“Are all of these poisonous herbs?”
“Not all of them. Some are medicinal herbs with therapeutic uses.”
Joel's face as he answered was utterly somber.
“You might be able to fool Sir Bill's eyes, who lacks knowledge of herbology, but not mine. I recognized them the moment I saw them and hurried to you, Your Grace.”
A feigned loyalty, worrying about his lord's health, wavered in Joel's eyes.
“Some of these herbs can be combined to create a powerful poison.”
He whispered of loyalty and consideration, but hidden within was the insidious intent to frame his target.
“…….”
I remained silent, feigning a loss for words.
As I merely stared quietly at the paper containing the purchase list, Joel began to spout off, as if sensing this was his chance.
“I know very well how deep your affection for the Madam runs, Your Grace... Nevertheless, I find myself in a position where I must speak up. I am your primary physician, after all.”
“…….”
“Has the Madam perhaps tried to feed you anything? If she hasn't up until now, I urge you to be all the more vigilant from now on.”
Joel was closely observing my reaction.
They were the natural remarks of a physician who had stood by my side for a long time. An ordinary lord would have heeded his words.
However.
“You, right now.”
I glared at Joel with a terrifying look on my face. Like a man hopelessly devoted to his wife.
“Are you daring to suspect my wife in front of me?”
“…Your Grace!”
Bill, who had been standing beside me fretfully, stepped forward.
“Sir Joel is a loyal retainer who has protected Schmaichel since the time of the previous Duke. His only intention is to help you, Your Grace.”
Help, my foot. I wonder who bought Bill off again this time.
Despite my cynical thoughts, I outwardly raised my eyebrows as if deeply displeased by this situation.
“I didn't realize the two of you were so close. Enough for you to step up and defend him like this.”
“Your Grace.”
Bill let out a low sigh and said,
“I vowed to be your eyes and ears, Your Grace. How could I stand by and do nothing upon seeing this?”
He pleaded with a desperate, earnest voice.
“The Madam is an outstanding Magical Scholar. If she were to use these herbs with twisted intentions, how could we possibly respond?”
“Of course, the Madam is different from all the Madams who have entered the castle before. She is pure and innocent.”
Joel, who had stepped back, spoke again. At first, it seemed like he was subtly taking Rose's side, but
“Because she is so pure, there could be those who seek to use her for their own twisted ends. I beg you to be wary, Your Grace.”
His conclusion was the same old broken record. He was goading me to suspect my wife.
In this scenario, I was the lord blinded by love who made poor judgments, and he was the very embodiment of a loyal retainer striving to change his master's mind.
“……Hah.”
I whipped around as if I didn't even want to speak to him. I looked out the window at the sky and steadied my rough breathing.
‘This is easy.’
I didn't even need to feign false anger. Because looking at Joel spouting nonsense with a feigned serious face was enough to make my blood boil.
In truth, from Joel's perspective, it didn't matter whether I took his words at face value or not. The very act of planting the seeds of suspicion was likely his goal.
If I did believe him, he could drive Rose away, which would be an added bonus.
‘To drag Bill into this in the midst of it all.’
He had anticipated that the straight-laced Bill would believe his words and immediately come to me.
Joel had deliberately used Bill's mouth to create this situation. If any problems arose, he planned to either step over Bill or slip away by himself.
It was also, of course, his way of laying the groundwork for Bill to suspect Rose first if anything happened to my body later on.
Being betrayed by such an overly clever person left a truly bitter sting.
‘My uncle probably targeted Joel for that very reason.’
Joel had succumbed to my uncle's threats and eventually found an ingenious way to poison me. The method he discovered was incredibly unique and cunning, acting as a fatal poison to me and me alone.
‘What exactly is parental love?’
I wondered what it was that allowed him to stand before me with such a brazen face despite having betrayed his lord.
As long as Joel's daughter was held hostage by my uncle, he would continue to deceive me.
There was only one reason I didn't cast Joel aside right this instant.
To lull the enemies' vigilance. As long as they believed I hadn't noticed, they wouldn't resort to other means.
A strong card had to be played at the decisive moment.
“…You may step back now.”
I turned back around and stood in front of my desk. I spoke in a sunken voice and waved my hand dismissively.
“I understand your intentions. I will handle this matter myself.”
“Your Grace, but—”
*Deopseok.*
I grabbed Joel by the collar—not the snout—and yanked him forward as he protested regretfully.
“Joel.”
I pressed my face right up to his, looking into his wide eyes, and spat coldly.
“Did you think I'd let you off just because it's you?”
“…I-I.”
The corners of Joel's eyes twitched as if in disbelief.
For me, who was always under threat of assassination, Joel's position was unparalleled and irreplaceable. Perhaps he was quite shocked that I dismissed him like this instead of just listening to his words.
‘...As long as I secure it.’
I suppressed my anger by thinking of the kids from the Arsil Orphanage who must be running about working hard.
“Don't even think about taking matters into your own hands without my permission.”
“…….”
“If you dare do something to the Madam, I won't be responsible for what I do to you.”
“…Understood, Your Grace.”
Joel answered with difficulty, his face stiff.
I had etched into him that my love for my wife was unwavering, and that touching her would only put him in danger.
“…….”
Joel kept his mouth shut. It was a sign that he instinctively sensed that any further provocation would turn the arrows of criticism back on him.
*Tak.*
When I let him go, Joel stumbled back away from me. He immediately straightened his posture and bowed.
“I will... take my leave now.”
Bill, who had been standing beside me with an anxious face, also bowed.
*Tak.*
With the sound of the door opening and closing, the two disappeared. I counted numbers silently in my head.
‘1, 2, 3…….’
After counting to a reasonable 100,
*Beolgeok!*
I violently flung the door open and stepped out into the hallway. The startled servants bowed one after another.
“Your Grace.”
“Guide me to where the Madam is.”
“Yes, sir.”
I walked roughly, intentionally not hiding my displeasure.
So that the servants who saw me would be startled and gossip, and so that the story would trickle down to Joel's ears.
So that they could sufficiently misunderstand that I had gone to interrogate Rose.
**
I strode into the spacious laboratory. Beyond the many bookshelves and devices of various sizes, I saw red hair fluttering.
“Madam.”
“You're here, Your Grace.”
Rose whipped her head in my direction. At that moment,
“Oh.”
I let out a low exclamation of admiration.
Rose had her red hair twisted up tightly and was wearing a white coat. Her completely different appearance from usual felt strikingly new.
“What is that on your face?”
The freshest of all was the pair of glasses resting gently on the bridge of Rose's nose. With that outfit and the glasses, it finally felt like she really was a Magical Scholar.
“Ah, I needed to look at something precisely while working.”
Rose quickly took off the glasses and set them down.
“Why take them off?”
“It makes me a bit dizzy if I keep them on. It's for magnifying objects.”
Rose's body turned completely toward me. That revealed something she was holding in her other hand.
*Banjjak*, the blade of a knife gleamed. The surface of the blade was narrow, but it looked plenty sharp.
Sharp enough to kill a person.
“Do you need something to stab?”
When I gestured with my chin toward the knife,
“Ah!”
Rose hurriedly set the knife down as well.
“Don't get the wrong idea. It's a knife for experiments.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“It's nothing.”
Rose shook her head vigorously and guided me.
“Could you please come over here for now?”
“Mm.”
Rose's laboratory had changed quite a bit from the last time I saw it.
“It feels like something has changed a bit.”
“Yes, I rearranged it to match the layout of the laboratory I used at the academy. It felt more comfortable since I was used to it.”
Rose let out an “Ah” and began to ramble incoherently.
“Of course, this place is much bigger than that one, and the machines are the latest models too. I just made the arrangement the same. I'm definitely not saying the academy is better—”
“I know.”
“…Yes.”
Rose was standing in front of a large table, where a small machine and several tools were visible. Next to it was a large gauge panel and a chair connected by complicated wires.
‘It looks like a chair meant for human experiments.’
Unaware that I had made a guess quite close to the truth, I walked slowly and stood in front of Rose. Rose looked at me, shifting awkwardly.
“Right, you said you'd tell me when I came. What is the reason you called me here?”
“Yes, that's right.”
Rose looked a bit nervous, but she didn't look like she was searching for what to say. She looked prepared with exactly what she was going to say.
‘Let's see what she has to say.’
The original Rose didn't use such a large laboratory. She modestly set up a makeshift lab with the belongings she brought from the academy.
‘Please, just this once, look at my research. Then you will change your mind.’
She intended to show him her achievements as a Magical Scholar and earn Dane's recognition. She predicted that Dane, who knew well about magic stones, would take an interest in her research.
However, the situation had changed significantly from back then.
Andersen had already verified Rose's skills, and she had become the owner of a large laboratory without needing my acknowledgment.
Therefore, she was probably going to bring up another excuse.
“I......”
A few types of herbs were placed on Rose's table. Rose fiddled with them and opened her mouth with difficulty.
“Do you happen to know that I actually studied herbology?”
“Did you?”
“I didn't dig too deeply into it. But I needed the knowledge.”
Rose looked at my eyes once before finishing her words.
“It's because of my mother.”
“I heard she passed away suddenly.”
“Yes. I couldn't believe it at first. Because she was a healthy person. But then one day, she fell ill out of nowhere...”
Rose's gaze grew dim as she recalled the past.
“She passed away before I could do anything. We used all the medicine they said was good, but it was useless.”