Chapter 50
âWell, I did try to kill the Countess before… but she died before that…â
Lilith, uncharacteristically, blushed.
Lilith was more naive than one would imagine. Her so-called meticulous plans had all failed, and she had grown tired of them, opting to live a compromised life until Evelyn died.
âI thought maybe she would die before me, being so frail…â
Her look seemed to say it all turned out as she expected, needlessly innocent. Like a child seeking praise for both good and evil deeds.
“Hah.”
Guinevere couldnât help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Where was the guarantee the second child would be a girl? If it had been a boy, Evelyn would have kicked you out that very day.”
â…I was just lucky.â
âHow long did you live with that ferocious woman? Five years? Six years?â
“Seven and a half years.”
âOh dear.â
From Guinevereâs perspective, neither side made sense.
âUnder such luxurious conditions, I would have finished it within a year.â
Guinevere chuckled through her nose.
âWell, even if your plan had succeeded, you wouldnât have become the Countess anyway.â
âUrk…â
âTell me. Whose scheme is it?â
â…I orchestrated it.â
Lilith stuck to her story till the end.
***
After Lilith left, Guinevere, now alone, pondered the series of events.
It still didnât make sense.
Who could have known about the type of poison in advance and prepared an antidote?
Itâs implausible, but if someone did plan it and included Lilith…
âCecilia?â
As soon the name of Lilith’s child was uttered, Guinevereâs lips curled up.
âImpossible.â
She’s only seventeen. Moreover, she’s Lilith’s daughter, known for her naivety.
What was Cecilia like? Guinevere hardly remembered, as the girl was so unremarkable.
âAh, always cleaning up after her accident-prone motherâs messes.â
A timid, reticent child. Always on edge, fearing she might be sent to an orphanage.
Cecilia hadnât shown her face all throughout the incident.
Even when the sachet was being investigated due to Nigelâs poisoning conspiracy, she was quietly drinking tea in the living room, as if she was unrelated to it all.
Could that child orchestrate such a grand scheme and sit so distantly, acting nonchalant?
âImpossible.â
At least double her age… Only then could someone accumulate that much experience.
“How could she know my plan.”
Cecilia was not the one. She lacked the information and power needed for such a scheme.
Then who? Someone who can put Lilith forward and partially fulfill their own desires.
“…Could it be?”
There was only one possible person.
Adam Lasphilla.
Strategic, cold, and more knowledgeable about the householdâs affairs than anyone.
A man whose specialty was using others’ hands to keep his own clean.
‘He must have sensed my intentions and played along, just like I did with him.’
Adam had the power to use and monitor servants, and he could arrange for Hannah Linfitt to be seen adding poison to the lotion.
That night, the men’s conversation was led by Adam. Having servants watch the second floor and timing the disturbance would not be difficult for him.
‘I knew Adam always finished dinner around midnight. Thatâs why I deliberately sent Hannah to the nanny’s room after midnight, when everyone was likely in their rooms.’
But Hannah was seen returning to her room past midnight by Ulysses and Nigel.
‘What if Adam had noticed my plan and left the table later than usual?’
Everything fits if I think about it this way.
‘He didnât arrest Hannah right away because he wanted to catch Ulysses in the trap I set with the sachet.’
However, he made one mistake.
He knew the sachet belonged to Ulysses but didn’t realize that his own daughter had gifted it.
Adam seemed genuinely flustered when Caroline had been implicated. Thatâs why he kept silent when Guinevere interrogated Caroline.
How amusing it must have been when Mary Swinn’s name came from Caroline’s mouth.
She recalled how Adam had summoned the two maids defiantly.
His face filled with coldness. His unemotional demeanor.
…Itâs clear.
Adam, that heartless brute. It was him who deliberately set her up.
“You dare play games with me?”
And now, he wanted to shift the blame for his actions to the naĂŻve Lilith?
‘No chance in hell.’
Adam knew his own desires but was indifferent to others’. Thatâs his mistake. He didnât foresee that Lilith, driven by her own greed, would slip up and reveal her intentions.
‘A chaperone? Sure, Iâll do it. If it maintains ties with the Lasphillas, all the better.’
As long as the connection with the Lasphillas remained, there would be another opportunity to redeem the shame she had to endure now. And there would be another opportunity for her to achieve her goals…
Guinevere clenched the blood-soaked cloth.
And, she silently vowed revenge against Adam.
‘I won’t ever forgive you. No matter what, Iâll make you pay a hundredfold.’
