HTPTMOTMM Chapter 34

Soon, another person's voice came from near the door.

"Sorry! Someone must have left a window open outside. Please wait just a moment."

The sound of someone quickly moving in and out of the dining room could be heard.

At some point, I found myself smiling without realizing it. It was a subtle smile with emotions I couldn't identify.

Shortly after, an employee carrying a candle entered the dining room and lit the inside as well.

"Damn, I really thought ghosts were coming out earlier. Why is the atmosphere so gloomy today?"

Raven grumbled. He seemed to have some trauma left from the recent incident at the annex. But the way he muttered alone while alternately checking mine and Marianne's reactions looked quite pathetic.

"Let's go, Lusca."

Marianne ignored Raven's words and began walking toward the door again with Lusca. Minuel was still grumbling, and Cheswick was observing the surroundings like me, with a gentle smile on his lips.

Then, perhaps thirsty, Olivia reached for a pre-dinner tea that had been prepared on the table.

I rested my chin on the back of my hand and thought for a moment.

But today, Olivia's dress was spotlessly white, and I didn't want to see such a dress stained red.

"Olivia, don't drink that."

So I said.

"What?"

Fortunately, Olivia was quick-witted. She immediately stopped the teacup she was bringing to her mouth.

Then she poured the liquid from the teacup into the vase in front of her with sharply raised eyes.

Hiss!

The flowers that had been blooming fresh and full of life immediately wilted.

"Which bastard!"

Olivia jumped up from her chair, knocking it over.

Anyone could see that Olivia's teacup contained something lethally harmful, so it was natural for her to be furious like this.

"If the culprit is among us, confess right now! If I catch you lying low, I'll smash all your heads!"

But this lady has quite a foul mouth, more than I expected...

Of course, no culprit would come forward just because Olivia cursed at them.

"Ugh, kills the appetite. Every time something like this happens, even if we replace the employees, there's always someone who periodically messes with the food."

Raven grumbled as if it were someone else's business. The reactions of others weren't much different.

"Ah, damn. I don't know who it is, but they say even dogs don't bother you when you're eating—what kind of behavior is this? Cheswick! From now on, you eat all my food first."

"I wish Minuel would value my life a bit more."

Cheswick's regretful words followed Minuel's, and then Olivia, who had been fuming, shouted toward the door.

"Is anyone out there?!"

A maid came running immediately.

"Yes, Caregiver! What's the matter? Do you need anything..."

"Bring everyone who touched the teacups right now! Don't leave out a single person who came in when the dining room lights went out earlier!"

A fierce voice echoed in the dining room.

The maid seemed to realize something serious had happened, turned pale, and rushed out of the dining room.

"I have nothing to do with this, so I'll be going."

Room 1's caregiver Marianne walked leisurely toward the door while holding Lusca's hand.

"Ah, the whole mood is ruined. Do we have to skip dinner?"

Room 4's Raven also followed behind her, pushing his chair with a clatter as he stood up.

Olivia's eyes flashed toward them.

"Where are you going when we haven't even caught the culprit yet?"

"As Room 5 said, if we investigate the people who touched the teacups, the culprit will emerge. What does that have to do with me?"

"Someone among us might have ordered this! Or they could have hidden poison and put it in when the lights went out just now."

"So, are you planning to body-search me now?"

A cold smile appeared on Marianne's lips. Olivia's eyes also glinted sharply.

Raven was still standing awkwardly, watching others' reactions.

"No, Olivia."

Then a quiet voice broke through the tense atmosphere in the dining room.

"I have good eyesight, and when the lights went out, no one put poison in Olivia's teacup."

The person who said this was Cheswick, who was sitting leaning back in his chair as if the situation was boring.

Still, his words seemed to have some effect, as the sharp atmosphere among the people relaxed slightly.

I watched the situation while picking at the strawberries prepared as pre-dinner fruit.

"Room 7, how can you eat that right now?!"

Room 5, who discovered me, shouted as if dumbfounded.

"Don't mind me and continue. These strawberries are really good."

"There could be poison in those too—how can you just eat them like that?! I honestly don't know where you get such nerve..."

Olivia looked somewhat deflated. She seemed to have lost energy and no longer blocked Room 1's Marianne.

Marianne glanced at me once, then left the dining room with Lusca. Raven also took this opportunity to disappear entirely.

As if finally coming to her senses, Olivia turned her head toward me so rapidly that her veil-like hair ornament fluttered.

"Ah! Come to think of it, Room 7, how did you know there was poison in my teacup?"

"Just a feeling."

"How can there be such a thing?"

"Just by smell?"

"Are you a dog?"

Shortly after, Olivia sent everyone else out of the dining room.

Then she gathered all the people who had touched the teacups on the table at least once in the dining room and had the door locked from outside.

"No one come in."

The last face I saw of Olivia was no different from a demon. No sound leaked from inside, so I couldn't tell what was happening.

"Ms. Lynne, it doesn't seem like it'll end soon, so we should return to our rooms too."

Hearing Cheswick's words, I turned my head to him. I looked into his eyes and casually confirmed.

"You saw it too, right?"

Then Cheswick slowly smiled with narrowed eyes. He didn't say anything, but that alone was an answer.

"Your guest is also staying at the manor, but it's been a noisy evening. I hope it'll be quiet from now on."

After all the caregivers and children from other rooms who had gathered in the dining room first had left, I also started walking.

Rain was still falling outside the window. Not walking very far, I encountered someone I had wanted to meet in the hallway.

"Why did you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

Even though she obviously knew what I was asking, Marianne calmly asked back. Looking at her like that, I slightly pouted.

"Obviously, I'm curious why you switched the teacup with poison that belonged to Sergio with Olivia's teacup."

Marianne seemed to have taken Lusca back to their room and come out again. Since this was on the way to Dian's room, I thought Marianne had also turned her steps here to meet me. So I spoke directly without beating around the bush.

"You switched them when the dining room went dark earlier."

Cheswick's words were certainly not lies.

Marianne didn't put poison in Olivia's teacup. She simply brought another person's teacup that contained poison and placed it in front of Olivia.

Marianne answered my question.

"I couldn't let the child die."

Her voice was as dry as Marianne's face visible through the veil.

"Then you could have just told them there was poison in Sergio's teacup. Why did you specifically put it in front of Olivia to drink?"

"This is each person's test. No one else can solve that test paper for them."

Marianne's logic was quite simple.

"Moreover, if someone entered this manor prepared to take risks, shouldn't they be able to detect something like poison in the teacup placed before them?"

"And if they die, it's because they were incompetent?"

It wasn't much different from the thinking of Room 4's caregiver, Raven. At this level, I more than understood the mindset of the people here.

But I seemed to have underestimated Marianne too much. She went one step further.

"If someone is only worth that much, it's better they die early. So that a better caregiver can come as soon as possible to protect the child."

Marianne's blue eyes, half-hidden by black cloth, glowed colder than a winter sea.

"So you too, don't do useless things like today and focus on protecting the child you're assigned to."

Marianne coldly recited what could be either a warning or advice, then turned and began walking away.

I looked at Marianne's retreating figure and opened her character information.

Marianne (29)

• 21st World origin (Francis Preliminary Caregiver Training Institution affiliate)
• Redford Manor Room 1 Lusca's caregiver
• Personality: Kind, stubborn, noble, honest, strict
• Nickname: Black Veil's Martyr
• Current state: Sadness
• Affection level: ?/?(inactive)(available from 70% system loading or higher)

I unconsciously wrinkled my nose after seeing Marianne's information.

Her nickname is "Black Veil's Martyr." And her current state is sadness.

After seeing the personality keywords directly, I got a sense of what kind of person Marianne was.

I looked at the spot where Marianne had disappeared for a moment, then went to Dian's room.

After having dinner with him, what I did was reopen the manual book that I had stopped reading because there were many parts that looked like strange characters.

Rumble, crash!

"That startled me."

Raphael flinched at the thunder that rang out loudly enough to pierce his eardrums.

He had come out of the guest room prepared by Redford Manor's employees and was looking around inside the manor.

It wasn't originally planned, but since he was stuck here anyway, it seemed fine to investigate this suspicious manor once. He hadn't been pleased about leaving everything to Lynne anyway.