Knock knock.
The sound of a knock interrupted the flow of conversation. Karina looked at the door in surprise, and a familiar voice reassured her.
"I'm here."
It was Mikhail's voice.
"Oh, come in."
When Karina called him in, Mikhail came in carrying a tray with teacups on it.
"The others are eating downstairs right now. We can buy ourselves some time."
Mikhail placed a cup of warm tea in front of each of Karina and Selena. Then he sat down proudly next to Karina.
"...?"
Karina looked at Mikhail with a puzzled expression. Mikhail smiled softly, his eyes curling.
"I am Lady Karina's one and only escort. It is only right that I know everything related to what Lady Karina is trying to do."
Mikhail nodded to Selena as if to tell her to continue, now that he was ready. Selena continued her story calmly as if she didn't care if Mikhail heard her.
"Actually, I am from the capital. My husband was originally a surgeon in the capital. He was so skilled that nobles often came to him for treatment."
Selena began to tell a long story about herself and her husband.
"My husband always wanted to create a new anesthetic. At that time, the anesthetics used for treatment had strong narcotic properties and had severe side effects such as hallucinations and addiction. Then, nobles came to me who wanted to support my husband's anesthetic research, and a year later, the research that was spurred by the support came out. That was Croana."
In the story that had been going on for a long time, the topic of Croana finally came up.
"When the results came out, my husband was delighted and told everyone about it, including the noble families who had invested in it."
'Ah... No way.'
Karina, who was listening to Selena's story, groaned inwardly.
'The doctor who first discovered Croana and made it known to the world...!'
Little did she know that the doctor was Selena's husband. Karina held her breath and continued to listen to Selena's story in silence.
"But when the dangers and precautions of Croana became known, things went completely differently from what my husband had intended."
Selena bit her lower lip for a moment as if holding back something, then continued speaking with difficulty.
"It started to be used to assassinate people."
"..."
"My husband was distressed and said that he had to tell the world about this. He said that if people knew, there would be no more innocent deaths."
"..."
"I focused on informing people about Croana as much as possible, while at the same time working on creating an antidote to Croana's poison."
As the story continued, Karina began to wonder if she should just keep listening. It was because she felt like she knew what was going to happen next without even having to hear it.
"I spent my days like that, and then one day I received a threat. They said that if I kept talking about Croana, I would die."
A complex emotion flashed across Selena's face and then quickly disappeared.
"But my husband didn't stop. He felt guilty that it was all because of him that people were dying from the poison of Croana."
"..."
"In the end, my husband was murdered. With Croana poison."
There was silence in the room. Even when she spoke of her husband's death, Selena's expression was calm. Rather, Karina, who heard the story, looked even more troubled as if she didn't know what to do.
"I tried my best to find out who killed my husband, but at the time, there was nothing I could do on my own."
"..."
"I had evidence, but I still couldn't defeat the nobles. That's how I ended up on the run and came all the way to the North."
Selena finished her story in a flat voice. Then she lifted the teacup in front of her. Karina could see the teacup shaking slightly. When she looked closely, she saw that Selena's fingertips were shaking. Selena drank the cooled tea in the teacup without stopping, took a deep breath, and put the teacup back down.
Mikhail stood up without saying a word. Then he took Karina's teacup which had cooled down and Selena's teacup which had quickly emptied and filled them with warm tea again.
"..."
Meanwhile, Karina couldn't find the right words to say, because she couldn't figure out why Selena was telling her this story.
'What should I say first?'
She was even more embarrassed when she heard the details of the incident.
'Should I comfort her? No, but is it really a situation where words of comfort would be comforting? Right now?'
A heavy silence fell in the room. Mikhail, who had finished pouring the tea, returned to his seat and offered Karina a cup. Karina accepted the cup that Mikhail offered. As the warmth seeped into her hand, her confusion seemed to calm down a little. Karina took a sip of tea. Mikhail, who was watching Karina like that, asked Selena directly.
"So. Is the reason you revealed all these circumstances because you want to take revenge on your husband?"
"...!"
Karina almost spit out the tea she was drinking.
"Revenge is not my goal."
It was a voice that was neither heavy nor light.
"However, I want to prevent Croana from being abused like this. Croana is a substance that my late husband discovered to help better treat patients."
Mikhail responded to Selena's words in a calm voice.
"You want to stop Croana from being abused? Then you have to reveal to the world all the dirty deeds committed by those who killed your husband using Croana."
"...You're right."
"In conclusion, it's right to take revenge, right? And by using Lady Karina at that."
Mikhail's expression turned fierce as he spoke his last words.
"..."
Selena didn't deny it.
"The starting point of the distribution of Croana is 'them'. I will tell you who 'they' are."
"Oh, that's all? If we investigate those you mentioned, we'll naturally be able to find out who's behind the maid's death?"
In contrast to his calm tone of voice, Mikhail's face showed a distinct cynicism.
"So that's why you wanted to meet Karina in person? You wanted to make a deal, not a report."
Selena's eyes shook violently. Mikhail cut it off with a single stroke.
"Please decline, Karina. I don't think there's any need to hear anymore."
That was right. 'Uncovering the crimes committed by Revals and punishing him' and 'finding out the mastermind behind the Croana poison' were worlds apart.
The nobles who distributed and sold Croana were likely to be powerful families in the capital. And turning such nobles into enemies was not simply a matter of turning against one noble family. The nobles who held power in the capital were intricately intertwined like a spider's web. It was a dangerous move that could turn all of the numerous nobles into enemies.
'Who in their right mind would do something like that? It's ridiculous.'
Karina recalled Selena's past and compared it to her current appearance. She was working in the underworld, doing any job for money.
'It's surprising to see such an emotional appearance. But that's that and this is this!'
Karina recalled her past memories related to Croana.
Croana poison was used heavily underwater during its heyday, but it surfaced due to an incident. The prime minister was assassinated by Croana poison. At the time, the prime minister was a supporter of the Crown Prince. And the nobles already knew about Croana poison. The Crown Prince was furious when he learned that the prime minister's death was due to Croana poison. The Crown Prince declared war on Croana poison, and he arrested and tortured everyone related to it. In the end, after three months, he tracked down and executed all those who had targeted the prime minister.
'I really thought he was crazy.'
Karina shuddered as she recalled that time. Furthermore, the Crown Prince released the antidote to Croana's poison and its recipe into the market, saying that he would eliminate the possibility of any force arising that would exploit Croana in the same way. Since then, Croana has never been used for crimes again.
'A poison for which an antidote is readily available is meaningless.'
But there was something more important here.
'The person who pushed for such an outrageous thing was the Crown Prince. And because he was the Crown Prince, he was able to get away with such a thing.'
The Crown Prince was not killed, although he was subject to further checks from other hostile forces. This means that to eliminate the crimes committed by Croana, someone as crazy as the Crown Prince, who would become the next Emperor, would have to really stir things up.
'I'm the only one doing that? That's ridiculous.'
All I could do was urge him to follow my orders.
'I want to live a long and peaceful life.'
Karina judged calmly, without any sympathy.
"What will you do if I refuse?"
Karina asked, looking straight at Selena. Selena gave her a gloomy expression.
"I'll let you know anyway."
Yet as if she had known it, the answer came out right away.
"Huh...?"
"I will tell you everything, but in return, please take me with you as your attendant when you go to the capital for this New Year's festival. That will be sufficient."
"What are you going to do in the capital?"
"..."
Selena avoided answering Karina's questions directly.
"I will take care of the rest. I will make sure that the Grand Duchess does not suffer any harm as much as possible."
Karina furrowed one eyebrow. In other words, what she meant was that if Karina took her to the capital, she would definitely do something about it.
"No matter what I do, the Grand Duchess will protect the Grand Duke's family and His Highness the Grand Duke's reputation. They can threaten you, but they won't be able to touch you recklessly."
"Hey!"
Mikhail slammed his desk down with a frown. Selena continued speaking quickly without stopping.
"If they don't want the news about Croana to surface, then they can't hold the Grand Duchess accountable either."
Mikhail's eyes gleamed with a ferocious aura.
"You must never allow anything to put Lady Karina in even the slightest danger."
Mikhail growled. Karina raised her hand to calm him down.
"Selena. I don't know what you're thinking, but let me just ask you this."
Karina looked at Selena with a stern expression.
"As long as you reveal what they did, what happens to you?
"It doesn't matter."
"They will try to kill you first."
"I know."
"..."
Karina was embarrassed. Selena's determination was firmer than she had thought. Karina raised her hand and placed it on her forehead, Since Selena was Karina's information agent, she was the person Karina needed to enjoy the rest of her life leisurely after the divorce.
'If something goes wrong with Selena, my comfortable life after divorce will be in jeopardy.'
In addition to that, the Darkness that would soon come, the chance to contact them, and even the way to learn about the wishing potion would all disappear. Karina couldn't accept that.
'I built this information network. I can't give it up so easily.'
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