TLDH~44

Chapter 44

It was because those who had taken that medicine one by one died of unknown causes, and those who didn’t die ended up taking their own lives.

“Right, they probably don’t know yet.”

That incident, which had circulated in whispers and shady deals, finally surfaced. By the time Prince Lian, who later became the emperor, caught those who made and sold the medicine, he was only about thirteen years old.

This summer night’s dream, this incident, was the moment when Lian—then a neglected illegitimate prince, or rather, Calian—formally made his mark on the emperor and the people of the empire.

This was five years ago.

So, of course, he wouldn’t have known.

“No, he absolutely must not have known.”

If he had known the side effects and done it anyway, risking me, then there would be no forgiveness. At the very least, I hoped he wouldn’t make me end the life of the maid who had been with me the longest during my childhood.

Even as he apologized, I silently exchanged glances with Arina on the side table. Panicked, she subtly stepped back and slightly tilted her head toward the middle-aged maid.

“Lately, hasn’t the young lady been acting a bit… strange?”

At Arina’s subtle voice, the maid who had been staring at me turned to her.

“What do you mean?”

“She says strange things a lot. She’s more unruly than before—it’s really hard.”

The way Arina quietly whispered the word “unruly” landed in my ears more sharply than she intended.

‘Of course.’

Of course, Arina didn’t disappoint. Even in this situation, she would slander me while trying to assert her own innocence.

By saying something like that, it seemed like the current situation was just me overreacting to something Arina had done. Any sense of the half-hearted kindness I had tried to offer disappeared instantly.

“Right, that’s just like Arina.”

She lied effortlessly to justify her own actions.

But there was one thing she had forgotten:

“I am not Leticia of the annex.”

She seemed to have overlooked that my status in Esia had risen somewhat, and I was even on my grandfather’s radar.

“Good timing, then. I was just waiting for this moment.”

Confident that I could turn this incident to my advantage, I looked up at the middle-aged maid.

At the very least, she didn’t seem to trust Arina’s words. Instead, her eyes softened at my tear-filled expression, as if feeling sorry for me.

“Yuja.”

“Yes, young lady.”

“I don’t like Arina. She keeps hurting me. I’m scared because of that.”

“…Yes?”

“My goodness, young lady!”

At the mention of being hurt, the staff’s eyes collectively turned to Arina in surprise.

“What on earth are you talking about? Look, she’s saying strange things again!”

Just as I expected, she responded like that. I got up and walked toward Yuja.

“Arina hurt me.”

Then I rolled up my sleeve for her to see.

“Here and here.”

The red marks on my wrists, left by Arina forcing me to stand earlier, were clearly visible. The bruises below my elbows were unmistakably those of an adult.

And that wasn’t all.

“Here too.”

I rolled up the sleeve on the other arm as well.

My wrists, covered in bruises ranging from yellowing to fresh dark brown, made Arina jump back in shock, shaking her head.

“No! I didn’t do that! Young lady, why are you saying this? When would I have done such a thing? Look, she’s acting strangely again!”

She tried to rally the others, but it had no effect. I simply glared at her as if scolding her.

Finally, the reality seemed to dawn on Arina, and her lips quivered as her face turned pale.

She seemed desperate to escape the situation.

‘Not possible right now.’

When the culprit is right in front of you, there’s only so much you can get away with lying.

But Arina was a child who would push beyond those limits.

“This… even Hale…”

She brought Hale into it. Impressive.

But there was no escape for Arina.

“Hale doesn’t have a ring. And Hale’s hands are bigger than yours.”

I placed Hale’s hand next to Arina’s.

Hale’s broad palm compared to Arina’s narrow fingers made the difference clear. The crucial point was the ring on Arina’s middle finger—a ring she rarely removed. That alone made it impossible to pin the blame on Hale. Everything visible in front of us was evidence of her doing it.

“Anything else to say?”

“….”

Unable to say “no,” Arina shook her head, and Yuja separated us.

Still, Arina shamelessly denied everything.

“It wasn’t me…”

I rolled up her sleeve to the elbow and placed her hand on my left arm.

The yellowing bruise… When I realized I had reset, she had forced me to stand, and her grip had left clear marks, ring marks included.

The staff slowly directed their gaze at Arina, inspecting the obvious evidence.

Swallowing hard, she shook her head.

“I… I didn’t do this. The redness on the young lady’s wrist is because of me, but I don’t know about anything else.”

As Arina’s expression grew panicked, Yuja raised her head.

“Arina…”

“The young lady is deliberately trying to trick me. It’s not all my fault. You see, the young lady held a grudge because I neglected the annex a little… No, that’s because Hale gave her the juice…”

“Juice?”

Arina mentioned the juice without realizing it, then quickly bit her lip.

I had planned to handle the juice matter differently.

‘Silly Arina.’

Honestly, the “Summer Night’s Dream” incident was meant to be part of Lian’s story and I had planned to let it stay buried. I had only learned of it while reading a side book. I couldn’t even determine what was in the juice.

But Lian had abilities beyond swordsmanship, and there were supporting characters involved.

“What was his name… Caleb?”

According to the book, Lian saved someone who was about to be murdered, and during the process of handing the murderer over to the guards, Caleb discovered that the murderer had been poisoned. This led to the discovery of this absurd substance. That’s how the incident began.

It was one of the most important events early in the story.

So, I intended to let it slide—

But she confessed it herself.

“Tsk.”

That added yet another offense. I lightly clicked my tongue in exasperation at Arina’s stupidity.

“Juice, you say. Arina, what do you mean?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors lately? There’s supposed to be a medicine that can control a person’s mind. I think Hale gave it to the young lady.”

“What?”

‘Ugh.’

I suppressed the urge to slap my forehead and sighed deeply.

I knew Arina would try to shift the blame onto Hale.

But if she tried to get away with it like this, she risked a counterattack. Why didn’t she understand?

“Otherwise, there’s no way to explain why the young lady is acting so strange.”

When did I ever act strange? That itself was ridiculous, but Arina kept repeating the same claim.

She seemed to firmly believe that the only reason Hale was close to me was that he preempted her plans.

I retorted: “Only you and Lindsay handle my meals. Hale is the housekeeper, so he only does laundry. How could he possibly…”

“On weekends, the young lady often went to the Potlrun Count’s mansion, and then…”

“I only ate what they served at the Potlrun mansion.”

“In the carriage, then.”

“I don’t eat anything in the carriage because it upsets my stomach.”

I tilted my head.

“Didn’t know?”

The maid seemed to ask if I was that ignorant, so I shook my head.

“I was mistaken for a moment.”

I wondered what nonsense she would say next.

How far would she drag this downward spiral? Curious, I raised my head and saw a glass behind her.

‘Of course.’

Just as I thought.

“Arina.”

“Yes?”

I pointed beyond her with my finger.

“Why does that juice look like that?”