Ruby felt a chill when she saw that small thorn.
Considering the size of the rose, the chanism here was undoubtedly more sophisticated than the one in the statue, showcasing the creator’s exquisite craftsmanship.
But that wasn’t what most shocked Ruby.
Although it was Hernan who ultimately died beneath this rose, there was no doubt that the rose was originally designed with only one person in mind—Ireya.
Ruby sensed a strong malice in it.
Hirodod had obviously conducted a thorough investigation and assessnt of the Green Field Master, knowing her extraordinary love and obsession for money.
So, he added that green gemstone at the least conspicuous part of the rose’s base.
It wasn’t easy to notice unless one looked closely, but if it were Ireya, who would likely fiddle with it repeatedly in her hands, there was a high chance she would discover it.
And Miss Rabbit would almost certainly look into the value of the gemstone.
Inevitably, this would lead to touching and pressing, and then the chanism inside the rose would be triggered, the spike on the stem would spring out, piercing her skin.
The assassination would be successfully completed, and what was most ingenious was that the assassin never actually had to co to Teacup Castle, thus avoiding any risk and being safer than aborting the mission midway.
Hirodod’s plan was quite good, but he didn’t expect that the spike would end up piercing Hernan’s palm.
The future Lake City Lord, agitated at the ti, had been clutching the rose tightly and waving his hands continuously; he might have touched the gemstone unintentionally, and just like that, he clumsily lost his life.
Ruby had already figured out the cause and effect of the incident in just a short mont.
Then she handed the golden rose over to Alfred, and the old knight narrowed his eyes, clearly noticing sothing unusual about the rose.
He inspected the rose from top to bottom twice to ensure there were no other chanisms, then had soone bring a wooden box, placed the golden rose on it, and gave it to Ireya to examine.
The Lady flinched when she saw the poison needle, and thinking about how she had just narrowly escaped death, she couldn’t help but show a trace of fear. Subsequently, she had one of the guards show the wooden box to the other guests at the party.
After the guard made a round of the hall, the atmosphere had already exploded.
Lately, Hirodod and his Blood Moon Association had been very active, having attacked nurous Nobles, so everyone was more vigilant.
This ti, for the Lady’s birthday party, the Arias family had made ticulous preparations and heightened security, carefully checking guests and gifts, which even caused so complaints among the people.
However, even with such precautions, a life was still lost; could the attacks of the Blood Moon Association really not be stopped? Considering this, many faces turned ugly, their eyes filled with concern.
Seeing that the cheerful atmosphere had vanished never to return, Miss Rabbit simply had them bring out the bronze statue that also hid a mystery.
Alfred had already had the chanism restored.
He positioned the Dragon Slayer Hero to face a deserted wall, then stepped on the dragon’s head. The crossbow arrow imdiately flew out from the statue’s eyes, leaving a shallow pit in the thick stone wall.
"Explain this, Sir Pepp," the Lady said flatly, "what is your relationship with Hirodod?"
Pepp’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat.
Unlike the Marier family, which had long been entrenched in Lake City with a history of strong military might, the Welch family had only moved to the western territories three hundred years ago and their developnt was diocre at best.
Although they had saved up so money with their outstanding managent skills, they still couldn’t shake off the label of outsiders and were quite ostracized in the noble circles of the western territories.
For the past few decades, the Welch family had pursued a diplomatic strategy of making more friends and offending as few people as possible, especially not wanting to offend rising western nobles like the Arias family.
Pepp pulled out a handkerchief, wiped off his sweat, then stood up and said, "Sir Ireya, I can swear on my ancestors that I have no connection whatsoever with that madman. Although the Welch family has been in the western territories for a shorter ti, our stance toward Hirodod and the Blood Moon Association is absolutely no different from yours."
"That statue..."
"The Dragon Slayer Hero Statue was specially crafted by the Welch family for your birthday celebration, but the craftsmanship I could find in my territory was rather diocre. Thus, I thought of hiring soone from outside.
"I had already put out a recruitnt notice in nearby towns five months ago, before Hirodod had started attacking the lords of the western territories, but regardless, this was indeed my fault.
"I can’t believe soone tampered with the statue right under my nose, and I was none the wiser, delivering it to your castle and nearly bringing danger upon you." Pepp took a very humble stance, "The Welch family is willing to apologize to you, and I will present another gift to you later."
However, when he finished speaking, he found that Ireya, sitting in the main seat, was unmoved.
"My people tell that right before the banquet began, one of your guards left Teacup Castle."
Pepp was startled by the remark, then nodded and said, "Yes, my wife sent a ssage that a village in our territory was being robbed, so I sent a guard back to assess the situation."
"And he rode away on your fastest horse?"
"I wanted him to return sooner, what seems to be the issue?" Pepp said cautiously.
Greta suddenly spoke up, "You saw the chanism in the statue too; it requires soone to operate it."
Although Pepp wasn’t clear about this slightly unapproachable young girl in a cloak, he replied politely.
"Hans is my Guard Captain and has been with for many years; he could not possibly betray . As for the need for soone to operate it, which you ntioned earlier, I truly can’t answer you." Pepp showed a rueful smile, "The Welch family was completely unaware of the chanism in the statue."
"Is that so, then what have you been anxious about these days?" Greta asked coldly.
"I..." Pepp hesitated, glancing at the Lady nearby, "Lady Ireya, may I discuss this issue privately with you?"
"No, say it in front of everyone."
Pepp’s expression changed several tis, hesitated for a mont before he finally made up his mind and opened his mouth, "Recently, I had been in contact with Vanessa."
"Vanessa? My stepmother?" Miss Rabbit was startled, "Is she with you?"
"No, no, no, no, I have only exchanged letters with her, since... since that day," Pepp stamred.
"That day... which day was it exactly?"
"It was about a year ago; she had passed through my territory."
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