TLDH~45

Chapter 45

“…What?”

Arina, who had turned around sharply in surprise, had wide, shaking pupils.

“I said it was red grape juice. Did the color disappear already?”

The red grape juice had turned pale, as if all its color had flown away.

‘In the books, many people got caught because of this.’

If mixed with a dark-colored juice, the color would clear over time, and if mixed with a clear-colored juice, it would conversely darken.

Sellers tried hard to fix that, but later, whether it was related or not, it sold well, so they just sold it with a careless warning label saying it must be consumed immediately after mixing.

But now, it seems it was too early for such precautions to have emerged.

Well, that’s probably why she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away, thinking it was a waste.

If she had known it would leave traces like this, given Arina’s personality, she would have poured it out immediately.

Anyway, I raised my head, seeing her action as a good pretext for me.

“Huh? The color looks weird.”

“Th-that…”

As I looked up at her with the most innocent expression I could muster, Arina’s eyes started darting around again.

Seeing her gaze, as if she was thinking of another excuse, I wondered how she would try to talk her way out this time—when—

“Why is this…”

Arina, who had parted her dried lips, clasped her hands together.

It seemed there was truly no way out now.

I thought maybe I should call Bennett or the Head Maid, and as I looked up at Yujua, Arina, who had spotted Linzy standing behind me over my shoulder, suddenly jerked her head up.

“Linzy!”

‘Linzy?’

Wondering how she was going to drag Linzy into this, I reached a point where I was almost looking forward to her reaction.

“Why are you out here, Linzy?”
“This juice, Linzy gave it to me. Young Lady, I just received it and…”

“Good heavens, Arina?”

At Arina’s protest, Linzy stepped forward, her mouth agape.

But—

“It’s true, isn’t it? You’re the one who gave this to me to give to the Young Lady. Why are you acting like this? Did you… did you put something in this juice? And then you had me deliver it?”

“Ha.”

At the rapid-fire sound of Arina’s voice, Linzy hit her chest as if utterly dumbfounded. She seemed unable to breathe properly, staring blankly at Arina with her mouth open.

“Me? What would I do to the Young Lady’s food?”

“If not, then why is it like this? Th-this juice. You’re the one who told me to bring it to the Young Lady.”

“Arina! You’re the one who told me to!”
“Linzy! How can you lie so shamelessly?”

At Linzy’s words, Arina shook her head as if it were unbelievable.

“I just brought up what Linzy gave me. Young Lady. It’s the truth!”

As if pleading to be believed, Arina opened her eyes wide and spoke, clasping her hands together.

“It’s true.”

Her shaking pupils, disheveled hair, and her hands, trembling as she barely managed to clasp them together, all revealed her overwhelming anxiety.

She was straining every nerve to escape this situation, but it must have felt like being sucked deeper and deeper into a quagmire.

I know that feeling.

Because in my past life, when Arina cornered me, it was exactly like this.

‘Good heavens, Lady Letitia! How could you do such a thing! After how well Lady Velia has treated you!’

Remembering Arina’s voice, raised in an exaggerated, theatrical tone, I looked up at her. Arina, with a bizarre smile, was breathing heavily as if pleading, ‘Please believe me.’

“Young Lady, you, you know. How could I ever think of giving you something strange? This is something I know nothing about. Linzy gave me something spoiled… yes, it seems spoiled. Let me take it away and throw it out quickly…”

“!”

Perhaps sensing the urgency, Hail moved faster than Arina, who reached for the glass. Before Arina could grab it, Hail snatched the glass away. Arina’s gaze as she looked up at Hail twisted fiercely for a moment.

“You! It was you! You!”

Now, Arina reached out again, trying to grab Hail.

And at that moment,

“Arina, you don’t mean.”
Linzy, who had been looking at me as if she remembered something, turned to look at Arina.

“Is this… that thing you bought from Gidmo, that swindler?”

“Wh-what did I buy!”

As if hit where it hurt, Arina stammered in response to Linzy’s question, and Linzy sharply turned her head.

“Did you give this to the Young Lady?”
“I don’t know.”
“Arina!”
“What did you give to Letitia?”

And at that moment, Grandfather slammed his cane on the floor and entered my room.

Grandfather’s appearance was a savior to some and no different from the Grim Reaper to others. Everyone’s gaze turned toward the door, but I couldn’t bring myself to look.

If I saw Grandfather’s face, I felt like I would cry again.

‘Grandfather doesn’t like crying children.’

So I bowed my head deeply and shut my eyes tightly.

But the tip of my nose kept stinging, and my chest felt like it was heaving.

‘Grandpa is here.’

The corners of my lips, which I had pressed together firmly to hold back tears, seemed to curl up slightly.

He’s on my side.

Grandpa is on my side.

My eyes were full of unshed tears, and even though I knew it must look strange to be suppressing a smile, I couldn’t control my expression.

Actually, from the moment I started crying loudly, I had somewhat anticipated that Grandfather would come.

Grandfather is on the 3rd floor, I’m on the 2nd floor.

It wasn’t a separate building; there was no way Grandfather wouldn’t have heard the commotion happening within the same building.

No, Grandfather knows everything.

But Linzy knowing about the existence of this drug was beyond my expectations.

And her exposing it all in front of Grandfather, too.

“So, it’s a drug that can control a person’s heart.”
“Yes, Family Head. That swindler definitely said that.”
“…….”
“And that it shouldn’t be used on young children.”
“Yes, the swindler definitely said that.”

Grandfather stared intently at the pale, murky grape juice placed before him and the small glass vial beside it.

Inside the small vial that Linzy had found by going into Arina’s room and bringing it back, a blue liquid moved as if it were alive.

Grandfather, looking back and forth between it and the grape juice, gestured toward the ability user, Raoul, who was standing further back.

“Appraise it.”
“F-Fa-Family Head!”

As Raoul bowed and then raised his head, Arina crawled forward on her knees from behind him.

She knew all too well that with a single gesture from Raoul, what was in there would be revealed instantly. Arina raised both hands, wringing them.

“P-please forgive me. It seems I temporarily lost my mind. Th-the Young Lady kept treating me with di-disrespect, n-no, not paying attention to me, it seems I went mad.”

Even in this situation, she’s blaming me.

Arina still didn’t seem to grasp the situation. I grabbed the hem of Hail’s dress, and Arina’s gaze belatedly turned toward me.

“Y-Young Lady. Please save me. I’ve served you the longest, haven’t I? Didn’t you even take your first steps with me? I… I…”
“If that’s so, then why did you do it?”
“……What?”

Perhaps startled by my cold voice, Arina looked up at me with her mouth open. No, she stared. Since some point, she had preferred looking down at me rather than meeting my eyes, so it seemed like she was seeing the look in my eyes for the first time.

Seeing the gaze of contempt I was directing at her.

“Like Arina said, you were with me since I was a baby, Lesha. Why did you try to hurt me?”
“Y-Young Lady, that’s…”
“A child could die from eating that.”
“But look, there’s no problem at all now! You’ve been drinking it for quite a while with no effect…!”

Instantly, Arina bit her lip as if swallowing her words.

But whether she said that now or not, her fate was already sealed.

Only the intensity of Grandfather’s wrath would determine how far it would reach.

“Y-Young Lady.”
“I was sad because I thought Arina hated me.”
“Young Lady, no. How could I ever…”
“But not now. I hate Arina too now.”

I brushed off Arina’s hand, which was reaching out to hug me, and turned my body, clinging to Hail’s leg.

And I saw Grandfather’s blue eyes darken, as if he was trying to hold back his anger as he watched this entire scene.

‘Grandfather shouldn’t get angry.’

No, rather, he shouldn’t hold back his anger if he’s angry.

I didn’t know which was better, but I raised my head at that ominous-looking rage—

“Family Head.”

Just then, Raoul extracted the liquid from the grape juice and poured it separately into another glass.

The blue liquid, identical to the one in the small vial Linzy had found and brought, sloshed and danced as if alive.

“It seems to be a magical liquid processed from the magic stone ‘Apectio’.”
At Raoul’s explanation, Grandfather, who had been looking at the liquid, raised his head.
“If one eats this…”
“Is it harmful.”

Grandfather raised his head as if it didn’t matter what happened if one consumed this.

“I’m asking if this could cause problems for my child’s body if she consumed it.”
“Ah, yes.”

Raoul nodded.

“If, as that maid said, she consumed it over a long period, we might need to administer an antidote immediately…”
“Bennett.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“Summon all the healers. And get that thing out of my sight, forever.”

The command to get it out of his sight forever.

“Yes, understood.”
“Family Head, p-please spare me. Family Head!”

The outcome was known to all.