Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 132
From behind his grandfather, Dane grumbled.
“Why would you bring something like that here? What if someone sees it? Seriously, I don’t know if you’re bold or just clueless…”
Then he added,
“Phew, it’s a good thing you have a sturdy friend like me. She really has no fear or just doesn’t understand the world…”
“Shut it.”
Diana dismissed him.
Meanwhile, Gill examined various parts of the wedding dress. Cecilia, honestly, had lowered her expectations.
She had confirmed that Evelyn’s wedding dress had something helpful for Lilith, but too much time had passed since then.
As Gill mentioned, even if something had been on the dress, it would be hard to find now.
“…Oho?”
Just as Cecilia was preparing herself for disappointment, Gill made a strange sound.
“Is there something?”
“Well, there is, but…”
Gill, dropping several chemicals, tilted his head in confusion.
“I don’t know why this is here. Well, if it’s this, I can understand why there are still traces…”
“What is it?”
Cecilia asked urgently.
“Poena’s Tears… it seems.”
* * *
“Poena’s Tears…?”
Yes, that was it.
Even if gypsy magic was used with Poena’s Tears, it usually wouldn’t be lethal. So, it had been overlooked.
‘That drug isn’t a deadly poison.’
She had thought too complacently.
Take Nigel as an example—he was a very healthy and lively young man in his late teens. A healthy person could survive even severe pain.
But what if it was a pregnant woman? Someone who had always been weak? Or someone who had been made weak?
‘They could easily die.’
Cecilia’s mind raced.
‘If the former Countess was affected by Poena’s Tears…’
…But the outcome was different from what she knew. Poena’s Tears cause excruciating pain, enough to twist one’s internal organs. The degree of pain might vary depending on the level of hatred, but the fact remains that it is torturous…
‘If the former Countess had been affected by Poena’s Tears, she should have lost consciousness and hovered between unconsciousness and consciousness, repeatedly experiencing her final dream.’
Cecilia recalled Evelyn. She rarely left her room. However, occasionally, she wandered the corridors or strolled in the garden at odd hours.
Odd hours… for instance…
‘When everyone was asleep.’
Evelyn wandered around at those times.
‘Perhaps…’
What if Evelyn Lasphilla had been…
‘…sleepwalking?’
And in the state of being on the edge of consciousness…
‘…thought she was having a lucid dream?’
Cecilia took in a sharp breath.
The image of Evelyn in Lilith’s recollection was different from the Evelyn Cecilia knew. Lilith also described her as entirely different from her usual self.
She had assumed that a person’s sudden change was a result of a change in mindset before death.
But…
Through Lilith’s lips, Evelyn was depicted as a hazy figure, like someone dreaming.
‘A dreamer…’
Perhaps Evelyn was already in a confused state due to the Poena’s Tears.
In that state, she thought she was dreaming and confided in Lilith for the first time.
‘Believing it was just a dream that would never become reality…’
Cecilia’s expression gradually crumbled. A woman’s face hovered like a target on a dartboard amidst the growing pain in her chest.
‘Louise Cléon.’
The drug used by gypsies was found on the wedding dress of Evelyn Lasphilla, the former Countess Lasphilla. It was a drug that Lilith herself could not have sprinkled. She was neither meticulous nor bold enough to do so.
‘If she had done it, Mother would not have bothered to tell me a false story.’
How common are gypsies, especially in a noble household?
To her knowledge, there were only two gypsies in Lasphilla.
Since she entered Lasphilla after Evelyn’s death, she hadn’t been certain until now. But with this much evidence, it was time to draw a conclusion.
Louise Cléon didn’t want Caroline to produce an heir.
Louise Cléon wanted Ulysses to suffer in agony.
Louise Cléon wanted Lilith to be falsely accused and expelled.
And Louise Cléon…
‘…killed Evelyn Lasphilla.’
In all these scenarios, there was only one other person, besides Louise, who stood to gain.
‘Bernarda Lasphilla.’
