Chapter 226 Valentine's Confession (Part 1)
"Wait, Viscount Andre? Wasn't he just granted a territory not long ago? How come he became a count again?" The members of the parliament in the royal capital were the first to get the first-hand news. Seeing the letters pouring in, they could hardly believe their eyes.
"…What's with that lich? A Lich Countess?! She's not of noble descent!"
"Has His Majesty's behavior become so wild now? Isn't he afraid that the nobles of the German clan will cause trouble?"
"Hush... The latest news is that this time, His Majesty the King has wiped out all the nobles of the German clan! Of course, this isn't the most outrageous thing!"
"So what's the most outrageous thing?"
"All the arrested nobles admitted to joining the Evil Eye Moon! They followed the orders of Princess Dresi, the lich-turned-Delman, and committed countless evil deeds with the intent to overthrow the entire country! When His Majesty the King arrested them, they had barely returned from a rally! Right in the royal hunting grounds, right under the King's nose! How brazen!"
"It's said that Viscount Andrei and that lich were the greatest contributors to the destruction of Evil Eye Moon! Judging by their achievements, then it's perfectly reasonable to grant them each the title of Earl."
"Hiss! That's incredible!"
"Even the murder of Baron Chandler at Rose Hill wasn't a spur-of-the-moment plot by the remnants of the previous dynasty! It was all part of Dracey Delman's plan from the very beginning!"
"Valentin, the suspect in the Rose Hill incident, has been arrested. He identified Dracy as the mastermind behind the incident. And Valentine is actually Dracy's son!"
The members of Parliament were overwhelmed by the explosive letters that arrived one after another via ravens, gossiping to the point of overflowing. Meanwhile, deep within the palace at the Royal Hunting Grounds, His Majesty the King entered a cell.
The blond Valentine, with a haggard face, was bound to a cold iron chair by chains and shackles. His Majesty the King sat down across from Valentine, placed his pipe on the table before him, and leisurely began to fill it with tobacco. "You're saying, all this was directed by Dresi?"
"Yes. I was the scapegoat she chose," Valentine said. "In Rose Hill, she never intended to clear me of suspicion from the beginning. She just wanted to use me to attract everyone's attention and remove herself from the whole thing.
"We learned that Baron Chandler Jr. wanted to sell the old baron's notes, and my mother wanted a useful new body. So we hired the popular Butterfly Lady Yadra, who was very popular among the nobles. We paid her a large sum of money and asked her to set up this murder plan for us under the name of 'one of the heirs of Rose Hill Manor.'
"We knew from the beginning that little Baron Chandler was allergic to nuts. While not to the point where a few nuts would kill him, a sufficient amount could kill him. So, we used a large amount of nut oil to refine a lipstick with a high nut content. After consuming Elenor's soul and taking over her body, Mother applied this lipstick and sent Baron Chandler to his death with a kiss of welcome and farewell.
"We didn't need to make any almond cookies. In fact, even if the lich hadn't prepared any nutty dishes from the beginning, it wouldn't have affected our plan. But our only mistake was probably giving Yadra too much freedom. After discovering that Madame Butterfly had secretly hired a 'skeleton' as a cook for 'performance effects', we had to take action."
"response?"
"Our plan was for me to periodically dress as Madame Butterfly and guide the entire 'game,' but the lich is naturally able to discern the scent of souls and emotions, so we had to disrupt her senses. Mother said the scent of murderous intent and deception is similar to that of white pepper. So, after discovering she was wearing the spirit wood, I deliberately obtained two bottles of strong-smelling white pepper and placed them where they could easily be knocked over.
"Asking her for nuts and using roasted almonds from ladyfingers to grind into powder to decorate the scene was all to divert people's attention. This way, when Baron Chandler died, they would focus on me and completely ignore Elenor, whose soul had been replaced."
"Dresi just walked around in front of the lich so brazenly, not afraid of being recognized at all?" His Majesty the King lit the tobacco, took a deep puff, and exhaled a white, round, hollow smoke ring.
"When the Chandlers arrived, I, disguised as Madame Butterfly, immediately led them to a room that had been prepared in advance. Baron Chandler was eager to get his notes out as quickly as possible, but Mrs. Chandler was exhausted from the journey. I suggested that she attend the initial gathering in the living room and then return to her room to rest. The housekeeper could provide lunch service.
"Breakfast is the busiest time. Although everyone was gathered in the living room at that time, there were servants delivering food to the lich. In addition, I was also there ready to attract their attention at any time. Obviously, the lich did not come into contact with Eleanor van Chand.
"She's just a lich created by Mi Funa's magical accident. She might not even have a clear grasp of her own abilities, so it's difficult for her to notice the tired Elenor without any clues.
"After breakfast, Ellenor returned to her room to rest. I had Madame Butterfly deliver a letter to Baron Chandler, asking her to inquire about the price of the notebook. This way, his activities for most of the day were clearly arranged.
"After separating the couple, I sneaked into Baron Chandler's room, drugged Eleanor, and took her to another empty room. There was a magic circle drawn under the bed in this room. I only needed to activate it to summon my mother and have her possess Eleanor's body.
"However, even if there is a ready-made magic circle, it is still very time-consuming to successfully activate it and summon the lich to possess the body. Not to mention that I also have to consider my alibi and appear in front of everyone from time to time...
"I was busy from morning until around two in the afternoon. Because the time was too long and the drugs had worn off, Elenor woke up and I had to knock her out again. The noise even woke up Peter, the jester who lived upstairs. Fortunately, no further accidents occurred.
"Next, Mother devoured Ellenor's soul, took on her body, and ate the lunch I ordered in Ellenor's name and had the butler deliver to Mrs. Chandler's room. She sensed the presence of the little lich and asked me to go to the kitchen to disrupt the lich's perception and ask her for nuts.
"So, after completing the transaction with Lord Chandler for the notes at three o'clock, I went to the kitchen and, according to her plan, sprinkled pepper, asked for almond cookies, and sprinkled almond powder among the rose petals. I left through the tunnel under the pretext of going to the hot springs, disguised myself as Madame Butterfly, met Lord Chandler again, and gave him the rose.
"Baron Chandler returned to his room at half past three. He handed the bonds to his mother and received a lingering kiss of death. He was feeling incredibly proud. When he met me, dressed as Madame Butterfly, he began to show symptoms of an allergy."
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