# 96
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"It's all because of you! I'm doing this because of you!"
The head maid, who was dripping with water and receiving the Duchess's wrath, shouted in a venomous voice.
“You are a crab because you are next to the Duke!”
Lucio looked expressionlessly at the head maid who was making loud noises.
There was no need to use a previously prepared confession.
Maybe because they thought they had everything figured out already, the culprit was revealing the true face he had been hiding.
“If it wasn't for you, I would have...!”
“Do you want to be a duchess?”
Lucio spoke for his mother, who was clutching her chest over the toxic head maid, and for his father, who was comforting her.
The head maid turned her head and looked at Lucio, as if she was being guided by the voice.
Long ago, when she was a humble baron's daughter, I first saw Lucio, who looked exactly like Duke Ellard.
I would rather despise him.
Even though they had been together for several years, Lucio had an indifferent look in his eyes just like Duke Elad, whose presence he did not even recognize.
"No! I wasn't greedy for this position!"
The head maid, who was shaking her head and denying Lucio's words, spoke with her lips trembling.
“I...I just wanted to be by the Duke’s side.”
Duke Elad's face twisted in displeasure at the words, which were a confession he had kept hidden for decades.
When the head maid saw this, tears welled up in her eyes.
“I knew it, how could someone like me stand by him even if the Duchess woke up dead...”
But the sadness was only temporary, and her resentment was once again directed towards the Duchess.
“But not you either. There should have been a noble woman beside the Duke, not a mean woman like you. I was willing to be loyal to the Duke if he found someone worthy of him!”
Duke Elad, who had been silently listening to the ridiculous words, snorted.
But before he could say anything, the Duchess spoke first.
"What kind of woman would she catch his attention? Would you do the same thing again?"
". …What ?"
“Listen carefully, the person this person chose is me. You had no right to judge from the beginning, but one thing you said is true. Even if I die and wake up dead, you won’t be able to stand by this person.”
The head maid's eyes widened upon hearing the Duchess's words.
It was ugly to see the blood vess in her eyes burst from screaming so loudly.
Duke Elad turned his head and said.
“Just get her out of here.”
With these words the head maid lost her mind.
* * *
Tice left the room with the head maid who had dismissed him.
Then the Duchess, who was barely holding on, collapsed in the Duke's arms and burst into tears.
The Duke patted his wife's shoulder, who had become noticeably thinner in just a few days.
At that time, Lucio asked Viscountess Bardo.
“Are you really sure that you don't have to worry about her physical condition anymore?”
“Yes, actually, in the case of such severe poison, there is almost no chance of survival, but even if a person survives, the after-effects are severe in many cases, with movement becoming difficult or vision being lost. Not only will there be no after-effects, but all the toxins in the body will be removed. If she takes good care of herf, she will be healthier than before.”
Of course, healing the body will not heal the wounds of the mind, but...
However, survival was important.
Even though he had heard the story once, the Duke laughed out loud because he still couldn't believe it.
“This thing called Spliceia...it was a really cool thing.”
When Leia first discovered Spliceia under the Duchy's patronage, he frankly wasn't very impressed.
Even when lawmakers and pharmacists came together as a group to seek support for the research, it was not because they recognized its value.
It was given lightly in the form of “if things go well, good or bad”.
But I never thought something like this would happen.
“It's not a legendary herb for nothing, but it's all thanks to Leia who did her best to create an antidote, if that little girl wasn't here...”
I probably wouldn't have even thought to check to see if I'd been poisoned by Spliceia, let alone detoxify it.
Viscountess Bardot naturally shook her head at the expected result, and the Duke, who was helpless and almost lost his wife, hugged her shoulders tightly again.
“By the way, Your Highness, how do you plan to solve the matter of cultivating Lea Sublisia and creating an antidote?”
Until now, the situation was so urgent that we focused on finding an antidote.
But now that the work is more or less done, I wanted to dive into how Leah achieved this amazing feat.
Viscountess Bardot felt an insane passion for learning and curiosity, both as a doctor and as a researcher.
“H—that’s...”
Lucio narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Duke, who was silent as if he was thinking about the future situation.
“Dad, the problem is...”
“Do what Leah wants, don’t ask for anything, and don’t pressure her.”
At that time the Duchess raised her head, crying.
Although it was red and wet, the Duke also nodded his head with a more determined look than usual.
It was as if I owed Leah not only my wife, but my life.
Moreover, family happiness.
So, I will listen to what the child wants as best as I can.
* * *
After talking briefly about the actions of the head maid, the Viscountess and Lucio went outside.
The Viscountess was also exhausted from the Duchess's treatment, so she could not overcome her fatigue and went down the stairs, wiping her eyes.
Lucio, who was in front, stopped suddenly, and the Viscountess was startled when she bumped lightly into his back.
“I'm sorry, Duke.”
But there was no response.
I tilted my head and looked up to see Lucio staring somewhere.
“...Leah?”
Viscountess Bardot was surprised to see a little girl just coming down the stairs.
The little girl raised her head as if she heard a voice.
“Ah! Young Master was also with you.”
Since Lucio didn't answer and just looked at him, the embarrassed Viscountess asked subtly.
“I thought you were with Miss, but aren't you too busy?”
“Miss said she's hungry, so I'll bring some snacks.”
“Oh my God, why did you do that to yourf instead of asking someone else?”
“Okay… The butler is calling the other staff together now.”
Since I had already mentioned the job of the head maid to the butler, it was clear that he was explaining the situation briefly to the butler.
Viscountess Bardo, thinking that it might have been an order from the Grand Duke, spoke on behalf of Lucio, who remained silent.
“Leia, you have been through so much, you can’t rest properly and you have to take care of Miss immediately.”
“It's okay, it's my job, and taking care of her is not difficult at all.”
There was a slight blush on the little girl's face as she answered with a bright smile.
It was clear that the child really loved the princess, as much as she was the princess's favourite.
“Where did such a wonderful and cute child come from, by the way, just like the lady said, you must be the blessing of the Elad family?”
“Oh, no!”
Leia's face turned even redder as she urgently waved her hand.
She was so kind that the Viscountess Bardot burst out laughing.
“No, you can't be so humble, don't you think, young master?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Leia looked at Lucio, even though she was embarrassed.
No matter how determined I was not to cling to the approval of others, I had made this my goal throughout my previous life.
Moreover, I felt like I wanted to get praise from Lucio, probably because he always seemed so immature.
“I don't want to say thank you, but I want to hear things like this, thank you for your hard work.”
However, against Lia's wishes, Lucio spoke to Viscount Bardo with a stern expression.
“I'll go finish work, so you can get some rest.”
“Yes yes?”
He could have said something, but Lucio passed by Leia and went down the stairs.
The viscount, who was stroking his arm with an inexplicable strangeness, smiled sheepishly when he noticed that Leia was unable to take her eyes off the direction in which Lucio had disappeared.
“Come on, let's go down too, the lady will be waiting for you.”
". …no !"
Leia, who was in a daze, responded with surprise.
However, Leah, who seemed to be following Viscountess Bardot who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and fluttered her eyelids.
It was a moment of enlightenment.
* * *
Yes.
Helen came to her senses from the splash of water that splashed on her face, and shivered from the cold.
However, because her body was restricted, she was unable to move freely.
“H—this place...”
When I saw the dark, gloomy stone wall blocking the area on all sides, I held my breath.
I had learned of the dungeon's existence after managing the Duke's residence for nearly twenty years, but this was the first time I had set foot in it.
“You seem to have so much composure, you don't even know that the poison is spreading through your body.”
At that time, Tice looked at Helen as she looked around and said coldly.
That was the moment when Helen, with her eyes wide open, stared fiercely at Tice.
In her eyes she saw a tall figure entering the prison.
“...Are you here, Dominic?”
Tice frowned at Helen's trembling voice.
"How dare you mention His Highness's name in vain? You haven't come to your senses yet or has the poison made you even crazier?"
“How long have you been here?”
“I've used up all the remaining poison I hid in your room, so I probably only have less than twelve hours left.”
Lucio nodded and looked disgusted at Helen, who was breathing hard, as if she wasn't breathing well.