The morning of the tea party.
The moment I woke up, I checked the system window first.
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 38%]
Good.
Not good at all.
Thirty-eight percent.
In a game, thirty-eight percent was an awkward number.
If it was a gacha pull, you would not get it.
If it was an enhancement, it would break.
If it was an evasion chance, you would get hit.
And if it was an event with my life on the line, it would almost certainly go off at the worst possible time.
I sat on the edge of my bed and reread the notes I had written the night before.
Seat change request: secured.
Seat change refusal: secured.
Reason for refusal: protection of Liana Bell.
Justification for delaying the first cup: secured.
Witness seated at the table: Beatrice Morgan.
Leon Cart: garden-side record seat.
Caution: It is not the first cup.
That last line bothered me most.
It was not the first cup.
Seria Blanc had said she would drink the first cup herself.
Most people would hear that and relax.
The host drank first, so it must be safe.
There could not be poison in the tea leaves.
The teapot must be fine too.
But the system was not that kind.
And Seria Blanc was not that simple.
The first cup was bait.
Bait intended to keep everyone’s eyes fixed on the first cup.
Which meant the real thing came afterward.
The second cup.
Sugar.
Water.
Dessert.
A handkerchief.
Perfume.
Or words.
In aristocratic society, words could be poison too.
Sometimes, they lasted longer than poison.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Teacher. Are you ready?"
It was the butler’s voice.
"Yes."
"The young lady is waiting by the carriage."
"What about her sword?"
"She left it behind."
I paused for a moment.
"Really?"
"Yes. Though she checked her handkerchief three times instead."
That sounded like a problem in its own right, but it was better than a sword.
I gathered my records.
Two pens.
A small bottle of ink.
A copy of the seating chart I had received yesterday.
A copy of Seria’s letter.
And several blank sheets of paper.
It was strange equipment for a commoner tutor to bring to a tea party.
But today’s battlefield was neither a training ground nor a dueling arena.
The garden of the Ducal House of Blanc.
A round table.
Teacups.
And testimony.
I opened the door.
The butler gave me a very brief bow.
"His Lordship asked me to deliver a message."
"What is it?"
"He said to bring Lady Eveline home safely."
"I will do my best."
"And if possible, he also said not to make an enemy of the Ducal House of Blanc."
"That is difficult to promise."
As though he had expected that answer, the butler said,
"His Lordship sighed, knowing you would say that."
"I will apologize on his behalf."
"There is no need. He has already sighed three times."
I was worried about Count Rosette’s lungs.
But at the moment, my throat took priority over someone else’s lungs.
Eveline Rosette stood in front of the carriage.
Red hair.
A black dress.
Unostentatious ornaments.
There was no sword at her waist.
Instead, a handkerchief was folded inside her sleeve.
Seeing it, I spoke.
"You left your sword behind."
Eveline answered immediately.
"I know."
"I did not say anything."
"You had the face of someone who was about to."
"I was going to compliment you."
"It feels unpleasant, so don’t."
I shut my mouth.
Liana Bell was standing beside the carriage as well.
She wore a neater dress than yesterday. It seemed to have been lent to her by the Rosette Estate. It was not overly ornate, nor did it try to erase her status as a commoner scholarship student.
A good choice.
Trying to look like an aristocrat would make her ridiculous.
Looking shabby would make her exploitable.
Liana, as she was now, stood between those two extremes.
She was still uneasy, but she was not running away.
When she saw me, she gave a small greeting.
"Good morning, Teacher Leon."
"How are you feeling?"
Liana paused before answering.
"I am not dizzy. I ate a little breakfast. I drank water too. My fingertips are... a little cold."
I nodded.
"Good. That is how you should say it."
Eveline spoke from beside her.
"Say it that way at the tea party too. Do not let other people speak about your condition for you."
Liana looked at Eveline.
"Yes."
Her answer was brief.
But there was something different in it from yesterday.
Their one-sided hostility had gone out.
It was still too weak to call trust.
Still, at least neither of them was holding a blade toward the other.
That alone was far better than the original story.
Beatrice Morgan was the last to appear.
A gray dress.
Immaculate gloves.
As always, she stood as though she could make someone stand there and die with words alone.
She looked us over once and said,
"Lady Rosette."
"Yes."
"There are three things you must do today."
Eveline looked at me.
"Three things again?"
"Not me."
Beatrice paid no attention to us.
"First, do not crumple your handkerchief. Second, do not interrupt when Miss Liana Bell is speaking. Third, if anger rises in you, look at me. I will be making an even more frightening expression."
Eveline made a face of utterly sincere distaste.
"That might work."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"It was not one."
"I will take it as one."
She was formidable.
Beatrice Morgan truly was formidable.
I tucked my records inside my coat.
The carriage door opened.
The journey to the Ducal House of Blanc began.
The Ducal House of Blanc was completely different from House Rosette.
If the Rosette Estate held the shadows of red roses and swords, the Ducal House of Blanc was like a stage made of white stone and blue glass.
The main gate was tall, and the walls were spotless.
So spotless that they made people uncomfortable.
White gravel paths stretched through the garden.
Every individual pebble seemed to have been laid at equal intervals.
It was a garden befitting the Ducal House of Blanc.
It felt less like nature had been cultivated and more like nature had been trained to mind its manners.
The carriage stopped.
The door opened.
Seria Blanc was waiting for us.
Blond hair close to silver.
Blue eyes.
A gentle smile.
And a blade hidden beneath that smile.
When she saw us, she lightly gathered her skirt and curtsied.
"Lady Rosette, Miss Liana, Lady Morgan. I am glad you came."
Then, very naturally, she looked in my direction.
"Teacher Leon Cart as well. I have prepared your record seat."
Eveline’s brow twitched.
"You are calling Teacher Leon out separately."
Seria erased and restored her smile.
"It is a host’s courtesy to show the person keeping records where he should sit."
"And if you do not like those records?"
"Then I should ask him to record things more accurately."
The air between them sharpened, thin as a blade.
I did not interfere.
Eveline no longer exploded at the first remark.
Seria knew that too.
This was less an attack than a test.
Seria was watching to see how much Eveline had changed.
Eveline was watching to see how far Seria would prod.
Good.
They could see each other’s blades, but neither had drawn one yet.
Seria’s gaze shifted to Liana.
"Miss Liana. You look better than you did yesterday."
Liana stiffened slightly.
A compliment.
A question shaped like a compliment.
As trained, she did not answer immediately.
A beat.
A breath.
Then she said,
"I drank water this morning. I am a little nervous right now, but I am not dizzy."
Seria’s eyes narrowed by the slightest degree.
Only enough for me to notice.
"It is a good habit to speak about your own condition."
"I was taught to do it."
At Liana’s answer, Seria looked at me.
"By your teacher?"
Liana glanced at Eveline for a moment.
Then she said,
"By Lady Rosette as well."
Eveline said nothing.
Instead, she pressed lightly against the sleeve holding her handkerchief.
It did not crumple.
A system window appeared.
[Liana Bell: Maintaining independent speech.]
[Eveline Rosette: Suppressing impulsive reactions.]
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 38% -> 36%]
Good.
Just greeting each other at the door had cut two percent.
Small, but important.
Most events like this began at the door.
The ball had been the same.
This tea party was no different.
We were guided deeper into the garden.
A round table stood there.
A white tablecloth.
Teacups with blue rims.
Silver teaspoons.
A small sugar bowl.
Pastries topped with dried fruit.
And name cards laid out exactly as the seating chart had specified.
Seria Blanc.
Liana Bell on her right.
Eveline Rosette on Liana’s other side.
Eloise Berhardt across from Eveline.
Everything was exactly as before.
As recorded.
As refused.
As intended.
A short distance from the table, on the garden side, stood a small desk.
My seat.
The record seat.
An ambiguous spot—neither guest nor servant.
Somewhere between garden decoration and witness.
Too far to intervene, yet close enough to see.
It was an incredibly irritating arrangement.
As I sat down, I thought to myself,
‘Thank you, Seria Blanc.’
I did not mean it.
But this seat allowed me to see the whole table.
Who picked up their cup with which hand.
Who changed their expression at which moment.
Who looked at Liana.
Who was conscious of me.
Everything.
Beatrice took a seat behind Eveline—or, more precisely, one step back from the table, in the observer’s seat.
She was not a direct guest.
But she was close enough for her voice to reach.
It was a position where, the instant her fan snapped shut, the entire table could become a lesson in etiquette.
Good.
Seria had kept her promise.
She had kept it too well.
Which made it suspicious.
Eloise Berhardt was already seated.
A pale pink dress.
Soft blond hair.
Her tone was sweet.
The instant she saw Eveline, she covered her mouth with a hand and laughed.
"Lady Rosette. I heard about yesterday’s ball. They say you were truly remarkable."
A compliment.
Another compliment.
Eveline did not respond at once.
A beat.
A breath.
Her handkerchief.
Then she said,
"Rumors always make things sound remarkable."
Eloise’s eyes wavered slightly.
Good.
It was probably not the reaction she had expected.
The old Eveline would have latched on and demanded to know what she meant.
The current Eveline let it pass.
Eloise immediately turned to Liana.
"Miss Liana is here as well. You must have been terribly startled yesterday, so I am glad you found the courage to come today."
Her words were warm.
But their structure was cold.
Words that fixed Liana in the role of a startled person.
Words that framed today’s attendance as courage, making it difficult for her to withdraw halfway through.
Liana briefly clenched her hands.
Then she answered.
"Thank you for your concern. I am attending while checking my own condition for myself."
Eloise’s smile came half a beat late.
I wrote it down.
Eloise: Attempting to fix Liana in the victim position.
Liana: Directly states her own condition.
The pen tip scraped over the paper.
Perhaps she heard the faint sound, because Eloise looked at me.
Our eyes met.
She smiled.
I did not.
A smile was a luxury for a commoner teacher.
Especially in the middle of a Poisoner-Making Event.
Then Liana’s gaze stopped behind the table.
I followed it.
A young attendant standing behind Eloise.
Dark brown hair.
Downcast eyes.
White gloves.
Derin.
The attendant whose name Liana had spoken uncertainly yesterday.
The man who had supposedly delivered Arsene’s words.
And Eloise Berhardt’s accompanying attendant.
Liana inhaled very softly.
It was an important moment.
The old Liana would have looked away.
‘I should not cause trouble for no reason.’
‘Maybe I remembered it wrong.’
‘Can I even say something like that to an attendant of a noble house?’
She would have remained silent.
Then Derin would remain background scenery.
Background scenery does not testify.
Background scenery moves its hands.
Liana folded her hands before her teacup.
Then she said,
"Excuse me... are you the person who delivered House Berhardt’s message to me yesterday?"
The air stopped.
Truly.
Even the steam rising from the teacups seemed to slow.
Eloise’s smile froze.
Derin lowered his head further.
Seria was smiling.
But that smile changed, just slightly.
I wrote it down.
Liana: Identification question regarding Derin.
Responses: Eloise’s smile stops. Derin is silent. Seria observes.
Eloise spoke first.
"Miss Liana. Our house has many attendants. Might you be mistaken?"
Liana’s fingertips trembled.
But she answered.
"I may be mistaken. That is why I asked to confirm it."
Good.
She did not make an assertion.
She did not apologize.
She confirmed it.
Beatrice’s fan moved ever so slightly.
It looked like a signal of approval.
Eveline did not glare at Eloise.
Instead, she was watching Derin’s hands.
His left hand.
His right hand.
The ends of his gloves.
Good.
She was watching the person.
She was not looking for a sword.
Seria opened her mouth gently.
"Derin. A guest is asking you a question. You should answer."
Derin bowed his head.
"I did deliver a message briefly yesterday."
Liana did not question him immediately.
After a beat, she said,
"Thank you. Then my memory was not wrong."
That was enough.
Who had delivered words to whom.
Derin had acknowledged it himself.
I wrote it down.
Derin: Admits delivering House Berhardt’s statement to Liana.
A system window appeared.
[Testimony record secured.]
[Liana Bell: Resisting objectification.]
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 36% -> 33%]
Good.
The refreshments had not even started, yet five percent had already fallen.
But seeing Seria’s eyes, I could not relax.
She was still smiling.
That smile was neither praise nor mockery.
It was waiting.
‘So you have seen this much.’
That was the expression on her face.
Which meant there was a next step.
The tea was served.
Maids of the Ducal House of Blanc, wearing white gloves, moved into action.
Their movements were quiet.
Uncomfortably quiet.
The teapot was silver.
The teacups had blue rims.
The tea leaves gave off the same fragrance Seria had sent yesterday.
An overly perfected fragrance.
Sweet as honey, fresh as dried fruit, and so uniform that it was suspicious.
Everyone smelled it.
Eloise.
Liana.
Eveline.
Beatrice.
Me.
Before lifting her teacup, Seria said,
"As I said yesterday, I will drink the first cup myself."
Perfect etiquette.
A perfect smile.
A perfectly suspicious action.
Seria brought the teacup to her lips.
Everyone watched her.
I watched her too.
More precisely, I watched her wrist rather than her lips.
Her wrist did not shake.
The angle of the cup was natural.
The amount of tea that touched her lips was real.
She was not pretending to drink.
Seria really drank it.
A system window appeared.
[First Cup: No toxic reaction.]
[First Cup: No mana-disruption reaction.]
[First Cup: Not the primary danger medium.]
Right.
Just as expected.
The first cup was safe.
That was why it was bait.
Seria put down her teacup.
"Do you feel reassured now?"
Her gaze was aimed at me.
I only recorded it.
Seria: Actually drinks the first cup.
First cup is safe.
Successfully draws everyone’s attention.
Eveline moved.
No, she nearly moved.
She must have been about to retort to Seria’s words.
But Beatrice’s fan folded slightly.
Snap.
Eveline shut her mouth.
Liana spoke first.
"The fragrance is very refined. I do not know much about tea, but may I ask which region these tea leaves come from?"
Good.
Her voice trembled, but she finished the sentence.
Seria’s smile deepened.
"They are tea leaves imported through a southern port, blended with a very small amount of the fragrance used by House Blanc. The aroma must be uniform for guests to feel that they are drinking the same tea."
Blended.
Seria did not conceal it.
She openly admitted to manipulating the fragrance.
But in a way that could not be called a crime.
As clever as ever.
If anyone demanded to know why she had used fragrance, the guest would become rude.
It was not strange to blend aromas at an elegant tea party.
Eveline continued with the line she had prepared.
"Then it would be proper etiquette to drink the first cup after hearing the explanation."
There was the faintest edge to the end of her sentence.
But it did not stab.
Beatrice did not intervene.
Passed.
Seria looked at Eveline.
"It is somehow refreshing to hear Lady Rosette speak in terms of etiquette."
In the past, this would have set her off.
But Eveline paused for a beat.
"I find myself refreshing too."
The table fell silent.
Liana held back a laugh.
Eloise could not laugh.
Seria watched Eveline for a moment, then for the first time smiled a little like she meant it.
"That is a good change."
"Is that a compliment?"
"Please take it that way today."
"Suspicious."
"Normal."
Strangely, their conversation clicked together.
I wrote it down.
Eveline: Lets Seria’s provocation slide as a joke.
Seria: Avoids direct confrontation.
The system window appeared again.
[First Cup Delay successful.]
[Eveline Rosette: Etiquette-switch response applied.]
[Liana Bell: Speech successful.]
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 33% -> 30%]
Thirty percent.
It was not low by any means.
But the start had been good.
Too good.
Which made it more dangerous.
When people avoid the first trap, they lower their guard.
And the real trap usually came then.
Eloise spoke softly.
"Miss Liana may relax and drink now as well. Lady Seria drank first herself, after all."
There it was.
I did not stop writing.
Eloise offered her tea.
She did not force her directly.
She pressed with the word reassurance.
Liana’s hand moved toward the teacup.
Only slightly.
Eveline’s gaze followed Liana’s hand.
Then stopped.
Eveline did not interfere.
Liana had to speak for herself.
Liana stopped her hand.
Then, in her own voice, she said,
"Thank you. But the fragrance is a little strong, so may I drink water first?"
The table went quiet again.
On the surface, there was nothing wrong with what she had said.
The tea’s fragrance was strong, so she would drink water first.
It was not rude by etiquette.
If anything, it made her seem like a guest who carefully monitored her own condition.
But at that moment, a chill ran down my spine.
Water.
Not the first cup.
Not tea either.
A system window appeared.
[New dangerous-medium candidate detected.]
[Classification: Not tea.]
[Target: Liana Bell.]
[Caution: Everyone is watching the teacups.]
I stopped my pen.
Only briefly.
Eveline saw that brief pause.
It was the result of training.
Eveline did not look at me.
Instead, she shifted her gaze toward Liana.
Then Derin moved.
The House Berhardt attendant who had stood behind Eloise stepped forward half a beat before the maid of the Ducal House of Blanc could.
There was a water glass on a silver tray.
Clear water.
Water with no fragrance at all.
Which made it worse.
Things without a scent were easy to hide.
Derin bowed politely.
"I heard you required water."
Liana’s hand went toward the water glass.
I could not interfere.
The instant a commoner teacher at the garden record seat stopped a guest from drinking water, the board would turn at once.
‘House Rosette’s commoner teacher disrupted the Ducal House of Blanc’s tea party.’
‘He excessively controlled Liana Bell.’
‘He insulted Seria Blanc’s hospitality.’
That was how it would go.
Then it would not be a record, but a disturbance.
And disturbances swallowed evidence.
So I did not move.
I recorded it instead.
Derin: Offers water immediately after Liana’s request.
Then Eveline moved.
Like a sword.
But it was not a sword.
It was words.
"Liana Bell."
Liana’s hand stopped.
Eveline did not look at the water glass.
Nor did she look at Derin.
Looking at Liana, she said,
"You should speak first."
Liana’s eyes wavered.
A beat.
A breath.
She withdrew her hand.
Then she asked Derin,
"Who poured this water?"
Derin’s hand stopped.
It stopped precisely.
Just before he set down the water glass.
Above the tray.
A minute pause.
But a pause clear enough for everyone to see.
Beatrice’s fan snapped shut.
Snap.
This time, the sound was tremendously loud.
Eloise smiled and intervened.
"Miss Liana. There is no need to verify even the water. You seem terribly nervous."
Beatrice spoke quietly.
"Lady Berhardt."
Eloise’s smile froze.
Beatrice remained seated.
She did not raise her voice either.
"It is not rude for a guest to ask who prepared her own glass. Especially when an accompanying attendant, rather than someone from the host’s household, has brought out the glass."
Good.
An observer.
A general etiquette response.
The exact sentence we had included in the letter.
However, general answers to etiquette questions from attendees at the same table fall within the observer’s authority.
Beatrice had used that authority.
Precisely.
Seria kept her smile as she looked at Derin.
"Indeed, Derin."
Her voice was gentle.
That made it colder.
"The maids of the Ducal House of Blanc are here. Why is an attendant of House Berhardt carrying my guest’s water glass?"
The air above the table froze.
Derin did not answer.
He could not answer.
That silence was an answer in itself.
Eloise hurriedly spoke.
"Our attendant was merely trying to help. There are so many guests..."
"There are seven attendees today."
Seria spoke with a smile.
"And six maids of the Ducal House of Blanc are standing by. If six maids were insufficient for seven guests, I suppose I must relearn how to manage a ducal house."
Her words sounded as if she were lowering herself.
But in truth, they tore Eloise’s excuse apart.
Eveline muttered very quietly,
"She is annoyingly good at this."
I pretended not to hear.
No, I recorded it.
Seria: Publicly questions Derin’s irregular interference.
Eloise: Offers assistance as justification.
Seria: Rebuts by mentioning the number of maids.
A system window appeared.
[Danger medium exposed.]
[Contact with beverage by an attendant of an uninvited house: Confirmed.]
[Liana Bell: Successfully verifies before drinking the water.]
[Eveline Rosette: Successfully prompts speech rather than going berserk.]
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 30% -> 24%]
Twenty-four percent.
It had dropped sharply.
But it was not over.
Derin was still holding the water glass.
The water had not spilled yet.
And nobody had inspected what was inside the glass.
Seria lifted her hand slightly.
One of the Blanc maids approached.
"Bring that water glass here."
Derin’s hand twitched slightly.
At that moment, Eveline spoke.
"Do not move."
Short words.
Sharp words.
But the order was not directed at a person.
It was directed at a hand.
Derin’s hand.
The water glass.
The evidence.
Beatrice immediately added,
"Lady Rosette’s statement appears to be a legitimate request for the preservation of evidence."
She really was incredible.
She translated Eveline’s murderous one-liner into an etiquette statement.
Seria smiled.
This smile was a little different.
Thin.
Sharp.
Sad.
"Derin. Put down the water glass."
Derin slowly set down the water glass.
Not before Liana.
At the center of the table.
Where everyone could see it.
The water was clear.
It had no color.
No scent.
I waited for the system window.
But no toxic reaction appeared.
[Toxic reaction: Not detected.]
[Mana-disruption reaction: Not detected.]
[Sleep/paralysis-type reaction: Not detected.]
Nothing.
There was no poison in the water either.
Then what was it?
I looked at the water glass.
The glass.
The water.
The tray.
The hand.
People’s gazes.
Eloise was watching the water glass.
Liana was watching Derin.
Eveline was watching Derin’s hand.
Seria was watching me.
No.
More precisely, she was watching my pen.
The record.
Right.
This was not poison.
Again, it was not poison.
In the Poisoner-Making Event, the poison kept getting pushed further back.
What mattered was not what was in the water glass.
It was who had handed over the water glass.
Who had stopped it.
Who had called it an overreaction.
And who would later say this.
‘Lady Rosette would not even let Liana Bell drink water.’
‘At Seria Blanc’s tea party, Liana Bell was terrified.’
‘Liana Bell collapsed not because of poison, but because of Lady Rosette’s pressure.’
I wrote a new line on the paper.
Second trap: Not water, but testimony.
Then the system window appeared late.
[New testimony route detected.]
[Expected testimony A: Lady Rosette restrained Liana Bell’s drink.]
[Expected testimony B: Liana Bell was subjected to excessive surveillance at Seria Blanc’s tea party.]
[Expected testimony C: Liana Bell feared Lady Rosette.]
[Caution: The poison has not appeared yet.]
I clenched my teeth.
Good.
Very not good.
We had stopped the water glass.
But the act of stopping the water glass itself became the next trap.
What an incredibly rotten structure.
Seria Blanc quietly set down her teacup.
"How interesting."
Eveline looked at her.
"What is?"
"No one has put poison in anything yet, and already someone is about to become a poisoner."
At those words, the table completely froze.
Eloise’s eyes wavered.
Liana swallowed a breath.
Beatrice’s fan stopped.
I raised my pen.
Seria smiled at me.
"Teacher. You are recording this, correct?"
"Yes."
"Then please write this down accurately."
Her smile deepened slightly.
"There is no poison at this table yet today."
At that moment, the system window appeared again.
[Part of the event’s core conditions revealed.]
[Poisoner-Making]
[Condition 1: Independent of whether actual poison exists.]
[Condition 2: Victim recognition required.]
[Condition 3: Social certainty regarding a suspect required.]
[Condition 4: Excessive reaction from the berserk candidate required.]
[Current Condition 4: Failing.]
I looked at Eveline.
She was gripping her handkerchief.
But she had not crumpled it.
I looked at Liana.
She had not drunk the water.
But she had not run away either.
I looked at Seria.
She was smiling.
But somehow, for the first time, that smile looked a little tired.
I wrote the final line on my record sheet.
The first cup was bait.
And another line beneath it.
The real poison is still in the words.
Then Eloise Berhardt spoke very gently.
"In that case, Lady Seria."
Her smile returned.
Too quickly.
"If there is no poison, then this disturbance ultimately happened because of Lady Rosette’s excessive suspicion, did it not?"
There it was.
The real second cup.
Neither tea nor water.
Testimony.
Eveline’s eyes darkened red.
Her handkerchief folded just a little.
I gripped my pen.
If Eveline got angry here, we lost.
If Seria rebutted her, Seria would become suspicious.
If Liana remained silent, Liana would become the victim.
Then who needed to speak?
Liana Bell raised her head.
Her voice was quiet.
But this time, it went all the way to the end.
"No."
Everyone’s eyes turned to Liana.
Her fingertips shook, but Liana spoke.
"I was the one who said I wanted to drink water first, and I was the one who asked who had poured it. Lady Rosette only reminded me not to forget what I had learned."
A system window appeared.
[The victim candidate claims her own testimony first.]
[Expected testimony C collapses.]
I held my breath.
Liana continued.
"And I am not afraid of Lady Rosette right now."
Those words fell into the garden.
More quietly than a teacup.
But far louder.
Eveline looked at Liana.
Seria looked at Liana too.
For the first time, Eloise’s smile completely faltered.
I moved my pen.
My hand trembled a little.
Liana Bell: Claims her own testimony first.
Denies fearing Lady Rosette.
Then the system window appeared one final time.
[Poisoner-Making Event Success Rate: 24% -> 17%]
Seventeen percent.
It was not over yet.
But for the first time, the board had tilted in our favor.
Seria Blanc lifted her teacup.
This time, she did not drink.
She looked at me over the rim of the cup and smiled very faintly.
"Teacher."
"Yes."
"May I prepare the second cup?"
I did not answer.
The system window answered first.
[Caution]
[Beginning with the second cup, actual poison may appear.]
Damn it.
As expected, the tea party had not even truly begun yet.
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