Chapter 94

Kentrail stood in the hallway and gazed at Marie, who was still depressed. Then, he grabbed her arm and hugged her.

“It’s not your fault.”

“I should have been a little more careful…”

“It’s fortunate that I got to find out about this now. It’s all thanks to you… Who cares about the weight of the pillow and will check it like that? Because you love and cherish Brielle, you did it even with the slightest suspicion.”

“….”

“So, it’s okay. The doctor also said that there’s nothing wrong with Brielle.”

At his word, Marie lifted her head out of his arms.

He then moved his forehead to hers gently before embracing her tighter. Even though Kentrail didn’t express it, he had been worried all day. As he held her, his body relaxed, and the nerves that had been gnawing at him seemed to loosen.

“…And, I think I know who the culprit is.”

“Who is it?”

At his words, Marie quickly asked. Although he had the expression that he knew, he wouldn’t say it unless he was sure.

“…Someone you know well.”

At that moment, a person who had access to Brielle’s room passed through her head.

“No way…”

“Right. He has been deceiving us all this time.”

Memories of the person who was presumed to be the culprit ran through her head once.

‘It wasn’t all good…’

It felt like her head was crooked. She hated the sensation and dug deeper into Kentrail’s arms. The next moment, she opened her mouth again and rushed out of his arms.

“Then, we must catch him quickly!”

“Yes, I’m just going to check the identification card tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ve planted a knight in front of his house in advance, so he won’t be able to run away.”

Kentrail, who had been waiting until now, clenched his teeth.

Marie held his hand tight, meaning she believed in him as she kissed the back of his hand as he once did. She was so lovely that Kentrail couldn’t help but pull her hand and kiss her in the same way. And then, he glanced at their two clasped hands.

No matter how difficult the situation, with only this hand, he could get through it all.

* * *

Derek helped Gideon get out of the hospital. As he was carried by Derek, Finn was walking next to him, carrying their things.

“Den, I’m so sorry.”

As if he felt ashamed, Gideon apologized.

“It’s okay.”

Even though it was inevitable, Derek, who had sneaked into his house, was deeply concerned about them.

“It would be better not to go hunting for a while.”

“However…”

He had no choice but to say that because he knew Gideon, who would say that he couldn’t do it because his family’s circumstances at home, would just be a burden.

“I’ll bring you what I caught.”

“…What? No. You can’t do that.”

“Anyway, I always get a lot of shares, so it’s all right. It’s difficult to sell, and if left alone, it will go bad anyway.”

Hearing that, Gideon stared at his back, feeling very reassured yet apologetic.

“Thank you.”

He had no choice but to reply in a low voice.

When they finally entered the forest, they saw a red roof. At the same time, Derek was nervous for a moment, lest they would notice that someone had entered the house, but there were no visible signs of intruding.

Finn opened the door and entered the house first.

Derek followed in with Gideon, and he watched them. As he lowered Gideon on a nearby chair, he then turned around to look at Finn’s first glance at the jewelry box.

‘There was only one brooch and one ivory.’

When she looked inside, there was a relieved expression on her face.

‘It’s because there are only a few valuables left. Still, they didn’t look costly, so there might be a story…’

Quickly turning his head to avoid any doubts about them, he fell into thought.

* * *

Brielle, who had apparently been fine until the night, began to get sick at dawn.

Marie woke up startled by the sound of rough breathing next to her and quickly turned on the light. Meanwhile, Ellie quickly ran to Kentrail’s room. Everyone in the vicinity, including the butler, gathered around their room.

Eventually, Kentrail walked in through the crowd around Marie’s room.

“Brielle!”

The child was drenched in a cold sweat.

“Call the doctor!”

“I have sent a servant.”

The butler had already ordered a servant to pick up a doctor by the time Ellie ran out.

The maid chief quickly dispersed the people who had gathered around. Then, she glanced into the room with a worried expression. Marie was wiping off Brielle’s cold sweat and gave an even more painful look on her face.

“Count!”

Finally, the doctor arrived. He hurriedly began examining Brielle.

Apparently, he was fine until he saw the child during the day, but when the child started to get sick, he was shocked as well.

“As the poison begins to circulate through the body…”

He couldn’t make eye contact with Kentrail and began to talk about the results of the examination, bewildered.

“What about the treatment?”

“If there is an antie, it will get better soon. However, there’s no antie because it is the first time I have ever seen that poison. He didn’t drink the poison himself, he just absorbed a small amount into the air, so I thought it would be fine… Usually, in this case, it gets better with time, but… uhh…”

Kentrail stared at him with fierce eyes.

“Now say it!”

This time, Marie didn’t even want to stop Kentrail. To say it gets better with time, so does that mean they have to watch Brielle get sick like this in the meantime…?

‘He said it’s usually the case. It means that the Young Master may not get better.’

Marie would rather herself be sick like this.

Ellie gazed at her older sister and ran to the annex where Barry and Siege were. It was because she accidentally overheard that Siege’s older brother, Jaz, was an accomplice to the person who initially tried to poison Brielle.

‘I need to find an antie…!’

Her running speed was faster than when she was being chased.

* * *

Early in the morning, Taylor visited the palace and received the requested documents.

‘The Master was right.’

The expression on his face as he looked at the documents changed to a fierce one. He first joined the knights guarding the culprit’s house. It was because he decided to arrest him as soon as it was confirmed that the paperwork was correct and take him to the County.

“Vice Commander.”

As they greeted, Taylor asked if there was anything unusual.

“Yes, he didn’t come out after going into the house last night.”

“I hope you don’t miss him this time either.”

“Of course.”

The knights all had their eyes wide open because they had missed Jaz last time. This time, they were sure to make up for that mistake.

“Yes, after a while, we’ll raid the house. Get everyone ready.”

“Yes.”

Watching the knights moving in unison, he was ready to catch the culprit as well.

“Listen, everyone. There should be no hesitation in arresting someone just because we know their face. He is the one who tried to harm the Young Master.”

“Yes!”

“Then, let’s go.”

The knights gathered in one place among the houses that were clustered together. They finally opened the front door.

* * *

Listening to Ellie, Siege and Barry’s faces turned white.

“Young Master…?”

“Yes. He has a fever right now, he wouldn’t get conscious.”

While Barry got up and ran to Brielle’s room, Siege, who couldn’t do anything, wandered around the room. He was reluctant to go to the main building when he heard that Brielle was in trouble again because of the poison his brother had circulated.

Ellie gazed at him and asked.

“Did you happen to pick up any antie?”

“Antie?”

“Yes. To have poison means that you might know the antie.”

“Right…”

Siege sat back down with a brooding look.

‘What is it? Used as an antie. Maybe, he mixed some drugs… No. If such a complicated process were necessary, it would have come out as a dubious part when investigating my brother’s whereabouts.’

Siege sighed with anguish.

‘Brother is a fearful person. He carries those poisons, which he can drink or ingest even in small amounts, and must have carried an antie… or somewhere he can easily get it around.’

After thinking for a while, he got up. He left the room to write a letter to his territory.

* * *

Brielle was still unconscious.

After Barry and Ellie came back and the doctor prescribed a medicine temporarily, there was still no improvement. Meanwhile, Marie stayed by the child’s side all day without eating. It was the same with Kentrail. After delaying his work in the mansion for a moment, he sat next to his nephew.

“Master.”

Then came the knight commander by his side.

“What’s going on?”

A muffled voice came out.

“Taylor has caught him.”

At those words, the air surrounding Kentrail changed.

“Where is he?”

“I put him in a dungeon.”

“Let’s go now.”

…The one who made Brielle this way would not be left alone.

“I’ll go, so please take care of Brielle.”

Said Kentrail, gazing at Marie.

“Yes. Go.”

As she said those words, her eyes were still fixed on Brielle.

When Kentrail finally left the room, in the end, there were only her, Brielle, Ellie, and Barry left. Gazing at Brielle in a cold sweat, she opened her mouth.

“I’ll go to the Young Master’s room.”

She thought she would bring a change of clothes. She had left some clothes in Brielle’s room so that she didn’t have to go to the dressing room.

“Yes, sister.”

Following Ellie, Barry nodded his head.

Although the weak Marie staggered as she rose from her seat, she grabbed her balance again and took her steps to Brielle’s room.

The squeaking of the damp door resounded, and she entered Brielle’s room.

Marie stumbled once more as she was accustomed to finding where Brielle’s clothes were and packing the clothes to change into. The next moment, the box next to her fell, and the things were scattered.

‘Ha… What if I’m shaking like this?’

Thinking that, she cleared her mind once more as she began to organize the fallen belongings.

Looking back, she noticed that these were the old things that the Young Master had arranged by himself before. He said that they were precious and that he would ask his uncle to put them in the safe, but he seemed to have left them here for a while.

There were several items, including the teddy bear.

When Marie’s eyes found the teddy bear, her tears began to flow.

“Young Master… sniff…”

She wanted to cry so much and she was afraid, though she held it in.

Marie hugged the bear—just like Brielle carried the teddy bear in his arms when he was young. After holding back the leaking sobs as much as she could, thinking that she couldn’t stay away from Brielle for long, she quickly wiped away her tears and began to put the scattered objects in the box.

Suddenly, the diary that Brielle used to keep after she occasionally kept a childcare diary caught her eye.

As she was about to pick up the open diary, she paused and glanced at the opened page.

[ I hate swordsmanship classes! But I’m glad I can do it for a while, though. Still, the atmosphere in the mansion is unusual. If I grow up quickly, I will be helpful to everyone. It’s so sad that all I can do now is play. ]

Reading the page, she felt suffocated.

He understood… the Young Master. However, for their sake, he was pretending not to know without ever insisting on wanting to go out and play.

Marie now buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

Only the sobs, which she could no longer bear, began to leak out.