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“Elena, what's wrong?”
I stared at Archduke Richard, who asked me in amazement.
The soup, which he seemed to enjoy, was very sour.
Suddenly, I felt Ms.
Perona's lips tremble slightly.
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Oh, no, it's okay.”
I could not criticize the nanny who raised him for her cooking skills.
I tried to rationalize my slightly different taste buds, so I took a bite of something else.
“...!”
I felt very bitter.
I held back my tears and swallowed.
Surprisingly, the Archduke was completely calm, devouring every bite without complaining.
'Is it possible that the effects of the war have left him insensitive?'
Finally, dinner was over and I could barely eat, so Mrs.
Perona volunteered to serve me in my room.
With a confused expression, I looked around the dark and dilapidated bedroom of the Archduchess to which she had directed me.
“Haaa!”
A sharp laugh came from behind me.
Startled, I turned to find the woman's face, now poisonously disfigured, staring at me intently.
"my lady …?"
I called out to her cautiously, feeling a strange shiver as I took a step back.
For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that she was working at the palace. هل يمكن أن يكون …؟
Then the corner of Lady Perona's mouth twitched slowly.
Crunch-
Mrs.
Perona closed the door from the inside and approached me slowly, step by step.
I noticed that palace officials have been following me for a while.
Did the Crown Prince bribe her?
"Lady Perona?
What insolent behavior is this?"
I verbally reprimanded Ms.
Perona, glancing sideways around the room for anything that could be used as a weapon.
As I was assessing whether the rusty candlestick on the table would protect me, Mrs.
Perona's hand reached behind her waist.
I instinctively reached out to grab the candlestick on the table.
With a sharp voice, Ms.
Perona pulled something from her belt and thrust it in front of my eyes.
“This isn't real, is it?”
It was a crumpled private article from Lady Arya.
I blinked in confusion.
“Huh…?”
“What have you done to our sweet Mr.
Benny?”
“……?”
Could it be that ‘gentle Mr.
Penny’ is a synonym for ‘Richard Benedict?’ I frowned involuntarily at the incongruous combination of words.
The Archduke was a man lacking any trace of gravity in his massive frame.
“Our young master would never say such things!”
The Grand Duke's words that sent shivers through my body, 'my darling', 'my child', piled horribly under her fingers.
I shuddered and took a step back.
In fulfillment of her role as the Archduke's governess, she seemed to have exposed our lie.
“Young Master has a warm heart, but when it comes to expressing his feelings, he is a miserable and cold being!”
Is this a compliment or an insult?
I frowned, trying to work out Ms.
Perona's intentions, but her gaze quickly flared.
"You've clearly done something.
Pale white face, bright blond hair!
Are you an evil spirit that possesses people and devours them?"
The woman shouted, sprinkling an unidentified brown powder at me from her apron.
“Cough, cough!”
The powder got stuck in my throat, and I coughed, the pungent smell of cinnamon stinging my nose.
I did not feel it, until a silver bell rang in Mrs.
Perona's hand.
“You are about to die.
I just added hawthorn berries and mistletoe powder to your food!”
“……”
I could only stand there, transfixed, watching the magic of shamanism unfold.
The food tasted sour and bitter.
Apparently I've been undergoing an exorcism since dinnertime.
This failed attack relieved me immediately.
I unconsciously shook the cinnamon powder from my hair.
“Ma’am, unless you are having me as a dessert, I will refuse any other condiments.”
Despite the exorcism session that drained me of all my energy, it was Ms.
Perona who panicked when I appeared unharmed.
“أحقاً، هل قال هذا بكامل عقله؟”
Of course, the Archduke did not speak directly, so the lady was not wrong.
But for the first time, he was in his right mind when he agreed to the contract.
I smiled softly.
“Sure.
It's exactly as it says in the article.”
Then Mrs.
Perona's hands, holding the edge of her apron, trembled.
Her face looked like she was about to cry at any moment.
“A commoner partner, young master!
He is handsome, brave, generous, and serious!
If he had not been involved in such an unfortunate incident, he would have had a perfect wife.
Heck, heck.”
The woman burst into tears, repeatedly wiping her eyes with her apron.
I scrunched my nose as I watched her.
Who solved this unfortunate incident?
Then I answered indifferently.
“Even His Highness the Crown Prince married a commoner.
I think the attraction to the commoners is something that runs in his family.”
“You even dare to mention His Highness the Crown Prince...!
This, this is...impudent...!”
“But, ma'am.”
I interrupted her, my eyes widening.
Mrs.
Perona shuddered at the sudden change in my look.
The silver bell rang in her hand.
"Although I am a commoner by birth, I am still Archduchess Richard, and you are the head maid of the Archduke's household.
Your behavior since you entered this room is completely inappropriate.
Who is the insolent one here?"
“……!”
“Contaminating your lady’s food, desecrating her body, and on top of that, threatening, cursing, and insulting her.”
Lady Perona suddenly realized the truth, and her face trembled and turned pale.
As I recounted the exorcism rituals she performed, they sounded like serious crimes.
I looked at the lady.
It had been some time since I had entered the room, and if things went as planned, she would find herself in even more trouble.
click-!
In due time, the prelude to her inevitable fate rang out.
Lady Perona froze when she heard a knock behind her.
When there was no response from inside, she heard a curious voice from outside the door.
"Elena?
Are you asleep?"
“...!”
It was Archduke Richard.
As part of his 'husband training', I temporarily ordered him to visit my room every night.
The real purpose was to investigate a murder, but to others, we were meant to be a newlywed couple in the midst of her sweetest days.
Lady Perona stared at me, oblivious, in bewilderment.
I smiled meaningfully.
“It seems that the Archduke has come to see me.
Of course you know what that means, right?”
Mrs.
Perona's face turned pale.
She was caught red-handed committing a heinous crime against the Archduchess.
Instead of her, who had her eyes tightly closed, I opened the door with my hand.
“Are you here, Archduke?”
“Has Mrs.
Perona been in the room all this time?
By the way... what is that smell?”
The Archduke entered the room, frowned slightly, as if displeased by the strong smell, and looked at Madame Perona.
He seemed puzzled that she had been in my room all this time.
I answered quickly for her, and she simply lowered her head, unable to answer.
“Oh, it smells like cinnamon.
In fact, Mrs.
Perona just told me—”
Although it was a contractual relationship, Elena Richard was ostensibly the Archduchess.
Therefore, even if Lady Perona had been the Archduke's governess, if he had suspected her behavior, the Archduke would have had no choice but to punish her.
She held her trembling hands together, as if she was ready for the harshest punishment.
I smiled slightly and continued my conversation with the Archduke.
“She offered me cinnamon tea.
She said it would help me sleep.
She is a really kind-hearted person.”
“...!”
At these words, Mrs.
Perona raised her head and looked at me with a look of bewilderment.
I winked at her.
The reason I did not reveal the truth to the Archduke is that I thought it would be better to keep Lady Perona as an assistant rather than fire her.
After all, she clearly cared about the Archduke.
Even though she committed a heinous act against me, this means that she is willing to do anything for the Archduke.
So, you will be of great help to him one day.
“Since the Archduke is here, ma’am, you may return now.”
“N…yes, ma’am.”
The lady hung her head and left the room with a confused voice.
The Archduke glanced at Lady Perona's back with a puzzled expression, then turned to me.
“What do we do now?”
“We have to find the real culprit who killed Baron Devon Hayden.
The first step is to identify the suspect.”
After that, I offered the Archduke a seat.
He sat on the couch and stared at me with a suspicious expression.
“So far, the police have not identified a suspect other than me.”
“We must find him.
I will now go over the events of that day one by one.”
I continued quietly, as if I were refreshing his memory.
“On that day, the Baron’s House held a banquet to celebrate the successful trade with the Grace Kingdom.
The Archduke was invited and attended.”
“Yes, even if I am hesitant in her presence.”
He nodded.
“When the Baron was found murdered, the Archduke was standing next to the body, covered in blood.”
“….”
The Archduke's face hardened slightly, as if he was remembering that incident.
I slowly walked around the sofa he was sitting on, and continued my barrage of questions.
“Why didn’t the Baron, the host, stay in the banquet hall, but went to the garden at midnight?”
“This...”
His expression faltered slightly at my question.
I jumped at the opportunity and immediately asked him the next question.
“Okay, I'll ask you something else.”
I stopped walking.
Then I looked directly at him.
“Why did the Archduke leave the banquet hall and enter the garden at the same time?”