“Sister, it’s not good to make baseless accusations.”
After hearing Natalia’s words, which could be considered slanderous, Vidar immediately frowned in displeasure.
He then began to explain his actions with righteous indignation.
“Miss Natalia, weren’t you initially unable to even purify those who were poisoned? After seeing you fail to cleanse the toxin from the poisoned individuals, I naturally assumed the caravan wouldn’t be able to handle these contaminated water sources either.”
“So, after taking inventory of the goods, I immediately went to dispose of these poisoned water sources to prevent other travelers in the caravan from accidentally drinking them. Was my judgment and action wrong?”
Vidar’s words were reasonable and well-founded.
He indicated that he had seen Natalia’s initial failure to treat the poisoned individuals and had thus chosen to deal with the poisoned water sources only after handling his own affairs.
Logically, this approach seemed to have no problems… right?
“Hah, so according to you, we should be blamed for not specifically coming to tell you after we finished treating the poisoned people? Didn’t any of your people get poisoned? Why didn’t they come report to you that they were safe?”
Hearing Vidar’s self-righteous defense, Natalia was so angry she laughed, firing several questions back at the righteous-sounding Vidar.
“Miss Natalia, I certainly don’t mean to blame you.”
Vidar shook his head, his tone softening again, even taking on a note of gratitude.
“First, I am very grateful that you were able to detoxify the poisoned people in the caravan. That is your honor and virtue.”
“Second, what I said just now was only meant to clarify that I disposed of the water sources due to a misunderstanding. I have no intention of blaming you, and my motives were absolutely pure—simply wanting to contribute to the caravan.”
“As for your question, Miss Natalia, of course some of the guards I brought were poisoned as well. However, after the toxin in their bodies was neutralized, they naturally needed to rest, and others needed to care for them. How could they possibly come to inform me immediately?”
Faced with Natalia’s questions, Vidar’s answers were impeccable.
The situation was indeed as he described.
The poisoned people, after being cured, remained in a designated tent to rest.
How could they have specifically come to inform Vidar?
Natalia was furious, grinding her teeth, but she was left speechless.
“That’s not right.”
Just as Natalia was at a loss for words, a soft, gentle voice came from behind her and Field.
It was Liyakade.
She stepped out from between the two women, coming to stand before Vidar, all while questioning him.
Despite the significant height difference—Liyakade even had to look up to meet Vidar’s gaze—her presence was not weak in the slightest.
Her crimson eyes locked firmly onto Vidar’s, as if they could peer into a person’s heart.
“While what you say seems reasonable on the surface, isn’t what you did precisely a sign of your guilt? Everyone else in the caravan knows the water is poisoned, so how could there be any talk of ‘accidental drinking’?”
“You… what do you mean by that?”
Being pinned by Liyakade’s crimson eyes again, recalling the events of last night, Vidar felt utterly uncomfortable.
Even his voice grew a bit weaker.
Vidar didn’t know why, but last night during his confrontation with Liyakade, he had suddenly been scared out of his wits, fleeing back to his own tent with his tail between his legs.
In that moment of eye contact, he had been engulfed by a tremendous sense of fear.
The petite, cute girl before him had seemed like some natural predator that fed on humans, a demon spreading fear and despair, causing him to instantly abandon any thought of resistance.
Although that feeling had now vanished, facing Liyakade again, Vidar still felt a lingering fear because of what had happened yesterday.
No, rather, the proportion of fear in Vidar’s heart was no longer that great.
What dominated now was humiliation.
He refused to believe that he, a noble, had been terrified into such a state by a girl much smaller than him, who was also another noble’s… property.
Therefore, Vidar had to completely conquer Liyakade.
He had to make Liyakade, a mere woman, crawl beneath him like a dog, and ultimately fall completely into depravity.
Only then could Vidar wash away this disgrace and feel a sense of conquest and satisfaction.
Vidar swallowed, firming his resolve in his heart.
He cast aside the earlier urge to retreat and continued to defend his actions, reciting the prepared excuses he had already considered.
That’s right.
Liyakade’s current line of questioning was actually already within Vidar’s anticipated range.
“The probability of someone accidentally drinking is small, but the possibility is not zero. Furthermore, what if these poisoned water sources were left here and used by other ill-intentioned people? What if someone secretly used this water to poison others? What’s wrong with my method of thoroughly eliminating the source?”
“Hah.”
Liyakade’s brows furrowed slightly.
Seeing Vidar’s current state, she let out a cold laugh and continued the confrontation.
“What you’re describing are only extreme scenarios. Everyone in the caravan knows the water is poisoned; how could they possibly drink it? And another thing, if some ill-intentioned person wanted to poison someone again, why would they use this method? Everyone is already on guard. On the contrary, isn’t your haste to dispose of the water sources a sign of guilt? Afraid that once we reach the next town, we might analyze the toxin in the water and trace it back to you?”
Here it comes!
Hearing Liyakade’s final, slightly accusatory question, Vidar’s spirits lifted.
He had been waiting for Liyakade to say this very thing, to make her and the others suspect in this direction and actively question him.
Then he could produce evidence to prove his innocence.
“Miss Liyakade, now you’re just being unreasonable. Just because of a little conflict we had yesterday, you harbor such great malice and speculate about me like this?”
Although Vidar was inwardly beginning to feel excited, on the surface he still had to pretend to be somewhat angry.
Vidar wore an expression of displeasure and even brought up yesterday’s incident, trying to prove that Liyakade only suspected him out of petty vindictiveness.
“Oh? Did I hit a nerve, so you’re angry?”
Seeing a slight flicker in Vidar’s eyes, Liyakade thought she had struck a chord and pressed her advantage.
Her presence intensified, aiming to overwhelm Vidar in one go.
But this time, Liyakade was mistaken.