“Proof that they had no time and no motive? Were you following right behind them? Or do you know what they were thinking? Weren’t you guarding the tents the whole time? How can that serve as an alibi for the two of them? Or perhaps… you’re simply in cahoots with them?”
Lord Walter was not swayed in the slightest by Natalia’s testimony.
Instead, he grew even more aggressive, now viewing Natalia as an accomplice of Liyakade and the others.
“This… this isn’t right, is it, Lord Walter?”
Graham felt quite uncomfortable upon hearing Lord Walter’s accusations and suspicions against Liyakade’s group.
Despite the vast difference in their social status, seeing the situation unfold, Graham felt compelled to speak up for them.
“After the travelers in the caravan were poisoned, it was Lord Fied who stepped up first to manage the situation. Later, it was Natalia who detoxified the others. How could they possibly be the ones who poisoned the water? Lord Walter, please think this through!”
“That’s right, it was Sister Natalia who helped detoxify us. How could she have done it?”
“Exactly! Even if you’re a noble, you can’t just slander people without any proof!”
After Graham raised his doubts, a few other onlookers among the travelers also stepped forward to voice their discontent on behalf of Liyakade and the others.
“Hmph. It’s true that Natalia detoxified you all. However, Natalia was originally a guard hired by Graham for the caravan. Even if Natalia isn’t in league with Fied and the others, the credit for healing the others still cannot be attributed to Fied’s group. Their suspicion cannot be ruled out at all!”
Lord Walter’s tone was extremely forceful.
He now referred to Liyakade’s group without even the pretense of polite titles.
Although Lord Walter had earlier seen that Natalia could not purify the toxin in the victims’ bodies, and that it was only after contacting Field and the others that Natalia was able to use her cross to purify the toxin, he chose not to mention this point.
In reality, even if Natalia’s ability to purify the toxin was truly thanks to Liyakade’s group, Lord Walter’s suspicion of them would not have diminished.
After all, if even a Sister from the Church couldn’t purify the toxin, yet Liyakade’s group could do so easily, wouldn’t that make their group even more suspicious?
Moreover, Field was hiding her identity, which in Lord Walter’s eyes was an even greater sign of guilt.
If Field was truly a noble of legitimate status, why would she keep hiding her identity?
Even with the caravan in chaos, Field had not chosen to remove her mask.
Even when stepping forward to manage the situation, not removing her mask to inform others of her identity was still an act of distrust, naturally making it impossible for others to trust her.
From this perspective, Liyakade’s group might indeed possess a treasure or item capable of purifying toxins.
However, the origin of this treasure or item might not be clear.
For all he knew, it could have been stolen from some noble’s mansion in the Royal City.
Furthermore, Field’s initial attitude and lecturing of Lord Walter had left him deeply dissatisfied.
While he had superficially backed down at the time, what he was actually thinking was to find an opportunity to target Liyakade’s group and reclaim his lost face.
Therefore, even if Liyakade’s group weren’t the masterminds behind the poisoning, Lord Walter wanted to find a way to expose their identity and get revenge for the previous humiliation of being stopped by Field.
For Lord Walter, he considered the risk of doing this to be very low.
First, the one providing the testimony and evidence wasn’t him, but the caravan’s guard.
He was merely conducting a reasonable investigation based on the testimony and evidence.
If Liyakade’s group couldn’t provide a proper explanation, their suspicion would increase.
Even without definitive proof that they were the poisoning masterminds, Lord Walter could use this as a reason to search their carriage for further investigation, and perhaps even deduce their identity.
Second, if Liyakade’s group truly were nobles of legitimate, proper, and unquestionable status, then Lord Walter would simply apologize to them.
After all, he was also a noble; apologizing to them was already giving them face.
Moreover, it was a search conducted under the pretext of apprehending the poisoner.
His reasoning was sound no matter how you looked at it.
Even if Liyakade’s group were fuming inside, they wouldn’t have much ground to complain.
This was Lord Walter’s thinking.
At most, he just wanted to cause some trouble for Liyakade’s group, to vent the frustration from that earlier incident.
If Liyakade’s group knew of this mindset, they would undoubtedly label him as incompetent and childish.
With the water source crisis still unresolved, here he was, throwing his noble weight around.
This was also because Lord Walter and his party carried a significant amount of private water, so they naturally acted without fear.
The water problem was no crisis for them.
Even if the caravan truly reached a point where it couldn’t proceed due to lack of water, they could simply leave the caravan and travel alone to the nearest town.
Ultimately, both Lord Walter and Vidar only cared about their own interests, showing no regard whatsoever for the other travelers and commoners in the caravan.
Both men exemplified selfishness to the extreme.
“Graham, isn’t that right? Wasn’t Natalia originally a guard you hired?”
Lord Walter turned to look at Graham, posing the question to him.
The gazes of the others also gathered on Graham, awaiting his answer.
“…Indeed. Natalia was hired by me. Later, Lord Fied and her group wanted Natalia to serve as their personal guard. Natalia herself was willing, so I allowed Natalia to go with them.”
“Then doesn’t that prove that Natalia initially had no connection with Fied and her group?”
As soon as Graham finished speaking, Lord Walter quickly seized the opportunity, continuing to explain to the others in the caravan.
“If that’s the case, then isn’t it possible that Natalia was also deceived? To achieve some goal, they poisoned the caravan’s water source to delay the caravan’s progress and create chaos, making it easier for them to accomplish their objective. They knew Natalia could purify toxins, so they concealed the truth, won Natalia over, and after achieving their goal, had Natalia treat the poisoned people in the caravan to reduce suspicion on themselves.”
Hearing this, even Vidar, who had been watching from the sidelines, almost couldn’t hold back a laugh.
He hadn’t expected Lord Walter to be so eloquent, using just a few words to push Liyakade and her companions into becoming the target of public criticism.
He was secretly overjoyed, eagerly anticipating just how far Lord Walter could push Liyakade’s group.
“What utter nonsense!”
Upon hearing Lord Walter’s suspicions and slander, Natalia was the first to lose her composure.
She angrily retorted against Lord Walter, almost on the verge of revealing Field’s true identity.
“Lord Fied, she is actually…!”
“Enough.”
Just as Natalia was about to reveal Liyakade’s group’s true identity, a hand gently rested on Natalia’s shoulder.