Chapter 45
Thompson, the head butler, and Melania, the head maid, had already been informed, so they would be paying attention. However, even they only knew that Shay had some hidden illness that was difficult to detect.
In reality, it was far more vile and underhanded than that.
Shay’s face was pale as porcelain from the intense pain, and she lay helplessly. Benjamin could only watch, unable to touch her for fear she might break if he so much as reached out.
Once everyone had left and the room fell silent, Benjamin’s face twisted in agony.
If he could, he wanted to tear out the very source of Shay’s suffering. But for now, all he could do was alleviate the pain to some degree.
When Benjamin had investigated the Alantra Marquis family, especially William, there wasn’t much information to be found. They hadn’t planted spies within the family, so the details available were limited.
However, it was unusual that among the items they regularly acquired, there were various types of poisons and antidotes that could be obtained through secret deals.
That said, among noble families, it wasn’t unheard of for members to ingest small amounts of poison regularly to build resistance, so this alone wasn’t entirely suspicious.
What caught Benjamin’s attention more was that, compared to other families, there were “almost no whispers” about them.
In any noble family, some gossip would inevitably leak out, whether about a tea party hosted by a family or a young heir’s picky eating habits.
Yet, nothing like that came from the Alantra Marquis family, as if someone was strictly controlling information.
Clearly, something was going on.
Benjamin decided to continue his investigation into the Alantra family while focusing on individuals around Shay who had come from that family.
The servants of the Riverstar Duke family were carefully vetted when hired, so it made sense to investigate them first.
There was the nanny Marilla, brought in at Shay’s request.
Then, the three maids—Betty, Jacquelyn, and Dera—brought in when Shay married.
Shay had a special bond with her nanny, and Marilla seemed genuinely affectionate toward Shay. But Benjamin remained cautious.
When Benjamin had tasted cookies supposedly baked by Marilla, he noticed an unusual flavor and texture that shouldn’t have been there.
Benjamin had knowledge of poisons, antidotes, and medicinal herbs, gained inevitably from treating injured people during monster hunts.
Yet, even he had never encountered that taste. His finely tuned senses couldn’t identify it.
Suspicious of Marilla, Benjamin secretly investigated her room.
He found a bottle of unknown powder and a bird used as a messenger.
It appeared disguised as a pet to Shay and others, but Benjamin was not fooled. He had also heard that Marilla’s bird had occasionally wandered out of its cage for days.
Benjamin tasted the powder from the bottle. It was a fine pink color.
It had the same texture and taste as the cookies he had noticed.
“Why would she mix this into cookies and feed them to Shay?”
Benjamin, able to detect most poisons, concluded it wasn’t a toxin.
But it wasn’t an ordinary ingredient either, which was already suspicious.
Furthermore, Marilla had been delivering “certain messages” to someone.
The messenger bird would reliably return after being sent out.
Benjamin didn’t reveal his suspicions that Marilla might be a spy, but he ordered his close aides to keep an eye on her.
Then, he quietly instructed that the three maids brought from the Alantra family be brought in.
Everything was arranged so the other servants wouldn’t notice anything unusual.
When the unsuspecting maids were surrounded by knights and brought to the underground prison, only then did they realize the situation.
“You know why you’ve been brought here, don’t you?”
At Benjamin’s words, Betty trembled and cried, Jacquelyn stiffened from tension, and Dera remained expressionless.
Benjamin’s serious tone made even the boldest flinch.
“If you honestly tell me under whose orders you acted and what you did, I can mitigate the punishment you will receive. Miss this chance, and I will use any means necessary to uncover the truth.”
Jacquelyn was the quickest to understand the situation. She immediately knelt and pleaded with Benjamin.
“Miss… no, my lady, we were planning to tell you everything soon! We even discussed it among ourselves!”
“Jacquelyn!”
Dera snapped sharply to silence her, but Jacquelyn glared and shouted back.
“In a situation like this, we’re all dead anyway. I don’t know about you, but I want to live!”
Jacquelyn looked at Benjamin with desperate eyes.
“If you spare us, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll cooperate. If you forgive us, I’ll go abroad and live as if dead. Please have mercy.”
“I’ll see if you’re worth it.”
Benjamin replied sternly. Jacquelyn quickly began speaking, as if proving her value.
“Miss… no, my lady, swallowed the tail of a Casioca scorpion. I don’t know if you’re aware, but anyone with it in their body suffers intense pain periodically.”
Benjamin’s brows furrowed completely.
The tail of a Casioca scorpion.
It wasn’t the real tail, but a parasite shaped similarly, living in the heart of a small animal. The actual scorpion’s tail cannot infect humans.
However, there were rare cases where, through repeated special treatment, it could be implanted in a human heart.
The pain was so severe that, when used against enemies, it was considered merciful to simply kill them instantly with a potent poison.
Rage surged.
Even Benjamin, usually expressionless, had eyes blazing with fury this time. Yet he maintained composure. There were still things to uncover.
“How did you manage the pain? No one noticed while she lived here, so you must have done something, right?”
“We had painkillers and gave them to my lady regularly.”
The analgesics to suppress the scorpion-tail pain were extremely rare, requiring considerable wealth and influence to obtain.
And above all, whoever did this had to be in a position to act on Shay without being discovered.
“It can’t be…”
Someone came to mind. Benjamin hoped he was wrong and asked:
“Who did this?”
Even Jacquelyn, usually spilling everything to save herself, hesitated this time. She glanced anxiously several times before finally speaking.
“The Alantra Marquis.”
The hypothesis Benjamin had feared was correct.
How could her father commit such a cruel act on his own daughter…
Benjamin’s rage boiled over. He grabbed the iron bars of the underground prison with bare hands. The metal bent as if it were paper.
Even Dera, usually expressionless, shivered instinctively. Betty cried almost hysterically, but no one paid attention.
“For what purpose did he do this?”
Benjamin asked rigidly, restraining his anger. Jacquelyn answered quickly.
“We don’t know exactly what the Alantra Marquis wanted. But the most important order he gave us was…”
Jacquelyn nervously bit her lips, embarrassed to speak. Benjamin warned sharply.
“I’m not as patient as Shay.”
Jacquelyn clenched her skirt and shouted:
“He cared most about the consummation between the two of you!”
Benjamin had not anticipated this.
“He worried that, among nobles, if a political marriage was arranged, the couple might avoid relations except on assigned nights. He demanded, by any means, that my lady… no, your ladyship, consummate with the Duke. We don’t know anything beyond that!”
It was increasingly bizarre and absurd.
It was natural for spouses to have relations. Even in loveless noble marriages, heirs were crucial, so refusal without reason was rare.
To control that through such cruel means… he was clearly abnormal. Benjamin also suspected other hidden motives the family wasn’t revealing.
“What about this powder?”
Benjamin showed Jacquelyn the pink powder from Marilla’s room. She swallowed nervously.
“That… is… the painkiller my lady needs…”
Jacquelyn then asked urgently:
“Has Marilla… confessed everything?”
“…”
Benjamin didn’t respond, waiting to hear Jacquelyn’s account.
Jacquelyn, intimidated, turned her gaze. She noticed the bent iron bars, which amplified her fear.
She began speaking without being asked:
“We didn’t know my lady had lost part of her memory, so we thought she would immediately come for the painkiller. Marilla informed us that my lady forgot she needed the medicine. Until she could call us back, Marilla decided to mix the painkiller into cookies for her. The time for her pain had arrived, so she gave it steadily to prevent seizures.”
Jacquelyn cautiously asked Benjamin:
“Does my lady know now… that Marilla was acting on the Alantra Marquis’s… orders?”
“You only need to answer the questions I ask.”
“Yes…”
Jacquelyn immediately lowered her gaze under Benjamin’s intimidating presence.
