Chapter 182

Chapter 182

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“‘Poison’? And may I ask what proof you have to make such a claim?”

A peculiar tension settled over the garden upon Jeremy’s return. Even so, the Black Master seemed intent on dealing with the most pressing issue first. Throughout the heated exchange between the Fipellion and his half-siblings, Duran Fipellion remained collapsed on the ground.

“Doctor.”

The young clan leader beckoned the individual who he had coincidentally ran into in the corridor leading to the garden.

“Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and get to work.”

“Y-yes, Black Master!”

The doctor had stopped momentarily due to the unusually charged atmosphere, but upon hearing the direct order, proceeded toward the victim.

“H-how is he? Duran isn’t going to die, is he?”

The man who had only moments ago been growling at the Agreces directed all of his attention to the one person who could save his fellow clansman. After examining Duran’s condition, the doctor raised his head and spoke with a serious expression on his face.

“His condition doesn’t appear to be fatal, so you shouldn’t worry too much for now.”

“Are you absolutely certain of that?”

“Yes. Both his breathing and pulse are stable. I shall examine him more thoroughly now that it’s clear he’s out of harm’s way.”

The dizzying tension in the air hanging over the garden finally seemed to dissipate. Jeremy glanced around at his siblings and noticed something off.

“What’s the matter with her?”

His gaze remained trained on his half-sister, who was lying on the grass rather dramatically as though she had fainted like some tragic damsel in distress. Upon their brother calling attention to her, the others awkwardly helped her back to her feet.

“Ack! I’m hurt. Please be careful. I think I sprained my ankle.”

Her groans sounded uncharacteristically feeble and pitiable to the various other clans witnessing the scene, but to the Fipellion who had seen her wicked smile as she sharpened her knife in the lounge that fateful night, her acting was simply sickening,

In truth, her own siblings found the charade equally revolting. Even Jeremy scoffed to himself as he watched her amble back onto her feet. In what reality would her ankle get sprained by some measly cotton ball like this guy pushing her? The very idea’s preposterous.

As he assessed the situation, there was little to no doubt that his half-siblings had done something to the tea. And sure enough, there was indeed poison inside the teacup. It was obtained from a plant known to induce stomachaches, which a few of them had found growing on the side of a path on the castle grounds.

In fact, Roxana had discovered the very same plant at the gathering that previous winter. Only those with trained eyes could distinguish it from other herbal plants. However, just about any Agrece child would have recognized it immediately.

As part of their retribution game, the Agrece who had discovered the plant most recently decided to use it to further harass the White clan trio. As a hub of inter-clan commerce, there were as many different types of tea in the neutral territory as there were people.

Each clan was known for preferring certain teas over others, and the three Fipellion members had made a habit of requesting any tea known for relieving stress or calming the nerves. Thus, it hadn’t been difficult for the culprit to sneak into the tea storehouse and mix in some of the dried plant with every bundle of tea leaves with those effects.

Even so, since it was merely strong enough to induce mild stomach aches, the only people who would ever suspect an assassination attempt would be the bumbling trio who were already at their wits’ end after suffering incessantly day and night.

“Bullsh*t! Do you think anyone here will believe this ridiculous innocent act of yours?! Why else would Duran have suddenly collapsed like that?!”

An even more shocking truth of the matter was that the Agrece siblings were also baffled. After all, even with the plant mixed in, the tea should not have caused anyone to collapse after drinking it. Having taken in all that he could with his sharp, blue eyes, Jeremy chose to address the Fipellion himself.

“So you’re accusing them of attempting to take his life with poison? You would dare make such a groundless accusation and imply that a member of the five highly renowned clans would harbor such wretched intentions?”

The very idea was so sensitive that it left those in the garden frozen in silence.

“Worse yet, you think it was the Agreces without any evidence? Just what proof do you have?”

“Well, obviously...”

“Did you witness any of my clan members act suspiciously around your table or the tea in question? And you lot! Did any one of you touch this teacup or come near this table after entering the garden?”

He had asked the questions almost simultaneously but kept his attention on his half-siblings as though he only needed to hear their answers.

“No, of course not!”

“Everyone knows we can’t stand the Fipellions, so why would we want to sit anywhere near them?”

“We hadn’t said a word to him until this whole mess started!”

“That’s right. The other clans saw us, so you can even ask them.”

Each sibling was quick to present every alibi in their favor.

“In other words,” Jeremy said, “you openly called our clan into question without having seen anything to support your claims for yourself.”

That indeed appeared to be the case to those bearing witness to the scene, thus murmurs and whispers soon filled the stagnant air. Just as the Black clan members had explained, they had made themselves extremely scarce not only around the two Fipellions who had been late to the tea party, but toward almost every White clan member at the gathering.

The two clans always seemed to clash whenever their members spotted one another, but few were ready to admit that the Fipellions were always the instigators. Until recently, the two Fipellions present had been making a habit of trying to provoke any and every Agrece they encountered in the castle.

“I assume the White clan is prepared to take full responsibility for what you’ve said here today, yes? I trust you can see that this is no joking matter, so I encourage you to answer my questions carefully.”

As Jeremy’s firm voice chilled their ears, the Fipellion flinched involuntarily. “Um...”

Just then the doctor interrupted.

“Go ahead. What is it?”

The elderly medic proceeded to speak cautiously upon receiving the young clan leader’s brisk approval. “Forgive me, but his symptoms do not correspond with that of a poison victim’s.”

The Fipellion roared at the unexpected diagnosis. “That’s absurd! Are you certain you’ve examined him properly?!”

“Y-yes, of course... I can’t be certain until I’ve examined the patient more thoroughly in the infirmary, but... For now, I can tell you that he isn’t showing any signs of poisoning. In fact, his loss of consciousness appears to be the result of extreme fatigue.”

“W-what?!”

“I believe a lack of adequate sleep over the last few days resulted in an overwhelming amount of stress on his mind and body. To put it simply, he didn’t collapse due to any external factors. He may just be in need of proper rest.”

The other clan members who still had a tinge of doubt about the diagnosis finally let out silent sighs of relief. However, the Fipellion continued to rage on as he was unable to accept the doctor’s diagnosis.

“You! You’re with them, aren’t you?!”

“Absolutely not, sir! How can you even suggest such a thing?!”

The doctor recoiled from the sudden accusation.

“There’s no way he wasn’t poisoned!”

“And why are you so sure of that?” As Jeremy spoke his eyes were cast in shadow. “Is there any reason there would be poison in his teacup?”

Based on the intensifying mumbles from the crowd, it seemed they had begun to wonder the same thing as well.

“Well... Even if it wasn’t poison, Duran only collapsed because of you lot!”

The young clan leader frowned at the increasingly tedious and stubborn tantrums. All who had witnessed the drama from start to finish wore similar expressions.

“You Agreces have been toying with us for days!”

“That’s preposterous! Why would any of us do such a thing?!”

“B-b... Because you lot always think we’re in your way!”

Although Duran was still sprawled out on the ground, he was still only one of the three people who had suffered both mentally and physically due to the constant anxiety plaguing them every night. Thus, every word that flowed out of the last, anxious, unlucky Fipellion was hardly more than mindless blabbering.

Jeremy tilted his head to study the man barking at him and his half-siblings before offering his opinion matter-of-factly. “But for all you know, the truth could be completely opposite from what you’ve said up until now. After all, aren’t the White clan the ones who haven’t once missed an opportunity to show their hostility and blatant disregard toward us ever since this gathering commenced?”

As stated before, it was certainly something that even the other clan members could attest to having witnessed throughout the various social events.

“What’s your opinion on the matter?” He glanced past the irate White clan member to address a newcomer to the garden. “It seems to me that the Fipellions harbor a substantial amount of malice toward us Agreces, White Master.”

Hiakin Fipellion had arrived shortly after hearing what had transpired and stood transfixed by the garden entrance. He hastily assessed the situation, then clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “It seems to me that this young member of my clan has spoken rather foolishly.”

“B-but, Master!”

“Honestly, haven’t you fools learned yet when to run your mouths, and when to shut them up tightly for fear of uttering something useless?!”

The White Master’s piercing words forced the whimpering White clan member to clamp his lips together once and for all.

“And why haven’t you bothered to take Duran to the infirmary instead of wasting your time with this foolishness? Hurry up and be useful for once!”

Hiakin had already been noticeably irritated and troubled by the fact that his own clan members had clashed with the Agreces on more than one occasion since arriving in Yggdrasil, so this scene had seemingly lit the short fuse tied to his temper.

“Doctor, you’re absolutely certain Duran didn’t collapse from being poisoned?”

“Y-yes, White Master.”

“Well... I recommend the teacups get inspected just to be safe.”

Jeremy’s lips twisted slightly at the elder clan leader’s proposal. Meanwhile, the other Black clan members scoffed inwardly. By then, one of their other siblings had long since finished removing any traces of the poisonous plant from all the contaminated bundles of tea leaves in the castle, so no trace of the noxious ingredient would show up in the storehouses or on any of the cups since the tea would have been boiled at a certain temperature before serving.

In essence, there was nothing left to prove the Black clan had done anything problematic. Unaware of this, of course, the White Master turned toward his younger peer and spoke with a most regrettable inflection.

“It’s not that any of us here are doubting you Agreces... I just think it would be best to tie up any potential loose ends so we can put any lingering ill feelings to rest. Don’t you agree, young Black Master?”

“Very well. Do as you please.” Jeremy conceded. “I am well aware of how the other clans view us Agreces.” Before continuing, he lowered his eyes and spoke softly in a voice that contained enough melancholy to drown everyone in the garden in a sea of pity. “But it truly tears me up to see my clan repeatedly placed on the chopping block despite having done no wrong.”