It seemed like everyone around me had already been Noreen’s pawns.
“Actually, there’s another thing I haven’t told you,” Joanna suddenly said.
“What is it?”
“My mission in the imperial palace was to assassinate the king and then pin the blame on you.” She looked at me cautiously before lowering her head and clenching her fists. “Because of the relationship you have with Harry, I haven’t been able to make up my mind about carrying out the task.”
“I guess I should consider myself lucky to have Harry as my friend, then,” I replied. I wasn’t surprised or disappointed at that point. Even if someone told me that Noreen was transsexual, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
Joanna went silent for a while before she added, “You know what? After we got along with each other, I thought you were a good person. That’s why I delayed the task for as long as I could. I actually didn’t go there to kill Ethan. I just received a secret signal requiring a meeting. Unexpectedly, he already fainted when I arrived there and I was caught red-handed.”
“Did Noreen leave the secret signal for you?” I asked with a frown.
Joanna shook her head. “I thought it was her, but I denied it after careful consideration. If it was a secret signal that my adoptive mother left, she would have also left a totem of the Big Dipper, but I didn’t find it this time. She took so much effort to raise me and train me to be a killer because she wanted me to kill the king someday. I just don’t see it as why she wanted to frame me.”
“Is there any possibility that Noreen found out that you wanted to betray her?”
Joanna went silent after I said that. She looked down and anxiously fiddled with her fingers.
“Noreen probably found that you were wavering and that you didn’t want to frame me, so she decided to get rid of you,” I added. I also hoped it wasn’t true, but I just couldn’t think of any other possibilities. No matter how I looked at the matter, Noreen still remained our prime suspect.
“But if she could easily take action against the king without me, why did she order me to assassinate him?” Joanna asked, a hint of determination flashed across her eyes as she looked up at me.
I sighed. “I don’t know. I still can’t understand what her real purpose is. But apart from Noreen, I can’t think of anyone else who wants to hurt Ethan.”
I was scared by the mere thought that Noreen had been with us all this time, since she was good at disguising herself as someone else. She could be hiding among us and I wouldn’t even know.
As the king of the empire, Ethan would have people test his food every single day. That meant the person who poisoned him without being noticed was most likely someone close to him.
As I thought of that, I looked at Joanna and asked, “Did you find anything unusual about Noreen? Like, for example, when she disguises as another person?”
Joanna closed her eyes and shook her head. “I really don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
I heaved a sigh. “It’s okay. I know you tried your best. I promise I’ll find a way to prove your innocence.”
After our conversation, I was sure that Joanna was telling the truth, for she absolutely had no reason to lie.
I didn’t stay in the cell any longer. I told her to have a good rest before I went out.
I told Rufus everything that Joanna had told me after that.
He had a serious look on his face when I explained Joanna’s situation. He didn’t deal with her immediately, but instead, he asked his men to check Ethan’s trusted subordinates, as well as his recent diet.
“Stay with me at all times. Don’t run around on your own,” Rufus reminded me again and again. He didn’t let me go back to the palace until I promised I’d behave.
Sylvia’s POV
Rufus went to investigate the case, and I went back to his palace. I stayed in my room the whole time and didn’t plan on going anywhere.
Everyone in the imperial palace was worried about Ethan’s condition after the accident. It wasn’t the right time for me to do anything reckless except for waiting patiently for Rufus to come back.
Still, I felt very uneasy as I lay on the rocking chair and recalled what Joanna told me. I couldn’t help but feel like I had missed something.
Just then, I heard a knock on the door. It was Maya, and she came to bring me some food.
I touched my stomach, realizing that I hadn’t eaten anything for almost an entire day. I was really hungry.
I stood up and sat at the table, wanting to see what Maya made for me. However, I didn’t expect her to give me shaved ice. It was my favorite grape flavor, but the weather was getting cold, and I didn’t want to eat something cold in a chilly weather.
However, if I didn’t eat this, Maya would be sad. Thus, I ate a spoonful of ice with grape jam although I didn’t really feel like eating it.
“Is there anything savory?” I asked as I looked at the tray. The food that Maya brought me was either sweet or icy.
I was hungry and wanted to eat something warm and salty, like noodle soup.
“Dinner is almost ready, Miss Todd, please make do with these first.” Maya smiled as she considerately cut the Matcha cake into small slices.
The cake was big enough for at least four people to eat. I didn’t want to waste it, so I warmly invited Maya to sit down and enjoy the cake with me.
“Thank you, Miss Todd,” Maya flashed me a bright smile and ate the cake.
I was also very happy. She had rarely talked to me since our last conversation.
“Where have you been, Miss Todd? You look so tired today,” Maya curiously asked.
I sighed and told her that I went to see Joanna. After all, everyone already knew that she had assassinated the lycan king.
“No one expected that John was actually a woman! I was really surprised when they told me. Didn’t Mr. Myers notice it?” Maya asked. I couldn’t blame her, though. There was no way anyone would be able to turn a blind eye to what happened in the palace.
I answered her questions before I asked her about the recent situation of the palace. “Have you noticed anyone suspicious these days? Especially the people around the King and Queen.”
“Someone suspicious? Why do you ask, Miss Todd? Hadn’t the murderer already been caught? Did she have an accomplice?” Maya gave me a bewildered look. It didn’t seem like she was in the mood to eat cake anymore.
I flashed her a small smile and comforted her. “Don’t be afraid. I was just asking. The palace isn’t as safe as before, so you should be more careful as well.”
Maya nodded in response. “I see. I’ll keep an eye on other people in the palace. If there’s anything suspicious, I’ll report to you immediately.”
“Okay.”
After our brief conversation, Maya went back to work, and I lay on my bed to rest.
When it was time for dinner, Rufus came back. He had a serious look on his face.
I put down the silverware I was holding and walked up to him. “How is it going? Did you find anything? Is the real murderer hiding among us?”
Rufus’ face darkened. He probably found out something. “I checked the recent actions and itinerary of the people around my parents, and I found two cooks that were behaving strangely. I interrogated them, and they told me that the person who was ordering them to poison the king was…”
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