I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

 

Maria spoke with a head tilt, as if hearing this story for the first time.

 

“But isn’t that strange? People usually drink tea after eating cake. So, isn’t it normal for ingredients from the tea to be found in the body?”

 

“It’s possible for the body to contain tea ingredients. But the tea was also found in the cake.”

 

“Isn’t that also unusual? Poison in the cake, and with tea… Oh!”

 

Finally, Maria seemed to realize something.

 

“There’s no reason for tea ingredients to be found in the cake.”

 

“Exactly! That’s it!”

 

“But isn’t it strange that the report I received didn’t mention that?”

 

“Can I see that report?”

 

Maria turned and opened a drawer, retrieving an envelope from inside.

 

We both sat facing each other at the table where Maria had been sitting moments ago, and she took out the documents from the envelope.

 

“This is…”

 

As I faced the documents, I couldn’t help but be astonished.

 

It was just as Maria said. The report she had was entirely devoid of any mention of the tea.

 

It was the same report I had seen. The top had Megi’s name and the date of death, and the content was identical, even down to the doctor’s signature.

 

But the part about the tea had mysteriously vanished. There was no mention of the tea anywhere, whether in Megi’s body or in the cake.

 

“Is this the original?”

 

“Well… I’m not sure about that…”

 

Maria responded, looking flustered by my question. Judging by her demeanor, she didn’t seem to have any doubts about whether this was the original or if the document was accurate.

 

“All the contents of this report are the same as what I saw at the hospital, except for the part about the tea being deleted.”

 

“Then, in the report you saw, did it include the additional information about the tea you mentioned?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What exactly is that tea? What does it say?”

 

“Yes. It mentioned that both poison and tea ingredients were found in both Megi’s body and the cake. So, I started suspecting that it wasn’t the cake but the tea that was poisoned.”

 

“So, what you’re saying is that poison was in the tea, and mother ate the cake along with that tea, causing the poisoning.”

 

“Yes. Otherwise, why would tea ingredients be found in the cake? Who mixes tea into a cake? It’s not a cookie.”

 

While Maria seemed to understand my explanation, she still seemed unable to fully grasp it.

 

“Was there really tea ingredients in the report you saw?”

 

“Yes, absolutely. Why don’t we go to the hospital together and check the documents?”

 

“But… If that’s the case…”

 

Maria seemed to have a complex swirl of thoughts in her mind. The sudden influx of new information seemed to have her thoughts rolling around uncontrollably, unable to find their footing.

 

“Was this document received from the hospital administrator?”

 

“I didn’t personally receive it. I was busy with the funeral preparations at the time.”

 

“Then who handed this document to you? It would have been difficult to receive it if it wasn’t from the family.”

 

“It was from my father.”

 

“Lord Wensbury?”

 

Maria nodded her head.

 

“Did Lord Wensbury personally give you this document?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Finally, I understood why she had never doubted the authenticity of this report. To Maria, who had lost her mother, Lord Wensbury was a reliable figure whom she could trust and lean on.

 

“I suppose you’ve heard that someone from House Wensbury has been there since I was there that day?”

 

“What?”

 

I asked, assuming that Maria would know, but she seemed completely oblivious, as if hearing this story for the first time, just like when she first heard about the tea ingredients being found in the report.

 

“I heard that there was only Bianca who visited my mother that day.”

 

Maria said with a pale face, her expression dark and cloudy. Her eyes were trembling like delicate flower petals swaying in the wind.

 

“No, there was someone else who visited Megi in the afternoon and then again in the evening. Someone from the Wensbury family. The hospital receptionist recorded it after seeing the family crest engraved on the carriage.”

 

“That can’t be right. The only person who visited that day was Bianca, and my father…”

 

Maria’s voice trembled, her expression darkened further. Her eyes flickered like leaves in the wind.

 

“My father… My father couldn’t have done such a thing.”

 

And now it was about to pour.

 

“My father mentioned meeting my mother and regretted not finding her sooner. He said if he had known earlier, he would have taken her to the hospital immediately and wouldn’t have caused her any suffering.”

 

A tear fell from Maria’s eyes.

 

Discovering that her idol was innocent meant realizing that her trust had been betrayed. As one betrayal vanished, a greater betrayal appeared in its place.

 

“That can’t be… My father couldn’t have done that. Why would my father kill my mother?”

 

Maria vehemently denied, unable to believe it.

 

I never once accused the Marquis of being the culprit. It was just that the situation pointed to him, and Maria deduced it as such.

 

To be honest, I felt the same way as Maria.

 

The Marquis was esteemed as an upright magistrate in the previous generation, and he was still highly regarded in society as a nobleman.

 

Both Ricardo and I had maintained good relationships with him, and even when I was swept up in rumors of being Megi’s murderer, he maintained a strong bond with me, unaffected by the gossip.

 

But to think that he was Megi’s killer, the one who framed me…

 

“Maria, may I ask you a question?”

 

I was just as confused, but I needed to calmly sort out the situation.

 

Though Maria’s misunderstanding had been cleared, Lara was still missing, and I had found no clue as to her whereabouts.

 

With tears in her eyes, Maria looked at me.

 

“You mentioned that you attended the royal tea party because the Marquis asked you to, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then does the Marquis hope for you to become the Crown Princess?”

 

“…It seems like it. But I naturally thought it would be difficult. There’s no way I could become the Crown Princess.”

 

I didn’t feel the need to tell her that the position of Duchess of Winkaiser was just as difficult as that of Crown Princess. Those blinded by love can’t see that.

 

Besides, in the book, Maria eventually becomes the Duchess. She married Ricardo, her first love, who never forgot me.

 

“Um… But…”

 

Maria hesitated slightly as she began to speak. Her cautious gaze hinted that the story she was about to tell might be related to me in some way.

 

“Please, go on. Anything you say is important right now.”

 

“He said that if I wanted to be the Duchess of Winkaiser, he would support me, that even though he never fulfilled his love for my mother, he wanted me to fulfill mine, and…….”

 

Maria paused again. And hesitated once more.

 

So what Maria was about to reveal now seemed to be more important than the previous conversation.

 

“If Bianca is the murderer of my mother, my father said that Ricardo would be unhappy if he ended up marrying such a person. So I thought I should prevent Ricardo from marrying Bianca.”

 

This was the same story Maria had told me before. So was what she said back then not entirely her own thoughts?

 

“Let me ask you one thing. Did you consider volunteering to be Ricardo’s lady at the upcoming royal hunt?”

 

“How did you know about that?”

 

“Was that also your father’s idea?”

 

Maria nodded.

 

“And did Lord Wensbury plan to marry you and Ricardo well, and then maybe marry Lord Raintar, your brother, to me?”

 

“How do you know about that too?”

 

I recounted the flow of the book, and Maria looked at me with widened eyes.

 

In the book, Maria seduced Ricardo, while I received a confession from Lord Raintar. Of course, neither Ricardo nor I wavered. Because we both didn’t waver, Maria eventually became desperate and ended up trying to poison me.

 

Regardless of what would happen in reality, the flow of the book was like that. But to think that it was the result of someone manipulating from behind…

 

“When I had feelings for Ricardo, I mean, when my mother was alive. My father noticed that I admired Ricardo, and if I were to marry him, he said not to worry too much because he would take care of Bianca’s marriage himself.”

 

Maria’s words described a past that felt distant, even though it had only been a short while ago.

 

“But at that time, I didn’t consider those things because I sincerely believed that Ricardo and Bianca were a good match. So I told my father that it was okay, and I could bless Ricardo and Bianca’s marriage.”

 

From Maria’s story, I finally understood the grand scheme Lord Wensbury had painted.

 

It was a vile picture of malice, selfishness, and a willingness to do anything to fulfill his own ambition.

“Smile Love”