Chapter 2086 The Interrogation
“Yes, Ms. Felch.” Robin left at once to execute her orders. “Now, I wish to examine the master tap of your water source, the tap in your room, and the storage room.” Francesca picked up her backpack. “I’ll come with you.”
William made a gesture, and a servant stepped forth at once to wheel him to accompany Francesca in her investigation. “Are you suspecting somebody of poisoning the water source, Frannie?” William asked.
“You should have already guessed that you’ve been poisoned and had quietly conducted an investigation,” Francesca inferred. “You are so clever.” William sighed.
“Through your prior investigation, it’s plain that the kitchen and everywhere else contained nothing out of the ordinary. If that’s the case, the problem lies in the dark,” Francesca surmised. “Aside from the water source and the storage room, I can’t think of anywhere else.”
“We have considered the water source actually,” William said. “Everybody in the castle drink from the same source I do. How would they be fine if the water source is contaminated?”
“How do you know they are fine?” Francesca argued. William was taken aback. The servants began to panic.
“All of your brows are unnaturally dark,” Francesca declared gravely. “That is a symptom of mild poisoning. The poison showed upon your brow because of the nature of your constitution and your consumption of medication. That explains why your reaction is more visible. To be blunt, if I came over in another few months, I’m afraid that not a single living thing would be left in this castle. It will have become a ghost town!”
At those words, everybody turned pale with fright.
“How vicious of them!”
William shook with anger. Usually calm and assertive, he could not control his emotions at that moment.
“Fortunately, it’s not too late.”
Francesca then examined the water source and discovered something. The poison was subtle and difficult to trace but would become fatal after a long and gradual accumulation within the body.
William’s bodily reaction to it appeared quickly, firstly because he was a yearlong invalid of a weak constitution and secondly because he had been consuming Francesca’s medicine.
The reaction arose because the medicine clashed with the poison.
It was also due to the reaction’s speed that precautions could be taken on time.
Otherwise, William would only exhibit symptoms several months later like the others. By then, Francesca would not be able to do anything, no matter how prodigious her medical skills were.
Before accompanying Francesca to investigate the storage room, William had somebody turn off the water supply. She looked around closely and found a box of sealed essential oils.
She had somebody open it, then personally examine a sample with a silver needle, only to discover something wrong with the bottle of oil.
“These essential oils are specially for my use,” William explained. “As I suffer from insomnia, I require lavender to induce sleep. I have been ordering them from an old friend, and he probably wouldn’t harm me…”
“I don’t know who it is that is harming you. The bottom line is that there is something wrong with the essential oils.” She was sure as she went on, “I am only responsible for identifying things laced with poison. As for the person who did it, you need to figure that out yourself.”
“Understood.” William nodded.
At that moment, a servant came to report that the crowd had gathered at the door in wait.
Francesca and William headed toward the door. “Have there been any newcomers to the castle of late?”
“No, it’s always been the loyal servants left by my parents,” William lamented. “Only some close bodyguards around me were hired two years ago. The rest have been around for a while. I don’t think they would harm me.”
“I hope so. But man’s motives remain unfathomable.”
Francesca did not say much else as she followed William to the entrance.
Bodyguards, soldiers, maids, and servants who totaled up to seventy to eighty stood in a neat row at the entrance to await Francesca’s interrogation.
The bodyguards and the soldiers appeared relatively calm as they were used to significant events.
On the other hand, the servants and the maids stood shivering in nervousness and fear.
