She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 61

The urgent voices and gestures drew everyone’s attention to Veronica.

However, Veronica had no time to worry about the many pairs of eyes focused on her.

This was because Gianna was about to put a piece of the pie in her mouth.

‘If something happens to Gianna, I—I’m really done for!’

Fear surged up to her throat. She rushed out, extending her hand, fearing that Gianna might eat even a crumb of the pie.

Before anyone could point out what she was doing, Veronica grabbed Gianna’s wrist and threw the pie to the ground.

– Thud!

“Ha… ha…”

Even while looking at the pie that had fallen to the ground, Veronica couldn’t calm down easily.

With a face that had turned pale to the point of being white, she bent down, examining Gianna’s body with her eyes, and opened her mouth.

“Miss Gianna, you… you didn’t eat the pie, did you? Are you… are you okay?”

“Veronica?”

“Is your throat hurting, or…? You’re okay, right? You have to be okay…!”

Gianna’s expression, facing Veronica, was filled with confusion. It was indeed the plan that she had secretly discussed with Idel to exchange the pie containing ‘laxative.’

Veronica probably never imagined she would eat the pie with laxative, so she expected her to be surprised. But…

‘But I didn’t think she would be this scared…’

Moreover, didn’t she just mention her throat? Why ask if it hurts?

No matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t make sense, and Gianna slightly rolled her eyes.

She thought she could tell if the plan was going well by looking at Idel’s face.

However, before Gianna could turn her eyes to Idel, Sylvia, who had entered the banquet hall, caught her attention.

“Are you okay? Veronica, why are you asking Gianna such things? As if she ate something she shouldn’t have.”

“Well… I mean, I was just worried it might be dangerous…”

“Can you take responsibility for that statement?”

“…What?”

Veronica’s voice trembled, causing the duke’s brow to furrow.

Setting aside the fear emanating from her voice, what she said was significant.

If Sylvia hadn’t pointed out the same thing, he would have spoken first.

Sylvia turned her body towards the duke, the duchess, and the distinguished guests at the banquet and politely bowed.

“I apologize for causing a disturbance during the banquet. Regarding this matter…”

“I’ll ask again later. You’re not someone who acts thoughtlessly.”

“Thank you.”

After receiving the duke’s permission, Sylvia turned her head back to look at Veronica.

Veronica still seemed unable to grasp the situation.

“Veronica, do you still not understand what you said? Should I pour cold water on you to bring you to your senses?”

Under the sharp gaze of the head maid, Veronica barely swallowed.

Only then did she realize that her words could imply she had done something to Idel’s food.

“No, that’s not it! I didn’t mean to say that I did something to the food Miss Idel would eat!”

“Then are you saying there’s a problem with the pie? Yet, you offered it to Miss Idel?”

“No! That’s not it…”

“Then what?”

“…Well…”

Veronica found it difficult to open her mouth.

It was only natural. Although she hastily tried to deny it, she had never imagined such a situation would arise.

Feeling the sweat soaking her back, Veronica subtly glanced around for her lover. It was not that she sought an answer from him, but rather a kind of unconscious reflex.

Of course, Sylvia had no intention of letting the matter go.

“Did I ask something too difficult? If so, then I need to narrow down the options.”

She picked up another piece of pie from the table and moved closer to Veronica.

Then, unlike what she had done with Gianna, she placed the pie into Veronica’s hand.

“S-Sylvia, this is…”

“I’m giving you a chance to prove your words.”

Veronica’s gaze fell on the piece of pie in her hand. Even as her eyes trembled, Sylvia’s pressure continued.

“Why aren’t you eating it? Didn’t you say there was no problem?”

“Th-That’s… well, when I was a child, I had a bad reaction to eating apples…”

“Veronica, you don’t think I’m interrogating you without knowing anything, do you?”

At the soft tone of Sylvia’s voice, Veronica’s eyes widened as she scrambled for an excuse.

‘Sylvia… knows?’

How much does she know? Does she know about her relationship with Demaric?

That can’t be right.

She had been so careful to keep Idel Clementine away from Sylvia.

‘…I can’t say everything out loud.’

Even touching a member of a noble family is a big deal, but the pie in her hand was a completely different matter.

‘This could easily lead to a trial if I’m not careful.’

If she were put on trial for using poison, Veronica’s life would truly be over.

Deep down, she knew that. She didn’t know what it was, but she felt she had missed something very important and that things had already gone wrong.

However, knowing that and admitting it were two separate issues.

‘…No, there’s no way Sylvia knows I swapped the laxative for poison. Then, if that’s the case…’

Veronica’s gaze shifted to Ivanna, who seemed to be tensing up in the corner of the banquet hall.

She lightly bit the inside of her cheek, as if resolving herself, then tightly closed her eyes and shouted.

“I’m so, so sorry! I… committed a grave sin! I heard the servants say they were going to put laxatives in it, but I never thought they would actually do it! So…”

“What are you saying right now?”

“Veronica, did I hear you correctly? The servants put a laxative in Idel’s pie, and you pretended not to know?”

Seeing the duke and duchess’s shocked expressions, Veronica bowed her head even lower. Of course, it was an act.

Shaking as if terrified, Veronica began to sob quietly.

“I was wrong! I did something I should never have done as a maid. When Miss Idel forcibly took my ring and humiliated me, it lingered in my mind, and I… Even so, I shouldn’t have ignored the bad prank of the servants…”

“My… I can’t believe the servants did this, let alone a maid participating!”

“So, everything you said about how Miss Idel was looking forward to the apple pie and encouraged her to eat it was all a lie?”

“Wait, does that mean the maids put the laxative in it?”

Veronica pretended to sob, waiting for the crowd’s attention to gradually shift away from her.

Though she couldn’t see it with her head down, she vividly imagined Ivanna’s fearful expression.

“No! We, I mean… It wasn’t my intention towards Miss Idel…”

“Can you really say it wasn’t? With your tongue on the line?”

“That’s… that’s!”

Yes, can you feel it in my voice?

‘I’ll pretend I thought it was a laxative. Even if it’s revealed later that it was poison, I’ll find a way to escape.’

She wouldn’t be completely free of responsibility, but it was better than being the main culprit on trial.

As she listened to Ivanna’s tearful voice, Veronica subtly pulled the corners of her mouth up.

“Laxative? No. Veronica, what you put in the pie isn’t laxative, is it?”

At Sylvia’s soft words from above, Veronica’s heart sank.

As she lifted her tear-streaked face to look at Sylvia, she forced a smile and denied her words.

“…What are you talking about, Lady Sylvia? I didn’t put anything in myself. If I have any guilt, it’s only for turning a blind eye to what my subordinates did.”

“That can’t be true.”

Sylvia cut off Veronica’s words sharply and elegantly reached into the pocket of her skirt.

She intended to pull out the poison that Veronica had swapped to wrap up this messy situation.

However, before Sylvia could present the evidence herself, an unexpected statement burst forth from Ivanna.

“We really didn’t put laxative in the apple pie!! It’s true! What we put the medicine in wasn’t the apple pie, but the sorbet!”

“What?!”

“Previously, Miss Idel said she had no intention of eating the apple pie… So, um, we’re not the culprits!”

At Ivanna’s words, Veronica’s eyes widened in disbelief.

A lie… That can’t be.

It surely can’t be…

– Thud!

“Ugh…!”

As if to prove that her thoughts were wrong, at that moment, Idel Clementine’s body collapsed to the floor.