Chapter 29
“I heard everything. They say this is a very dangerous poisonous herb? And you’re going to make medicine with something like this? Ha. What would you have done if it weren’t for me? Everyone would’ve been fooled by a scammer like this!”
“…Pardon?”
Viola looked genuinely confused.
She really wasn’t ordinary. Everything had already been exposed, yet she still had such an innocent, guileless expression.
Those round, gentle, sprout-like eyes—she almost would’ve been fooled into thinking she was innocent.
No wonder Sir Conrad and even the Duke had been completely taken in by this sly fraud.
“Follow me!”
“C-Could you at least tell me what this is about—”
“Why ask when you already know? Ha. Forget it. You’d just try to confuse people with nonsense like the scammer you are anyway!”
Celia forcibly grabbed Viola’s wrist and began dragging her along.
“Ah—”
Viola was pulled along helplessly. Her body was as light as cotton candy, making it easy to drag her.
‘Acting all fragile.’
Celia let out a scoff at the disgusting act. It was obvious—she must have used tricks like this to stir men’s protective instincts and lure them in.
The sudden commotion drew nearby servants, who began to gather and whisper among themselves. But the more attention she drew, the more proudly Celia walked.
She was intoxicated with the thrill of having exposed a scammer.
But then it happened. Viola put strength into her arm and shook off Celia’s grip.
“I don’t know what this is about, but I’ll walk on my own.”
As she straightened her disheveled clothes, her attitude was as dignified as royalty. Celia let out a disbelieving laugh.
A fraud who impersonates royalty and makes medicine from poisonous herbs—yet she dared to act so confidently.
Well, one would need that level of shamelessness to impersonate royalty in the first place.
Unfortunately, there was no physical evidence for the impersonation, but that didn’t matter. She had caught her red-handed handling poisonous herbs.
So Celia dragged Viola straight to the area near the Duke’s office. But unfortunately, the Duke she so desperately wanted to meet wasn’t there.
Instead, the one who greeted them was Conrad.
“…Ha. What a troublesome young lady.”
Conrad pressed his temple and let out a deep sigh. His face clearly showed how fed up he was.
“What is it this time? Haven’t I repeatedly told you not to take unnecessary interest in Lady Viola? You should focus on your own duties—”
“Sir Conrad! That’s not what’s important right now!”
Despite Conrad’s scolding, Celia didn’t back down. If anything, her eyes burned with a twisted sense of mission.
She roughly pulled out the Gamjongcho from her pocket and shouted.
“Look at this! This isn’t some medicinal herb—it’s poison, poison! I’ve already investigated it!”
“…”
“This scammer dared to try feeding something this dangerous to Young Master Jaden! If it weren’t for me, his personal maid, he would’ve been poisoned without a doubt!”
Celia went on at length, passionately recounting what she had witnessed in Viola’s workshop and how suspicious this woman was.
She was certain. Once they heard this, Conrad and even the gathered servants would praise her keen insight.
But something strange happened. Instead of the admiration she expected, the reactions she received were cold and stern.
‘What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?’
Why were they looking at her as if she were the strange one?
At that moment, Conrad spoke coldly.
“Lady Dorne. It seems you are greatly mistaken about something. This is something both I and His Grace the Duke already know.”
“…What?”
“That is a poisonous herb I personally procured at Lady Viola’s request. Everything was done with the Duke’s permission.”
Celia stood there, mouth agape.
“B-But… what if something happens to Young Master Jaden after taking it…!”
“Lady Dorne.”
Conrad cut her off.
“To begin with, Young Master Jaden has dragon’s blood. While it may be lethal to ordinary people, such poison cannot harm him. And Lady Viola requested it for treatment purposes.”
“B-But it’s still poison!”
Celia couldn’t accept it. There was no way her perfect reasoning—nor the information her father had provided—could be wrong.
“How can poison be medicine? You could die from it! Everyone’s just being deceived by her cunning words!”
There’s a saying that someone who has read only one book is more dangerous than someone who has read none at all.
That described Celia perfectly.
Consumed by her convictions, she was so immersed in her own logic that she wouldn’t even attempt to listen to others.
Realizing further conversation was pointless, Conrad gave a warning instead of an explanation.
“Out of respect for Count Dorne, we accepted you as a maid. But if you continue causing disturbances, this will be a problem.”
He shook his head, clearly exasperated.
Celia couldn’t believe the situation.
‘You can’t treat me like this!’
She hadn’t become a maid in the Duke’s household without connections.
The former Duke of Ashelrn and her father had been very close friends.
That was the reason she had been able to enter this otherwise closed-off household.
Even though she was a maid, she was practically a guest of the former Duke.
Wasn’t it wrong to treat her like this?
Moreover, all of this over a mere unmarried mother—it was something she, as a noble of the Empire, could never tolerate.
At that moment, Viola stepped forward with her usual calm and gentle expression. Her voice was soft, as if trying to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Lady Celia. It’s understandable you might think that, but most medicinal herbs originally have some toxicity. Depending on how that poison is handled, it can actually be used as medicine—”
“That’s a lie! That makes no sense!”
Celia shouted.
Poison as medicine? Poison is dangerous, and medicine is good. They were completely opposite concepts.
‘Don’t treat me like an idiot.’
She was a noble lady who had received proper education. There was no need to believe the words of an uneducated, lowly commoner like her.
But Conrad only sighed again, looking as if he were dealing with someone hopelessly frustrating. That expression—like he was looking at a fool—made something in Celia snap.
She pointed at Viola and shouted.
“Then you can eat it yourself!”
“…What?”
“You said it’s medicine! If it’s medicine, you won’t die from eating it, right? Prove it! Prove it’s not poison!”
“Lady Dorne! What kind of nonsense is this? That’s not how this works—”
Conrad tried to stop her, dumbfounded, but nothing reached Celia’s ears.
As she raised her voice, more servants gathered, whispering among themselves.
“Let’s not do this here. Please step outside and calm down before His Grace returns.”
“No! Everyone, watch carefully!”
Celia refused to back down. If anything, the growing crowd only emboldened her.
She forcefully shoved the Gamjongcho into Viola’s hand.
“Go on, eat it! Surely you wouldn’t give something to the young master that you can’t even eat yourself? See? I told you she’s a scammer!”
At that moment, Viola silently stared at Celia.
Her calm eyes, unreadable, rested on Celia for a brief moment—then they hardened with resolve.
“Alright. I’ll prove it.”
“…What? Lady Viola? W-Wait a moment!”
Startled, Conrad urgently reached out his hand. But Viola was faster.
Without the slightest hesitation, she tossed the bluish poisonous herb in her hand straight into her mouth.
