"Did you hear that the spy was going to poison you on your wedding day?"
"No."
I answered with a calm face.
Then Hannah's eyebrows rose.
"Then..."
"That was just a guess. I guessed that Walter would do that."
"...?"
I looked into Hannah's purple eyes.
"Walter is a man who never lets go of what is his own, even if it means he is sick of it."
I thought about it.
Why on earth did you get poisoned on your wedding day?
Why didn't Diana enjoy the moment longer after giving Armin Wilhelm this humiliating wedding?
[Ahhh. Stupid Diana. No matter how much you beat her, you're like a hunting dog that comes back to its master.]
The answer lay in Walter's twisted possessiveness.
He used and abandoned Diana Isla, still believing that she loved him.
Maybe he enjoyed that love.
Because Walter quite liked having Diana Isla playing around within his control.
And for that to happen, Diana Isla and Armin's marriage had to be ruined.
Thoroughly.
They distrust and hate each other, so Diana can be completely isolated in Wilhelm Castle.
"He probably wanted me to be completely isolated in this castle. So I thought this would be the day. The day when everyone else would be out, and it would be just me and Armin in the bedroom. No one to help Armin, no one to help me."
"..."
Hannah's eyes widened slightly at my words.
I could see her jaw clenching.
It seemed as if she was both shocked by Walter's misdeeds and surprised by my guess.
"But I didn't think that this kind of speculation alone would be enough to convince His Highness, so I decided to share the poison."
Hannah's eyes clouded over at those words.
I don't know if she was conscious of it, but her hands that were holding the hem of her skirt around her knees were tightening.
Soon she seemed to be troubled, then raised her head.
She hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth to answer.
"...Thank you."
"...!"
I almost looked surprised at the words that came out of that scary woman's mouth.
Fortunately, when I met Hannah Vlad's serious eyes, I was able to control my expression.
"I owe you my life, my lord. One day, I will surely repay this debt."
What.
Has it gotten to this point?
I responded to Hannah's thanks with a subtle expression.
"Well, then. Then I guess there's one thing you'll do for me."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As expected, there are no frills in the answer.
I like that point.
Diana Isla wanted a maid who was as lively and up-to-date as the South, and who could be easily manipulated with money and luxuries, but I liked Hannah Vlad.
Simple and straightforward.
When I look at her, I think of Mangosh.
A straight, simple dagger that serves as an aid to a long, spear-like sword such as a rapier.
A defensive weapon is suitable for striking a surprise attacker.
It's a fitting nickname for her, the loyal scribe who guards the WilheIm Castle.
There was good reason for that.
No woman in this castle knew the inner workings of the castle as well as Hannah Vlad.
Even Hannah Vlad knew the workings of a noble family well and could serve a noble lady.
The reason lay in her birth background.
She was actually the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Lochen.
For some reason, she was abandoned by the Marquis of Lochen and wandered about, and was in danger of freezing to death in the snowy mountains of Bjorn, but was saved by Armin Wilhelm.
After that, she started to follow her savior, Armin Wilhelm.
Many people looked down on her, believing she was an orphan who had been wandering the streets, as she began working as a maid, hiding her origins.
As she began to frequent Armin's office and act as his secretary, all sorts of speculations about the relationship between her and Armin bega ln to run wild.
That Armin and her had such and such a relationship, that Armin and she had an illegitimate child, etc...
Diana Isla did not believe all of those rumors.
If Diana had been that interested in Armin, things wouldn't have gotten so bad between them.
Diana Isla simply hated Hannah VIad.
[Your current attire is not appropriate for a meal with the local residents.]
[Are you saying I can't wear the clothes I want to wear?]
[This means that as the mistress of the castle, you should not show extravagance.]
[Who dares to think you are...]
That hard face, which did not change even when throwing objects, insulting, or getting angry, seemed to her like the face of Wilhelm Castle.
The cold northern face that seems to regard you as a stranger forever.
That face that doesn't change no matter how much you curse and spit on it...
It was on the last day of her life that Diana Isla first saw that cold face disfigured.
The day when Wilhelm Castle collapsed, Armin evacuated Diana Isla, and Diana Isla, who could not give up her obsession with Walter until the end, returned.
[Why are you standing there?]
[Because the Lord said that His Majesty might return.]
[You're going to harass me to the end.]
[...]
When she heard those words, Hannah Vlad's face crumpled for the first time.
[You will never know what it means to me to stand here to save you. And yet...]
Hannah raised her arrogant chin and blocked Diana Isla's path.
[I want you to live. That is my master's order.]
The lord's command.
Hannah Vlad died that day while trying to stop the soldiers who were rushing towards Diana Isla.
Hannah Vlad remained Armin Wilhelm's man until the end.
If that's the case, then it means you're on my side too.
I opened my mouth and looked at Hannah.
"So, did you catch the maid who poisoned you?"
"Yes. According to His Highness the Grand Duke's orders, among those who entered this castle within a month, only one maid served food."
"Is she Dead?"
In Diana Isla's life, the poisoner is never caught.
Because he ended his life by poisoning himself.
"No. She's alive."
"..."
I was hoping that this time it might be a little different, and fortunately, it was.
"Then, about the background..."
"I couldn't get a confession. But I don't think it will last long."
It means that he is having a terrible time.
I also knew that Armin Wilhelm, although he appeared to be a drunkard and a rascal, was actually quite cruel in nature.
"But there is a possibility that the higher-ups who gave the order may not know..."
It was when Hannah spoke in a troubled voice.
"I believe in God, but I'm more focused on unraveling the scroll."
"A scroll?"
"I'm talking about the face-deforming scroll."
According to what I remember, the perpetrator's face changed around the time the body was buried after he died.
By then, her face was already so disfigured that she was unrecognizable.
This is done using a face deformation scroll.
The culprit had already been verified for her birth background and family before she entered the castle as a maid. This meant that there was a possibility that she had used someone else's face to completely steal her background before entering the castle.
All you have to do is kill the maid who was originally trying to come in and copy her face with a magic scroll.
Hannah's brow furrowed at my words.
"But there was almost no trace of magic from that woman. That means she used an extremely expensive scroll..."
The follow-up question of whether it was necessary was omitted.
When Armin and Diana Isla learned that the scroll was so elaborate that the magic would not wear off for several days after death, they thought the same thing.
A magic scroll of that level would have required the efforts of a fairly capable wizard.
Since it is highly unlikely that such a wizard would have left behind any traces of mana, it is natural that no traces of magic can be found.
It also meant that it must have been purchased at a considerable price.
But why bother?
Why would the criminal's face be such a big secret that they would waste it like that?
Ordinary nobles can't even remember the faces of commoners.
There aren't many faces that Armin or Diana Isla would recognize.
So Armin also tried to restore the criminal's disfigured face but failed.
Because the corruption had already begun.
However, I was able to guess the truth that neither Armin nor Diana had discovered at that time.
"Isn't it worth checking to that extent? The Lord was almost poisoned?"
The face before it changed.
That must mean there was someone who recognized that face.
For example, a girl who was an illegitimate child abandoned by the Marquis of Lochen at the age of seventeen.
Her purple eyes sparkled at the word.
"Your Highness."
A strange light appeared in Hannah's eyes.
I was sure.
'You fell for my words, you idiot.'
It was now the turn of this woman, who would have fallen head over heels for Armin Wilhelm, to take revenge on the family that had abandoned her.
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