Revealing the Poisoner's Identity
The cruelest month of all was April. There was not a single servant who had worked in the Voenac household—or who would come to work there in the future—who did not know the story of that terrible event.
When the current head of the Voenac family lay on the brink of death and Isabelle’s mother, Nellisa, took her own life, Isabelle did not cry. As the eldest daughter, she was granted the authority of acting head and devoted herself entirely to restoring the estate. She reclaimed portions of the fertile land that had been lost, and rather than raising the taxes levied on the commoners, she actually lowered them. This was because she had investigated and plugged the meaningless leaks of money that had been draining away.
In the process, she had the second and fourth wives of the former head executed for embezzlement. The third wife relinquished all authority over the estate, went through a legal divorce, and returned to her family. All the other sons and daughters who remained in the territory died during that same period. The causes of death varied: poisoning by venomous insects, drowning after a boat capsized while fishing, sudden death from falling off a horse during a hunt. And it was a time when the blood of the servants who should have been responsible for managing them never dried on the execution ground.
Merely one month after Isabelle began acting as the Voenac family’s representative, the only person left to carry on the Voenac name was Isabelle herself.
“Next.”
“W-we were all tending the garden the entire time! Isn’t that right, everyone?”
The five servants in green uniforms nodded in unison.
“Were you all in plain sight?”
When Isabelle asked, the servants lowered their heads. The garden was vast, and the flowers grew as high as a person’s eye level. If someone had slipped away for even a moment, it would have been impossible to notice.
“The five of you are on hold. Next.”
Isabelle was listening carefully to every servant’s account without missing a single detail when it happened.
“Acting Count Voenac! Please forgive my rudeness! I have something urgent to tell you!”
As her turn approached, one of the maids raised her voice.
“Very well. What is it?”
“The maid in charge of the bathtub at that time was Anne over there, who is assigned to cleaning duties.”
The maid’s finger pointed at another maid with quite a few freckles. The freckled maid flinched violently and shook her head.
“M-My Lady… please listen to me—”
“Anne! How shameless! It’s obvious you were in charge of the bathroom, yet you dare make excuses? You don’t even care about the people being held here and wasting time, do you?”
“I-I was—!”
“Enough. It seems you believe Anne is the culprit, but simply being in charge of the bathroom is not enough to conclude she is the perpetrator. Do you have any other evidence?”
The maid who had stepped forward first lowered her previously raised voice and answered.
“Yes, My Lady. I have evidence.”
“Is that so? Then this will be easy. What is the evidence?”
“Together with Al and Goz here, I saw Anne heading toward the second floor at around six o’clock. At the time, we were cleaning this entrance hall.”
Isabelle nodded. The information matched what had come up in the previous interrogations three times already.
“Still insufficient. You must have even clearer evidence, which is why you dared raise your voice before me, correct?”
The maid who had stepped forward nodded.
“Two days ago, I saw Anne exchanging something with someone by the back wall of the garden. And this is the very item!”
What the maid presented was a medicine vial containing a pale green liquid and a single letter.
Isabelle unfolded the letter and read it.
My beloved Anne. Only you can do this. I will definitely repay you later. I know it’s dangerous, but I’m begging you.
The contents implied that someone had handed Anne a certain task and was warning her that it was dangerous.
“There is also testimony from another servant who used to work at the apothecary! Eddie, you said you saw it, didn’t you?”
The servant who was called trembled as he answered.
“I… I did see it. I only saw the back of someone entering the apothecary and gathering something, but…”
“She was clearly manufacturing poison! It’s obvious even without looking!”
All eyes turned to Anne.
“My Lady! Please, listen to me! That was my wrongdoing, but it was clearly something else!”
The accusing maid snorted.
“Anne, you orphan girl, it seems you truly never learned your lesson! With this much evidence, you still intend to deny it? Confess who gave you that snake venom!”
Pete stepped between the two.
“Both of you, be silent! The judgment belongs to the acting head alone.”
After Pete spoke, Isabelle examined the vial closely. The pale green liquid inside the small, transparent glass bottle caught her eye. She approached the accusing maid and said,
“Thanks to you, we may be able to catch the culprit. Thank you. What is your name?”
At those words, Anne collapsed to the floor.
“N-no! My Lady! Please!”
The maid smiled brightly at Isabelle’s praise and answered.
“My name is Wendy, My Lady.”
“I see. Wendy. Your devotion is truly commendable, so I shall reward you. Pete, to this person…”
Isabelle stared at Wendy with cold eyes.
“Bestow upon her the last room at the end of the third basement floor.”
“As you command.”
“What? Wait… ugh!”
Thud!
Pete choked Wendy from behind until she lost consciousness, then carried her over his shoulder and disappeared down the basement stairs.
“Anne. Tell me how you came to exchange this letter.”
Anne, who was trembling violently, could not easily speak.
“If you do not speak, I will find the sender. I will have to question every person in the village where the sender lives.”
“I-I will speak! My Lady, I stole medicinal herbs from the apothecary. My fiancé’s youngest sibling was terribly ill, so…”
Anne banged her forehead against the ground as tears streamed down her face.
“Everything is my fault! I do not ask for my life! Just… please, the people of the village…”
“Did the child survive?”
“Hic… they said the child improved a lot. But something was still lacking and they couldn’t be fully cured… hic!”
As Anne spoke, her emotions overwhelmed her, and she sobbed as loudly as the sorrow she felt.
“Raise your head.”
Anne lifted her bruised forehead from the floor but kept her head bowed low as she stood.
“Tell me the child’s name.”
“Lady Isabelle! N-no! Please, just take my life! I beg you!”
“It’s all right. Speak. Who is it, and from where?”
Anne slowly raised her head and glanced furtively at Isabelle’s face.
“It’s Beuj. Hic… Beuj from Kanil Village!”
“I see. Understood. It’s all right now, so you may go.”
Isabelle closed her eyes tightly and let out a long sigh.
“All servants present, listen!”
The servants answered in unison.
“Yes!”
“If anyone in the Voenac household needs help like Anne did, speak up at any time. Did I not create a suggestion box for that very purpose?”
Isabelle continued.
“The Voenac territory is richer and more abundant than any other! Do you know why?”
One servant raised his hand and answered.
“It is thanks to the great achievements of the previous heads and the outstanding insight of the current acting head!”
“Wrong.”
Isabelle said.
“It is because there are people like you who devote your entire bodies to your work. You till the land with sweat. You hunt while shedding blood. You rise earlier than I do, go to bed later than I do, and take on the hardest labor.”
Isabelle swallowed.
“The wealth accumulated in that way is merely managed by the people of the Voenac family. We simply manage it so that it can be taken out and used whenever it is needed. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Yes! We understand!”
“Starting with the village Anne mentioned, I will dispatch specialist physicians to every territory under Voenac. All medical and treatment fees will be fully covered under the authority of the acting head. Understood?”
At those words, Anne’s sobs, which had nearly stopped, burst forth once more.
“Do not speak of today’s events to outsiders. That is all. Dismissed.”
When Isabelle finished speaking, all the servants scattered back to their respective areas. Anne approached Isabelle, repeatedly expressing her gratitude, and was practically dragged away by her close fellow servants.
Just then, Pete emerged from the basement stairs.
“It seems there will be many things to ask Wendy today.”
“I will prepare in advance. However… may I ask why you suspected Wendy?”
When Pete asked, Isabelle smiled faintly.
“How could I not know when she confessed with her own mouth that she was the culprit? What do you think the liquid in this vial is?”
“Is it not poison?”
“What kind of poison?”
Pete blinked several times while looking at Isabelle, then let out a sound of realization.
“Ah… even though there was no label on the medicine, she was certain it was snake venom. That was her mistake.”
“You’re catching on quickly now. It’s a shame. The old Pete was more entertaining.”
“By the way, what will you do with that newly arrived insolent fellow? Simply letting it pass would be…”
Pete was displeased with every single one of Rood’s actions. He did not particularly respect Isabelle, refused to follow orders, and had committed the outrageous act of washing his body in the bathroom as he pleased. Exposing his nakedness to a noble of the Count’s household—to a pure woman who had not yet married—was a crime punishable by death.
“No. It was my own greed that caused the fault. I showed little consideration to someone who came without even washing for a week. I was somewhat satisfied as well.”
“M-My Lady.”
Pete felt utterly devastated. Perhaps it was because he had raised her like a daughter. Just imagining her meeting another man made him want to snap Rood’s ankle in two.
“It seems I cannot leave your side for the time being.”
Isabelle chuckled and beckoned Pete closer. When Pete bowed his head and brought his ear near, Isabelle whispered.
“Still, you know there is no one but Uncle Pete for me, right?”
Pete broke into a wide smile. He felt he could die happy right then.
That cannot happen. It is the head butler’s duty to properly look after My Lady.
He put on a stern expression once more and said,
“Then I shall finish the overdue tasks and return.”
“Yes. Ah, that’s right. Could you send a letter to the royal palace for me?”
“Understood. What should the content be?”
Isabelle crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling.
“Hmm… One of the high-ranking officials within the Alliance is a traitor, so watch them carefully.”
Pete’s expression crumpled.
“As you feared… Understood. Leave it to me.”
After Pete hurriedly left to attend to his duties, Isabelle also headed to her office. A mountain of overdue work awaited her.
Even amid the great commotion that had occurred inside the Voenac mansion, the sun lazily lingered before slowly setting. Yet no matter how slowly the sun fell, it could not prevent the night from arriving.
Clang!
The sound of swords clashing shattered the silence of the night.