Translator and Editor: Lea and Ishy

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Chapter 10

As much as I was surprised, I was relieved to find out that Lennox was not Carinne’s accomplice.

‘Why do I feel so relieved?’

Just because he recognized the Qualum leaves did not prove that he had nothing to do with Carinne.

Still, why did I want to believe in him?

I just met him.

‘Wake up.’

Pushing the complicated thoughts aside, I returned to the original topic.

“But isn’t the Rutoru Forest a prohibited area? How can the leaves of a tree growing there be distributed here?”

“I’d like to know more about that.”

“Could it be that someone sneaked beyond the boundary and stole it?”

“No creature can step into the forest without my permission.”

“What about someone who stepped out of the forest?”

Lennox paused for a moment before he continued,

“Likewise, it’s impossible to get out of the boundaries. Unless..”

“It’s an evil spirit.”

I shrugged when he looked slightly surprised.

“I just guessed. I heard that the forest is home to many evil beings.”

In addition, I witnessed Lennox destroying evil spirits.

Either way, it was not a very hopeful situation.

‘I find it impossible to believe that something so illegal was being mixed in my everyday tea.’

About time I felt hopeless.

Whine’The wagon stopped with the cry of the horses.

Lennox said while glancing out of the window,

“So, you were going to the herbal store to see what those tea leaves were.”

“Right. But.. honestly, I don’t think it’ll be worthwhile now that I’ve talked to Your Grace,”

I muttered helplessly, looking down at the leaves on the handkerchief.

A normal medicine herb dealer would not be able to recognize the Qualum leaves that only grew in the forest of Rutoru, let alone tell if they were poisonous.

Now, I could only say that I was lucky to have met Lennox.

Except for the person who fed me these leaves, he was the only one to know the identity of these leaves.

“The tea leaves of your drink were mixed with the Qualum leaves..”

Silence filled the carriage as Lennox narrowed his eyebrows in thought.

His long fingers began to tap the table.

Tap, tap.

“I don’t know how to interpret this situation.”

The Qualum leaves, which should have been in the Rutoru forest, were found in the teacup of a noble lady.

It was not very difficult to understand what was going on.

“Perhaps this leaf is not from the Qualum tree..”

“Impossible,”

He shook his head firmly.

“Things from the Rutoru forest have a unique energy and I can feel it. This must be a Qualum leaf.”

“Ah..”

[If I had to explain it, I’d say it doesn’t belong here in this land.]

I smiled bitterly, recalling what Ash had said earlier.

Then Lennox muttered, frowning a little,

“I don’t understand. Why would someone secretly add Qualum leaves that have no effect?”

“It’s not toxic?”

That was surprising.

I thought I was in danger of being poisoned.

However, Lennox calmly informed me about the facts without any agitation.

“The toxicity of the Qualum trees is only harbored in its fruits. The colorless and odorless leaves are just like any ordinary leaves.”

“How could that be..”

This was really unexpected.

‘So I ran for nothing?’

If this was true, I was back to square one. I wasted my energy.

I was motivated a minute ago, but now I didn’t know what to do.

“Are you okay? It doesn’t seem you were relieved by the information.”

“I think it’s because I’m tired. I’ll get better soon if I rest a bit,”

I waved my hand and laughed it off as if nothing had happened.

But I failed to hide the twisting feeling in my stomach.

Lennox sighed quietly when he saw me like that.

“I don’t know your situation, but..”

He stopped for a while as if to agonize over something before he continued in a rather cautious tone,

“Whatever choice you make, I hope it’ll be for yourself.”

‘What does that mean?’

The words were too vague for me to come to a conclusion.

Yet somehow, they felt comforting.

Throughout my return to the Viscount’s mansion, I pondered on the words.

***

Lennox contributed a lot to returning me to my bedroom safely.

Not only did he walk me, but he also helped sneak me in through the side of the mansion to avoid being caught.

There was a hole on the wall through which a small person could barely get in and out. It was often used by Olivia in the original work.

Meanwhile, Ash, who returned to the mansion much later, became a victim of my interrogation.

“Be honest. You knew that evil spirits would target me, didn’t you?”

[Oh, no! I didn’t know.]

“Don’t lie. You said with your own mouth that many beings coveted the power of an Epure.”

[T-That..]

“Well, I’ll know by tomorrow morning. Because I’ll jab your butt with horns if you lie.”

[Eeep!]

At my threats, it became anxious and hid under a blanket to fall asleep.

I thought, ‘no horns..’ as I moved the sleeping bird to my bedside and lay flat next to it.

Though it had been a very tiring day, I couldn’t fall asleep easily.

I stared at the ceiling until my vision went all dark late at night.

***

Days passed peacefully without an incident.

I—who was depressed a few days ago—slowly regained my energy in the meantime.

I secretly continued throwing away the Qualum leaves from my tea.

‘It’s unsettling.’

Even though the leaves had no known hazardous effect, I didn’t want them to go into my system.

There was never a good intention for putting something so discreetly in someone’s beverage.

“The weather is nice today.”

I had been staying in my room to protect myself, but I was desperate for warm sunshine.

I decided to take a walk outside, even if it was for a short while.

“Do you see anyone on the stairs?”

[Nobody is here! I think you can leave now?]

As Ash flapped its wings with the confirmation, I quickly ran down the hallway and scurried down the stairs.

I was worried that I might encounter Carrine.

However, my worries were subdued when I didn’t encounter anyone on my way out.

“Huff..”

I wondered where I found the courage when I secretly left the mansion the day before yesterday.

Perhaps my expectations of this mystery being solved overcame my fear.

[Then, I’ll go look around the mansion!]

“See you at the detached building. Be careful.”

Ash turned around after I waved at him.

The path to the detached building was quiet.

Unlike the well-maintained garden in front of the mansion, this path was filled with grasses here and there.

But thanks to the warm sunshine, I felt like taking a walk.

It was then that something caught my eye.

There was a swing tied to the arm of a tree.

‘They have swings in a place like this?’

It seemed that the swing was steadily managed and used from time to time, seeing that it was strongly bound.

‘Should I try it?’

After sitting on the swing, I stomped a few times until I was floating over the ground.

The swing began to move.

The creaking sound cutting through the air felt refreshing.

“..I wish I could live like this for the rest of my life.”

A life filled with simple happiness and no one to threaten ne.

To gain that, I had to somehow find a safe way.

A way to survive my enemy.

‘I wonder what Carrine is doing.’

I intentionally stayed in my room so as to not run into her, because I didn’t know what I would do if I faced her without any prior measurements.

Luckily, there were no mishaps such as Carinne wishing to see me.

However, as time passed, my anxiety began to rise.

‘Is it because of an Epure’s premonitions?’

I was afraid that Carinne would not sit relaxed.

‘She might be thinking of every possible way to deal with me.’

I kicked my feet vigorously against the air to shake off my depressed mind.

I gazed upon the wide field of grass as my body rose higher.

The lush green color helped calm my pounding heart little by little.

Then, my eyes spotted a narrow trail beyond the field of grass.

‘Where does that lead to?’

[Olivia!]

My curiosity was suddenly cut off by the call of Ash.

“How was your trip?”

When I slowed down the swing and came to a stop, it sat on my lap.

“How was it? Did you find Carinne?”

[Negative. I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find her. Are you sure she’s in the mansion?]

“That’s strange. Did you check each room through the window?”

[Yes, but some rooms had too thick curtains for me to peek inside.]

I was disappointed by its answer, but instead of expressing that, I patted its head and praised it for its hard work.

“I see. Good job.”

Only a few seconds later, I heard someone’s voice behind me.

“Lady Olivia.”

It was Mary.

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