Demon Prince's Forsaken Bride-Chapter 62: Murder In The Inn (7)

’’A person who is conscious and is being pushed into the well would struggle for their life with everything they have. If the opponent is powerful, there will be injuries involved as well but other than the bluishness that has spread across his skin, there is not a single scratch on him,’’ Lareina concluded calmly.

The crowd looked at each other, realizing that her words completely made sense but still, many of them who knew the maid did not believe that she could have been the murderer.

Lareina, however, did not seem to be in a rush.

’’The broth is poisonous,’’ Lareina glanced at the bowl.

’’What kind of poison is added to it? How can such a poor maid even afford such a deadly poison?" The innkeeper frowned skeptically, unable to make it make sense.

’’It is a very common poison,’’ Lareina smiled, ’’Neither rare, nor expensive.’’

’’What? How can my brother die of a common poison so easily? We are not like those vulnerable beings. When we were young, my brother was bitten by a snake and he did not die so there is no chance... there is no chance at all...’’ the man mumbled.

’’Oh, even I have been bitten by a snake. I didn’t die as well,’’ Lareina smiled in a manner one could not tell if she was joking or she was serious. She continued, ’’Even though this poison is common, it can easily prove to be the deadliest against many kind of snakes.’’

"What poison is this?" somebody voiced the question first and soon it was backed by others.

’’Right, tell me...’’ The innkeeper clenched his fists. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

’’Raw meat.’’

The crowd went into an uproar immediately as if they had heard something inconceivable.

’’Rotten raw meat,’’ she continued, ’’You should know that flesh that sits too long becomes... stagnant. And when that happens, it turns from nourishment to poison. Meat left too long in the sun develops a sour taste, an unnatural smell. And if consumed in that state, it does not feed the body—it weakens it and depending on the nature of the flesh, it might also kill someone. When this broth was served hot and fresh, one might not be able to tell the difference but now that it has gone cold and stale, you can sniff and tell me if there is something weird about it.’’

The innkeeper took the bowl from Azrael’s hands and his face twisted when he sniffed it, the pungent odor nearly making his face green.

The bowl was passed between some of the people who stood in the front and whispers and murmurs rose in the crowd.

’’You said that he neither has any lovers nor any enemies,’’ Lareina turned to the maid, ’’Then, what does that make you?"

’’I-I am merely a maid... I...’’ she bowed her head.

’’While leading us to the inn, this man talked to us about many things and one of the things that he mentioned happened to catch my attention. He said he had gotten a gift for someone and he wished that she would like it. Just earlier, my husband stripped his clothing a little and in the corner of sleeve, I caught sight of a delicate handkerchief with wings of the Merle bird embroidered in a corner of it, which happens to align with your name,’’ Lareina finished her words, half smiling.

The maid, Merle, looked up. Her eyes were wide in disbelief.

Lareina gazed at Azrael who nodded at her before speaking to the innkeeper, ’’Now that my wife has handled this private affair for you, you should reach out to the officials and send her to prison...’’

’’No.. No... It’s impossible. I did not...’’

’’Once she is tormented enough, she would spout all her motives,’’ Azrael continued, turning a blind eye to those struggles.

’’You cannot send me there without evidence..." The maid cried, shaking her head in disbelief.

The innkeeper frowned.

Lareina tilted her chin, ’’But we have evidence.’’

’’It’s impossible. I have checked him inside out and burned all the belongings. There is no way you would find anything. We...’’ The woman trailed off amidst her bout of madness when she realized that everyone was looking at her weirdly.

’’You bitch!" The innkeeper clutched her by her hair as he dragged her back, ’’My brother trusted you, you whore and even I tried to protect you....’’

...

After the entire play, all Lareina wanted was to take a bath and with that purpose in mind, she went to her room, avoiding all the crowd and pleasantries on her way that reached out to flatter ’the royal coroner’s niece’ but someone beat her to it.

Azrael moved in the pace of the wind and disappeared in the bath before she could make it past the door and Lareina stood there, jaw slack.

At this moment, Astra appeared at the room only to find Lareina watching the bath area with a longing on her face, ’’My Lady, you...’’ She wanted to ask the woman to use the bath in her room but then she remembered that they had managed to find this modest inn and the arrangements in this room had been carefully done for Lareina who was a germaphobe, under Azrael’s secret orders. So, the rest of the room barely had fresh water to clean the faces.

’’I am fine,’’ Lareina grabbed a silk handkerchief to wipe her hands, ’’How is Rosie?"

’’I had cast a small spell in the room so she was not stirred awake by the chaos. She is sleeping in my room and...’’ Astra wanted to say that she saw Moira on her way and the woman seemed to be throwing a tantrum as she stayed within her room, visibly waiting for Azrael’s visit but in the end, she believed it was not the ideal thing to discuss.

"My Lady, You truly surprised me with your knowledge of these things and you have opened my eyes.’’

Lareina waved a hand, ’’I got lucky with the clues tonight.’’

Astra felt like the woman was very humble about this entire affair. The fact that such a big crowd was completely convinced that she was a royal coroner’s niece and was paying respect to her when she passed by told a completely different tale.

Suddenly, she frowned as she seemed to have thought of something...