She is the Daughter of the Villainess in a Ridiculous Novel - Chapter 62
Chapter 62
The moment when the seemingly healthy body collapsed was instantaneous. The sight of the red hair swirling in the air was so surreal that no one thought to move.
Among the frozen people, the first to spring into action was none other than Dante.
With a swift and calm demeanor, as if vowing not to repeat past mistakes.
“Idel!”
“Ugh…”
“Stay with me!”
He carefully supported Idel, who had collapsed while clutching her stomach, and spoke to her with a serious expression.
“Did you happen to have the sorbet a moment ago?”
“Ugh, my stomach…”
“Gianna, get a doctor!”
Dante’s command directed at Gianna snapped the people in the banquet hall back to reality.
As if a spell had been broken, they began to move urgently.
“Quick, call a doctor!”
“You there, what kind of stomach medicine did you use?”
“I don’t, I don’t know…”
“Idel! My dear! Stay with mom, Idel!”
The knight pressing Ivanna for answers, people rushing out to call a doctor, and Melisa, who was holding Idel and tearing up.
In a situation that could easily be described as a complete disaster, the duke pressed his forehead. So many things had suddenly unfolded just moments ago.
‘Just when I thought Gianna and Idel were reconciling, Veronica took the pie, claiming it was poisoned, and now it’s not the pie but the sorbet that’s poisoned?’
As Vincent worked to sort out the situation and ensure Idel’s safety, the duchess, Rowena, noticed something odd.
‘…There are too few people around Idel.’
There are only three people to point out: the maid she specifically chose to be by her side, Veronica, and the one who confessed to putting in the medicine.
At first, it seemed that Idel simply didn’t want anyone around. Idel had mostly entrusted Diane with her care and said she wouldn’t even have a maid with her.
‘I thought it was the same this time…’
However, seeing the situation, it appeared there was another reason.
Rowena’s sharp purple eyes scanned the surroundings and landed on Sylvia.
“Sylvia.”
“…Ah, yes! Madam.”
“Get a grip. This isn’t the time for that. You need to come with me to Idel’s room right now.”
“To Miss Idel’s room?”
The softness and kindness that had characterized her face turned cold and rigid. Rowena nodded with a determined expression and turned to her husband.
“Vincent, take care of Idel and my sister.”
“Okay, I understand.”
With those final words, the duchess quickly left the banquet hall and headed toward Idel’s room.
Although she could have asked Sylvia about the situation on the way, Rowena didn’t ask anything.
It was as if she had a suspicion of something.
And the closer she got to Idel’s room, the more Rowena sensed that her suspicions were correct. Especially…
“Hahaha! Look at this; it’s too small for all the other fingers, but it fits perfectly on the pinky!”
“Isn’t that so? Ah, stop looking in the mirror and come over to taste this. The premium tea really does taste different! I swiped this a few days ago, and the aroma is different from what we usually drink.”
“Aren’t you getting too into swiping things lately? You even took something from Miss Idel’s snacks a while ago. Was it jelly?”
“It was pudding. And hey, you’re not in a position to talk while lying on Miss Idel’s bed!”
Hearing the voices from inside the door made her even more uneasy.
Rowena, shedding her usual gentleness, calmly gestured toward Sylvia.
“Open up.”
“Yes, madam.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sylvia opened the door to Idel’s room.
For a brief moment, the sudden opening of the door startled those inside, but once they realized who was standing outside, the servants were silently horrified.
‘It is absolutely unacceptable for servants to use their master’s space without permission.’
Moreover, they were not even of noble birth, but commoners.
To use the primary living space where Idel spent most of her day as if they were the owners was a direct challenge to the rightful occupant.
Before Rowena and Sylvia could speak, the servants hurriedly bowed their heads to the two.
“We, um, greet the Duchess.”
“Why are the two of you here without anyone sending you…?”
Seeing the servants fidgeting nervously, Rowena’s gaze turned sharp.
Despite the situation escalating to this point, they showed no remorse and were merely looking for a way out.
As she quietly observed their attempts to cover up their misdeeds, she slowly opened her mouth.
“That’s what I want to ask. What on earth is going on here?”
Rowena did not raise her voice. However, the calmness in her tone sent chills down the spines of the servants.
“We were, um, cleaning…”
“What I see before me is quite different.”
With the scene exposed, there was no room for excuses. Realizing the seriousness in Rowena’s flat voice, the servants quickly lowered their bodies.
“We’re sorry! Please, just this once… just this once, forgive us!”
“We acted out of ignorance and touched Miss Idel’s belongings without permission. Please, just show us mercy this one time…”
“Yes! We promise it won’t happen again, please, madam!”
Seeing the servants begging for forgiveness, Sylvia pressed her forehead.
She knew that the servants were misbehaving under Veronica’s influence. Still…
‘The sight is truly pitiful.’
As she looked around the disheveled room, Idel’s face naturally came to mind.
The pouty lips, the triangular eyes, the furrowed brows—all of it.
‘Diane mentioned that the servants had been playing pranks on Miss Idel even before Veronica stepped in.’
She regretted not asking exactly what kind of pranks they had pulled.
‘If only I had…’
Just as Sylvia was lost in self-reproach, a cold voice cut through beside her.
“If you are aware of your wrongdoing, you shouldn’t be asking for forgiveness.”
“…That’s not what we meant…”
“Not what you meant? Are you trying to persuade me? You must think the Clementine family is a joke. Or perhaps you think I’m easy to deal with.”
Even Sylvia, who had been by the duchess’s side for a long time, had never heard such a cold tone. The servants trembled at the Duchess’s anger, which was usually so gentle.
“How could we think so lightly of our madam…! We’ve never thought that way! Rather, we are prepared to devote ourselves to the Clementine family…”
“Someone who is prepared to devote themselves to the Clementine family would dare to do such a thing to ‘Idel Clementine’?”
“……!”
“You know very well that my mention of ‘such a thing’ is not limited to the scene before us, right?”
“…We’re sorry! We truly apologize! We just… when Miss Idel suddenly came in, she was bothering Miss Gianna…”
“Y-yes, we really didn’t do much! Amanda and Cassie even put a cursed doll in Lady Idel’s pillow! So please, don’t dismiss us…”
“Ha…”
A cursed doll.
A small laugh escaped Rowena’s lips.
From the moment Veronica made a cutting remark about Idel at the dinner table, Rowena’s heart had been gradually crumbling.
‘What on earth have I been doing?’
She had prepared the meal, sent gifts, and written letters, all in an effort to improve her relationship with the child.
In doing so, she had merely filled the air with empty words about waiting for Idel to be ready.
‘Meanwhile, I completely missed what was truly important.’
A hollow laugh filled with self-reproach slipped from the duchess’s lips.
Was it because it was the first time seeing her cold reaction? The frightened servants eagerly dragged others into the fray.
From broken glass bottles to deliberately torn sleeves, from the frog in the washbasin to the missing ring…
The servants recounted their own and their colleagues’ wrongdoings without even realizing what they had done wrong.
Having listened to all the truths they revealed, Rowena clenched the hem of her dress tightly. Her fist turned white from the strain and trembled slightly.
After staring at the servants in silence for a long while, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Sylvia.”
“……Yes, Madam.”
“Gather all the servants working in the Clementine household and bring them to me.”
Right now.
