Vidar’s questions came at Natalia like a rapid-fire barrage, his expression one of complete ignorance and innocence.
“Hey!”
Listening to Vidar’s affected speech, Natalia’s temper flared instantly.
She immediately pointed at Vidar’s face and began to berate him.
“We just cured those poisoned people right in front of the caravan head and everyone else! And we promised the caravan head we’d purify the water source in a little while. Are you blind? Or just stupid? Didn’t you see what we were doing?”
“Silence! A mere apprentice nun dares to be so disrespectful to Lord Vidar!”
Before the words had even fully faded, one of Vidar’s guards surrounding the carriage stepped between him and Natalia, simultaneously moving to draw the sword at his waist.
Seeing this, Natalia’s eyes instantly sharpened.
Feilde, wearing her mask, immediately furrowed her brow slightly.
Behind them, Liyakade and Alice also looked displeased.
The atmosphere grew tense in an instant, and thick magic power surged within the group.
If Vidar’s guard tried to do anything, Liyakade and the others would immediately subdue everyone.
“Step back. You don’t have the right to speak here.”
Just as the two sides were at a standoff and the atmosphere was about to ignite like a powder keg, Vidar stepped forward.
He reprimanded his own guard while pressing the half-drawn sword blade back into its scabbard.
“My apologies, Lord Vidar.”
Seeing Vidar personally step forward to intervene, the guard immediately complied with his order, sheathing his sword completely.
He gave a slight bow to Vidar, apologizing for his earlier transgression, then turned to face Liyakade’s group and bowed deeply to them.
“I’m sorry, ladies. My behavior just now was extremely rude!”
Under the actions of Vidar and his guard, the smell of gunpowder in the air dissipated considerably.
The atmosphere, which had been on the verge of a fight, eased somewhat for the moment.
Meanwhile, Liyakade and the others were left scratching their heads, utterly confused by Vidar’s behavior.
They couldn’t figure out what he was playing at.
One moment he was acting arrogant and overbearing, and the next, he became polite and courteous.
In reality, all of this was part of Vidar’s pre-planned performance.
He knew Liyakade and the others would soon come to purify the water source, and he needed to find a way to dispose of the water to delay the caravan’s progress.
Therefore, once Liyakade’s group discovered he had taken the carriage storing the water, they would definitely catch up.
And once they caught up, the first thing Vidar had to do was question them righteously, as if he were the one here to deal with the poisoned water and had no idea Liyakade’s group could purify it.
However, from the perspective of Liyakade’s group and others in the caravan, Vidar genuinely wouldn’t know about their toxin-purification ability.
Throughout the entire process, Vidar had never been present.
He had always obtained information through hidden informants within the caravan, so he was the one operating from the shadows.
Therefore, upon meeting Liyakade’s group and being questioned by them, Vidar’s first reaction couldn’t be to explain.
He had to adopt a very righteous attitude, making Liyakade’s group believe he was truly considering the caravan’s safety.
If he explained immediately upon being questioned, it would only make him look guilty.
Furthermore, Vidar had just clashed with Liyakade’s group yesterday and had been humiliated by them.
As long as Vidar was still a noble and had a clear conscience, it was impossible for him to speak politely to them when faced with their questioning now.
As for the guard’s action, that was also arranged by Vidar.
He deliberately had the guard provoke, creating a tense, standoffish atmosphere, and then stepped in himself to mediate.
Once Liyakade’s group revealed they could cure the poisoned and purify the water source, Vidar would then change his attitude.
This would further reinforce his persona as someone who prioritized the bigger picture.
“Miss Feide, Miss Natalia, my sincere apologies. I failed to manage my subordinate properly. I offended you earlier.”
After the guard bowed and apologized to Liyakade’s group, even Vidar stepped forward again.
He gave a slight bow of greeting towards them.
After apologizing for his lax management of his men, Vidar continued.
“Miss Natalia, you said just now that you can cure those poisoned people and also purify the water source? Is all of that true?”
And just as Vidar had anticipated, seeing his sudden change in attitude, Liyakade and the others exchanged puzzled glances.
Could it be that Vidar really didn’t know about their ability to purify the water?
“Yes, we can purify the toxins within the poisoned individuals and within the water source.”
Faced with this situation, Feilde also stepped forward.
She patiently began conversing with Vidar.
Although her impression of Vidar was terrible, this was a special time.
Getting through this crisis and finding the poisoner was the top priority.
Personal grudges had to be set aside for now.
“We already cured all the previously poisoned people just now. Didn’t you see?”
“What?”
Upon hearing Feilde’s words, Vidar immediately showed a surprised expression.
Of course, this surprise was merely an act put on by Vidar.
“You’ve already cured the poisoned? Our carriage has been parked at the rear of the caravan. After the disbandment, we were taking stock of our goods. After confirming nothing was missing, we thought about dealing with this poisoned water. We truly didn’t go to the camp to check on the poisoned people.”
“So it was just a misunderstanding then? Then take the carriage back. We’re already prepa—”
“You poured out all the caravan’s water? What is everyone in the caravan supposed to drink then? Are you out of your mind? Or are you just guilty and afraid we’d identify the toxin in the water, so you hurried to dispose of it all!?”
“Miss Nun, making baseless accusations is not good.”
Upon hearing Natalia’s words, which bordered on slander, Vidar frowned unhappily.