Chapter 131. Revenge (II), Part III
Translator: Khan
Editor Group: Liber Reverie
âWell, maybe youâre not all better yet, so youâd better rest for a while. Make sure you eat well and feel at home. You canât ignore the trauma.â
âAhâ¦!â
Ariaâs face turned pale as if the doctorâs words reminded her of the time of the incident. Having to live in a mask for a long time, she looked quite plausible.
Jessie, who was waiting by her side, hurriedly handed her the honeyed water. Jessie was black under her eyes as if she had not slept and worried. Aria bit her lips and asked again, recognizing that she was the only one who would remain unchanged from beginning to end.
âWell, what happened to Berry?â
âIâve called the guards, and Iâve sent people to go after her, so sheâll get caught in no time. Donât worry.â
Ariaâs expression was dark even in the Countâs affirmative answer.
â⦠Is it true that she did it? The⦠poison.â
âIâll have to investigate more to say for certain, but for now I have no choice but to see it.â
The incredible sight also dimmed the complexion of those watching her. They were grieved over the fact that the maid who was attending at her side had done such a terrible thing to her master.
âI hope she wouldnât be caught for a long time.â
Aria was so happy in this situation that she wanted to dance. âThe longer she runs away, the more compassion she will have for herself. If there is any rumor that this is related to Mielle, that will be a bonus.â
âMielle, are you all right?â
Aria spoke to Mielle, who was secretly checking her condition in the corner after she quietly opened the door and came in, and Mielle nodded in surprise. Yeah, it was like a criminal.
âI-Iâm okayâ¦â
âItâs a good thing. I wish it was only for me. If youâre going through this terrible thing, Iâm sure I canât stand it.â
The remark was sincere. If they were harmed together, wouldnât she be able to pass over the responsibility on to her? Of course, it was what she ordered, so she wouldnât do the stupid thing to drink poison on her own.
âOh, come to think of it, it was the opposite in the past.â
It was Mielle who had pretended to drink poison while she had abetted the crime. It was Aria who had been driven to the culprit. Of course, it was true that she had said it would be better to put poison in Berryâs temptation, but the first indicator of the case was Mielle, like now. That had ended Ariaâs life.
Foolish Mielle, it would have been better to pretend to drink poison like then. You didnât know that the bullied patient was followed by pity and sympathy.
â⦠Youâll be feeling better soon.â
âDidnât you want me to die?â
Mielleâs smile, which did not seem to be pleasant as usual, made Aria smile.
âThank you very much, Mielle. Iâm happy that youâre trying to cheer me up.â
Aria could see Mielleâs eyes shaking at the look of weakness but never likely to die. She seemed to want to run away from this place right now.
â⦠But Iâm relieved to see you wake up like this. I think Iâm disturbing you, so Iâll go out.â
And she said she was going to run away. It was quite hard to see the person, who she had been trying to kill, smiling alive. Aria could read her feelings from the way she hurried out of the room without looking back.
âIâll go, then. Call me whenever you need me.â
âYes, youâd better take a good rest. Iâm going out, too.â
When Mielle suggested that she would go out, the others left, saying, âYouâd better take a good rest.â The last ones who left were Annie and Jessie. Annie fell on Ariaâs bed and burst into sorrowful tears as if her startled heart still hadnât calmed down.
âI⦠I thought you were going to dieâ¦!â
Now she was crying, but in the past, if she said that she was also on the side of killing herself, who would believe it? In a complicated mood, Ariaâs hand, sweeping Annieâs hair was very rough.
âJessie, with this, Annieâs eyes would swell out. Can you bring her a cold towel? And the tea Iâm going to drink.â
Now that there were no more maids to serve, the share was naturally given to Jessie and Annie. In particular, Jessie left the room quietly answering whether she thought it was her job to do.
âHow is the atmosphere outside?â
Annie, who understood Ariaâs intentions at once, stopped crying and answered, âDonât even talk. The mansion went up and down. And you had a visitor that day, right? Heâs the one who had many connections in the noble society, so the rumor seems to have already spread.â
âReally? What kind of rumor?â
âThe maid tried to poison youâ¦â
There seemed to be no other rumor except the fact that nothing else was going on.
âIsnât it time yet?â
It had only been two days since the incident, so it wouldnât be easy to talk about anything but the fact. Just the fact that she had been nearly poisoned gave her a sweet taste.
âAnyway, the servants and maids of the mansion are all angry! There was a servant who threatened to tear her up and kill her if she comes backâ
âYes, I see.â
That alone was a good harvest. But the seed that had been sown had sprouted and grown as far as the sweet fruit was borne. Usually, rumors from the outside were supposed to spread in from the inside.
âAnnie, youâve got something to do.â
âWhat is it?â
âYes. I might get a little busy.â
Aria put on a smile. It was quite unexpected to see her who had a headache until now. Annie felt uneasy and swallowed her saliva.
âWhy donât you correct the rumor? Iâm sure many people are also curious about the state of the mansion.â
âAhâ¦â
That alone allowed Annie to notice what Aria wanted. Annie nodded vigorously.
âDonât, donât worry, miss! Iâm an expert on that.â
âYes, Iâll just trust you, Annie. Oh, by the way, Iâm sure Baron Burboom will be curious about that, whoâs on good terms with you, so please let him know.â
Baron Burboomâs favoritism and loyalty toward her was palpable. He must have been much more gossiping than Annie. Now that the plate was laid, all that was left was to wait.
As she threw a card of Annie and locked herself in the room, saying, âItâs impossible to get a visitor,â there was an unexpected visitor who she couldnât refuse. It was Sarah and Vincent.
âAriaâ¦!â
âSarah.â
She burst into tears as soon as she saw Ariaâs face, which had become very emaciated. It was because she didnât eat properly to look more plausible. Behind her, Marquis Vincent greeted her with a regretful face.
âYou must be busy, how can youâ¦?â
Even with Ariaâs question, Sarah could not easily answer, so the Marquis was the one who answered instead.
âI was told that you had a big incident, so we couldnât make an appointment, and we came here.â
The Marquis had a painful face, saying she looked very sick. Besides, when she faced Sarah as if she had got the incident, she couldnât say anything. She just had to look at it quietly together.
âI heard the culprit hasnât been caught yet.â
âI think she ran away right after I fell down.â
âI sent people to catch her as soon as possible.â
Aria nodded silently with her eyes wide open when he explained that there were people who had been trained to find people. At the very least, one of the maids fled, and she thought it was not necessary to hire such men, but she listened to him because he gave her an explanation quite seriously.
Then Sarah, who suddenly stopped crying, said while holding Ariaâs hand. âDonât worry, Aria. Iâm on your side.â
âSarah?â
âAnd the Marquis, too, right?â
âThatâs right.â
The Marquis nodded in response to Sarahâs question.
âAre they really going to be on my side even though I act like in the rumors. The wicked woman who people know, unlike now?â
Maybe it would be if it was Sarah. She thought Sarah would believe there was a reason for being such a wicked woman even if she did something evil. It was an infinite amount of trust that she had never received even from her mother.
â⦠Thank you.â
So when she answered with unwanted tears, Sarah hugged Aria and began to cry again. In the end, Sarah stopped crying only after her eyes were swollen, and she couldnât go back like that, so she borrowed a hat from Aria and hid her eyes and returned.