Chapter 3
“The chef paid special attention today. It’s the food that my lady has always liked.”
Yes, it was a lavish meal, no matter how I looked at it.
If I didn’t know anything about this world, I would have been eager to eat.
‘I need to be alert, at least for now.’
I stared at her and slowly opened my mouth.
“I have no appetite.”
“My lady…”
Mary made a sad face.
She looked as if she was really worried for me, and her expression even evoked a sense of guilt inside me.
‘Am I being too suspicious?’
Mary was just an extra, anyway.
Maybe, in the original story, Olivia couldn’t get close to Mary because she was watching other servants who harmed her.
‘Even if Mary didn’t do her job right, at least she didn’t bother Olivia.’
Of course, it was also wrong if she didn’t serve her master properly.
‘There is still a long time left until Olivia’s death.’
Besides, I didn’t know if Mary was related to Carinne. What if she was a maid ordered by her to be close to me?
‘Eating this is risky, but it’s worth a try.’
So, I picked up a spoon and carefully scooped out the soup.
Looking into Mary’s eyes that shone with pure joy, I slowly brought the soup to my mouth.
The savory flavor filled my mouth and then passed down my throat.
After eating the same way a couple more times, I put down the spoon.
Mary was disappointed, but did not tell me to eat any further. While observing her clearing the plates, I organized the story in my mind.
“By any chance, about Carinne.”
As Carinne’s name came out of my mouth, Mary’s hand suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She hurriedly shook her head and corrected her expression.
“It was the first time you asked about her, so I was a little surprised.”
‘They’re sisters, yet Olivia never asked how Carinne was?’
I was puzzled.
At least right now, Carinne’s misdeeds were unknown.
Olivia and Carinne were also pretty friendly as siblings.
‘But why?’
Unfortunately, Olivia’s incomplete memory did not answer my questions.
As my expression grew serious, a look of embarrassment appeared on Mary’s face.
“I’m sorry. I said useless things. If you feel offended…”
I quickly waved my hand and smiled.
“Don’t worry. It’s not because of you.”
At that moment, Mary relaxed her face and nodded her head.
“Oh, right! Please wait a minute, my lady. I’ll just put this away and prepare the tea right after.”
‘Wait.’
‘…Tea?’
Something was strange again somehow.
‘But what is it?’
It was not unusual to enjoy tea and dessert after a meal.
But as soon as Mary spoke those words, I suddenly felt chills all over my body.
It was a familiar feeling that I felt in times of crisis.
So far, nothing weird had happened. But…
[You ate the curse in the form of poison every day without realizing it.」
Was it just a coincidence that Carinne’s lines in the novel came to mind?
I slowly opened my mouth to speak to Mary.
I was careful not to let my voice tremble.
“It’s not urgent, so take it slow.”
“No. Even if you don’t eat, you’ve never skipped the tea you drink every day. I’ll get it right away.”
‘She drank tea every day?’
In an instant, goosebumps ran down my back.
It felt like a large snake wrapped around my body all the way to my toes and slowly strangled me.
Mary simply wiped the table clean and smiled.
“Then I will go now, my lady.”
I nodded my head, pretending to be calm.
I held my hand tightly, hiding it under the table. My momentary peace was completely broken.
As soon as Mary left, I bit my lips in thought.
‘Carinne said Olivia was poisoned every day.’
It was obvious how Carinne constantly fed her poison without skipping a day.
It was by sneaking it into the food that Olivia normally ate.
‘She poisoned the tea.’
But since Carinne couldn’t have given her the tea herself, there must’ve been an accomplice.
A poisoned tea with a curse.
Someone who would have brewed that tea every day.
And the most suspicious person under the circumstances…
“My lady, did I make you wait for too long?”
A girl with a freckled face came in with a cheerful and bright voice.
“No. It was just the right time.”
It was Mary.
Mary’s movements were very skillful.
‘It’s not just something she has done once or twice..’
Every day she would hand over Olivia’s tea.
After watching Mary for a moment, I shifted my gaze to the tea caddy filled with tea leaves.
“It’s finished, lady.”
Just in time, Mary was pouring the brewed tea into a teacup.
The sweet scent of flowers permeated the room.
The orange color was so bright that it immediately blinded me for a while.
The alluring scent was so seductive that I couldn’t get enough of it unless I took a sip.
‘Could this be the poison’s effect?’
I stared at the tea as if I was possessed for a long time, then shook my head in a hurry.
“Good work. Now go back and rest…”
I expressed my gratitude with a smile, but the reaction I got was unexpected.
“…Aren’t you going to drink it now?”
‘Huh?’
The strange feeling I felt before came back to me.
“You would always drink this right after I brewed it, because the taste and aroma will deteriorate when it cools down.”
I glanced at Mary.
She still had a smile on her face.
But this weird sensation running down my spine also had to be acknowledged.
‘If Mary is Carinne’s accomplice, then…’
She would need me to drink the tea, as it was the same as pouring poison into my mouth.
However, I had too little information to take action.
‘It could be dangerous if I move too quickly.’
First of all, I had to get out of the situation naturally.
“I will drink it soon.”
I responded indifferently, pretending not to have any particular intentions.
“I just want to drink quietly. Alone.”
The last sentence was deliberately emphasized by me. It was to see how Mary would react.
“Yes, my lady.”
But to my surprise, there was no change in Mary’s expression.
She put down the tea she was holding, and still looked at me with a very gentle face.
“Then I’ll be in my room, so if you need me, please pull the string.”
After the sound of Mary’s footsteps had completely faded away, I lifted my ear off the door.
I locked the door tightly to prevent anyone from coming in, and looked around the room again.
Olivia’s bedroom was ordinary.
It was neat and tidy, like a room of a noble lady.
I had a feeling it was a little small compared to the others.
I slowly moved my feet and walked, then there was something that caught my eye.
“She was growing flowers.”
There was a flowerpot by the window.
The red and luscious buds on the dark green flower stalks particularly caught my eye.
I approached it to look at the fascinating shape of the flower.
I look down at the red petals.
*Knock, knock.*
A small sound came from above my head.
‘What is that sound?’
I lifted my head.
At the same time, I noticed something that caught my eye outside the window.
There was something white and fluffy.
It was floating in the air and was bouncing up and down.
“Floating…”
As soon as I opened the window, a bundle of white fur flew into the room.
“A ball?”
[No!]
The bundle of fur bounced violently and shouted.
I quickly reached out and grabbed the unidentified bundle of fur.
Then it flapped its wings.
[It hurts!]
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
I quickly loosened my grip.
It looked like a ball and was small enough to hold in one hand.
It looked very cute with its fluffy white fur and black eyes.
But what was really surprising wasn’t its cute appearance…
“Are you really a bird?”
Of course, it was the fact that the bird spoke.
The bird nodded eagerly.
[Yes! I’m a bird right now.]
Its wording was a little odd.
While I was trying to figure out its identity, the bird said,
[Call me Ash.]
The bird opened its mouth and continued,
[I’m here to help you.]
Then it said, [Aren’t you happy and thankful?]
I responded after a slight headache,
“Yes, Ash. Nice to meet you, but why are you helping me?”
The bird was speechless.
A bewildered expression was on its face, as if it had never expected the conversation to turn in this direction.
‘There was no such thing as a bird helping Olivia in the original.’
Birds should be soulless creatures. I narrowed my eyes and said,
“Are you, perhaps, a spy…”
[No!]
Before I could even bring up Carinne’s name, it got furious and flapped its wings violently.
Then the bird said,
[You are different from the people here.]