Silent Witch

Book 13: Chapter 11: Iris Flower

Bridget, upon leaving the cottage, muttered with a bitter expression on her face.

"To think that the servant had long been dead."

For Bridget, the young servant Isaac Walker, who knew Felix well, was a valuable source of information. The fact that he was already deceased made her anxious.

"I thought by winning over that servant, I could get closer to the truth"

With regret in her voice, Bridget groaned, and Monica, looking down, asked her.

"Um, what sort of person was this Mr. Isaac?"

"He was infuriatingly competent. His Highness was fond of him, almost like a brother as much as it pains me to admit, he was far more beloved than I ever was."

She clenched her back teeth so tightly it was clear how much it irked her.

"Honestly, in searching for the real His Highness, that servant Isaac was our best lead. He was a loyalist and would have done anything for His Highness. If His Highness had been switched with an impostor he would not have kept silent."

Bridget removed her non-prescription glasses and rubbed the furrow between her brows with her finger.

"Or perhaps, Isaac Walker was killed to silence him because he was too close to His Highness. I don't know about the physician named Arthur who died with him."

Monica did not affirm or deny Bridget's murmurs, simply casting her gaze downward.

Now, a hypothesis was forming in Monica's mind.

But she still lacked the necessary pieces to connect it all.

The two then circled the mansion in silence, searching for any suspicious rooms from the outside. However, as Bridget had described, there were no rooms sealed off by curtains.

When they returned to the garden at the front of the mansion, Raul, with mud on his cheeks, waved and called out to them, "Hey! Hey!"

"I'm about to tour the inside of the mansion with the butler, come join us!"

Naturally, Monica and Bridget had no reason to refuse. When they nodded, Raul handed them each a basket filled with cut flowers, saying, "Then, take this."

He also took a basket of flowers and guided them to the main entrance.

An elderly butler was waiting at the entrance. Raul, with his easygoing manner, spoke to the butler, who was much older than him.

"Since we're going to choose the flowers for the mansion, I think it would be good to get some opinions from young ladies."

"I see, if that's the case, it's fine with me."

Bridget looked curiously at the butler. It puzzled her why a butler, who held a high position among the servants, would show such deference to an external gardener.

As mentioned before, Raul is one of the Seven Sages, holding the status of a magic count.

"Then, this way, please."

The butler opened the door and invited the three inside.

The interior of the mansion, like the exterior, was tastefully and beautifully decorated.

The scarlet carpet was woven with subtly different shades of thread upon closer examination, and the column reliefs changed impression depending on whether viewed from afar or up close. Every single item that made up the mansion harmonized to create this space.

And it was Raul's role to choose flowers that matched this meticulously calculated, beautiful space.

Monica, who knew Raul spent more time cultivating vegetables than flowers, couldn't help but worry if he was up to selecting flowers for the mansion. However, Raul confidently directed the butler without hesitation.

"The main entrance would look good with the recently bred double-flowered roses. They have a strong fragrance, but it will spread nicely in a large space. They're also quite bright and visually appealing. Plus, being a rare variety, it should be well received by guests."

"I see Then, what about this room?"

"It's the room where we had purple Digitalis in early summer. Lets change the atmosphere by choosing flowers with a softer impression. Mainly apricot-colored flowers, complemented with white Orlaya, should significantly transform the mood."

Contrary to Monica's concerns, Raul was adept at suggesting various flowers.

Monica could hardly understand half of the terms Raul used, but Bridget murmured softly, "He's quite capable, that man," indicating Raul's instructions were likely appropriate.

After touring the first floor, the butler led them to the second floor.

Bridget probably thought that the real Felix might be confined on a floor above the second. Her eyes sharpened noticeably.

Typically, the first floor contained rooms for entertaining guests, with more private spaces on the upper floors. This mansion was no exception, and the second floor held many rooms used by the residents.

Bridget seemed to have a general idea of the room layout as well. When the butler stopped in front of a particular door, her profile tensed slightly.

"This is the room that His Highness Felix used during his childhood," the butler announced as he opened the door.

Expecting a child's room, Monica was surprised to find that all the furniture inside was sized for adults.

Raul surveyed the room and then asked the butler, "This room, is it still in use by His Highness?"

"Yes, when he occasionally stays here, it is made available for his use."

The furniture is also relatively new, suggesting that most of the items from Felix's childhood have been replaced. This is likely because the room is still used by Felix on occasion.

Yet Bridget's gaze lingered on the room's furnishings with a kind of wistful affection, as if picturing the young Felix who once inhabited this space.

"Hmm, such an elegant room. Tell me, butler, what flowers adorned this room the last time His Highness stayed?"

"It was the Eris, sir."

"Eris?"

Raul echoed the word, a term unfamiliar even to a flower expert like himselfperhaps it was an unusual variety?

While Monica pondered this, Bridget murmured softly, "Iris."

At her utterance, the butler's face showed a sudden realization, and he quickly corrected himself.

"My apologies, it was the iris. A man who used to work here would call the iris Eris' it's stuck with me."

"Oh, you mean the iris! Eris' is, uh, what was it, the imperial way of saying it?"

Raul clapped his hands as if it made sense, and the butler nodded ambiguously, his face uneasy.

At that moment, something clicked inside Monica.

"Um, excuse me!!"

Monica's raised voice drew startled looks from the butler, Raul, and Bridget.

Normally she might have cowered, but Monica was desperate now.

"That person who used to work here, could it possibly be he was A"

"Excuse the interruption."

Just then, the door opened as if to cut off Monica's words.

Turning toward the door, Monica involuntarily caught her breath. It wasn't just Monica; Bridget too was taken aback.

Standing there was the master of the mansion, the Duke of Crockford, Darius Nightray.

A commanding presence that draws people's attention simply by being there.

With just a word, a simple gesture, he had the power to make people obey, to move the massesa kind of charisma that only a very few possess. The Duke of Crockford, Darius Nightley, exuded this from his very being. Tracing his roots, this man too carried the blood of royalty.

It made sense that Felix sometimes showed a sense of intimidation and the skill to make people follow him; he likely learned it from the Duke of Crockford.

The unexpected appearance of the Duke had left both Monica and Bridget frozen. They had not anticipated that the busy Duke would be present in the mansion.

However, Raul greeted the Duke with the same cheerfulness he showed everyone else.

"Ah, Your Excellency. Good day. Did you come to see us?"

"I thought of giving my greetings to you."

At those words, Bridget's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Raul. It was natural. The most powerful man in the country coming to greet a mere gardener was unthinkable.

Raul's tone was a touch more respectful than usual, but still casual, which was another surprise for Bridget.

"Did you like this year's flowers? You told me you wanted new varieties developed in this country,' so I planted quite a few of those."

"Hm, flowers that symbolize the technology and wealth of this country are ideal."

Breeding new varieties of flowers requires a considerable amount of money and time. A new species of flower is a treasure in itself.

That's why the Duke of Crockford, wanting to flaunt his power, would fill his gardens with domestically bred flowers.

The Duke spared no expense or effort in displaying his power.

Monica had learned at the Serendia Academy that flaunting one's power to satisfy one's ego was the behavior of a third-rate noble.

For the first-rate nobility, the act of displaying power was merely a means to maintain their family's status and dignity.

"And who might these two be?"

The Duke then turned his gaze towards Monica and Bridget.

Monica swallowed hard. She had just had a one-on-one conversation with the Duke following the New Year's ceremony. Although Monica had concealed her face at that time, she had spoken one phrase at the end.

"I want nothing from you"

What if my voice gives me away!

Stealing a glance at Bridget, she too looked tense. Bridget likely had more encounters with the Duke than Monica ever had.

As Monica and Bridget fell silent, Raul came to their rescue.

"These two are from my household."

"I thought I had instructed you to refrain from unnecessarily letting servants into the mansion."

The Duke stared sharply at Monica and Bridget.

His gaze seemed to carry an intimidation that could crush a heart with a cold grip.

But Raul, unfazed, replied casually.

"They're also my apprentices, and I wanted to teach them how to decorate with flowers in a mansion. There's hardly a better place for it than this estate."

"Hmph, that's quite an advanced lesson for apprentices."

"Well, it's a family motto to use the best education materials!"

Raul's lighthearted retort, whether true or false, elicited a chuckle from the Duke, slightly softening his intimidating aura.

"I see, there is a certain persuasiveness when it comes from the country's greatest magician Lord Thorn Witch.'"

Seeing Bridget's dumbfounded expression, Monica's mind raced with how they would explain themselves afterward.

Once they had finished all their tasks and left the mansion, Raul had the Roseburg family carriage take Monica and the others to their inn.

Normally, servants would ride in a cart with their tools, but Monica and Bridget were treated as exceptions.

Inside the carriage, Raul, still smiling, asked Monica:

"Did you find any useful information?"

"Yes."

Monica's clear response made Raul nod with satisfaction as he playfully slapped her shoulder.

"Next time you need help, just let me know, okay? We're friends, right!"

"Th-thank you very much," Monida said in response to Raul's boisterous voice as she glanced at Bridget tremblingly.

Monica had thought Bridget would react in some way to the fact that Monica was friends with the Thorn Witch, but Bridget remained silent, staring down at her feet.

Even after they got out of the carriage and returned to their room, Bridget remained silent.

She spat out the cotton she had been biting on and wiped her grease-paint-covered face with a cloth.

"Um, Lady Bridget"

They had looked around the mansion, but there was no sign of a room where the real Felix seemed to be confined. Since they had almost entirely toured the place with Raul, there was no mistake.

At least, the prince that Bridget was seeking was not to be found in the Duke's residence.

And Monica had a certain conviction about that.

"Perhaps the real Prince Felix is already"

"Don't say it."

Bridget cut Monica off and buried her face in the cloth she had used to wipe her face.

"I had a feeling, you know."

Intelligent as she was, Bridget must have made the worst assumption when she felt that the current Felix was an imposter.

Namelythat the real Felix Arc Ridill was already dead, and that was why a double had to take his place.

"Still, I wanted to confirm the truth with my own hands and feet."

Bridget had covered her face for a while, but finally, she roughly wiped her face, let down her pinned-up blonde hair, and said in her usual manner:

"Thank you for your help, Monica Norton. I have many questions about your mysterious connections, but let's leave that aside for now."

"I am grateful for that"

"I am aware that it will be difficult for me to delve further into this matter. Nevertheless, I must now consider our next step even if His Highness is no longer with us. I want to know the truth."

She was strong, Monica thought.

Even when faced with a cruel reality, Bridget was unyielding in her quest for the truth.

Still, I cannot tell Lady Bridget everything.

Monica clenched her fist just once and asked Bridget in a firm voice:

"Lady Bridget, you are also knowledgeable about foreign languages aren't you?"

"What of it?"

"Do you know what the name Arthur' is in the imperial language?"

Bridget furrowed her brows slightly, puzzled, and replied shortly:

"Arthr."

Monica had heard that name during the school festival.

"Yuan, have you confirmed that matters?"

"Yes, I pretended to catch a spider and checked from close range; there's no mistake. That was the work of the traitor Arthr His judgment was correct."

It's connected.

Monica clenched her trembling hand and said to Bridget in a firm voice:

"Lady Bridget. There's a place I would like to stop by before we go back to the academy."

"As compensation for your assistance, I'll take you anywhere. So, where do you want to go?"

After a moment of consideration, Monica opened her mouth to speak.

"To the royal capital."

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