Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 51

Although her complexion was somewhat pale, the Marchioness Gent appeared to be in good health. It was hard to believe she had been foaming at the mouth and collapsing just moments ago. Even the usually composed emperor couldn’t hide his surprise at the sight.

 

“Cadence, what happened? Are you really okay?”

 

“Your Majesty, look at me. I’m perfectly fine, see?”

 

“Then, are you saying you didn’t ingest poison earlier?”

 

Marchioness Gent’s face turned icy. “No, I was definitely almost poisoned.”

 

Gasps of shock echoed from all around. Marchioness Gent turned her head to look at me. The emperor and the noblewomen’s eyes all followed, landing on me.

 

“Epirosa.”

 

Marchioness Gent called my name in a low voice. I could see Diane’s lips twitching.

 

“Yes, Marchioness,” I answered calmly.

 

At that, Marchioness Gent quickly approached me. “I was only able to survive thanks to you!” She pulled me into a tight embrace.

 

People stared at the two of us with confused expressions.

 

“What do you mean? Are you saying Lady Epirosa saved you?”

 

It was only after the emperor asked this question that Marchioness Gent released me.

 

“When I mentioned that I would be returning to society after such a long time, Epirosa was worried. She said that someone as influential as me suddenly reappearing might provoke certain factions to act against me.” Marchioness Gent looked at me with eyes full of affection and continued speaking. “Since she was so worried, she even gave me an antidote and told me to take it before coming to the tea party. Everyone knows how knowledgeable this girl is about medicine.”

 

“So, thanks to the antidote you took beforehand, you were able to recover even after being poisoned!” The emperor spoke as if he had just realized something.

 

Marchioness Gent nodded. “At first, I wondered why she gave me something like that, but it turned out to be a good thing I took it. Epirosa saved my life.”

 

People looked at me with a mix of surprise and admiration. Except for one person. Diane, who was desperately trying to hide her anxiety.

 

I bowed my head humbly. “I hoped nothing would happen even as I gave Marchioness the antidote, but it’s still unfortunate.”

 

“If Lady Epirosa isn’t the culprit, then who is?”

 

“Exactly. It’s certain that Marchioness Gent was poisoned.”

 

“But the tea leaves Lady Epirosa gifted didn’t contain any poison, right?”

 

“All the other food was inspected by the palace beforehand.”

 

The case seemed to be heading into a deadlock.

 

Marchioness Gent picked up the sculpture Diane had gifted, wrapping it in a handkerchief. “This bust, it felt slippery, as if something was coated on it when I touched it.” She slowly walked somewhere, holding the bust in her hand. “At first, I was so captivated by how much it resembled my sister that I didn’t pay attention, but… “Marchioness Gent stopped right in front of Diane.

 

Diane, pale as a sheet, stared at the marchioness in shock.

 

“Countess Diane, if you’re innocent, would you touch this bust? No, how about licking it?”

 

“W-What are you saying…!”

 

“I suspect the poison is right here.”

 

“T-That’s ridiculous…!” Diane stumbled back, raising her voice.

 

Marchioness Gent smirked, lifting the bust closer to Diane’s lips. “If you’re innocent, why can’t you do it?”

 

“Kyaa!”

 

Startled, Diane slapped the bust out of the marchioness’s hand. Then, as if possessed, she began frantically wiping her hand on her sleeve where it had touched the bust.

 

“Oh my goodness…”

 

“It must be true…”

 

The murmurs around her brought Diane back to her senses. Countless eyes were glaring at her with disdain.

 

Marchioness Gent spoke coldly. “You put poison in Epirosa’s tea and tried to poison me, didn’t you? You thought you could pin the blame on Epirosa.”

 

“T-That’s not true! There wasn’t any poison in the tea, was there? Why are you accusing me of putting poison in?”

 

Diane shouted desperately. But Marchioness Gent sneered icily.

 

“Epirosa must have suspected your intentions and prepared a new tea. So you gave me this bust laced with poison as a gift, just in case. You planned it all, layering your schemes two times over to kill me!” Marchioness Gent shouted in fury.

 

Cornered, Diane trembled violently, looking around in panic. Then, our eyes met. Her gaze twitched.

 

“It’s a misunderstanding! Epirosa is the one who smeared poison on the bust to frame me! That girl always hated me, no matter how kind I was to her!”

 

I looked at her with a surprised expression. “Aunt, how could you say I hate you? That’s a misunderstanding. I’ve always tried to convey my sincerity to you, but you always think of me that way…” I lowered my head, tears welling up in my eyes as if I was heartbroken.

 

I could hear murmurs of sympathy for me from those around us. The emperor and Marchioness Gent’s gazes toward Diane were cold.

 

“Then search both Epirosa and me! If one of us is the real culprit, something will come up!”

 

She was volunteering for a body search. The atmosphere shifted in an odd way.

 

“Could Countess Diane really be innocent?”

 

The emperor silently stared at Diane before nodding. “Fine. But to ensure no evidence can be hidden, conduct the search here and now.”

 

Soon, maids appeared carrying two large partition screens. Diane and I each stepped behind a screen to be searched by the maids. Before the screen closed, I saw Diane smile at me. A smile that seemed to say, ‘You’re finished.’

 

As the screen closed, I lifted the corners of my lips. No, you’re the one who’s finished.

 

Moments later, a scream came from the maid on my side of the screen. “Something came out of the dress!” The maid carefully tore open the inside of the skirt and pulled out a pouch.

 

I watched the scene calmly. The maids, rather than me, were the ones flustered by my composed demeanor, as if I hadn’t been caught doing anything wrong. Soon, a commotion arose from Diane’s side of the curtain.

 

“A pouch came out from here too!”

 

“This is ridiculous! This, this isn’t mine!” Unlike my calm reaction, Diane shouted in a panic.

 

After Diane and I had adjusted our clothes, the curtains were drawn open. The maid on my side brought the pouch to the emperor. However, the maid on Diane’s side couldn’t immediately hand over the pouch. Diane was desperately clinging to her maid.

 

“This isn’t mine! Someone set me up! Yes, Epirosa! It was Epirosa who did this!”

 

“Madam, we don’t even know what’s inside this pouch yet.” The maid spoke coldly. Soon, other maids pried Diane off her.

 

The emperor’s maid received both pouches.

 

“Open Lady Epirosa’s pouch first.”

 

When the pouch was opened, a flurry of white powder spilled out. The emperor looked at me with cold eyes. “What is this?”

 

I approached the emperor with a calm expression. “It’s sand that is said to bring good luck. I bought it from a street vendor when I went out for a stroll.” And then, I picked up the white sand and touched it to my tongue without hesitation.

 

The suspicion on the emperor’s face disappeared as he watched me. His gaze now shifted to Diane’s pouch.

 

“Y-Your Majesty, that is…!”

 

“Open it.”

 

What came out of Diane’s pouch was purple powder. It was the same color as the foam that had been at the corners of Marchioness Gent’s mouth when she collapsed.

 

“My goodness!”

 

“It’s real poison!”

 

Shocked voices echoed from all around. Diane covered her mouth with both hands, trembling uncontrollably.

 

“Will Countess also take a taste of this, just like Lady Epirosa?”

 

Diane looked as though she couldn’t possibly agree to that. Because she dissolved the same poison and smeared it on the bust given to Marchioness Gent.

 

That was what Madam Mona had revealed. Stella had come up with the idea to coat the bust with poison. Even if I had switched the poisoned tea, it was all to ensure Marchioness Gent would die.

 

After all, if the pouch with the poison was found in my dress, I would be framed as the culprit. But I had swapped the pouch in my dress for one filled with lucky sand.

 

The real poison pouch had been hidden in your dress by Madam Mona, Diane. Because Diane’s dress was even more ornate and heavy than mine, she didn’t notice it.