The queen looked for water because she was thirsty, and Ariadne quickly handed over the water cup that was placed in her spot. It was water she had already confirmed was safe, checking its smell and color, and even tasting it herself.

When she handed over the water she was drinking, the lady behind Queen Marguerite, Lady Carla, glared at Ariadne with a dagger gaze, but Ariadne pretended not to know.

“Oh my, today’s meal looks really pretty.”

The Duchess of Chibo, seated to the right of the Queen, exclaimed at the sight of the served antipasti. Ariadne let out a sigh of relief for a different reason.

Fortunately, today’s antipasti was not a soup, but a salad topped with seafood, after dressing sprouts in vinegar and olive oil, and dyeing the radish red for decoration.

It’s not a liquid. But it was inevitable to be nervous even if she thought it wasn’t.

In a formal dinner, it was table manners for the highestranking person to lift the fork first.

Queen Marguerite lifted a silver fork, scooped a mouthful of salad, and put it in her mouth. Although arsenic did not react with silver, Ariadne opened her eyes wide and watched closely just in case the silver fork discolored.

Queen Marguerite chewed the vegetables tightly, regardless of the staring eyes, and everyone else also began to eat salad with their forks in unison.

‘…!’

Even after everyone took a bite and swallowed, no one foamed at the mouth and fell down.

‘Phew!’

Ariadne let out a sigh of relief alone. It felt like her life was shortened.

“Lady De Mare.”

Ariadne, who had not taken a bite due to tension, turned to the side at the sound of her name. It was the Countess of Markez.

“Why aren’t you having a bite?”

Although the content seemed worried, the tone was cold.

“It’s not polite to keep your spoon down when everyone else is eating.”

…As expected. It was not a friendly attitude.

Ariadne forced a smile and responded.

“I am tense sitting in such a lavish seat today, so I don’t feel like eating.”

When she pleaded with a pathetic expression, the Countess of Markez’s face softened slightly. It seemed to say, ‘You know it’s too much, right?’

“Since everyone is distinguished and it’s a difficult position, I guess you are cautious.”

The Countess of Markez turned her upper body towards Ariadne.

“But you have to keep pace with others.”

The tone was much softer. Ariadne was surprised again at the softened attitude of the Countess of Markez. It was not because she became close to the queen. It was pitying because she bent first.

The noble lady who fought with her stubbornly until the end in her previous life, the Countess of Markez’s strategy was to act weak.

‘Something… was going around a lot in my previous life.’

Regardless of Ariadne’s belated realization, the Countess of Markez advised in a mature woman’s way.

“It’s good to drink lukewarm water in such cases.”

Inside, Ariadne screamed, ‘Lukewarm water? I’m like this because of lukewarm water, Lady!’ but outwardly, she humbly bowed her head.

“I’ll do that.”

But there was no cup at Ariadne’s seat. She had just handed it over to Queen Marguerite. Countess Marquez noticed a cup missing at Ariadne’s place and lit a candle wick.

“What? Where did the cup go? Who did this table setting……!”

Ariadne looked around at Queen Marguerite’s seat to check if her cup was there.

‘Gasp!’

Queen Marguerite had already emptied Ariadne’s cup. She was so thirsty that she had asked Lady Carla to bring her warm water with a slice of citrus.

Lady Carla was in the middle of putting a cup of water on Queen Marguerite’s place.

The Queen’s hand touched the cup.

‘No!’

Ariadne, without knowing, knocked over Queen Marguerite’s cup with her fist like a baseball player hitting a ball.

The cup full of water flew into the air.

“Oh my!”

The Queen’s scream echoed through the banquet hall.

The sight of the cup flying over the black table decorated with silver in the banquet hall came into Ariadne’s eyes in slow motion.

The liquid rolled and jolted, splashing to one side, Queen Marguerite, startled, stared at the cup, and the process of the cup hitting the marble floor with a loud noise and shattering into pieces came into Ariadne’s perception terribly slow.

Crash!

With a dreadful sound, the glass shattered into dozens of pieces on the marble floor. Everyone in the banquet hall watched Ariadne.

“What on earth!”

Countess Marquez was startled and stood up from her seat.

“Are you mad, Lady de Mare?”

She rained a rapidfire criticism on Ariadne above the frozen silence.

“What on earth are you doing in front of Her Majesty the Queen!”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this… Ariadne bit her lip.

Originally, before Queen Marguerite drank the warm citrus water, Ariadne intended to ask the Queen to pour out half of the water and try the concentrated sulfur spring solution. There was enough trust to make such a request due to the recent incident with the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.

But there wasn’t enough trust to be forgiven for knocking the Queen’s drink with her fist in front of people.

‘Will the concentrated sulfur spring solution react if I put it in the water that pooled on the marble?’

It seemed too little. According to the experiments in the room, there had to be at least 1/5 in the cup for a meaningful reaction.

‘I can’t do nothing.’

Ariadne, who had made up her mind, responded firmly to Countess Marquez.

“Countess Marquez. Her Majesty Queen Marguerite. Please forgive my rudeness. I can explain everything.”

Countess Marquez did not seem convinced at all.

“This mess? Are you going to argue that you had a moment of madness?”

Seeing is believing. Ariadne stepped forward and was about to pull out the bottle from her bosom.

That’s when it happened.

Woof!

Countess Rubina’s pet dog, which she had arbitrarily brought into the dining room, ran to its heart’s content and lapped up the citrus water that had spilled on the floor.

Yelp!

“Ah, this dirty…! Now even a dog is making a fuss!”

Amidst the sound of the angry Countess Marquez echoing through the banquet hall, suddenly Countess Rubina’s puppy began to convulse.

Rumble.

“Roco?!”

Countess Rubina’s nervewracking high voice pierced the restaurant sharply. It wasn’t her fault, as it was clear at a glance that the dog’s condition was not normal.

The pet shivered, foamed at the mouth, and vomited the water it had drunk.

“Roco!”

Countess Rubina jumped up from her seat, ran in one breath, and hastily picked up her pet.

“Are you okay, my Roco?”

But the pet’s condition was rapidly deteriorating. The Spitz, who had been shaking violently, began to vomit not only what he had eaten but also started to defecate.

“Oh dear, oh dear!”

“What’s going on!”

While the ladies who saw the feces held their noses with napkins and showed disgust, those who had a hunch of what was happening watched the situation with grave expressions.

Ariadne had organized the situation.

“Your Majesty the Queen. It would be best to call a court physician.”

Queen Marguerite looked at her with a heavy face. The Duchess of Chibo, who could not understand her words, was confused and questioned.

“Are you calling a court physician to treat the puppy?”

Ariadne shook her head.

“No. We need a specialist who can detect poison in the water that flowed on the floor and from the body of the dog.”

Everyone was shocked at the word ‘poison’ that came out of her mouth. But finally, Ariadne concluded.

“It seems that there was poison in the water… that Your Majesty the Queen was going to drink.”