Chapter 59 Who is the murderer's pawn?

The white clouds were dyed irregular orange-red by the setting sun, and were scattered in varying thicknesses above the tall gray castle. The dense snow on the ground showed no signs of melting. As the carriage passed by, the white snow adhered to the gaps between the wheels and turned into drops of crystal water.

Vifia got off the carriage and found that the Marquis's Mansion, which should have been peaceful and orderly, was now in chaos.

She looked at the few servants who greeted her at the door. "What's going on?"

The servants looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, a brave maid stepped forward and explained, "Miss, the lady has been poisoned. The murderer... the murderer is suspected to be Master Stellan."

After he finished speaking, the servants in front of him shrank their necks and lowered their heads. They were just servants, and when they encountered such a scandal of the nobles, they just hoped that their anger would not spread to them and that they would not kill those who knew about it.

Surprise flashed in Vifiya's eyes. Stellan? She had a guess in her mind. She looked at Marlene, who was carrying a suitcase behind her, and said with a warning, "Take Marlene back to my room. Keep your mouth shut until we get the truth."

Looking at Naang on the side, she said, "Uncle Naang, let's go together," based on the Marquis's trust in him.

He gestured to Arnold beside him.

The two followed Vifia and walked towards the Marchioness's room.

Along the way, Vifiya's servants were seen hurriedly bowing and carrying wooden basins. The closer they got to the Marquise's bedroom, the stronger the smell of blood became. Vifiya frowned slightly.

She stopped the maid who was walking in the opposite direction from them.

"Miss?" The maid was panting, with a thin layer of sweat on her face.

Vifiya lowered her eyes. The wooden basin was full of blood. Her brows were a little cold. The situation was more serious than she thought.

She raised her eyes and asked, "How is mother doing now?"

The maid steadied herself, took a deep breath, and spoke anxiously, "Madam is in danger now. The doctors can't stop the bleeding. The Patriarch of the church is praying for her."

Vifia was silent and let the maid go. She looked towards the door of the Marquise's bedroom. Several knights were guarding the door, so she quickened her pace.

"Miss, Deputy Commander." The knights stood up straight and bowed their heads in salute.

The smell of blood wafted out from the half-open door. Servants hurried in and out, carrying basins of blood. Vifiya's face was filled with surprise. Without hesitation, she looked at Naang and Arnold and said, "Wait outside first."

After she finished speaking, she lifted her skirt and walked in quickly. Servants carrying wooden basins passed by her without paying any attention to normal etiquette.

The smell of blood hit her face, just like the smell she smelled in her body when her consciousness was pulled away that day.

Vifiya slowed down her pace and glanced around calmly. Neve was not inside. She concealed her thoughts and saw several servants kneeling tremblingly on the side, and Valholian standing behind the Marquis. Both of them had solemn expressions and were silent.

The doctors' hands were stained with the Marquise's blood. They surrounded the bed and tried their best to stop the bleeding. They did not speak, but performed the movements in tacit understanding.

In such an environment, the sound of the Marquise coughing up blood was particularly obvious.

The middle-aged patriarch closed his eyes and prayed for her not far from the end of the bed.

Stellan stood in everyone's sight, his face extremely ugly, his hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists.

Vifia ignored the gazes of the Marquis and his two sons. She breathed lightly and stood in a place where she could see the current condition of the Marquise without disturbing the doctor's rescue.

Only then did she see clearly that the Marquise's pillow and bedding were stained with blood.

The originally beautiful face was completely bloodless, the only red color was the blood that kept flowing from her throat.

She couldn't help coughing, and every time she coughed, the bright red color appeared more than double, and her whole body was shaking.

Vifiya pursed her lips slightly, feeling complicated. She had no feelings for the Marquise, nor for this family.

In the past, when she was moving towards her goal, some of them became her stumbling blocks, some became her opponents, but only the Marquise was the one who truly watched from the sidelines.

She has been watching everything in the Marquis of Kesley's Mansion with a cold eye. In the past, Vifiya was afraid of her and guarded against her. Even after she discovered her secret and cooperated with her, Vifiya would be cautious.

The daughter of the Duke of Haihefu has never been simple.

Vifiya's fingertips moved slightly, and she stood still. Even though she had some guesses in her heart, it would be a lie to say that she was not moved when she saw her in so much pain.

In her scarlet eyes, the Marquise seemed to be in so much pain that she almost fainted. Her glass-like eyes lost their luster, and a different emotion flashed across her quickly, so quickly that it seemed as if the expression was only revealed because she was in too much pain. She seemed to glance at Vifia inadvertently.

How could Vifiya, who had been paying attention to that side, not catch the look in the Marquise's eyes? It was just an ordinary emotion. She only felt a shock in her heart, and her expression did not change. She slowly lowered her head, as if she could not bear to see the Marquise in such pain.

She retracted her hand slightly and turned her face away.

Perhaps she underestimated the Marquise's determination.

After a while, she walked up to the Marquis and whispered, "Father, I'll go out and wait. I can't help much here, and it will also reduce the pressure on the doctor."

The Marquis looked down at her, lost in thought. His gaze lingered for a long moment, moving from the Patriarch to the Marquise's pained expression. A suppressed storm lurked in his amber eyes. He said to the maids milling about the room, "Stay here and cooperate with the doctor." He glanced at the praying Patriarch and sideways at the kneeling servants, "You, follow me."

The Marquis walked out of the bedroom first. Vifia and Vaholian understood and followed without hesitation. When passing by Stellan, Vaholian's eyes were cold, and he motioned him to follow.

At the bedroom door, Naang and Arnold saluted the Marquis. The Marquis did not react to Arnold's appearance. He only ordered, "Nang, come with us and guard the door." He said to the guarding knights, including Arnold, "Keep an eye on this place."

In the room used exclusively for the Marquise to entertain guests, the Marquis rarely showed his emotions. His face was filled with anger, and he grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it hard at Stellan.

Stellan didn't dodge, and blood flowed down his face.

The servants who had already knelt beside them lowered their heads even more.

"What do you want to say?" The Marquis suppressed the anger in his throat.

Stellan looked up at the Marquis and said, "Father, someone is trying to frame me. How can I poison him with so many eyes watching?"

The anger in the Marquis's eyes had not yet subsided. Stellan continued, "My mother drank the water. Maybe something had been put in it before I gave it to her."

Vaholian stood beside the Marquis, glancing at the kneeling servants: "You speak."

The four servants shuddered, looking at each other before finally turning to the Marquise's personal maid in the middle. She knelt half a step forward, then stood straight, her eyes filled with grief and indignation. She spoke with neither humility nor arrogance, "My Lord Marquis, your Majesty has been feeling unwell since four days ago, and she's had a high fever since yesterday. It finally broke this afternoon. During this time, we've carefully and repeatedly checked everything your Majesty uses, not to mention anything you take orally. The doctor will record it to see if there's anything wrong with it."

After a pause, she took a deep breath, made up her mind, stood up and bowed: "Please forgive my rudeness, sir." She looked at Valhorian, "Can you please go back to the lady's bedroom with me?"

Vaholian and the Marquis exchanged a glance, and he took a step forward: "Let's go."

Vifiya looked at all the remaining people present calmly. The servants were all the Marquise's people, so they were bound to stand on the Marquise's side. Their fear was real, and their loyalty was also real.

Once Stellan is charged with matricide, even though he is a nobleman, he will not be able to escape the fate of being tried and permanently expelled, let alone competing for the position of heir.

She concealed the thoughts in her eyes and secretly observed the Marquis who was sitting in the main seat in deep thought. No matter where the Marquis' anger came from, it didn't matter whether he really loved the Marquise.

More importantly, the Marquise was once the daughter of the Duke of Heyhof. If she died in this way, it would bring trouble to the Caseley family, both for the Marquis of Caseley himself and for Stellan.

She thought that the Marquis should know this better than her, and who knows, the news might have already reached Duke Heihof's ears.

It’s good to be chaotic, the more chaotic the better.

The door opened and Vaholian and the maid walked in, followed by a man who was the pharmacist of the mansion.

The maid placed the things in her hand on the table in front of the Marquis, bowed, and took a few steps back.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the thing: the doctor's record sheet and the tool for checking the food intake, as well as the glass of water that caused the Marquise to be poisoned.

Vaholian explained, "Father, I asked the pharmacist to check the water."

The Marquis did not refute but nodded in approval of his behavior.

While the Marquis was personally checking the record sheet, the pharmacist did not speak casually, for fear that he would be blamed for the mistake if he was not careful. He began to carefully examine the water in the glass.

The maid suppressed her anger and spoke again, "My Lord Marquis, the doctor checked this glass of water before Madam drank it. It's just an ordinary glass of water. No one touched it before Master Stellan touched it."

The Marquis flipped through the documents silently, slower and slower, until he finally set his sights on the tools he was inspecting. There was no sign of any poison. Everything the Marquise had used during her illness had been rigorously scrutinized, and all records were kept.

Time dragged on, and the room became eerily quiet.

The pharmacist stopped everything he was doing, suppressed his surprise, and lowered his head to state his conclusion: "It is indeed poisonous, but..." His expression was a little hesitant, "It is Gehuo Ding."

The Marquis's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Are you sure?"

The pharmacist nodded and said affirmatively, "Yes, Your Excellency, Gehuo Ding is a rare poison, and the Lai Huan grass required for it is also very rare."

Vaholian glanced at Stellan, concealing his thoughts, and spoke at the right time: "I remember that Stellan was very interested in the classification of poisons before he went to Lachigo."

The Marquis looked up at Stellan with a heavy gaze.

Stellan, who was in the center of everyone's sight, clenched his hands. What Vaholian said was the truth, and he couldn't refute it, but: "Father, Gehuoding is a slow poison."

But the Marquise was poisoned on the spot.