Chapter 46 A Noble Family Banquet
Chapter 46
46.1
When the extract of the thorn grass fell on the back of Eustace's hand, the bright yellow color it showed was almost dazzling.
In the banquet hall, countless eyes were focused on the back of Eustace Carragaran's hand like flying arrows, but the young baron himself remained silent.
He did not defend himself, nor did he lose his composure. He just stood there silently with his eyes downcast, staring quietly at the bright yellow on the back of his hand.
Simon suddenly shouted, "It's a kiss on the cheek!"
Everyone looked over in surprise. Simon's face was pale and terrified. This incident had clearly overwhelmed the apprentice's rationality. He chuckled nervously, "They were learning the etiquette of nobility when they entered the banquet hall. That must have been when Eustace poisoned Euridice. Ha! Hesong and Euridice ignored me and paid attention to Eustace, only to be framed by Eustace. Haha, what karma!"
Simon's madness made the atmosphere in the banquet hall a little awkward, but Duke Karagaran became calm when he saw the bright yellow in Eustace's hand.
"Knight Commander," the Duke said calmly, "take his blood."
Eustace didn't move, nor did he struggle. He simply held out his arm in silence, watching as the Knight-General of the Order of Ravenmount slowly approached and gently pried open his fingers.
Merman Medical Officer Moman's healing chants began again, and this time, the Duchess fell into a deep sleep; she no longer vomited blood, and her body did not experience a severe rejection reaction again.
Seeing her mother's breathing gradually calm down, Cecilia's shoulders relaxed slightly and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief:
The poison called "Bloody Curse" has been removed.
There was a brief silence in the banquet hall, and then a buzz of discussion arose.
"It's him, Eustace, the bastard!"
"Isn't he the Duke's favorite illegitimate son? I heard that he and his mother have been living in Ravenmount Castle."
"It is precisely because he has won the Duke's favor that he has developed such bold ambitions and ideas."
"That's right. If the Duchess hadn't been there, Eustace would have been considered the Duke of Caragaran's 'eldest son'."
The sound of discussion filled the banquet hall, but Duke Karagaran's face did not show much emotion.
He simply said, "Eustace Carragaran, he intends to murder the Duchess. The Knights, lock him up in the dungeon of the north wing immediately and await trial."
Four knights of the Order of Ravenmont immediately stepped forward, drew their swords, and surrounded Eustace.
Eustace looked at the shining knight's sword in front of him and suddenly laughed.
"Father," he said.
Duke Carragher paused, and Eustace said softly, "You once told Mother that you would always love her. You also once told us that we were a family and that we would always be together."
A gasp echoed in the banquet hall. Duke Karagaran stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. "Is this your motive for murdering the Duchess?"
Eustace smiled suddenly.
"Both me and Euridice are thorns in the Duchess's side," he said. "This 'blood curse' benefits her no matter who it harms."
Duke Caragaran said nothing more, but waved his hand, signaling the knights to take Eustace away.
After what happened at the banquet, it could no longer go on. Hesong was still a little dazed as he sat in the carriage leaving Ravenmont Castle.
"What on earth is going on here?" he murmured.
Euridice leaned back in the carriage and laughed. "What happened? It's just as you saw: someone put poison in the Duchess's wine glass, and the person who put the poison was the Duke's illegitimate son, Eustace Carragaran."
Hesong hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I've always felt something was amiss. I don't think Eustace looked like the man who had put the poison."
Olidisi stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed.
"You've become smarter, Herson."
He Song's face flushed slightly. He clenched his fist and coughed, "Don't make fun of me."
Oledsi smiled and said, "Okay, okay. No more joking."
As she spoke, she drew aside the curtain on the carriage window and looked out:
The carriage was moving slowly along the gravel road and had already left the city of Ravenmont. The wheels rolled over the gravel road, making a regular "click, click" sound.
It was a full-mooned Sunday night, with two moons, a red and a white, hanging simultaneously in the night sky. The South Hills lay far from the city in the countryside, with only the occasional farm light visible along the way. The night was remarkably quiet.
Oledsi called out, "Zoe."
Zoe, who was driving the carriage, responded. Oledsi asked, "Is there no one else around us?"
Zoe replied, "There's no one else."
Olidisi nodded and lowered the curtains again.
She said, "Your instinct is probably right, Hersong. I don't think Eustace was the one who put the poison there either."
He Song was slightly startled: "Then, the person who put the poison..."
"Probably the Duchess herself." Olidisi smiled easily.
Hesong was silent for a moment, not surprised by the answer.
He said softly, "She wants to frame you and Eustace for the Duchess's murder, doesn't she?"
"Yes." Euridice nodded. "This is her party. She has a thousand ways to make the backs of Eustace's and mine turn bright yellow."
Hesong thought for a moment: "Why didn't she frame me and Simon?"
Euridice shrugged. "It would seem quite unusual that all the 'Bastard Barons' would be convicted of the same crime at the same time. People would probably quickly suspect that this was a conspiracy by the Duchess against the illegitimate children."
Hersong nodded thoughtfully. "I see. If Lady Agnes was selectively framing someone, the people she hated most were you and Eustace, not Simon and me."
Euridice smiled and said, "I think she already knows about the 'agreement' between Eustace and me."
He Song was stunned: "You mean..."
"Agnes Felix is the master of Ravenmount Castle," Euridice said calmly. "It's hard to hide what's going on in the castle from her eyes."
Hersong's fingers clenched unconsciously. "You mean to say that Lady Agnes knows everything about your conversation with Eustace by the stream?"
"I suspect that, more than that, she likely also knew about Duke Carragher's actions, which he had concealed from her. Eustace had pleaded with the Duke to ask the Queen for a lowly title and territory for Eustace. Duke Carragher agreed, and he kept it a secret from Lady Agnes."
"It's 'Witch's Grace,'" Hesong murmured.
"Yes," Oledsi smiled, "'Witch's Grace'."
"Lady Agnes knows all this, and that's why she wants to punish you and Eustace."
"Yes," Euridice sighed. "I guess she originally had a more elaborate plan to convict both Eustace and me. Unfortunately, I decisively cut my arm and called out the City Hall-appointed medical officer, clearing myself of suspicion. Agnes had no choice but to abandon her plan to target both of us and instead go after Eustace alone."
Hesong was silent for a moment, his expression heavy. "Murdering a noble is a serious crime. Eustace, he..."
"Don't worry," Oledsi said with a sarcastic smile, "He won't die."
He Song was stunned: "Why?"
Olidisi said calmly, "You forgot the other owner of Ravenmont Castle—Duke Karagaran."
Hesong was a little stunned. Oulidesi curled his lips and said, "Duke Karagaran didn't say much the whole night, and his expression was very distant. He certainly knew what the Duchess was going to do, but he had to consider the alliance between them and their two families, so he didn't expose her."
"You mean, the Duke will save Eustace's life?" Euridice smiled. "Of course. Lady Agnes attacked Eustace because of Duke Caragaran's previous concealment. To put it bluntly, Eustace was just a pet dog raised by Duke Caragaran. Lady Agnes wanted to punish this dog, but more importantly, she wanted to punish the owner behind it. This is actually a power game between two great nobles, Hugh Caragaran and Agnes Felix. The alliance between them is not an airtight plate."
Hesong sighed deeply, and Euridsi patted his shoulder. "So, don't worry about Eustace. He has been surviving between Duke Karagaran and Lady Agnes for many years. He is the one who knows best how to survive under the control of these two people -"
Before Oulidsi finished speaking, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from outside the carriage!
Olidesi and Hesong had no time to react. With a "bang", the whole carriage seemed to be hit by some huge force, and the entire body suddenly overturned to one side.
"Oulidsi!" Hesong exclaimed.
The violent collision threw Olidesi and Hesong to the side of the carriage at the same time. Olidesi's body first hit the inner wall of the carriage, then fell out of the carriage and rolled onto the grass in the dark night - the door had been knocked off.
The axle broke, wooden boards flew everywhere, and the black horse pulling the cart neighed in fear and galloped away to the suburbs.
Zoe yelled, "Herson!"
Olidisi protected her head with her arms and rolled over twice on the ground. She heard Hesong and Zoe calling out anxiously, "Oulidisi, Olidisi, are you okay?"
Olidisi slowly lowered his arms and stood up. Just as he was about to say "I'm fine", he paused.
Above their heads, there was suddenly a low sound of flapping wings.
Olidisi propped up his body, half tilted his head back, looked at the figure riding a Pegasus in mid-air, and suddenly laughed.
"Long time no see, Constance," she said.
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