CH 55.1

The keeper, who saw Emma looking at it, quickly said, “It’s garbage. I’m going to throw it away.”

“The water bottle is pretty,” Emma commented.

“Oh, really? It’s not worth much…”

Before the man could finish his words, Emma picked up the water bottle, a hint of desire in her eyes. “I like the rough yet mysterious look.”

As she pretended to look at the dusty water bottle, she placed her nose close to it. As expected, there was that faint smell; It was the bottle that Irvan used. Emma was convinced. Thinking that her actions might have looked strange or suspicious to the keeper, she rummaged through the other things too.

“Are you going to throw them all away?” she asked.

“Yes, yes, that’s right,” the keeper said hastily.

Emma put down the junk she had been tinkering with, and stroking her chin with a troubled look on her face, she said, “I love these things here, so can I buy them?”

“This?” The keeper’s eyes widened.

“Yes,” Emma nodded. “These look like trinkets that are hard to find somewhere else. I’ll give you plenty of money for it.”

“Oh, no! Just take it. I was going to throw it away anyway. If you need anything else, take it. I was going to destroy it this evening and burn it all.”

After hearing the keeper’s words, Emma gestured to Jenna. The latter quickly opened her pocket and handed the keeper some money. This time, not silver, but with gold in hand. His face was bright. After that, Emma and Jenna rummaged and picked items from the pile. In order to avoid suspicion, she picked useless things from the clutter, including the water bottle.

* * *

The Berne family’s carriage went back the way it had come. Returning to the mansion only after sunset, Emma barely attended the dinner table, she just showed her face and headed straight for the basement. Then she took out the water bottle and started analyzing it.

‘It has a complex smell, but the main scent is definitely ‘Red Matgal.’ Emma had such a keen sense of smell that she once dreamed of becoming a perfumer. Although the smell alone was strong evidence, she had to have a solid substance to prove it objectively.

‘How do I confirm if there is Red Matgal in the residue?’

Emma struggled, staring at the rugged water bottle. The ingredients that were dried up in the water bottle were only tiny amounts of the residue that had diluted in drinking water. Besides, there is only one piece of evidence. A considerable amount of time had passed since Irvan left the mountain lodge, so all the leftover food must have rotted or been thrown away. Moreover, the drink Irvan consumed did not contain ‘Red Matgal’ but ‘Tasugari’, a weaker drug.

Moreover, Irvan, who returned to Van Wert estate, couldn’t find any evidence in the water or food during their stay at the annex, so this water bottle was the only clue for now; the only one piece of evidence that the Muns siblings pulled a suspicious plot on Irvan. ‘I must not ruin it,’ Emma thought.

When Emma heard Jenna talking about Irvan, she was suspicious of ‘Red Matgal’. Even if Irvan was originally violent, his impulsiveness would become extremely strong if he became stimulated by consuming Red Matgal. In addition, if a victim was already stimulated and further, intentionally roused with offensive words and tauntings, violence may temporarily burst out.

‘That’s how they sacrificed the guards and locked Irvan in the mountain lodge.’

The Muns siblings are behind all this. They were aiming for the maids to sleep with Irvan. It must have been for the Countess who could not have an heir. If she wants to continue to take control of the County as she is now, she could use Irvan’s child to take over the Van Wert estate. Maybe that’s why the pharmacy was full of gynecological medicines. Not only Countess Karina but also the maids would have needed medicine. Of course, the plot went down the drain with Irvan’s keen sense and Emma’s intrusion.

‘I need to get the evidence.’ The enemy, the motive, and the crime were certain, but there was insufficient evidence to prove the crime. Irvan also seemed to have noticed that they plotted something, but there was no clear confirmation.

Emma narrowed her brows and pondered. What was the reason that Muns siblings, who had been silent the whole time, played tricks on Irvan even at the expense of sacrificing their aides? ‘Time? Urgency?’ They must have been impatient and had to use hard-line measures.

‘What made them so impatient?’ As she folded her arms and thought about the reason carefully, Van Wert’s circumstances flashed through Emma’s mind ‘The Count is seriously ill. Countess Karina has no heir.’ Count Limon is said to be bedridden for many years, and that his condition had worsened recently. It was clear that he didn’t have much time left.

After Count Limon’s death, and the succession of the title to Irvan, Countess Karina must step down. Irvan has already come of age, and he has all the conditions to succeed Van Wert County as he leads the ‘Black Awl Knights’, the core power of Count Van Wert. Countess Karina was being torn by anxiety.

Furthermore, she learned from the Berne’s of Irvan’s enormous fortune. The Muns siblings must have wanted to devour the mouth-watering legacy of Countess Charlene, and get rid of Irvan.