Chapter 12

Theor became quite close after a day or two with Vellian.

It seemed to be because of the white and innocent appearance of the young count.

Vellian asked Astelle again, watching Theor running with the doll.

“The child is young, but he is polite. Has Lady Astelle continued to take care of him by yourself?”

“Since the mansion disappeared 5 years ago, I took care of him. My grandfather helped me a lot.”

“You two have a good child. He will grow up wonderfully.”

Vellian truly admired.

It was said that the old man who had lived as a high-ranking noble for a lifetime and young lady, a 20-year-old nobleman who was the empress, raised the newborn baby without a penny.

It was a miracle that she did not starve the child and raised him as much.

In the meantime, it was amazing to see that she even taught the child at home on her own.

“Excuse me, but the mother of the child…”

“She gave birth and left. She lives elsewhere.”

Vellian convinced.

Originally, when a child born by a lowly woman in a noble family is taken as a successor, the mother is separated.

In that case, most of the birth mother was a maid or a prostitute.

He is the child who will be the successor, but if he keeps such a woman by his side, it will have a bad effect on him, giving money and sending his birth mother away was the best choice.

It was heartbreaking, but in this case, any family member treated the birth mother in that way.

Perhaps the old marquis was very stubborn in that part.

Older nobles are originally followed the conservative laws.

Thanks to that, only this poor granddaughter seems to be suffering tremendously.

Like Kaizen, Vellian condemned Astelle’s maternal grandfather, Marquis Carlenberg, and kicked his tongue.

“Oh, yes, His Majesty has ordered the return of the Marquis’ pension, so I contacted the capital, and it will be paid normally from this month.”

“Ah… thank you very much.”

Astelle was really happy.

When she first went to her maternal grandfather’s mansion, her maternal grandfather was also wealthy in his own way.

Her maternal grandfather had already lost his estate when Astelle was very young, but had not lost his pension.

But he was good enough to live comfortably with a servant in a small mansion located in a scenic spot in the east.

However, as the rebellion in the north was suppressed and the pension of her maternal grandfather was cut off, his life quickly became impoverished.

He hid and looked after the pregnant Astelle, and he fell even further into the hell.

By the time Theor was born, they eventually had to move to an old house on the edge of the east.

“It was wrong that the Marquis’ pension was deprived. His grandson died while fighting for His Majesty in that civil war. There must have been an error in the administration.”

In fact, it is more likely that the old man was disadvantaged by the emperor’s administrative officials for being the related of Duke Reston.

Vellian can’t be honest, he just accidentally dismissed it.

“Yes, I’m glad he got it back even now.”

The manor is unreasonable, but her life will be much better if her maternal grandfather get his pension back.

Astelle glanced at Theor near the flowerbed and said,

‘Of course if we can all go back safely.’

* * *

The rain continued to fall until the afternoon.

Astelle left Theor in the greenhouse for a while and went back to the room to check the dressing table.

Then she went to find Sir Lyndon.

“Sir Lyndon, could you please help me for a moment?”

“What’s going on, Lady? “

Astelle explained the situation to him and came to the room with him.

Then she summoned three new maids.

“Could everyone come this way for a while?”

The maids stood side by side with a strange face.

Astelle pulled out the medicine box from the vanity table.

“Has anyone ever opened this box today?”

The maids looked at each other and shook their heads. One of them said as a representative.

“No, Lady. We are not allowed to open the items our owner’s belonging.”

“Okay. Originally it is.”

The maid must not open the items the owner put in the drawer unless the order to clean it has been given.

It was a natural rule.

Astelle said calmly, tying the gold ornaments on the medicine box.

“But it looks like someone has opened this.”

The maids who looked at it with confused faces were amazed at the words.

The maids glanced at Lyndon standing on one side.

It seemed that only now they felt the problem was serious.

“Actually, someone has opened this since yesterday, but I can’t figure out who the culprit is, so I opened a little drawer today. I wanted the culprit to know that I had seen this out. Then I wondered what was different so I thought the culprit might try to open it again.”

As she thought, while she was in the greenhouse, someone opened the box.

The stitches was the same as before, but again this time, the thread attached to the hinge of the box was separated.

The maids were hardened.

Astelle asked, watching their expressions.

“Who ever visited this room when I wasn’t here?”

“No, I’m not.”

“So who of your guesses?”

“Lady… we all entered this room today.”

This room was splendid, and several rooms were connected to the bedroom, the living room, and the bathroom.

Each of the maids went here and there to clean and organize, so it was difficult to specify what they were doing.

Astelle looked down with the box’s butterfly clasp.

The clasps with small hooks hanging on either side were so thin and sophisticated that they couldn’t be opened quite a bit with gloves on.

And the maid cannot wear the gloves.

“I just wondering…”

Astelle pulled out the handkerchief and cleaned the clasp.

The polished metal came out with powder that was indistinguishable from the color of the butterfly.

“I applied the juice of lagenin here.”

The moment Astelle realized that someone was opening the box, she picked up the lagenin she had found in the corner of the greenhouse, squeezed out the juice, and applied it to the clasp.

“Lagenin is just a rare weed in the forest, but when its juice touches the skin, it causes a red rash. Particularly sensitive areas like fingers have a rash quickly. It’s not great, it’s not curable, but it doesn’t go away easily. It will also itch.”

Astelle ordered the maids, who stood side by side with hardened faces.

“Show your hands.”

At Astelle’s command, there was a heavy silence in the room for a moment.

There was tension in Lyndon’s face standing on one side as well.

The maids who were slowly extended their hands forward.

The first maid’s hand was fine.

The second maid’s hand was also white and neat in every corner.

However, while the two showed their hands without hesitation, the last remaining maid couldn’t easily show her hands.

The third maid trembled as she looked into her own palms.

“Ah… I, I…”

Everyone’s eyes were concentrated in the hand of the maid.

The middle part of her little white palm had no problem.

However, there was a bright red rash sprouted on her forefinger and the connecting part as if sprinkled with red powder.

The tip of the upper index finger and the inside of her thumb were completely red.

She would have used her thumb and index finger to open the fastener.

And before washing her hands, her fists were clenched, and a rash would have appeared in the area where her fingertips touched.

The maid who looked into her hand, stared at Astelle with her desperate and fruitful expression.

“La, Lady, I…”

“Tell me who ordered it.”

The maid was surprised and stiffened with Astelle’s coldly subdued voice.

The maid’s eyes trembled anxiously, but she didn’t open her mouth easily.

Well, to get her to do something like this, she would have been threatened and convicted.

Astelle looked straight at the maid and declared her calm.

“If you don’t tell me who ordered it, I have to say that you were trying to steal, or in severe cases, poison me.”

“Oh, no… I never did that…!”

Astelle intimidating her, the maid became trembled on her whole body.

She doesn’t know if this has changed these days, but in the past, the maid was caught stealing at the imperial palace, her wrist will be cut.

This is not the imperial palace, but since it is where the emperor stays, similar punishment could be applied.

Any attempted poisoning was of course the death penalty.

Astelle looked at the maid, trembling in a deep blue, and asked Lyndon to give a brief request.

“Sir Lyndon, please bring out this maid.”

As Lyndon opened the door, the maid fell down on the floor and begged.

“Oh, no… let me tell you, let me tell you…!”

The maid who begged on her knees belatedly raised her head and confessed.

Astelle had already guessed the name that came out of the maid’s mouth.

“…Lady Marianne ordered it.”

All that Astelle had to do was there.

Lyndon summoned other knight and dragged the maid.

They will find out the details of the situation on their own.

Astelle took Theor, which she had left in the greenhouse, thet washed him and changed his clothes.

Before entering the warm water, Theor came with a teddy bear.

“Can Levin take a bath too?”

She tried to say no, but Astelle just nodded at seeing the kinky brown bear doll.

“Yes, let’s wash it… for this time.”

Theor, who knows nothing about what happened, played with the old teddy bear in the bathtub.

After the bath was finished, she took the child to the bedroom and put the potion in his eyes.

The emperor’s servant came to pick up Astelle.

“Lady Astelle, His Majesty is looking for you.”

Astelle left Theor to the rest of the maids and went outside.

As she closed the warm visit and exited the hallway, the chilly chill of the late afternoon touched her.

This castle was old-fashioned, but it was antique and beautiful.

In the corridor, a wall made of gray bricks continued for a long time, and tapestry woven with gold thread was hung in several places.

Astelle walked the hallway of the castle leading to the emperor’s office.