novelWhy is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (7)
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Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Why is the white poplar by the river shining alone? (7)
Taking her eyes off of the knights disappearing, she noticed a lady who was familiar to her.
She fixed her gaze on her, snorting at her.
The lady was standing with a pale look among the nobles who surrounded them. She was Altarin, Earl Scholters's third daughter. It was late in the night, and most of the ladies already left the hunting grounds and returned to their homes, but she had remained. Wendy's suspicion of her was too big for her to believe that Altarin stayed until now because of her lingering affection for Lard.
Did she want to confirm for herself the consequences of the crime that she had committed? Wendy felt it very regrettable that she could not see how frustrated and angry Altarin was when she returned safely. Although Lard firmly promised to punish her by all means, Wendy was even considering getting even with her if he didn't. There were so many ways for her to take revenge on Altarin without anyone knowing.
"...I'm innocent! Let go of me!"
When Wendy was pondering over how to get revenge on her, she heard somebody screaming violently. While imagining the methods of cruel revenge with a smile, she quickly turned her head toward the source of the noise.
"I didn't do anything! You're mistaken!"
The guy shouting while being dragged by the knights was familiar to Wendy. He had been hanging around the horses before they went on the hunt. He was the guy that she suspected had done something terrible to Snowyko.
The knights dragged the man forward roughly and had him kneel before Lard. His hands were already tied. Lard examined his facial expression. He looked terrified. The guy turned his eyes from Lard's gaze as he felt uncomfortable and looked around as if he was looking around for urgent help. Scared by the guy's desperate expression, Altarin avoided his eyes as if she saw a ghost. Wendy observed them with interest.
"Your face is familiar to me, " said Lard. The man suddenly flinched at that.
"Oh, I don't know you, sir."
"You don't know me, but you know well about my beloved horse over there. I saw you hanging around my horse this morning. Why did you wander around my horse?" asked Lard, pointing at Snowyko, tied neared by
"... I don't know, sir."
"You don't know? I clearly saw you doing something horrible to my horse, but you're denying it?"
Despite Lard's threatening tone, the man was silent. Lard nodded to the knight on standby, as if he already expected the guy not to confess. The knight brought a short man who was standing behind him. The man bowed deeply to Lard after nodding to John, the imperial stablekeeper.
"Tell me who you are, " Lard ordered the man.
"Sir, my name is Joins Bill, I work for my boss John at the imperial stables."
"Joins, I hear you have something to tell me about this guy. Tell me in detail what you have seen today."
At Lard's order, Joins swallowed and caught his breath. The guy, who was kneeling, turned white with fear as soon as he saw Joins' face.
"Yes, in the morning, a horse owned by the imperial palace began estrus and made a big disturbance. As it was the first time that she was in a rut, I was very embarrassed because I couldn't show it to the nobles. So, I thought it very strange and found out that she began estrus after she drank water that guy washed his hands in. Since that guy's actions were so suspicious, I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't paid close attention. Oh, I was very upset because that guy washed his hands freely in the water to feed these precious horses. In fact, the horses drank the water before I had a chance to stop them..." Joins spoke cautiously, fearing that he might also be suspected by Lard. When Lard quickly raised his hand and urged him to get to the point, Joins continued, as if he was embarrassed.
"Anyway, I approached him, but he ran away after I startled him. He looked suspicious. Well, of course, I might have ended up simply suspecting his actions, but..."
Joins then glanced around.
"He seemed to be so embarrassed that he dropped this pouch here on the ground. At first I didn't take it seriously, so I threw it in a corner inadvertently, but as I looked after the horse in heat, I thought twice and opened the pouch. I didn't know how hard my heart was pounding at the moment... How can't I know about rutting drugs as a man with long experience in dealing with horses? As soon as I opened it, I immediately recognized it."
Joins offered an old little pouch to Lard.
"I never thought this guy used the same rutting agent for another horse. How could a guy be stupid enough to use it for a horse in the hunting contest? Besides, when I opened the pouch, it was quite some time after the hunting competition began... I just thought maybe he was careless enough to wash his hands stained with rutting agent in the water the horse was drinking. Oh, of course, as the horse went crazy after drinking the water, I thought I would have to report the accident when I returned to the palace, " Joins continued, looking at Lard and John alternately.
As Joins was in charge of caring for the imperial horses, he was supposed to take full responsibility if there was something wrong with them. Therefore, obviously he must have wanted to hide the fact that one of the horses had been given a rutting agent by somebody. That's why John, listening to Joins' explanation, looked at him all the time with an unpleasant expression.
Lard took the pouch from him, checked it and handed it over to Professor Sellington of Jeddah Academy. There was a very fine trace of yellow powder inside the pouch. Selington looked inside and smelled the powder. Then, he took a red reagent from the black bag he was holding, and sprinkled it on the powder. The result of the test was positive.
"Yes, this is a rutting agent, " Sellington said conclusively in no time.
"Now, we have a witness and the hard evidence. Are you going to deny again that you were responsible? You harmed not only me but also the imperial family because the horse belonging to the imperial family had abnormal symptoms. You must know the ramification of your crime. In other words, you are now suspected of intending to kill the crown prince, " Lard said with a heavy voice. The guy trembled in terror.
"I don't think you plotted this terrible thing by yourself. Who instigated you?"
The situation got all the more worse. Altarin Scholters might have simply tried to do harm to a nobody called Wendy Waltz, but she ended up inflicting harm on the Schroder family who owned the horse Wendy was riding. Furthermore, her ill-advised actions developed into an enormous incident where she was suspected of attempting to kill the crown prince. No matter how powerful the Shalters family was, she couldn't handle the situation alone.
"Who is your master?" Lard asked sternly.
His voice was low and resolute. It overwhelmed him.
As he found an unexpected witness and hard evidence, Lard seemed to be trying to find the culprit by continuing the momentum. Whether he intended it or not, it was a boon that the crown prince brought in Bilterhan and John for the investigation.
But the guy kept silent. He seemed to be controlling his emotions by shivering and darting his gaze around.
Shortly afterwards, at Lard's order, a knight forcibly searched his body and eventually found Count Scholters's nameplate.
Altarin turned white with fear and stepped back. Although the man refused to confess, the evidence was obvious, and Lard came forward as a witness. There was no chance that she could avoid responsibility for the accident. The only solution for her would be to deny her charges completely.
And she responded exactly as expected.
"I don't know anything about it! I can't believe that the guy did it, and even if he did, it has nothing to do with me! Did I instigate him? No way! Why would I do that?"
Altarin totally took the stance as a bystander, but her despicable attitude decisively prompted the guy to change his attitude. If his master had abandoned him, he had no reason to stay loyal. His loyalty was not very deep.
"You don't know anything about it, huh? That's funny. How can you say you don't know when your close servant does something so terrible?"
"My close servant? He is just one of the many servants in my mansion! I don't know that man well!"
"Altarin... If that's true, do you know this guy's name? I would say you can't deny you don't know his name, " Lard asked, staring at her face sternly. Her face turned red.
During that short span, she found herself agonizing over the gains and losses of her admission.
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