CTTT12

Episode 12

“…What do you mean by that?”

Agne’s hand, which had been lifting her teacup back to her lips, faltered and slowly lowered again.

Something in Ceres’s faint, knowing smile set her nerves on edge.

“I came across something rather interesting,” Ceres said.

As if to confirm Agne’s unease, she placed an object lightly upon the table.

“I poured this into the tea.”

Agne’s gaze dropped sharply to the tabletop—and her eyes widened.

A small hexagonal glass vial!

“Th–That’s…!”

It was the very vial she herself had given to Director Arnold—the one she had instructed him to feed to Yulia little by little!

If that had truly been mixed into her tea…

“Ugh!”

Agne gagged violently, retching as though desperate to expel everything she had just swallowed.

“You… you—!”

Pale-faced, she glared at Ceres with burning fury.

How dare she?

That foolish girl—had she really dared to make her drink poison?

“Strange,” Ceres remarked, unfazed by Agne’s rage. “Why are you vomiting?”

“What?”

“How do you know what’s inside this vial?”

“T-That’s because! This vial contains poi—!”

She cut herself short.

Ceres clicked her tongue softly. The director, that woman… they’re both experts at digging their own graves.

“I never once said this was poison. You just assumed as much.”

“Y-You…!”

Realizing her mistake too late, Agne darted her eyes about, scrambling for an excuse. But Ceres’s voice came first.

“The director already confessed everything.”

“What?”

“He testified that you were the one who handed him this poison and told him to feed it to Yulia.”

“Lies! Don’t spout nonsense!”

That Arnold would betray her? Impossible. She clutched at the ring on her left hand, her mind racing. They had promised to leave together when it was all over—how could he possibly…?

“Surely you know what this drug does,” Ceres murmured, picking up the vial and shaking it lightly.

“In small doses, it rots the body little by little. But if consumed all at once…” She drew a finger across her throat in a chilling gesture.

Agne’s face blanched even further.

“I poured the rest into the tea.”

“Uugh!”

Her stomach convulsed again. This time she shoved her fingers down her throat, desperate to expel every trace.

“How does it feel?” Ceres asked lightly. “To taste the same poison Yulia did?”

She rose, and with unsettling gentleness, patted Agne’s back and stroked her hair as she retched. That tenderness only made Agne shiver more violently.

Then Ceres stepped back, her smile faint. “You can stop now. I didn’t put it in.”

“…What?”

“I’m not insane enough to turn into a murderer because of someone like you.”

“You—you…!”

“This will be settled by the law. Why should I dirty my own hands?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Agne finally cried, her voice frantic.

“Mm. Save that for the courtroom.”

From her seat, Ceres retrieved a palm-sized crystal orb, gleaming faintly.

“…What’s that?”

“A memory orb. It records images.”

“What? That clunky thing?”

Clunky? Ceres scratched her cheek, embarrassed. So the design’s outdated. Who knew these things had evolved so much while mine was stuck in storage?

“Old or not, it works fine. It caught you panicking, vomiting, and incriminating yourself.”

Agne’s face twisted hideously.

“You insolent little—!”

Ceres took a step forward, her gaze unflinching. Her hands settled firmly on Agne’s shoulders, and she leaned in close.

“That’s right. Insolent.” Her lips curved upward. “How dare you lay a hand on a child?”

Agne froze as Ceres’s cold eyes bored into her, sharper than any blade.

Then came the whisper, low and merciless at her ear:

“Get out.”

“…What?”

“Leave this house. Now.”

“Ahhh!”

A searing pain exploded in her shoulders where Ceres gripped her, ripping a scream from her throat.

But just as suddenly, Ceres released her and stepped back with an almost cheerful smile.

“I’ll give you one hour. After that, if you’re still here… well, I am a good-natured person, but even I won’t live under the same roof as a would-be murderer.”

“You…!”

“And don’t bother running to Arnold. He’s already been handed over to the guards and is under interrogation.”

“What—?”

“My advice? Turn yourself in before I report you. It might help you win a little sympathy at trial.”

She shook the memory orb in one hand and smirked.

Agne trembled with fury and dread, but no words came.

“One hour,” Ceres said coolly.

With that final warning, she turned and strolled out, leaving Agne shrieking in impotent rage.

The room echoed with the crash of furniture as Agne hurled anything she could lay hands on.

What now?

Had Arnold truly confessed? Had he dragged her down with him?

“Madam…?”

Startled, she spun. A cluster of maids had rushed in, alarmed by the commotion.

But their faces twisted in horror as they stared at her.

“Y-Your hair…” one whispered.

“…What?”

“It’s… it’s turned white.”

White?

She staggered to the mirror. Her breath caught.

Her once-lustrous brown hair was gone, replaced by brittle, lifeless strands of ashen white.

“No… no, this can’t be!”

The scream that tore from her lips shook the halls of the Drew manor.

One Month Later

“Damn it. Maybe I should’ve at least taken the settlement money.”

Ceres brushed an errant strand of hair back with an annoyed sigh.

Most of the funds she had spent covering medical expenses for Agne and Director Arnold had been recovered, but the debt—especially the interest—was still far from repaid.

“So irritating.”

They had begged her for leniency, offering compensation. But she had refused.

Make peace with those who tried to kill a child? Not a chance. My stomach turns at the thought.

Even now, she could still hear Agne’s shrill curses echoing:

“Ceres Drew, you devil! I’ll never forgive you—!”

Ceres smirked faintly. What nonsense.