Chapter 20
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She hesitated, but that was all.
He still did not know her true identity.
……As long as he didn't find out that she was a bastard of Orbanon, she would be fine.
"Are you not going to answer me?"
Declain’s voice was relaxed and leisurely.
"Or should I call you Renia Felt?"
"……You are right. My name is Prina Crowell."
A smile brushed across Declain’s lips, as if he were pleased with that answer.
"Why did you lie?"
Is he asking because he doesn't know?
He killed a man right in front of her and openly displayed his suspicious nature…….
'Obviously, it's normal to want to hide it.'
It wasn't a grand name, but it wasn't a worthless one either, so she hadn't wanted to share it.
Declain surely knew the reason why.
"……I'm sorry. I didn't think we were fated to meet again."
He was likely just leaning back in his chair, enjoying Prina’s reaction.
"I told you we would see each other again, so why would you think that? I'm disappointed."
"……Because most encounters don't lead to meeting again."
It was a very sensible answer.
Even if a mere commoner had deceived a Grand Duke, Declain wouldn't have gained any grand impression from it.
That was what she hoped for.
"Then I suppose we aren't an ordinary connection. How many times have we seen each other already?"
Declain’s eyes crinkled into crescents.
"As if it were destiny."
The voice of Declain as he said that sank very coldly.
'You don't believe in things like destiny.'
Prina’s hands, clasped beneath the desk, trembled. Even if his tone was soft, there was no way to miss the implication.
The frequent encounters were highly suspicious. Especially with what happened at the banquet hall.
"It seems to suit you much better than a fake name like Renia Felt."
"……Yes."
"Prina. It means 'flower' in the ancient language, doesn't it?"
"……It's a common name."
Declain watched her for a moment, then laughed lightly.
"Flowers are common by nature. But aren't they still beautiful?"
Prina thought for a moment.
Flowers, at least, have the common trait of being beautiful, but she wasn't sure if that applied to people.
"It suits you well."
Well.
Prina was someone far from the side of being beautiful.
"I told you we should meet normally next time, didn't I? It's nice to see you like this."
This is…… a normal meeting?
If it were any more "normal," someone would end up dead.
"I heard you called for me, Your Excellency. Did I…… do something wrong?"
Prina gathered her courage and asked.
'Stay calm.'
She had actually prevented the poisoning. She hadn't attempted the assassination.
If one thought about it logically, there was no issue.
"Wrong, you say? That’s right, I have business with you, Miss Prina."
Declain would never ask how she handled the poison.
Instead, he would likely pin a different charge on her…….
"Did you steal the poisoned wine, Miss Prina?"
He easily bypassed her expectations.
'He’s asking this so directly……?'
Declain didn't seem to have any intention of hiding his own staged act.
His attitude suggested he had nothing to fear in a place where they were alone.
Five seconds of being flustered by this unexpected turn.
"Yes, that's right. I stole it."
Prina answered the honest question honestly.
Declain’s smile deepened, but his eyes were not smiling at all.
"Why?"
It was a light question.
But if she answered incorrectly, she would be saddled with multiple charges right here and never escape the dungeon.
"C-Count Seaton was the one who tried to assassinate you, wasn't he?"
Prina decided to play dumb.
His gaze was fixed on Prina’s face, as if gauging whether the words she spat out were the truth or a clumsy lie.
Declain began to twirl his quill with his fingertips, spinning it gracefully.
"How, exactly, did you know that the wine was poisoned?"
Because I read the original work…….
She shouldn't answer that.
"I didn't know at first. But after I bumped into the attendant carrying the ceremonial wine, I thought something was strange."
"Strange, how?"
"That attendant came out of the servant's passage."
Declain’s expression didn't change. As if to say, so what?
"The ceremonial wine for the banquet hall goes through the hallway near the main entrance. The triumphal procession event has designated paths for servants, too. But that attendant…… came out from a side that isn't visible to people."
After being dispatched to the Imperial kitchen, Prina had also been informed of the routes.
"You realized it just from that?"
"……No. There was one more thing. The attendant carrying the wine…… was gripping the neck of the bottle."
"……And what is the problem with that?"
A hint of absurdity seeped into Declain’s voice.
"Attendants don't hold it like that. The ceremonial wine offered to honored guests is placed on a tray with the bottle laid down so the label faces up, and it's carried with both hands. That is the etiquette."
"……."
"But the attendant bringing the ceremonial wine to Your Excellency couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with etiquette, could they?"
Of course, the assassin Declain had brought was someone who had learned the etiquette quite well. But that etiquette had been subtly different.
However, there was no need to say that much.
"So that's how you noticed?"
"I thought the feeling was off, and afterwards, I was anxious, so I secretly checked it with a silver spoon."
Declain seemed lost in thought.
Prina stared at the quill rolling slowly in his hand.
Why was he not wearing the Caesar family heirloom—the ring—that he never took off in the original novel?
Not last time, and not the time before that.
Ever since they met at Leighton Bridge, he hadn't been wearing the ring at all.
The unpleasant hypothesis she had brushed off lightly began to snowball, growing into a terror she could no longer ignore, engulfing Prina’s entire body.
Could it be, really……?
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