TNCFO 20

~Chapter 20~

Splash!

A bucket that had been left precariously on a second–floor window frame tipped over, spilling dirty mop water toward someone walking below.

“Oh dear, you really should be more careful—huh.”

The servant, who had leaned out as if it were only natural to scold whoever was below, froze on the spot.

It wasn’t the white–haired person who had been drenched—it was the red–haired one.

“Well, guess I didn’t watch where I was going. My eyes must not be on top of my head.”

For reference, this mansion had only one person with white hair, and only one person with such blazing scarlet hair.

Where did he come from?! I could’ve sworn only that woman was here…!

While the servant stood frozen in fear, feeling those sharp eyes fixed directly on him, Shariette was puzzled. Just ten seconds ago, the person had been waving at her from ahead, and now suddenly, they were standing in front of her, covering her head.

“Sir Josef?”

“Long time no see, Crow. But I must look awful right now.”

“Ugh.” Josef wrung out his wet hair, his face twisted in disgust from the sour mop smell.

“Isn’t that guy crazy? If someone’s passing by, he should be careful. What a rotten attitude.”

He grumbled, but also let out a breath of relief. If he’d been a little slower, the Crow girl—that is, the personal physician the lord had brought in through half–threats, half–bargains—would have been the one to get soaked in filthy water.

Shariette also caught on.

“You took the hit to cover my head, didn’t you?”

“Haha, if the Crow had been hit, it wouldn’t just be your head that suffered—it would’ve made your life miserable.”

Of course.

Josef recalled when Noxian had left for the Setora Mountains without his lieutenant.

“Go back to the mansion first, Josef.”
“Sir? What do you mean?”
“If a thief comes, guard the place. If they run, catch them.”

Catch who?

He had stopped himself from asking. Who else could it be?

This uncanny Crow girl, of course.

While Shariette dried his hair with a towel she’d gotten from a passing maid, Josef felt an odd sense of unease.

That guy looked like he did it on purpose.

He glanced up at the second–floor window and memorized the pale, frozen face staring down.

“Has something like this happened before?”

“Getting splashed with water? No.”

Shariette shook her head as she threw another towel over his head. Josef pressed further, just in case.

“Anything else? Someone bothering you? Hurting you? Anything that would make you want to leave here?”

Something that would make me want to leave? Hurting me? Shariette tilted her head.

Wasn’t “bullying” supposed to be things like locking someone in a water tank, shoving them into a fireplace, or poisoning their food?

From the perspective of someone from Marquis Argen’s household, nothing like that had happened here in this soft, peaceful place.

She shrugged. “Not at all.”

Sure, there had been a few minor inconveniences from the maids’ and servants’ mistakes, but they were just little accidents anyone could make.

Of course, in Argen, those would be incidents requiring heavy reflection. But Shariette had learned by now that ordinary people didn’t like it when you cut up your own hands in penance just because laundry got torn.

Josef, having no way of knowing their standards were worlds apart, relaxed when he saw her clear, guileless face.

Then he asked with a pitiful look, “Good. By the way, can’t you make something to get rid of this smell? Even if I wash my hair, I think it’ll stink all day.”

Later that afternoon, in the dispensary

Shariette, feeling morally obligated toward Josef for taking the dirty water instead of her, handed him a deodorizing solution.

Then she visited Marian and Nixia, finding their condition much improved.

These days, I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed. It’s all thanks to you, Miss Shariette.

The nutritional supplement certainly helped, but she had also added herbs good for deep sleep, making the effect even stronger.

More importantly, the detox for both of them was going smoothly. There were still trace amounts of poison in their systems, but not enough to cause symptoms, and with steady treatment, it would be eliminated.

Shariette cheerfully clinked beakers and test tubes together, mixing, pouring, and tilting them.

The better her mood got, the worse Ethan Evans’ mood became.

Just what kind of woman is she?

Why was she happy?!

She shouldn’t be—no, she couldn’t be!

Bang! He slammed his desk.

Truth be told, he was the one who had been steadily planting bad rumors and suspicion among the mansion’s staff lately, encouraging hostility toward Shariette.

By now, she should’ve either run away or blown up in anger!

Either way, it would’ve worked out for him, so he’d been waiting patiently. But her insensitivity was beyond imagination.

If she’s going to be stupid, at least be stupid to a reasonable degree…!

To think she couldn’t even tell the difference between an accident and malice—what an utter fool!

Damn it. He ground his teeth.

A few days ago, Ethan realized Marian and Nixia’s poisoning was improving.

His calculations had always been perfect—there was nothing wrong with the compounding or dosage of the Peynile poison.

So what was wrong?

When he looked into it, he discovered that the damned pharmacist had given the two women “nutritional supplements.”

After bribing a maid to sneak one to him for analysis, his back went cold.

Not just Noxian Rubellot’s sleeping pill, but the antidote for Peynile poison… Who is she?!

Peynile poison—a toxin developed in Argen that had vanished before mass production. You couldn’t make its antidote without knowing all its ingredients.

And everyone who knew had died. So how?

Unbelievable—but that wasn’t the important part right now.

She was no longer just a crazy woman.

She was someone who could not only ruin his plan, but overturn it entirely and even threaten his life.

If she made the antidote, that means she’s realized the poison exists. If she attacks me first… I have to get rid of her as soon as possible.

But if she died now, with his bad reputation for family discord, suspicion would immediately fall on him.

Either she leaves on her own, or…

Falls into a trap and ends up hanging herself.

Fortunately, with Noxian out of the mansion, the timing was perfect.

Since isolating her hadn’t worked, there was only one method left.

If she’d just left on her own, it would’ve been better for me too.

With that thought, Ethan approached Shariette—something he would never have done under normal circumstances.

“Berdette. I need a word.”

Shariette rubbed her ear, wondering if she’d misheard.

“Didn’t you say you don’t talk to crazy women?”

At least she knew she was crazy. Ethan clenched his teeth.

“…You’re Noxian’s physician too. I’ve heard something.”

“What is it?”

“You know that two years ago, Rubellot became infamous in many places and made a lot of enemies, right?”

There wasn’t a soul in Eilard who didn’t know that. Shariette nodded reluctantly.

Ethan leaned closer and whispered in a low voice.

“Then do you also know this? Rubellot isn’t very vulnerable to poison, so he’s rather lax when it comes to assassination threats.”