<strong>Chapter 584: There Must Be Some Kind of Exnation</strong>


    A ripple of shock moved through the room.


    Nanny stumbled back a step. “Poison…?” she whispered, her voice trembling.


    The housekeeper’s frown deepened, but his voice remained steady, without a hint of fear. “That is not mine. I do not tamper with His Highness’ meals.”


    Daniel studied him closely. “And yet this bottle has your fingerprints. Another like it was taken from your room, locked inside your own cupboard.” He lifted a hand, and the guards around him tightened their formation, guns angling slightly forward.


    The servants gasped again, murmuring louder.


    Nnenna’s eyes narrowed. So it really is him… or someone wants it to look like it is him.


    The housekeeper exhaled slowly, as though he had expected this.


    The corridor fell into tense silence.


    The air grew heavy the moment Daniel stepped forward. His expression was carved in stone as he raised a hand, and the guards tightened their circle around the housekeeper.


    “Arrest him,” Daniel ordered.


    The guards moved swiftly, two seizing the housekeeper’s hands, another securing the bottle wrapped in cloth.


    “You’ll arrest me without proper evidence Daniel?” the housekeeper asked calmly, though his voice carried the weight of insult. His face didn’t break, but the faint twitch at the corner of his jaw betrayed him.


    Daniel pulled out a sleek device from his pocket. “We’ve been monitoring the kitchens for weeks. A pinhole camera caught you.” He tapped the screen, and a grainy but clear video flickered to life. The image showed the housekeeper ncing around before pouring something from the small bottle into the steaming soup.


    The servants gasped. Even Nanny staggered back, hand over her mouth.


    “This was found hidden under the kitchen shelves,” Daniel continued, holding up the same bottle. “Poison. Identified and confirmed.”


    “No…” Nnenna’s heart dropped. The housekeeper? Of all people? She pushed through the crowd and shook her head. “Wait! This evidence isn’t enough. Don’t jump to conclusions. Something isn’t right here!”


    Daniel’s eyes slid to her, cold and dismissive. “Princess, I respect your concern, but this is beyond debate. The evidence speaks for itself.”


    “It doesn’t!” she shot back, her voice sharper than she intended. “Anyone could have tampered with that video. Anyone could have ced that bottle there. You need to investigate further!”


    But Daniel didn’t flinch. He turned to the guards. “Take him away. The trial is set for sixteen days from now. Until then, he’ll remain under lock and chain.”


    “No! You can’t just—” Nnenna’s words hit a wall as the guards began dragging the housekeeper away.


    For the first time, his calm cracked. The housekeeper looked back, meeting her eyes with something unreadable, was it betrayal? Was it… relief?


    Her chest tightened. “This doesn’t feel right…” she whispered under her breath.


    The Love System’s voice buzzed in her mind, low and careful. Nnenna… what if he really didn’t do it?


    She clenched her wounded hands until the sting reminded her of reality. “Then I’ll find out the truth before the trial,” she swore, her voice trembling with determination.


    Sixteen days. That was all the time she had.


    “What’s happening here?”


    The deep, steady voice rolled out from the outer room just as the door opened.


    Carl stepped forward, his tall frame filling the entrance. His face was calm,posed, even carrying a faint smile, but Nnenna knew better. She remembered the faint throb of his weak pulse earlier that morning. He was pretending.


    Without thinking twice, she moved closer and hooked her arm through his, leaning into him yfully like a spoiled child.


    The effect was instant. Murmurs spread through the staff like wildfire.


    “She dares…”


    “Shameless…”


    “Tch, pretending to be close to him…”


    Scoffs, frowns, and mutters echoed in the hall, but Carl didn’t even nce at them. Instead, he looked down at Nnenna with quiet amusement and allowed her to do as she pleased. He understood. He could guess why she was doing this, for him.


    Then his gaze dropped. His smile vanished.


    “What happened to your hands?” His voice sharpened as he suddenly seized her palms, turning them over.


    Nnenna flinched at the pressure on her wounds, but before she could speak, his eyes cut straight to the housekeeper.


    Anger ignited in them, sharp and zing.


    The housekeeper stiffened, then quickly lowered himself in a bow. “Forgive me, Your Highness. I failed to protect her.”


    “Yes, you did.” Carl’s voice carried finality, heavy and cold.


    “Carl, no!” Nnenna quickly pulled her hands back and shook her head. “It’s not what it looks like. Don’t get agitated, it was just an ident.”


    “You’re sure?” His eyes searched her face, piercing, unwilling to ept a lie.


    “Yes. I’m sure.”


    For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then Carl nodded slowly. “Okay.”


    He turned his head toward Daniel, his expression smoothing into that calm, unreadable mask again. “Now, what’s happening?”


    Daniel, who had been standing stiff with suppressed annoyance at Nnenna’s earlier interference, finally stepped forward. His boots clicked against the polished floor as he saluted crisply.


    “Your Highness,” he began, voice firm, “the housekeeper has been found guilty of tampering with your food. Evidence has been secured—”


    Daniel straightened his back, his voice steady but carrying weight.


    “Your Highness, earlier this morning I ordered a sweep of the kitchens. A pinhole camera had been installed to monitor the staff’s movements. The recording shows the housekeeper standing over your soup pot. He poured something from a small dark bottle into it before serving. At first, it looked like seasoning… but upon inspection, the movements were deliberate, hidden.”


    Gasps broke out among the servants. A few of them instinctively stepped away from the housekeeper, as though he already carried death in his hands.


    Daniel continued. “After that, my men conducted a full search. We located the bottle in the corner of the storage pantry, tucked behind sacks of rice. The contents were tested immediately.” He nced at Carl, his jaw tightening. “It contained a slow acting poison. Colorless, nearly tasteless. Enough to make Your Highness copse within a few months if consumed.”


    Nnenna’s stomach clenched. Even though she had already suspected something like this, hearing itid out so bluntly sent a cold shiver down her spine.


    “The moment the substance was identified, we moved to make the arrest,” Daniel finished firmly, his sharp eyes cutting to the bowed housekeeper. “And that’s why we are here.”


    The hall was thick with silence. Every servant’s gaze burned on the housekeeper, some with fear, some with anger, others with disbelief.


    Nnenna couldn’t take it anymore. She rushed forward, her voice breaking into the heavy air. “Wait! This isn’t enough, this evidence is inconclusive!”


    Her words startled the staff, but Daniel didn’t so much as flinch. He kept his stance, rigid as stone.


    “Daniel,” she pressed, desperation edging her tone, “you need to investigate further. You can’t just—”


    Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “With all due respect, princess Nnenna, you are not in charge of security matters. The evidence is clear, and the protocol is already in motion.” His tone was clipped, dismissive.


    Her fists tightened at her sides. “Clear? That video shows him pouring something. But what if he was forced? What if someone nted that bottle? Don’t you see, it’s too neat!”


    “She’s right.”


    Carl’s calm butmanding voice cut through the heavy silence. Every head turned to him. He stepped forward, his gazending on the kneeling housekeeper, the man who had served his family for decades.


    “Tell me,” Carl asked quietly, almost too quiet for the room. “Is this true?”


    The weight behind his words wasn’t just royal authority, it was trust. A trust built over years, trust he wanted desperately to keep. Deep down, Carl was hoping, even expecting, an excuse… anything that would let him dismiss this mess as a misunderstanding and stop the trial before it ever began.


    But instead—


    “Yes, Your Highness. I’m guilty.”


    The housekeeper’s voice cracked, hisposure shattering. He kept his head low, refusing to meet Carl’s eyes. The calm mask he had worn before was gone, reced by something far more unsettling, guilt.


    Carl froze, his expression unreadable, but his fingers twitched slightly against his side.


    “What?” Nnenna whispered, stunned. Her mind reeled. This wasn’t adding up at all. Of all the people in the castle, the housekeeper was the one she was most certain of. Loyal to Carl, loyal to his parents before him. Why would he suddenly… confess?


    “You must have some kind of exnation,” she said quickly, her voice rushing out as if trying to save him from himself. She stepped closer, her eyes pleading. “Please, feel free to tell us. Anything. There has to be more to this.”


    But the housekeeper only shook his head, shoulders trembling. “That’s the truth. I’m very sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I’m guilty… and I can’t lie anymore about it. Especially because His Highness is right here.”


    Gasps rippled through the room again, louder this time. The staff exchanged uneasy nces, while Daniel’s face hardened with grim disappointment.


    He had been hoping he was wrong regardless of the evidence.


    —————————————————–


    Hi guys!


    I’ve been really busy these past few days and had to use the monthly break NovelFire provides, which is why there was no update two days ago.


    For today, Ibined two chapters into one, so it’s a bit longer. Things should settle down on my end in the next couple of days.


    In the meantime, I’ll schedule chapters for those two days, and after that I’ll be fully back.


    Happy reading! ??