CH 79

Gordon nodded and said.

Gordon: “Yes, just as Lady Keira said, she explained the situation to me in advance. She wanted to borrow the key for a moment and wanted to keep it out of Lady Johanna’s ears.”

“…”

Cosette gritted her teeth when her last shot disappeared. She didn’t hear anything about it. The butler’s acquiescence…!

Her fierce eyes went straight to Lira, who was hiding from the onlookers.

‘You stupid b*tch! You forgot to tell me that she asked for permission from the butler?!’

Cosette chose someone who looked stupid because they were easy to manipulate, but she didn’t expect she’d make this mistake. 

She thought Lira was just an idiot who didn’t tell her everything… until she saw her smirking in the corner. 

“…!”

It was then she realized. 

‘I’ve been deceived!’

The girl she thought she had lured was never on her side from the start.

When Cosette turned to Keira, she saw a strange smile on her face. She slowly opened her mouth.

In this unfavorable situation, whatever Keira said would be a blow to Cosette. 

Keira: “Come to think of it, you said ‘alcohol I don’t usually drink.'”

What was she trying to say? With heart pounding, Cosette’s fists became damp.

Keira: “How long have we been living together for you to know my eating habits?”

“…!”

Keira: “Did you get information about me from the maids? I don’t know why you’d do that… If it had something to do with what happened today, it’s not with good intention, unfortunately.”

The noise around them grew louder. The effect of Keira’s words just now was enormous.

It was a situation where Cosette had already failed people, and in addition to that, she’d been asking questions about Keira’s habits and behavior. Didn’t it look like Cosette was someone anxious to discredit Keira? 

Of course, Cosette had never asked about Keira’s behavioral patterns. Such behavior would only raise the alarm among maids.

It was Lira who told her that Keira didn’t usually enjoy drinking, but even if Cosette said that, Lira, the traitor, wouldn’t admit it.

She could feel the piercing gaze all over her body.

She had to make an excuse somehow. She tried to rack her brain for something to say but came up blank.

The longer Cosette remained silent, the colder the atmosphere around her grew.

“Haa…”

It was Johanna’s sigh that broke the long silence. She palmed her forehead as if in pain and closed her eyes.

Johanna: “It’s late; Everyone, go back to sleep. And Cosette, if you’re going to make a fuss at night, find out more about what happened before jumping to conclusions.”

Cosette: “…Yes, I will be more careful in the future.”

Johanna: “Now, everyone, go back.

The maids and the guards greeted Johanna before returning to their respective quarters.

Amid the rushing crowd, Cosette could see Lira’s tiny head. She wanted to crush that head.

Keira: “Cosette, why are you standing still? You should go back to sleep.”

It was Keira who spoke to Cosette, who was rooted on the spot. She looked at her smugly. 

In a flash, Johanna and the others had disappeared. Only Keira remained in the hallway with Rose.

Grinding her teeth, Cosette replied. Naturally, there was no way her words could come out in a soft tone.

Cosette: “…Yeah, I’ll go back to sleep. You don’t have to tell me.”

Keira: “Don’t you think it’s better to talk nicely?”

Cosette: “What?”

Keira: “If you speak so harshly, everyone might misunderstand that you really hated me and tried to frame me.”

Cosette: “You…!”

Keira: “Be careful from now on.”

After saying that, Keira walked towards her bedroom. Her maid followed behind. 

Soon, only Cosette remained in the hallway, her clenched fists trembling. 

Rose: “I–I was about to lose my mind! I was wondering why you wanted me to bring wine… Milady, you knew about it, right? That the wicked woman is going to do this!”

Keira: “Uh huh.”

There was no way Cosette would bring up Beatrice’s spirit stone out of the blue, so of course, Keira expected some scheme. 

If it was Keira in the past, she might have been deceived, but not now. 

At Keira’s calm answer, Rose shouted.

Rose: “Then you should have told me in advance! Do you know how surprised I was? Suddenly, people started pouring in, said that the entrance was surrounded, and then something about Beatrice. I thought I was in big trouble!”

Keira: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But thanks to that, you were able to act realistically, didn’t you?”

Rose: “Miladyyy.”

Rose pouted. But soon, her expression softened. It must be because of the relief that things ended well.

Rose: “I don’t know how she got caught in the trap she set, but I’m dying of joy! Isn’t that mean?”

Keira was lost in thought as she sipped at the wine Rose brought. When Cosette first brought up that story about Beatrice’s spirit stone, Keira expected her to frame her.

She probably wanted to create an atmosphere that made it look like there was something weird about my origins and that I was trying to use the spirit stone to do something…

But when Keira returned to her room and had more time to think, her mind changed. 

In the past, Cosette had visited Johanna’s mansion around this time for a ‘reason.’

But back then, Keira did not accompany her.

In other words, the ‘original reason’ that Cosette had at that time had nothing to do with Keira.

‘With that character, she would never have given up her original purpose.’

So, Keira formulated a hypothesis.

‘Did she plan to ruin the public’s opinion of me and achieve her original reason at the same time?’

They were only meant to stay here for two days, a very short period of time. 

‘There is a limit to making both plans in that short period and making them both successful, so maybe you’re trying to achieve both goals with one plan?’

It was a sudden thought, but it seemed quite plausible.

Assuming that Keira’s hypothesis was true, she pondered once more about Cosette’s real purpose. 

What would she gain if her plan succeeded?

She could damage Keira’s reputation.

And… She’d know where Beatrice’s spirit stone was hidden.

‘Why? Why are you trying to figure that out?’

Just as Cosette said, could ordinary humans see spirits if they use Beatrice’s spirit stone?

Could that be the reason why she, who was a fake, was able to deal with spirits?

But if that’s true, Cosette wouldn’t have given her that information herself.

What would Cosette do if the timing was off and Keira approached the spirit stone first?

If that happened, it would be confirmed that Cosette was the fake. 

No, in the first place, the idea that ordinary humans could use spirits by using Beatrice’s spirit stone was absurd. 

Keira, who had lived the last twenty years thinking she was the next elementalist, would have known such a fact if it were true. 

‘The spirit stone was just evidence that humans and spirits have made a contract. It’s the first time I’ve heard that there’s another function.’

Beatrice’s spirit stone was treasured because the contract between the great spirit and humans would end if destroyed. 

‘You need to find out the location of an object that doesn’t have any function…’

Keira jumped up from her seat. 

Rose: “M-milady!”

A glass of wine fell from the table and rolled across the floor—red wine marks staining the expensive carpet. However, she didn’t even notice such a trivial concern. 

Seeing Keira’s unusually grave look, Rose hesitated.

Rose: “A-are you alright? Is there a problem with the wine?”

“…”

Rose: “Milady? Milady?”

She couldn’t even hear Rose’s words. Her new hypothesis shocked her too much.

‘If you’re not looking for a functionless spirit stone to use it as a decoration… there’s only one answer.’

Destroying the spirit stone.

If not, there was no other reason.

‘Why? Why in the world are you trying to destroy the spirit stone?’

If such a disaster happened, even Cosette would suffer. She, too, was a human being who lived on this earth.

‘No. If she had cared about that in the first place, she wouldn’t have killed the real elementalist.’