At these words, Madeline blinked for a moment before staring at him.
Anyway, he has no evidence against me.
I didn't directly try to kill Cornelia.
Yes, she did encourage the grand lady to sabotage the carriage, but in the end it was the driver who caused the damage.
That driver died under the vehicle she was riding in moments ago.
Marquis Philippe is just trying to gauge my reaction.
The key here was to take the initiative, so Madeline raised her voice.
“Ha, what nonsense?
As the Commander of the Central Knights, you are surely aware of the crime of false accusation.”
The Marquis then held up a message and said, "Earlier, I received a report from Twinkle Jewelers that a chandelier had fallen, so I ordered the investigation team to look into the matter.
They found evidence of intentional cutting of the rope supporting the chandelier.
The person who was almost crushed under it was the missing Duchess of Brant."
"So what?
How could I, in the waiting room, have cut that cord?"
"Yes, you did not cut the rope yourself.
To do that, one needs to be skilled with tools.
However, you have instructed the Duchess on how to get to the bathroom, which is accessible exclusively through the hallway."
Wow, he's pushing it that far?
Madeline clenched her fist in frustration.
She skillfully instigated the Grand Madam and used her subordinates, carefully avoiding leaving any obvious evidence.
However, somehow, all the circumstances were unfolding in a way that was unfavorable to her.
Moreover, she didn't really order the chandelier incident, which made her even more frustrated.
However, she had no desire to get involved in questioning the Marquis.
“Well, Cornelia asked me to guide her to a quiet place to change her clothes!
If I really wanted to kill Cornelia, I wouldn’t have used the chandelier from our own store.
Just having it fall would definitely damage our store’s reputation.”
"That's true.
But from what I heard, while the Duchess was away…"
At that moment,
“Grand Madam, what is this?”
A loud voice suddenly interrupted, and everyone turned their heads.
Giselle was holding the eldest lady's wrist, and in the eldest lady's hand was a vial of medicine.
At this sight, Madeleine's face frowned.
Meanwhile, the eldest lady, who did not want to be caught, was screaming desperately.
“What is this impudence?
This is my personal medicine!”
Despite the Grand Lady's response, Giselle looked at the vial suspiciously and shouted.
“I think I saw you putting this in the Duchess's tea in Twinkle's VIP waiting room.
Am I wrong?”
Then Giselle turned to the Marquis and said, “Your Highness, may I examine this medicine?”
The Marquis's eyes narrowed.
An unexpected ally.
“Ma’am, you had better show the vial to Miss Schultz to prove your innocence.”
The Grand Lady gritted her teeth at the Marquis's words.
No, if I show the bottle, they will definitely accuse me of being the culprit!
Miss Schultz, a member of the Schultz family that trades in medicinal herbs, would likely be able to identify the contents of the vial.
Hmph!
It is colorless, odorless, and transparent like water.
If you destroy it, how can they prove anything?
After making her decision, the eldest lady opened her mouth.
“Okay, come and have a look.”
As the Grand Lady was about to hand it over to Giselle, she deliberately let her hand slip.
crash-!
Seeing the bottle shattering in an instant, the eldest lady held back a laugh and said, “Oh, how clumsy I am.”
But that was only for a moment, as the Grand Lady's eyes widened upon seeing the soil turn red as the liquid spilled out.
"What is this?"
Amidst the grand lady's confusion, Giselle's voice rang out.
“Yes, at first glance, it looks like water, but when it comes into contact with the soil, this liquid turns red.
It is the sap of the taisalchu.”
“Taisalchu?”
"Yes, it is not very toxic to the human body, but it is poisonous for pregnant women.
That is why it is often bought by women seeking clandestine abortions."
Then Giselle fixed her gaze on the confused Duchess and spoke.
“Now, madam, what possible reason could you possibly have for secretly carrying the Taysalchu juicer?
Why were you trying to get rid of it on the sly?
Why did you pretend to slip and drop the bottle?”
At this, the Marquis nodded and spoke.
“Ma’am, I think you will need to cooperate with us regarding this incident.”
"Marquis, I was only saving this as a treatment for menopausal symptoms.
How dare you suspect me based on this young lady's words alone?"
Then the Marquis shook his head.
“How could I doubt the eldest lady just by hearing what the missus said?”
"What?
What do you mean by that?"
“The people at the jewelry store testified that you looked like you had put something in the Duchess’s tea.”
The Marquis smiled as he looked at the grand lady with a stiff face.
“We are currently analyzing the tea; once the analysis is complete, we will determine your innocence.”
Upon hearing this unexpected turn of events, the Grand Lady laughed inwardly.
Well, fortunately I didn't apply any poison.
Then the grand lady spoke confidently.
“Yes, but if no poison is found in the tea, you too should be prepared.”
At that moment, Giselle intervened again.
“Marquis, the Taisalchu needs to be taken continuously for five days to be effective!
If you search the palace, you will definitely find some Taisalchu.”
At this, the eldest lady gave a self-satisfied smile.
Hmph, what a fool!
Those weeds have already been completely eliminated!
For the past five days, the Grand Madam had ensured, through the head maid, that Cornelia was taking the poison at the appointed time.
There will be no evidence.
The Duchess spoke confidently.
“Marquis Philip, if you are so suspicious of me, you can search the palace.”
Initially, searching a noble's palace required a search warrant stamped with the Emperor's seal.
However, Marquis Philip had no reason to refuse the owner's voluntary permission.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I have nothing to hide.”
The Grand Madame directed her angry voice at the bold Giselle, who dared to defame her.
“How dare you conspire against me, Lady Leader of the Nobility Faction?
If I am proven innocent, I will never leave you, Giselle Schultz.”
Then the Marquis signaled to the knights, and together, led by the Marquis, they proceeded to the headquarters of the Duchy of Brant.
It was late at night when the investigating team of knights arrived and began their search, but the Grande Madame and Madeleine acted as if they had nothing to hide.
However, the Grand Lady's face turned as pale as death after the inspection of the palace was completed.
“We found a tea bag made from taisalchu!”
A Tysalcho tea bag was found in Cornelia's room?
“How could this be...?”
She clearly informed the head maid that Cornelia had consumed all of the Taisalchu tea.
However, a tea bag remained.
The eldest lady couldn't understand this situation.
Could it be that Cornelia didn't drink one and didn't inform the head maid?
But the eldest lady's misfortune did not end there.
“We also found a letter showing that she conspired with the Marquis’s daughter, Mademoiselle Arjène.”
The letter, which the Duchess had clearly ordered the head maid to burn, was still intact.
“Where is the head maid?!”
When the eldest lady asked the penetrating question, a nearby maid stepped back and answered unintentionally,
“She's been missing for a while...”
“How dare you...!”
The moment the Duchess realized her trust had been betrayed, Marquis Philippe said, “Arrest Grand Madame Brant at once!”
For the first time, these insignificant people sent disdainful glances towards her, who was always above them.
Seeing the knights approaching, the Grand Lady shouted.
“How dare you touch me?
If you dare touch me, my son...”
At that moment, the Duchess stumbled, realizing that her son was not at her side.
In the end, she spoke with a fierce look.
“You should know that arresting Nabil requires the approval of His Majesty the Emperor.
If you want to arrest me, come with an appropriate order.”
She was the mother and hostess of the Duchy of Brant.
She had a duty to protect the Duchy of Brant until her son returned.
It will not collapse under any circumstances.
“Your Highness, the Grand Lady has been arrested by the investigation team.
It seems that a trial will be held soon.”
Despite Chester's words, Eric did not seem to hear them, as he continued to give instructions to the knights and soldiers while inspecting the area around the river.
Chester poked his lips.
The knights and Chester were also doing their best to find the Duchess.
However, it has been more than a week since the Duchess was swept away.
However, his master was pouring all his energy into searching obsessively, like a madman.