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I did it.
As soon as he finished speaking, his chest tightened. The dice had already left his hand. Once he had spoken, there was no going back.
He clenched his trembling chin and lifted his head. The first eyes he met were his master’s, Cosette.
Cosette: “You, what are you…!”
She stared at him with her eyes wide open, looking at him as if he’s gone insane.
Cosette: “…What do you mean by that?”
“Lady Cosette, your servant is making some very interesting claims.”
Arabella’s voice broke the silence, followed by the Empress Dowager.
Dowager: “I heard that Lord Parvis specially prepared the medicine… So, you’re saying the father tried to poison his daughter. Sir, what do you think?”
Ludwig: “It’s just crazy words from a crazy person. It’s not even worth explaining.”
Cosette: “Right. Mason must have temporarily lost his mind. He wasn’t that kind of kid…”
When Cosette stepped up to cover up the situation, Mason nervously opened his mouth again.
Mason: “N-no! Don’t take it! I saw it. I saw Lady Keira’s maid do something secretly. Even if it’s not poison, there must be something in it…!”
Cosette: “Mason! Watch your mouth!”
Cosette raised her voice hastily, but the water had already been spilled.
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Everyone turned to Keira. She looked down at Mason coldly.
Keira: “You saw my maid do something to her medicine?”
Mason: “I-I didn’t mean to say Lady K-Keira did it. However, since I saw something suspicious, I thought it would be better to investigate…”
“The maid may have been putting ingredients that were supposed to go into the medicine.”
Mason: “I had concluded it was in bad faith because the kitchen staff was conveniently away when it happened. At that time, it was Lady Keira who summoned them.”
Smirking, Keira said.
Keira: “You’re not trying to frame me, are you?”
“!”
Mason was struck speechless. Right now, uncovering Keira’s scheme wasn’t his goal. He just wanted to stop Cosette from taking the drug and possibly suffering from it.
He couldn’t save a life that’s already dead, so he had to do everything to make sure Cosette didn’t drink it.
It was his master’s job to uncover the truth and punish the wrongdoers.
Mason: “So, what I mean is…”
He tried to look for a way to get out of this if he made a mistake, but his escape route was blocked due to a slip of the tongue.
More blood drained from Mason’s already pale face.
Mason: “I mean… I mean that’s what I’ve seen… I had no intention of accusing Her Ladyship.”
Keira: “You never meant to accuse me? Think back to what you said. People will doubt me if they hear that, will they not?”
With that, Keira turned to the Empress Dowager.
Keira: “I don’t need to hear anymore. Please kick him out and interrogate him right now.”
As she said that, her purple eyes flashed coldly. No one would ever think that Mason could survive after becoming the target of those eyes.
Dowager: “Now that this has happened, let’s listen to that child a little more. If Lady Keira hadn’t really done anything, there’s no need to rush, no?”
Keira: “Your Highness!”
Dowager: “I know it’s unpleasant, but first, calm down. It’s not too late to hear it out and decide.”
The Empress Dowager dissuaded her, who was ready to throw Mason out the window. Seething, Keira had no choice but to sit back in her seat again.
Dowager: “You, tell me in detail what you saw. If you want to live, do not lie.”
She sounded like she wanted to give him a chance, but in reality, it was cold. She might have just said that if he couldn’t take responsibility for what he said, his life would end.
Mason trembled, thinking hard about what to say and not to say.
‘For now, don’t say I saw her receiving the medicine from a stranger.’
They would ask her how he overheard the conversation from afar if he said that.
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He never forgot what Cosette said when she taught him to lipread.
“Keep it a secret between the two of us that I taught you this, okay? I’m sure some people would question why I taught a servant this skill.”
As Lady Cosette said, people would be suspicious of her if they found out.
Mason recounted what he had witnessed, omitting the fact that he had overheard the conversation.
He went to the kitchen to pick up the medicine as ordered by the head maid, but when he arrived, Lady Keira summoned all the kitchen staff. In the meantime, Emily sneaked into the kitchen but was caught. Then, Mason found the paper bag she had dropped and discovered it was covered in powder.
Mason: “This is it.”
Mason said as he pulled out a paper bag he had hidden in his pocket.
A servant picked it up and brought it to the Empress Dowager. She stared at the object but kept her hands off it.
Dowager. “We can’t get our hands on something that could be evidence. What does Lady Keira think of that child’s testimony?”
Keira: “I don’t keep track of my maid’s every movement. I don’t know why Emily sneaked into the kitchen, but it has nothing to do with me.”
She clicked her tongue and continued.
Keira: “It would be a good idea to summon Emily and ask her about it.”
Dowager: “I agree. And it would be a good idea to investigate that drug as well.”
Mason’s face brightened at the Empress Dowager’s words. At the same time, Keira’s expression soured.
Seeing Keira’s expression, the Empress Dowager added.
Dowager: “I understand your feelings, too. I was often involved in incidents like this when I was young. But once the accusation comes in, we can’t just cover it up.”
Keira: “It’s reassuring to hear your words, Your Highness.”
Keira’s voice was so calm as she said that.
It was only then that Mason thought something was wrong.
‘…Why are you so calm?’
They would quickly find out something was mixed if they examined the drug. So why was she so calm?
Mason slightly raised his gaze to see Keira’s still calm expression. She looked so at ease that it was hard to imagine she was in a situation where her schemes could be revealed.
‘Why? Maybe it’s an untraceable drug?’
He was relieved to think that things were going according to his plan, but once again, anxiety pierced his heart.
This was why he wanted to share it with Lady Cosette first…
His mouth had gone dry with dread. Mason’s eyes darted from one part of the room to the other, then their eyes met.
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“…!”
Cosette glared at him, her expression bone-chilling.
***
An item secretly handed over to Lady Keira by a stranger.
A conversation that hinted at killing someone.
Emily sneaked into the kitchen with no one in sight.
And it was none other than Lady Keira who summoned everyone working in the kitchen.
The dubious paper bag that Emily left behind.
No matter how much Mason looked back, all the circumstances pointed to one thing.
‘My suspicions are justified.’
He was sure he wasn’t mistaken.
‘It must be an untraceable drug.’
Whatever the case, it seemed obvious that things weren’t going to turn out the way he wanted them to.
Sure enough…
“Your Highness, the results of the examination have come out. No trace of poison has been found in the medicine.”
One of the imperial pharmacists bowed deeply and said. After that, the investigator continued.
“We interrogated the maid allegedly involved, and she said she went in to steal food but hid when someone entered the kitchen.”
Dowager: “Anyone can make up an excuse like that. Have you checked the paper bag that the maid dropped?”
The pharmacist answered instead of the investigator.
“Yes, it was just plain cold medicine.”
Dowager: “Of course.”
The Empress Dowager nodded and turned her cold gaze towards Mason.
Dowager: “Do you have anything more to say?”
Mason thought he was right. It must have been a special drug that couldn’t be traced. There must have been some trickery in the cold medicine.
Otherwise he could not explain what he had witnessed on the third floor of the annex.
‘I know milady told me not to tell anyone she taught me how to lipread but…’
He had no choice. Well, he was certain Lady Cosette would admit it.
With that thought in mind, Mason said.
Mason: “T-there’s something I haven’t told you yet! I saw a stranger handing Lady Keira poison!”
Dowager: “You’ve already mistaken an ordinary cold medicine for poison. I don’t know what the stranger gave Lady Keira, but it seems to me that you’re spreading groundless accusations again.”
Mason: “T-that’s not true!”
I have no choice. Mason shuddered and finally revealed that he had spied on the lady’s conversation by reading her lips from afar.
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The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened slightly as if intrigued.
‘There!’
A glimmer of hope.
Mason banged his head on the floor again–no luxurious carpet to cushion the impact–and continued.
Mason: “Other maids will testify that I was on the third floor of the annex when Lady Keira’s guest arrived.”
Dowager: “Where did you learn how to read lips?”
Mason: “Yes?”
Unfortunately for Mason, the Empress Dowager’s interest was on something else entirely.
Dowager: “Where did you learn how to read lips? I know it’s not a skill that ordinary people know.”