I reincarnated as an elf .......and married the yandere villainess.-Chapter 91:Interrogations.(bonus)

The banquet hall no longer felt like a place for celebrations. The music had long since died and those who tried to speak could barely even whisper.

At the far end of the hall, where the high table once stood as a symbol of power, it had now been stripped of its purpose.

Atheline’s seat had become something akin to a seat of judgment.

Lilith sat on it unmoving her gaze so piercing it felt as though she was seeing through their soul.

To the nobles, it felt like hours had passed as they watched things start to unravel.

The first noble was dragged forward by the guards for public questioning.

The second collapsed to his knees in fear before they could even be questioned.

Every one of them had in some way spoken or even looked at him twice. She had noticed them all.

This had been turned into something similar to a public execution but instead of death it crushed something they cherished more than anything.

Their reputation.

Whispers spread, most of them complaining, while others had already started to accuse each other.

Lilith let them speak, there was bound to be a slip-up somewhere.

Her gaze went to the next one.

"Bring him forward," she commanded sofly, her tone hiding the fatigue that had started to creep in.

A middle-aged noble, one who had been seated three places from the dias, was shoved forward. He stumbled but managed to catch himself before falling.

"My queen," he began quietly in an unsteady voice his noble pride forgotten, "I assure you I had no involvement..."

"Your glass."

He froze.

"What?"

She didn’t respond. Her gaze had already shifted past his face, towards the long table where he was seated.

"Which one was yours?"

The man looked at her in both shock and confusion.

"I... there were many... "

"Which one?"

The pressure around him, tightened.

He swallowed nervously while glancing around," The third from the left your majesty."

A guard moved immediately and retrieved it. The glass was brought forward and placed on the floor between the two.

Her eyes rested on it for a while as she fell into thought. Everyone held their breath, the scene had repeated itself too many times but no one had gotten used to it.

"... you drank from it?"

He nodded vigorously.

"Yes... Yes, your majesty."

She supported her head on her clenched fist.

"All of it?"

The man hesitated unsure of how to respond. A wrong answer could land him on a deathbed.

"I... no. Not all," he bluttered out nervously.

"Why?"

The question landed harder than the others. How was someone half drunk supposed to remember every little detail?

"I... I was in conversations. I simply had not finished... "

Their eyes met. The noble stumbled and for the first time, his noble voice broke completely. Tears were also on the verge of dropping.

He stumbled on." ... I... I didn’t think it would matter."

She lowered her gaze, her hand softly running on the seat fabric, the place where Atheline had placed their joint hands.

"Everything matters, " she said quietly.

The cycle continued. Nobles were dragged forward questioned then released before the next one was taken.

By the time the twelfth noble was brought forward, a pattern had been formed.

The drinks had been brought by the servants, served as expected, and taken away without question.

Everything had been normal, just like how a banquet is supposed to operate and that was a problem on its own.

Everything was just too perfect and that meant the problem might be somewhere else.

"This is pointless," a voice filled with young confidence came from the back of the hallway, silencing everyone.

Another noble stepped forward, from the middle tables, before being called. Everyone was beginning to get tired.

"You’re tearing through your own court based on nothing but assumptions," he continued carefully, his voice a balance between respect and defiance," if there were poison, then surely...."

He gestured wildly towards the other tables. Some nobles tried to avoid his hands.

"... more than one would have fallen."

A ripple of agreement spread through the hallways, a fatal mistake because he had disregarded her husband’s plight.

Lilith’s furious gaze found him. Her golden eyes shone brighter, forcing the man to flatter in his walk forward.

A courage born from the height of being the only one who stood up against her, was slowly being purged.

Lilith smiled terrifyingly softly.

"You believe this was indiscriminate," she said flatly her voice cold.

The man nodded.

"It’s the most logical."

Her fingers tapped the arm of the chair in a rhythmic tap.

"And yet... only one person drank from the glass."

The meaning sank into the noble’s brain. He frowned and his confidence faltered.

"What do you mean..."

"He does not drink carelessly," she calmly said," he chose that glass"

Lilith tilted her head slightly, her furry rolling out in waves of killing intent only directed at the man.

She was quiet as her mind moved to the time when he picked her wine and she encouraged him to drink her wine.

She continued after the silence. "If he chose it... Then it was meant for him."

That was the best conclusion she could come up with. Her fingers pressed down.

The crack echoed through the hall.

Everyone witnessed the arm of the chair break apart.

The noble flinched and gingery returned to his seat.

The interrogations moved to the servants and dancers.

They were dragged forward questioned, dismissed, and then replaced with the next one.

Some cried, others stammered so badly they could barely talk while others repeated the same answers until their voices went hoarse.

Through it all the explanations were still the same as those from nobles, a repeat of their own answers.

"I only carry the tray... "

"I was told to serve the high table... "

"I never left the hall... "

"Please your majesty, I swear... "

Time stretched through the interrogations.

The night was slowly passing and Lilith’s frustrations were growing.

Despite not wanting to admit it she had to conclude.

If no one in the hall had done it, then it had been arranged long before tonight.

The one who had done it might have already disappeared. She closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself.

’I guess I’ll have to expand the search to the other mountains’

The doors finally opened as the first light of day, slipped into the hall.

Zelpher slipped through the small space and walked towards Lilith, his face carrying both a grim and slightly excited expression.

He stopped at the base of the steps and bowed.

"Your majesty."

She didn’t acknowledge him immediately. Her gaze remained focused on the table in front of her.

"I hope you’ve brought me something concrete," she flatly said. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Yes your majesty, " he answered," there has been some progress."