…hard to say. I don’t know about the commoner criminals, but I think it’s also extremely unlikely that the others would change their target to their own people,” she tried to avoid referring to the Knights with their titles, as the very thought of Knights sworn to protect would willingly harm a weak woman was distasteful to her.

Alrond read the reports with a stony expression. As expected, the Knights were tight lipped, refusing to speak unless they are allowed to meet with their families. However, the commoner criminals were very easy to break. From them, he found out that they were just told to have their way with the drugged woman who was brought to them. They never asked who or why. Just that they were promised fifty gold for their services. The men only remembered that one of the Knights had a grudge against the target and that the unconscious woman was a blonde with a red streak in her hair. By that description, the target could only be Cornelia Asterium Steelheart.

So, Julia Wendell was the one who brought her to them, but was betrayed and taken advantage of in return.

The criminals’ testimony. The ring. The key in Julia Wendell’s hand.

All these pieces of information made up a story, but there is a big gap that makes no sense. Given how the Blue Dragons Knights view her, how did she manage to turn things around and make the Knights betray Julia Wendell?

And what the witnesses said regarding Julia Wendell’s reaction when she saw when the Duchess came into the room…does she have a role in this unfortunate event?

Alrond fell deep in thought.

As the carriage made a turn, Martell - who was ever so curious – asked Connie something that had been in his mind for days.

“Mistress, aren’t you afraid that you’d be found out to have a hand in the incident?”

“Martell, if I want to do this without being found out, I’d have done things differently. No, I am counting on being found out. As it will act as a warning against those that have…untoward plans against me,” she smirked. “And even if they did find out, they wouldn’t be able to answer the one big question that connects everything together.”

“And that is?”

“How did I make them attack Julia Wendell?”

“Yes. That’s what I was asking myself too. How did you do it? Did you poison them?”

Connie answered with a small cock of her head. “Hmh. I just fed them the virility enhancing Pills, concentrated six times. Compounded for maximum effectiveness at the shortest amount of time. The drawback is that it does not last as long. You see, Martell. The problem with the people’s reliance on Analyze Skill was that they operate under the assumption that something bad cannot be good and something good cannot be bad,” Connie said with a smirk. “I’ve tried them on rats while Illumca keep analyzing them with her Skill, feeding them Rejuvenation Pills until they combusted, but they were not counted as Poisoned.”

“Amazing! To think of using a Skill’s weakness as a trap! I’m truly learning a lot today.”

Illumca, who had only been listening until now, then asked. “But what if they push through with you as a suspect?”

“Then they’ll have to reveal everything, including the involvement of the Gladstone Family. And I’m sure none of the Knights will willingly say that they were aiming to rape a Duchess under order of Serin Gladstone. Though, that’s could be fun,” Connie laughed heartily. “Now, you two, what do you think Serin Gladstone will do now?”

The two of them thought about it for a few minutes before Martell raised his hand. “I think…Serin Gladstone will have to choose between the Knights and Julia Wendell. Regardless of who are the ones being abandoned, the trust towards the Gladstone Family will diminish.”

“And…?” Connie urged.

“And…” Martell tapped his chin in a deep thought.

“And…the bond between the Nobles and the Blue Dragon Knights will fracture,” Illumca said with a complex look in her eyes. “To be betrayed by the ones sworn to protect them, even if it was just a small incident…is not something that can be waved off.”

“Mistress. What we did today…is going to send giant ripples in the politic landscape of the Kingdom,” Martell shuddered, once again awed by the twisted mind of his Mistress.

“Good. You are all learning something today,” Connie smiled as she kissed the back of Illumca’s hand with a look of pride. “Now…let’s see how the Gladstones are going to answer my challenge.”

Alrond, who had been sitting quietly for some time now, finally got up with a tap of his cane. He took the reports in his hand and put it into his heavily ornamented safe. Yes, he had put the matter at hand and the impact it would bring on a scale and decided on a choice that was most rational to him.

“Heed my order. Stop any further investigation and send the criminals to the Chamber of Licai for their punishment.”

“Master, are you not going to get to the bottom of this?”

“Digging any further will create further distrust and disgrace the name of the Knights. It is too much of a price to bear during a time where we are fighting a war. Let the Chamber of Licai take care of this. The Judge seem to be very free these days. Let him have a headache for once in a while.”

“The families of the implicated criminals will not like it,” again, she tried not to call them Knights.

“What else can they do? The deed had been witnessed by Nobles and a member of the Royal Family. Might as well try to hide a mountain in a forest,” The old Advisor said with sneer. “Even if they are granted leniency due to their families, their future will be bleak. I’d rather think that their families will just cut them off,” he said thoughtfully. “Although this mess is a bit troublesome, it is not without its merit. We can use this matter to weaken the Noble’s grip on the Crown Prince. It won’t be pleasant for him, but it is needed,” He then gestured for her to leave. “Now go.”

“…Yes, Master.”

Alrond walked to his desk and opened a drawer. He took out a book with a pressed flower in it. A rare smile devoid of his usual cynicism graced his wrinkled lips.

“How did she even accomplish it?” Alrond shook his head. “I thought she was a lion cub. But it turns out that she was a snake.”

In one of the guest rooms, Serin had been pacing back and forth, anxiously waiting for her Fiancé.

When the door opened and Prince Mikael came in, Serin quickly ran up to him, trying to look as pitiful as possible. However, the oft-affectionate young man did not return her embrace. Instead, he asked. “Serin. Tell me the truth. Did you have something to do with that shameful incident tonight?”

“W-what? No! How can you say that? I was beside myself! How could such a thing happen to my dear, dear Julia…”

“Then swear to the Goddess. Swear in Her Name that you have nothing to do with what transpired tonight.”

His stern voice was like a bolt in the blue to her. Looking aggrieved, the girl said. “I swear…”

When she said those words, the look in the Prince’s eyes changed. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back with a bit too much force, making her fall onto the bed. “You…”

The look of disappointment in his eyes were apparent.

“I met Lord Advisor Alrond just now. He told me…A young girl should play with dolls and not try to play a man’s game,” he said between gritted teeth. “Do you think a young girl like you could bamboozle that man?! He'd been the Kingdom's Strategist even before we were born!!”

The Prince kicked the chair next to him to vent his anger.

“Did I not tell you to keep to yourself?! Did I not warn you repeatedly not to make waves?! What was it that you hope to achieve by bringing my men along with your stupidity?!”

Serin’s eyes began to glimmer with tears and she began to sob.

“Stop it!! This is not a problem tears could solve. People saw, what happened! My uncle saw it!” He roared, gesturing at himself with indignation. “This! Was supposed to be my day! My day! I am supposed to leave for the border with my trusted men and gain merit in the battlefield! To have my name be praised alongside the name of my Ancestors!”

“But now…now I am to leave to the battlefield in disgrace!! The name of my Private Guards besmirched! And even worse, they brought in two filthy criminals into the palace! Do you understand the severity of this problem?! They are compromising the safety of the center of the Kingdom’s government!!”

“S-surely we can tell them to keep silent?” she tried to reason with him. But this only stoked his ire.

“Silent? SILENT?!” The Prince could barely hold himself together as his hands were trembling in anger. “You want to silence my uncle?! MY FATHER, THE KING?! This has gone beyond me, Serin. This is a matter of scandal at a national level! Trusted Knights, men who had been knighted by the King had assaulted a member of Nobility. Someone will be punished! And I hope to Junnaveil, you are smart enough to distance yourself from this.”

“My Prince!!”

Mikael’s hand rose and hovered in the air when he saw the girl before him flinched. He lowered his hand and glowered at her.

“….Perhaps…perhaps I should rethink whether you are fit to be a Queen.”

It was the first time Serin saw him look at her with such cold eyes.

Mikael then turned his back to her and left, amidst thesound of her wailing and crying.

Henrietta, who was told to stay out of the party that night, only found out about what had transpired the next day. And that was through the words of her servant, who knew someone in the inside who swore that he saw it firsthand.

Over the next few days, a number of things happened that were only known by the upper crusts.

The commoner criminals had been put to death, and the Knights involved with the scandal were stripped of their Knighthood and were put in the dungeon until their punishment is decided.

It was said that Julia Wendell had gone mad from the shock and had been sent to a convent to recover. Her father, who was aggrieved by the fact that the Knights who had taken advantage of her were not punished severely enough, pleaded to the Gladstones. He knew that if it was him alone, he would not be able to do anything, as the guilty men had powerful backgrounds. He tried invoking the friendship between his daughter and Serin Gladstone, but were coldly refused at the door.

Serin Gladstone was confined in the mansion for the unforeseeable future as Duke Gladstone, now frail and sickly, had to do his best to try and extinguish the fire of disappointment that had been lit.

The Gladstone Family had chosen inaction, as they were afraid that doing something would be like telling the world that they were involved in the shameful incident somehow. The worst choice that they could make.

Regardless, that disgraceful incident had driven a wedge between the Knights and Nobles of the Noble Faction, just as Illumca had foreseen.

And thus, the trust that Duke Gladstone had built up over decades began to crumble. Over the next few days, a number of moderates from the Noble Faction had broken off from the circle and joined the Hero Faction, further weakening the power of the Noble Faction.

As for the person who had all the actors dance to her tune, she was currently enjoying a nice afternoon tea with Countess Theodora and Countess Fornelle.