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Chapter 25
After Sandy left.
Left alone in her room, Janet hesitated for a while before breaking the protective necklace.
She had no way to contact Theo, even though she urgently needed to discuss what was going on with him and Nova.
Will this really work?
Just as that doubt crossed her mind—
Knock, knock.
A familiar voice came along with the sound of tapping on the window.
“Lady Janet?”
Theo?
Startled, Janet shot up from her seat and rushed to the window. Outside, Theo stood with his hair slightly disheveled, as if he had just run all the way there.
As she slid the window open, his face came into clearer view.
“Theo.”
At her call, Theo’s eyes quickly scanned behind her.
“Are you alright? What happened?”
“Ah, well…”
She wasn’t sure whether to call this something that had happened or not.
After a brief hesitation, Janet stepped aside slightly.
“Come inside first.”
It would be troublesome if anyone saw them like this. Theo stepped through the window with practiced ease.
“Are you really alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.”
Janet fiddled with the broken jewel as she spoke.
“I needed to discuss something with you immediately, but I wasn’t sure how to call you, so I used it.”
“Haah… If it’s something like that, you can use it anytime. I’ll replace any damaged magical tools as many times as needed.”
That must cost a fortune…
But instead of saying that, Janet simply nodded quietly. That was likely the answer he wanted.
“So, what did you need to talk about?”
Janet then told him everything that had happened with Sandy.
As he listened, Theo’s expression gradually turned cold.
“He’s more cruel than I expected.”
His muttered words carried a faint killing intent. The pressure made Janet unconsciously rub her arm.
She understood his anger.
Even if she didn’t know exactly what kind of relationship they had, it was clear Theo deeply cared about Julieta.
She was about to suggest taking this chance to completely remove Nova from Ludwig’s estate—
“By the way… how is Julieta’s condition?”
“She’s still firmly under my control. Don’t worry about that foolish girl. I’ll keep a tight hold on her and break her when the time comes.”
“I see. I’ll trust you, Nova. Don’t forget who elevated you to your position.”
—
This…
It was the same phenomenon she had experienced when wondering how to deal with the 27 million Ecle in “Soluna.”
Clear words appeared in her mind.
Janet frowned. The voices seemed to belong to Nova and someone else.
The problem was, she couldn’t tell who that “someone else” was.
Why does it appear as text instead of a voice?
If it were a voice, she might be able to identify them.
“Is something wrong, Lady Janet? You don’t look well.”
“Ah… it’s just…”
She hesitated.
Theo was trustworthy, but she couldn’t tell him everything.
She wasn’t sure where to begin—or how much she should reveal.
“I think… there may be someone supporting Nova from behind her.”
“Someone backing that woman?”
“Yes. It’s just my intuition.”
Even she found the explanation absurd.
But Theo didn’t look at her strangely. Instead, he nodded seriously.
“You believe me?”
“Of course. If it’s your intuition, I trust it.”
Theo said it casually, then frowned.
“Then we’ll have to find out who’s supporting her.”
“Which is why… I think we should delay taking Nova down completely.”
It didn’t mean letting her go.
After all, Nova’s life was already practically in their hands—it was just a matter of timing.
We already have witnesses and evidence.
The medicine Nova gave Sandy.
And the supposed antidote to the insomnia-inducing drug she fed Julieta.
Even if she tried to be careful, once Illinia got involved, tracing the source of purchase wouldn’t be difficult.
“She’s connected to the head maid. It won’t be easy to uncover who’s behind her. So—”
“So we use her as bait?”
At Theo’s half-smiling question, Janet smiled back and nodded.
A few days later
A considerable commotion broke out in Ludwig.
The source of the disturbance was none other than Nova Morgan, the head maid.
Armed guards of Ludwig stormed into her once-quiet room.
Soon after, they dragged out a pale-faced Nova.
“L-let go of me! Let go!”
In front of her struggling figure stood William, the chief butler, with his hands behind his back.
Seeing his cold gaze, Nova stiffened.
“C-Chief Butler… this is a mistake! I am innocent! I am truly innocent!”
“Innocent? Even after all this evidence has surfaced?”
He shouted and pointed at the box held by the guards.
Inside were the bribes Nova had collected over time.
“A few days ago, we received an anonymous report detailing your crimes.”
“Anonymous report?”
Who the hell—
Watching her shaken expression, William continued sternly.
“You have abused and harassed servants, and used that to extort bribes.”
“N-no! Chief Butler, I’m innocent! Those were just gifts given to me by people asking me to look after them! I only thought of them as gifts, not bribes!”
William shook his head at her shameless excuse.
“Are you saying ignorance makes you righteous?”
“Of course! Is trusting people a crime?”
“Then how do you explain the yellow diamond given by the maid Sien?”
“…!”
Unable to respond, Nova fell silent as William continued.
“If you truly thought it was an ordinary gift, then when that maid’s crime was exposed, you should have returned it to its rightful owner. The investigation into her began precisely because that yellow diamond had gone missing.”
“I-I was just too shocked…”
“So shocked that you hid its origin and sold it as stolen goods?”
Nova lowered her head, biting her lip.
“I’ve already arrested the broker who handled your jewelry transactions. He has confessed everything. You would be wise to give up.”
“….”
As she struggled to control her breathing, she forced herself to calm down.
Calm down.
She couldn’t lose control here.
This is only a temporary crisis. That person will handle it.
With all the past dealings they had, suppressing an incident like this should be easy for them. They had that kind of power.
But her thoughts were cut off when a servant rushed in with urgent news for William.
“Chief Butler, this is urgent. A suspected poisoning has been reported from Lady Julieta’s separate residence.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“It appears there was some kind of substance mixed into the tea she regularly drinks.”
Nova’s face turned deathly pale as she overheard.
“And the culprit?”
“It is not yet clear whether it was an outsider or someone inside the estate.”
After handing the situation over to a senior knight, William quickly left.
Nova stared at his receding figure, trembling.
“I checked the stored tea leaves because something seemed off… and it looks like some kind of poison was mixed in.”
“Poison in the lady’s tea?! Who would dare—!”
William erupted in anger at Janet’s report.
He was loyal to the Ludwig household. Someone had poisoned the estate’s young lady—this was unacceptable.
“Do we have any suspects?”
“The most suspicious person is Sien, who worked here before. She managed the key to the tea storage. However, we cannot confirm she is the culprit.”
“This is troublesome.”
“It is my failure.”
William waved her off.
“Do not say that. Without you, who would have discovered the issue with the tea?”
Janet simply bowed politely in response.
