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Chapter 23
“Thank you for your generous understanding.”
After bowing once more, Joanna walked away carrying Jéron in her arms.
The child peeked out from the nanny’s embrace and gave a small wave.
Janette, who had been maintaining a solemn expression, immediately softened.
She broke into a silly smile and waved back at Jéron enthusiastically.
Ah, his face turned red.
How adorable.
“You really don’t have any sense of restraint, do you?”
“That wasn’t Lord Jéron’s fault. Lady Joanna even apologized.”
“Still, it’s annoying. Because of that kid, we ended up with all sorts of misunderstandings and trouble!”
“If there’s a misunderstanding, you can just clear it up. Like today.”
No matter how unfair something was, getting angry after it was already resolved only made the angry person lose out.
“If something like this happens again, just come to me. I’ll handle everything like today.”
“……Easy for you to say.”
Even as she grumbled, Julieta’s mouth kept twitching upward.
But it didn’t last long.
The moment Julieta’s gaze landed on Kendrick’s separate residence, her bright expression instantly turned cold.
Biting her lip, she turned away as if she had seen a ghost.
“Let’s go back to our room. I’m tired. I need to rest.”
Janette glanced between Kendrick’s annex and Julieta, then quietly followed behind her.
Two days later, evening.
Janette headed to the meeting place where she was supposed to meet Theo. Once again, it was the left fork in the northern forest.
“Today… you’re a knight?”
“Yes. A knight.”
Unlike the previous time, when he had worn servant clothes, Kendrick appeared today in a knight’s training uniform.
“If I’m moving around among different groups, it’s better to disguise myself in various roles.”
That made sense.
Janette nodded quickly—but she had no idea that Kendrick’s true thought was, “Since I’ve already been exposed anyway, I might as well wear something that looks better.”
“The results of the tea leaves you asked me to investigate have come out.”
“And? Was something mixed in?”
“Yes. There were impurities.”
Kendrick’s expression turned cold.
“A sleep-inducing drug was mixed in.”
“I figured as much.”
At her reaction, Kendrick looked slightly surprised.
“You already suspected it?”
“More or less. I went to meet Lady Julieta and Nova two days ago.”
Normally, a servant would never address someone above them so directly.
And yet Nova had not come to Julieta’s annex personally—instead, she had summoned the princess to her own reception room.
What arrogance. What confidence.
Anyway.
“After meeting Nova, the princess said something.”
Julieta had said:
“Since I met Nova today, I’ll probably sleep well tonight.”
“What do you mean by that, Your Highness?”
“I mean exactly what I said. Nova used to be my nanny. I must still rely on her habitually, because on days I meet her, I strangely sleep very well.”
Janette couldn’t help but find it strange.
No matter how comforting a person might be, long-term insomnia didn’t just disappear so easily.
“At first, I suspected sleeping pills.”
Maybe they were putting sleeping pills in the tea served during Nova’s visits.
“But that didn’t quite make sense.”
If it were sleeping pills, the effect would be immediate. It wouldn’t selectively make her sleep well only at night.
Also, considering the possibility that something was mixed into the tea leaves in the annex, “sleeping pills” didn’t quite fit.
So she reversed the assumption.
“They must be mixing a drug that causes insomnia into the annex tea leaves, and then serving an antidote in the tea on the days Lady Julieta meets Nova.”
“Indeed.”
Theo murmured in admiration.
“Based on today’s results, your deduction seems correct, Janette.”
“I think so too.”
Janette’s dark blue eyes sharpened.
“Was the substance found in both the stored tea leaves and the tea caddy leaves?”
“Yes.”
“Then they must have mixed it into the storage batch. Since Sien managed the tea storage key, it would’ve been easy.”
Since Janette had taken over Sien’s duties and continued using the same stock, the drug likely remained in circulation.
“What did you do with the contaminated tea leaves?”
“For now, we left them untouched. If it becomes known that I’m suspicious of the tea leaves, it could become troublesome.”
Of course, since she began suspecting it, she had stopped serving those leaves to Julieta.
Good thing the butler gave us plenty of tea leaves.
Julieta also liked the tea, so she hadn’t complained about serving the same blend for several days.
“If Nova tries to find someone to replace Sien’s role in handling the tea, she’ll likely instruct them to use the same method. But if they realize I’m suspicious…”
“They’ll change tactics. That would indeed complicate things.”
“Right?”
Kendrick nodded.
“When is the next batch of tea arriving?”
“In three days.”
“In three days…”
“After it arrives, I’ll watch closely to see who takes an interest in the tea.”
If Nova truly was behind this, she would surely find someone to continue the scheme in Sien’s place.
Julieta’s insomnia had lasted a very long time. That meant someone had been poisoning her tea for years.
They wouldn’t simply give up something they had done for so long.
I guess I’ll have to give up sleep for a few days.
The culprit would likely move at night, after everyone had finished work. So she planned to lie in wait near the storage area.
As Janette began organizing her plan with a serious expression, Kendrick narrowed his eyes.
“Janette.”
“Yes?”
“Let me say this in advance.”
What now?
Janette tensed slightly.
Kendrick spoke in a firm voice.
“No dangerous actions. Prioritize your safety above all else.”
Janette blinked, caught off guard.
Then—
“…I’ll do my best.”
“Haa. That kind of answer again.”
Kendrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair at her awkward reply.
His dark blue eyes avoided hers slightly.
“Are you carrying your protective magical tool properly?”
“Of course. I’m wearing it right now.”
Janette lifted her clothing slightly to reveal the necklace hidden beneath.
The blue gem shimmered in the moonlight.
“Good. Use it immediately if anything suspicious happens.”
Janette didn’t answer right away.
She glanced at the necklace as if reluctant.
“…The only way to use it is to break the gem, right?”
How could she possibly break something so beautiful?
Seeing through her thoughts, Kendrick carefully took the necklace in his hand.
“I can get you as many of these as you want. Don’t hesitate to use it.”
Janette bit her lip.
She slowly nodded.
“I’ll… try.”
Honestly, nothing about her answers was ever straightforward.
She should value herself a bit more.
Janette was someone who deserved it. No—there was no one in the world who didn’t.
But this wise woman seemed not to realize even that simple fact.
A bitter smile rose on Kendrick’s lips as he looked down at her.
A white cargo carriage stopped in front of Julieta’s annex.
“Lady attendant. This is the requested shipment.”
“Thank you. May I check it against the order form?”
“Of course. Here is the invoice.”
Janette carefully compared the tea leaves with the order list.
In front of her, the driver and porters stood at attention, unnaturally rigid.
They had previously been severely reprimanded at headquarters after a maid had interfered and caused a delivery mistake.
Not only that—she had even stolen one of the gifts…
If Lady Janette hadn’t forgiven us, we would’ve been in serious trouble.
They might have been fired from Ludwig—and even faced charges.
The memory still made them shudder, and they stood stiffly, filled with gratitude.
