The duke’s mansion was turned upside down in an instant.

Lady-in-waiting Kosha was the first to rush over, and upon seeing the fallen chef on the ground, she screamed. He was still breathing, but he was experiencing severe convulsions, and frothy foam continued to flow from his mouth.

After entrusting Arianthe to Veynti, Meianna roughly grabbed the fleeing Greté by the back. She shook her body and screamed, but upon seeing the collapsed chef on the ground, she shivered her shoulders with a vacant face.

“No, this can’t be… It’s not like this…”

When Greté murmured as if sobbing, Lady-in-waiting Kosha, filled with fear, screamed with a trembling voice.

“What is going on here!”

Meianna tightly held Greté, who tried to wriggle again, then lifted her up roughly. Whether her knees gave in or not, Greté swayed like a doll with loosened strings.

“Miss Kosha, it’s poison. There was poison in the lady’s meal.”

Kosha widened her eyes.

“Poison? Poison! What on earth is going on? What’s wrong with the chef!”

“The chef tasted the lady’s food first. I asked him to do so.”

“Explain in detail! Why is he in such a state? Why isn’t the Master coming!”

There’s no chance. Meianna thought.

Suddenly, Greté’s body swayed. At Meianna’s fingertips, who reflexively caught her, there was a hard sensation. It was the pocket attached to Greté’s apron.

Meianna pulled it out like lightning. Then, Greté, who had been vacant, suddenly shook her entire body, screaming fiercely.

“What are you doing! Give it back! Can’t breathe!”

Meianna firmly grabbed Greté’s collar. There was a choking sound. Even Kosha, who oversaw all the maids and experienced all kinds of things, lost her words. Meianna’s expression holding Greté, even Kosha, who had seen everything, was lifeless.

“Tell me what this is.”

“Choke… Let go, let go… Can’t breathe.”

“I can find out right now whether this is poison or not.”
Meiana, who bit her lips, twisted the cork of the bottle with one hand and opened it. Inside, there was a very small amount of pink liquid left. Grete couldn’t guess what she was trying to do… No, she didn’t know at first. But soon, she figured it out.

Meiana said, “You can prove it yourself. Right? Open your mouth.”

Grete’s body became silent, as if her breath had been cut off. The dilation of her pupils was clearly visible even in Meiana’s eyes.

Meiana spoke again, “Didn’t you hear me? Grete, if you want to prove whether this is poison or not, you have to prove it yourself with what you had. Right? Open your mouth. If you don’t, I’ll feed you this whole thing. If you don’t want that, then tell the truth.”

Then, without giving her a chance to reply, Meiana forcibly opened Grete’s closed lips. At the moment the bottle’s mouth tilted, a small drop of the liquid inside was about to flow into Grete’s mouth.

“Stop it! Stop! No, I’m not alone in this!”

Grete screamed and shook her body. Meiana deliberately let her go, closed the bottle’s cork again. All the people, including Lady-in-waiting Kosha, froze with faces filled with terror as they watched Grete.

“Alright, it’s not just you who did this. Then who did? The person who conspired with you to harm the lady. Is that the collapsed chef over there?”

“Oh, no. No!”

The chef now lay sprawled out unconscious. However, judging by the gentle rise and fall of his chest, it seemed he was not dead.

Meiana thought that Grete and the person who conspired with her was Jocelyn, and the chef was probably involved in it too. If they mix poison in such a way that it cannot be detected, releasing a dish with both taste and smell covered, isn’t it natural to arouse suspicion?

But Grete denied that the chef was part of it. Maybe it’s true. Meiana quickly made a judgment. At the same time, she came to a firm conclusion.

“Then you…”

It was then. The murmuring sounds rose slowly like the voices of ghosts. Jocelyn, who appeared while stepping on those sounds, flipped her mask made of ice. It was difficult to express it as expressionless. Even the notorious ‘Dumbus Madam’ wouldn’t make such an expression, Meiana thought.

“What is this commotion?”

Jocelyn spoke. She limped slightly on the leg bitten by Arianthe, but her posture standing tall was the same as usual.

Kosha stepped forward. Lady’s meal, poison, collapsed chef. Watching Kosha explain with gestures and kicks, Grete’s eyes widened in astonishment.
She looked at Jocelyn with pleading eyes. The meaning contained in that gaze was clear. It meant to rescue her. Since the plan they devised together has turned into a failure, she was pleading with her eyes to share the responsibility.

However, Jocelyn brushed away Grete’s desperate gaze with just one word.

“To dare to harm the successor of a duke impudently.”

Grete’s eyes widened so much that they seemed they couldn’t open any further. Just as she was about to scream, Jocelyn gestured to a servant standing behind her. As if he was prepared in advance, he used his forearm to block Grete’s mouth.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”