The Seventh Plan. Revenge Done Right. (11)
As I put down the child, who was now too heavy to be carried, from my arms, the Duchess Dowager and I began to head for the dining hall with Carl. While eating, I did not forget to instruct them to set aside the meals for both the Duke and Count Petrika as I would bring it to them later. After taking the child who had eaten a full dinner to the bedroom, I slowly put him to bed before I brought along the dog into the room just in case. Then, I was finally able to head to the room where Gellerhard and Count Petrika had been.
There were as many as three parlors in my space as the Duchess, but the room where Count Petrika had recklessly invaded was a fairly intimate room for family members to gather around, so the maids had not been allowed to come over when they weren’t on duty. It was as if an ax got hurled at his feet because of his own impatient personality that had been caused by his anger.
The simple dinner that got prepared in the kitchen, which had been most probably for the Duke and the Count, was quite heavy and a servant followed me along with the heavy tray right behind me. I opened the door and saw Gellerhard was already sitting by the window. He always sat in front of the fireplace though, so what was going on?
“Mandy.”
Drops of blood splattered on Gellerhard’s cheeks as he strode forward. He raised his hand and tried to wipe it away, but it was already hardened and indelible. So, he simply rubbed it with his finger and scraped it away.
“I have some dinner prepared. Are you hungry?”
“Very.”
At a glance, the tea table was absolutely clean. If I had known that it would be like this, I would have eaten dinner right away and left Carl with his grandmother before coming here. I regretted it a little.
“Even the Count must be hungry. I brought you some food, so please have some.”
I turned my head to see that Count Petrika was the one who had been sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. The single chair to the right of the fireplace was quite soft and wide since it had been specially ordered as a place to sit and nurse when the baby was born. He sat leaning against the backrest with an exhausted look on his face.
“I guess the story is quite long. You look absolutely tired. Do prepare the meal in front of the fireplace.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The servant set the meal on a low table in front of the fireplace and Gellerhard had already taken a seat even before they finished setting the food down. Unlike Gellerhard, who started tearing off a well-roasted chicken leg and eating it, the Count seemed to be waiting patiently for the table to get served. I then poured some wine into his and Gellerhard’s glasses.
The servant quietly finished his work and left. Tak—the door closed completely and I took a glass before taking a sip of that wine. It was a very long drink. Carl wanted to follow whatever I ate and drank, so I couldn’t have an accompaniment during a meal and on the other hand, Gellerhard wasn’t particularly the type to enjoy a drink before bed.
“Is it because it’s the Duke’s drink? It tastes very delicious.”
Gellerhard pushed his glass towards me and in an instant, he boned the chicken. When he turned his head and looked at Count Petrika, the latter’s body trembled in response. Suddenly, the soundless mouth opened, but he bit down desperately in the end.
“Would you like to have a drink? It’s a drink that even Baron Viette would rave about. It was so delicious that someone had drunk it to death. I heard it from my dad. It was said that Baron Viette once killed an obtrusive merchant in such a way.”
People who died from drinking too much alcohol. Baron Viette said that he had killed a merchant by making him drink too much just for Count Petrika. Accident and murder. It was Baron Viette’s particular characteristic to slay enemies along the precarious boundary. If there was no evidence that it had been a murder, it would be treated as an accidental death, but the murder was far too unpleasant to be just a mere accident. Everyone who heard of the news would be reminded of whom the deceased had hated the most lately and if the same person were to come to mind each time—over and over again—fear would be effectively imprinted.
Count Petrika trembled and shook his head. I looked at him while finishing the glass and listened to Gellerhard soon after.
“Oh, Mandy. I have something to give you.”
Gellerhard stood up after devouring the chicken and wiping his greasy hands on a napkin. Every time he moved his large body around, the Count shrank in exchange.
“Look at this. It’s a list of the trio who still remained in the Duchy and this is the evidence of their work in the upper ranks that were dealing with us. Such bastards.”
Based on Charlotte’s testimony, we had caught a hold of quite a few trifles, but I also thought that there might still be some left. They wouldn’t be thrown out right away. On the other hand, I’d check the list and make sure that it was not somewhere important in the Duchy itself.
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