A moment later, two people, a man and a woman, entered the infirmary. Although they trembled at the Duke’s thorough questioning as if they were the culprits, they endured and explained what they had seen and heard.

“The, the lady asked for wa, water to be brought. I was carrying blankets, so I quickly put down the load and went to get water, but the lady was nowhere to be seen. When I approached the nearby terrace, the railing was broken…!”

The maid was the last person to meet Natasha before she was injured.

The knight standing next to her also described in detail the situation he discovered.

“I was on guard duty in the garden with a fellow knight. My colleague was patrolling the front, while I was checking the back for anything suspicious. Then, I heard a loud noise and rushed over, and the, the lady had fallen onto the ground.”

So the source of the accident was the corridor terrace, and Natasha had fallen when the railing broke.

Jenkins, who had been listening silently, gradually explained what they had discovered afterwards.

“There was a problem found with the terrace?”

“Yes, besides the broken part, when we checked other areas, the condition was terrible to the point where it would break easily if intentional force was applied.”

The terrace had certainly been thoroughly checked. The railing was managed with extra care due to the possibility of accidents. Yet now it had broken.

“If it requires a certain amount of force to break, it means my wife didn’t have an accident just by standing still, right?”

“Yes, it wasn’t to that extent. If she had simply leaned on the railing, she would have felt discomfort or something odd.”

“Then…”

The man murmured softly. It felt like there was something he could guess.

Jenkins, meeting his gaze, solemnly nodded. It was a signal that Sieghart’s thoughts were roughly correct.

The physician who brought medicine and treatment supplies was startled to see Sieghart enter the infirmary so quickly. Although the Duchess’s injury wasn’t his fault, he felt like he would be reprimanded immediately.

He worried that tomorrow he might be handed a dismissal notice instead of a salary slip.

Fortunately, the Duke, with a gentler expression than expected, asked about the examination results. It was truly fortunate that the physician had hopeful news to deliver.

“She’s not as badly injured as you’re worried about. The visible wounds will heal within a week, and the broken ankle will mend quickly. She should regain consciousness soon.”

The physician added in a reassuring tone that it wasn’t a major injury. It seemed that when Natasha fell, her clothes caught on tree branches or her body hit something, ultimately slowing her impact when she hit the ground.

The examination results seemed to ease the man’s concerns. His sharply raised eyebrows gradually settled into a straight line. A sigh of relief replaced the thick curse words.

“Your Grace, what should we do about the banquet? Would it be better to stop it now?”

“Let’s wait until my wife wakes up. If, contrary to the doctor’s words, Natasha doesn’t wake up by dawn, we’ll immediately stop the banquet and find the culprit.”

The Duke, who would normally have shouted to lock the doors and search for the culprit right away, was unusually quiet. He seemed to consistently recognize that he wasn’t the only one who had put effort into hosting the banquet.

So all five people waited for Natasha to wake up.

“Uh, mm…”

A faint voice broke into the suffocatingly quiet room. Groans continuously leaked through the patient’s parted lips.

All five people urgently approached the sickbed. They formed a round circle and quietly watched Natasha’s appearance.

“Where is…”

A moment later, the full eyelashes fluttered, and the patient finally opened her eyes.

“Natasha!”

“My lady! Are you alright?”

“Oh my, you’re awake!”

“Are you in pain anywhere!”

The impact of a single word was very great. Those waiting for the patient cheered and each uttered a word among themselves.

Natasha shook her head as if asking them to wait a moment. After taking a sip of warm water brought by the maid, she gradually began to speak.

“So this is… Ah, the infirmary.”

“A knight found you after you fell from the terrace and brought you here. Are you alright? Are you in pain anywhere?”

At Sieghart’s question, she slightly moved her body. Soon, as pain struck, even she, who had been insensitive to injuries, naturally learned which parts of her body hurt.

“Natasha, do you remember anything about the time of the accident?”

Sieghart asked carefully. Jenkins also nodded slightly from the side, demanding an answer.

‘What I remember…’

Natasha tried to recall the last moment.

While waiting for the maid to bring water, someone approached her side, and two hands protruding from between the robes—

“On the terrace, someone pushed me from the terrace.”

Sieghart and Jenkins shook their heads as if they had expected this.

Rather than interrogating the surprised Natasha, they approached the incident slowly.

“Do you happen to remember the culprit’s face?”

“No, I couldn’t see the face well… They were wearing a robe. A large robe that covered even the face.”

“Do you remember how big their build was?”

“They weren’t very tall or big. About the same as me or slightly smaller.”

“It must have been a woman.”

Sieghart muttered, gritting his teeth.

She had barely recovered since that day. Even stumbling on the street made her heart sink, let alone being injured like this when she wasn’t looking.

“Stop the banquet. Lock the doors and find the culprit.”

The consideration he had barely maintained vanished in an instant. Despite vowing not to, he was already following his instincts and ordering the butler.

“No, don’t stop it! Please continue as planned.”

“No, stop it. Jenkins.”

“Sieghart!”

“Yes, Natasha.”

The two people arguing opposite opinions finally met eyes. It was a fierce confrontation with sparks flying.

Then both of their gazes turned to the butler. They seemed to be asking whose orders he would follow. Jenkins was embarrassed by the different kinds of pressure coming from each side.

“Please sort out your opinions and tell me.”

However, he was a skilled butler. He knew how to handle such difficult situations.

“It won’t be a guest. So don’t act too rashly. To accuse guests who came with good intentions of being criminals.”

“Can you really be sure it’s not a guest? We might let the culprit escape in a moment of emotion.”

“I’m not just saying this.”

Natasha closed her eyes and recalled the moment. Although it was an accident that occurred in an instant, fortunately, there were a few things she discovered and remembered.

“…The culprit wasn’t wearing a dress. The powder room is close to the ballroom, so after changing clothes, they would be seen by people, but walking around in a robe would surely have aroused suspicion. The fact that they weren’t stopped by guards while walking in the corridor means they must be an outsider or a servant of the mansion.”

Sieghart seemed to be swayed by the reasonable argument.

The Duke’s gaze briefly turned to the guard. With his hair standing on end from the chilling gaze, he opened his mouth to defend himself.

“We, we watched the main gate and back door like hawks. There were no outsiders!”

“Then it must be a servant from the annex.”

“I think so too.”

The range of suspects narrowed down to the mansion’s servants.

“So please search focusing on the servants. I don’t want to stop the banquet we worked so hard to prepare because of this little injury.”

“…I really can’t stand your useless stubbornness. I understand well, so stop worrying and rest properly.”

It was decided to end the banquet according to schedule. As there was a high possibility of rumors spreading if the incident was revealed, they decided to cover it up as an accident caused by a misstep.

“Whenever you remember something, be sure to…”

“I’ll let you know, so Your Grace can stop worrying about unnecessary things too.”

She cut off Sieghart’s words as if tired. It was a sign that she understood sufficiently.

However, in fact, there was something she couldn’t say.

The mysterious woman she encountered on the terrace. The woman who was muttering something quietly glared at Natasha ominously.

When she rushed in quickly and struck Natasha’s chest, the terrace railing crumbled with a crash and her body tilted.

In the instant she fell to the ground, Natasha clearly remembered the eyes she saw between the robes.

Sparkling especially brightly in the bluish moonlight, reminiscent of verdure—

‘My goodness, your eyes are so pretty. They’re just like the color of wild grass.’

‘The princess’s eyes are prettier. They’re like the pink roses the princess loves most.’

‘Really? When I was young, I was upset because people often said they were creepy.’

‘I used to be teased by my peers for having eyes the color of grass too! Hmph, even though it’s just compliments between women, the fact that we’re now being called pretty means we’re the winners, right?’

Eyes like fresh wild grass.

Last night on the terrace, Natasha encountered those eyes—the eyes of the dear friend she had loved in this world, the eyes she had always gazed into intently when talking.