Chapter 58: Are You Going to Run Away By Dying? (3)

Everyone at the dining hall looked at Prosciutto.

In confusion, the knights murmured, “Why is he leaning on a pillar?”

“Never mind that. Butler Prosciutto just said that Lord Panir isn’t the culprit.”

“What is happening?!”

In the midst of the confusion, Panir’s bellowing echoed in the dining hall.

“Keter, you brat! What kind of foolery is this in front of me?!”

The knights were dumbfounded at the sudden mention of Keter.

Gasilius also added, “Lord Keter, could you come out from behind the pillar?”

Then, Keter really walked out from behind the pillar.

“The situation was too tense, so I did an impression to lighten the mood. It was uncanny, right?”

“You bastard. How dare you!”

When Panir saw Keter, he lost his temper and pretended to shoot an arrow. However, it was real; a bow and arrow made of aura suddenly appeared in Panir’s hands. He shot an arrow at Keter, but it was shot down by Gasilius, who had anticipated the attack.

“How dare you interrupt me?”

Panir aimed his arrow at Gasilius, who also raised his bow towards him.

As the five-star knights released their aura, the entire building began to tremble. The knights’ faces paled, and the servants around them fainted from shock. Amid the chaos, Keter stepped forward nonchalantly and stared at Panir, who had his aura-charged arrow aimed right at him.

“Gramps, you really don't like me, do you?” Keter said.

“This is all your fault.”

“It very well could be.”

“What?!”

“I don’t like you either. That’s why I stepped in. If you're going to fall, it should be by my hands—not someone else's.”

“Just as Besil said, you’re insane. Are you implying you knew about this plan all along?”

“I figured it out an hour ago, when I heard you and the patriarch would be dining together. That’s when I realized—it was a trap.”

“Hah! And what proof do you have of that?”

“Here.”

Keter tapped his own head a few times with a smirk.

“My brilliant mind is all the proof I need.”

“...”

Everyone in the room blinked. The ones who already knew Keter’s antics thought it was just like him to behave like this.

Panir, momentarily speechless, regained himself and retorted, “That's all you have to say after showing up...?”

“Enough chatter! The culprit is right here among us!” Keter declared loudly, even though it was obvious.

Suvide, watching calmly, interrupted, “Lord Keter, this is no time for games. The lord has been poisoned. We must call for a doctor immediately.”

Keter glanced at Besil for a moment and replied, “From the look of things, he'll wake up soon enough. Besides, the real target wasn’t him, but Elder Panir.”

“Utter nonsense. I’ll take the patriarch outside immediately. Sir Gasilius, why haven't you arrested Elder Panir yet?”

“Don't move! Anyone who tries to leave is the culprit.” Keter shouted.

Suvide froze. He glared at Keter as he was about to carry the patriarch. Just then...

“Pardon me, Head Butler Suvide.”

Gasilius, abandoning his watch over Panir, swiftly approached Besil. He was too fast for Suvide to intercept.

“Well... it seems he's not in critical condition,” Gasilius observed.

Visibly flustered, Suvide replied, “Sir Gasilius, are you truly believing in that brat’s words? What could a lowly bastard with no regard for propriety possibly know about this matter?”

“Head Butler, why are you so rattled? This isn’t like you,” Gasilius replied.

“This is a matter of Lord Besil’s life, and Lord Keter dares to meddle beyond his place. How can I not be angry?”

“Lord Besil is fine. I swear on my name.”

Gasilius was confident, but Suvide turned to the other knights.

“Are you just going to stand there? Lord Besil lies gravely poisoned, and you’re going to do nothing?”

Keter stepped in this time.

“You really think Sefira’s patriarch would fall to something as trivial as poison?”

The knights exchanged glances in agreement. Besil was a master-level knight; he wasn’t someone to easily succumb to poison. Besides, Gasilius himself had said he was fine.

As Keter touched on their emotions instead of logic, the knights didn’t budge, even with Suvide’s urging.

“So, Lord Keter,” Gasilius said. “Who is the mastermind behind this incident?”

All eyes turned to Keter. Even Panir, who was fuming, lowered his weapon and glared at him. Keter looked around at those around him slowly. Everyone flinched a little when he made eye contact, but they didn’t avoid him. But one person—Suvide—briefly averted his gaze without realizing it, only to hurriedly look back up.

“The culprit is you!”

Keter pointed at Suvide.

* * *

“Haha... Hahahaha.”

Suvide let out a hollow laugh when Keter pointed at him, which echoed through the dining hall. He shook his head as his laughing came to a stop.

“I don’t know how much longer I have to humor this childish prank.”

He glanced around, hoping for some agreement, but no one came to his defense.

Today marked Keter’s momentous feat—he had captured knights from the Bydent family and brought them in. Thanks to this achievement, Keter now had a voice and a right to speak.

Suvide, recognizing that, refrained from further objections and spoke calmly, “I will give you a chance. However, I have served not one but two patriarchs of this house. How could I be the culprit, Lord Keter? Do you have any evidence?”

Suvide was confident. There was no evidence. No one knew he had conspired with the chef, unless the chef himself confessed. But it was odd; Keter looked equally confident, as if he had proof.

“Evidence? Of course, I don’t have any. You’re not an idiot.”

“...?!”

It was a convoluted statement, but it was somewhat logical.

Before Suvide could protest, Keter continued.

“But I do have a witness.”

“...!”

The room stirred at Keter’s words.

“Come in,” Keter called out.

All eyes turned toward the dining room entrance, but no one entered.

Suvide let out a scoff and said, “Really, how long must we indulge in this trick...”

Creak.

The door opened—not the dining room entrance, but the door leading from the kitchen. Everyone’s gaze shifted in that direction.

“W-what?”

“That’s...!”

Though his face was battered beyond easy recognition, his chef’s uniform and his stocky build made his identity unmistakable.

It was Hulan, the head chef of the Panir’s residence.

Suvide’s eyes began to tremble slightly.

Keter, with an arm slung casually around Hulan’s shoulders, said, “Alright, say it again, loud and clear. Who told you to do what?”

“H... Hed Buler Svide told me to put poison in de masther’s sthoup,” Hulran stammered.

His words were slurred, and he had a lisp from missing teeth. Yet, everyone in the room could understand him. Everyone turned to Suvide like they couldn’t believe it.

Suvide scoffed and said, “This is perjury! Clearly, he was forced to say that under duress!”

“Oh, so you’re suggesting this witness is a fake?” Keter replied.

“Obviously!”

“The patriarch was poisoned. Is that also fake?”

“That... is true,” Suvide admitted.

It had been Suvide himself who first administered an antidote to Besil.

“Suvide, you acted like you knew exactly what happened—that the patriarch had been poisoned. You immediately administered the antidote before confirming anything.”

“What nonsense is this? There were no signs of an outside intruder or an attack. If the patriarch vomited blood during a meal, how could it be anything other than poison?”

“I was waiting for you to say that you’re certain the patriarch was poisoned. Now, where would the poison have been?”

Gasilius was the one who answered.

“The patriarch only consumed the soup.”

“Then the poison must have been in the soup,” Keter stated, pacing slowly around Suvide.

Suvide’s anxiety rose. He couldn’t predict what Keter would say next, making it impossible to think of an excuse in advance.

“Poison is tricky to store, so it requires a special glass vial. And this glass vial was given to Hulan here by you, Suvide.”

Keter, who usually took his time, immediately pulled out a glass vial from his coat and held it up. Everyone was fixated on the vial. That was the poison vial that had harmed Besil’s life.

At that moment, Suvide suddenly shouted, “Ha! Ridiculous! Trying to deceive us with a fake like that!”

Everyone fell silent. Those who hadn’t yet grasped the situation blinked in confusion, while the more insightful ones were in shock.

Then, Keter delivered the final blow.

“And how did you know this was fake the moment you saw it, Gramps?”

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

The people in the room were longer able to hold back their astonishment.

Even the seasoned Suvide gasped and stumbled back. It was as good as an admission.

“T-that’s ridiculous! I just meant no criminal would be foolish enough to leave the vial intact! Clearly, it’s a fake!”

It was Suvide’s attempt at a last-ditch defense, but the glances around the room had already changed; they narrowed and sharpened.

“As you said, Suvide, this was a fake. Let’s go over this again. Was it by chance or intentional that the patriarch ate the soup?”

Only two people could answer with certainty: Gasilius and Panir, who were present at the scene.

Gasilius, his expression darkening, responded, “It was Head Butler Suvide who suggested the patriarch try the soup.”

“If Suvide hadn’t suggested it, would the patriarch have had the soup?”

“He would not have. It was not the time for it,” Gasilius replied.

Even he couldn’t believe what he was saying. Why would the esteemed Suvide poison the patriarch to frame Panir? Gasilius couldn’t understand why, yet all clues pointed to Suvide.

Suvide then removed his monocle and said, “So, where is your proof? Not circumstantial claims, but concrete evidence. What was my motive? Where is the undeniable proof that I poisoned the soup?”

This was his last, desperate defense, but also a compelling one. Even those who were convinced of his guilt began murmuring amongst themselves.

“He’s right. Why would Head Butler Suvide do such a thing?”

“He served three patriarchs loyally. And he never seemed to have ill will toward Lord Panir.”

Thud!

Keter stomped on the floor to grab everyone’s attention.

“Then let me ask in return: where is the evidence that Elder Panir poisoned the patriarch’s soup?”

“Elder Panir had a motive,” Suvide replied. “Sir Gasilius, surely you know what I mean.”

“Hmm...” Gasilius said.

He couldn’t say anything; his silence was an unspoken confirmation.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“And I, of course, have concrete evidence.”

Suvide grinned, clapping his hands together.

“...”

But nothing happened. Surprised, Suvide clapped again.

Keter then spoke, “Stalling for time? That’s an old trick.”

“Let me step outside briefly. I’ll bring the evidence myself.”

“And this evidence...” Keter said, pulling a paper from his coat. “Could it be this?”

Suvide’s eyes widened when he saw it. The others, unable to figure out what it was, looked curious.

“W-why do you?!”

“One of the maids was nervously pacing back and forth, so I examined her and found this. She said she was given instructions by you, Suvide, to bring this letter as if it was accidentally discovered when you gave the signal.”

“What exactly is this letter, Lord Keter?” asked Gasilius.

Keter responded with a casual tone, “It’s a letter about me written by my mother to my father.”

“But why would Head Butler Suvide have such an important letter...?” Gasilius asked, puzzled.

“The patriarch probably thought he had lost it. Imagine what he would think if it happened to turn up in Elder Panir’s house?”

“...!”

It was crystal clear. If Besil collapsed during a meal shared with Panir, and then the missing letter appeared at Panir’s estate, Panir would inevitably be branded as a traitor. It was a flawless trap.

“Quite a story you’re spinning here,” Suvide retorted. “What motive would I possibly have to implicate Lord Panir?”

“Perhaps Elder Panir himself could tell us.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward Panir. His next words would settle everything.

Keter looked at him steadily, knowing this was the final, decisive moment. He was correct in sensing that something was going to happen at Panir’s residence. It was good that he figured out the situation by beating Hulan, who was trembling in anxiety, but he didn’t have enough time. Searching the estate and finding the suspicious maid with the letter was the best he could do.

From here on, it’s the realm of force and false testimony.

Suvide was certainly no easy opponent. Keter had cornered him psychologically and pressured him to the point of making a mistake, but Suvide managed to damage control.

As he said, there was no concrete evidence. Keter hadn’t uncovered a motive, either, but Suvide was undoubtedly the culprit. Right now, they just needed to keep pressuring him, and Panir was the key.

It was simple. If Suvide wasn’t the culprit, then Panir would be. Panir would have to resist with all he had.

There’s a choice to make. Self-destruct, or give in.

All Panir had to do was admit it, fabricate if necessary. He just needed to convey that Suvide was capable of doing something like this. But Panir hesitated, torn between self-destructing and giving in. It was because of Keter.

Whatever his reason for helping me is, I don’t like him. Even if I have to die, I won’t let that wretch keep parading around in this family.

Panir’s thoughts were destructive. He would rather die than accept help from the Keter. He was well aware his choice was irrational, but he was exhausted from all the schemes and chaos. Part of him even thought it would be better to admit to the poisoning and end things here. At least then, he could die without tarnishing the Sefira name further.

“I...”

Just as he chose to self-destruct...

“Lord Panir!”

Panir’s eyes widened. He became angry once again.

Keter’s tricks again?

But he was certain this voice was Katherine’s, the person he cherished like a daughter despite never having had children of his own.

But she can’t be here. She is still under house arrest. Keter, you mock me even now. Very well. If I’m to die, I’ll take you with me.

Panir glared at Keter with a deadly gaze. But in the very next instant, his eyes widened in shock.

Standing right there beside Keter was Katherine herself.