This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 89
The officials frowned.
No one believed his words.
Daymond, who had been observing the situation, looked at the gardener standing nervously.
“You.”
“Y, yes!”
“Bring the servant who saw Baron Zahavin threatening Joshua.”
“Y, yes, sir…!”
The gardener quickly ran out of the room.
He strode through the dark corridor.
The laundry area of the jurisdiction was located in the basement.
Denny was a smart kid despite his age; he would testify accurately to what he heard.
Now, Baron Zahavin had no way out.
But then,
“Whewe awe you going?”
A young voice came from behind.
Startled, he turned to see Erylotte following him.
“I’m going to the laundry to fetch Denny.”
“Ohh, owkay.”
“Ah, you must have been scared too, Young Miss? Now that the bad guy’s been caught, you can relax.”
“He weally bad. Uncow.” (He’s really bad. Uncle.)
“Yes. Even if Lord Deacons doesn’t get along with his younger brother, how could he harm his nephew—”
The child suddenly grabbed the gardener’s collar.
“Yew. Who awe yew?”
“…What?”
“How would a simpow gawdenew know aboot Uncow Deacon doing sush thingies?”
“Well, I overheard the lords talking…!”
“Since you been hewe, no one evow menshuned Uncow Deacon.”
The gardener’s expression froze.
***
I glared at the gardener.
With a stiff expression, the gardener mumbled and then let out a forced, awkward laugh.
“Everyone thinks one of the ducal heirs must have commissioned the curse. Plus, there were rumors about Lord Deacons and our General arguing at His Grace the Duke’s birthday celebration…”
I smirked, lifting one side of my mouth.
“Weally?”
“Yes?”
“Youw accen’, is fowen.” (Your accent. It’s foreign.)
He flinched.
“Whewe awe yew fwom?”
“…”
“Shud I guess? Thwe eastown distwic? Whewe thwe Bushowz esate is.” (Should I guess? The eastern district? Where the Boucherz estate is.)
I was well aware of the friction between my grandfather and Marquis Boucherz, having heard the rumors. I also knew that the Boucherz side was winning the nobility’s favor with the sale of an ancient stone expected to be a huge success.
‘I have a good intel source named Conrad.’
When I gave the reinforcement stones to my grandfather, Conrad told me this:
“You’ve done a truly splendid job. Especially since Marquis Boucherz’s movements have been quite suspicious lately.”
“Coun Bushie?”
“Yes. He was trying to win over nobles with ancient stones, so something to diminish its value was desperately needed.”
“The weinfowshmen sone?”
“Exactly. With the reinforcement stone, the value of the ancient stone would plummet immeasurably.”
So, the Boucherz side, infuriated by the reinforcement stones, tried to cause division in the Astra estate.
Daymond Astra, who gave the reinforcement stones to the duke.
And Deacons, who had bad relations with him.
It was clear that this was a plot to instigate a fight between them.
‘I see why he used the Boucherz estate’s dialect foolishly.’
The Astra estate was full of foreigners. Hence, the variety of accents was vast, and no one found the eastern accent particularly odd.
So he must have deliberately used the dialect to play the innocent gardener.
‘The eastern dialect he’s familiar with.’
The gardener’s expression turned icy in an instant.
“Really now…”
The face that was playing the kind middle-aged man disappeared without a trace.
He glanced around and twisted his mouth, saying,
“I’ve heard you’re clever. But you’re arrogant.”
Even his tone had completely changed.
He grabbed my arm tightly and said,
“For a little girl to confront an adult all alone like this.”
“…”
“Stupid wench. Instead of arrogantly following me, you should have told your father.”
“Why?”
“So you wouldn’t have ended up dead—”
WHAM!!
With a tremendous noise, the gardener was flipped over. Someone had kicked him.
“Hey, you okay?”
“You shoulda caw the gawds!” (You should have called the guards!)
Frowning, I looked up at him.
That is, Han Ji-hyuk, whom I had employed as a errand boy in the barracks.
“Do you know how long it takes to get here from the barracks?”
Han Ji-hyuk grumbled and kicked the gardener still lying on the ground, now unable to get up.
The gardener lying on the ground gnashed his teeth.
“You brats…!”
“Hey mistow, do yew fink Ima idiot?” (Hey mister, do you think I’m an idiot?)
Uncle Deacons is a coward.
Just looking at how he trembled when he saw my father at grandfather’s birthday is proof enough.
Would he, so obviously fearful, dare to curse Joshua, especially when it was clear he’d be the prime suspect?
‘Besides, Joshua’s defense of Baron Zahavin was strange too.’
Why would he defend someone he supposedly dislikes?
Moreover, Baron Zahavin was a tightrope-walking expert.
He wouldn’t do anything to fall out of favor with Astra’s direct lineage.
But when I went against the gardener, he wasn’t upset.
‘Because he had Joshua as a sturdy shield.’
After putting everything together, there’s just one conclusion.
‘Someone is trying to sow discord between my father and Uncle Deacons.’
