And so, Natalia developed yet another misunderstanding towards Liyakade and the others, a fact that Liyakade and her companions were currently unaware of.
“Liyakade, Alice, you’ve played enough. Hurry back. That Vidar fellow should be returning soon as well. We need to go discuss the situation with the caravan head.”
“Yeah.”
Hearing Field’s urging, Alice nodded, then released her hands from Liyakade’s arm.
“Liyakade, let’s go together.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
With that, they headed together towards the area where the caravan had set up camp to rest.
Not long after Liyakade and the others left, a disheveled and dirt-covered Vidar and his group emerged from the woods.
Vidar’s expression was very unpleasant at the moment, his face a picture of anger.
His mood was extremely foul.
He sent two or three guards hurrying towards the camp’s direction, while he himself unhurriedly parked the carriage back in its original spot, then slowly made his way towards the camp.
No one knew what scheme Vidar was cooking up this time.
“Graham.”
Arriving at the caravan’s camp, Field softly called the caravan head’s name.
Hearing this, Graham immediately put down what he was doing and jogged over to Field.
“L-Lord Feid! You’re back. Have you rested well? Can we begin purifying the water source now?”
Seeing Field’s arrival, Graham appeared very excited.
Although there were still no leads on the culprit, as long as they could purify the water source, the caravan could continue forward.
Once they reached the next town and analyzed the toxin’s composition, they could better catch the perpetrator.
“The water source can no longer be purified.”
Field responded to Graham with a hint of regret.
Hearing this, Graham’s face instantly changed.
“Lord Feid, what… what do you mean by that? Is the toxin concentration in the water too high, making purification impossible?”
“No.”
Field shook her head and continued explaining the situation to Graham.
“The water source has already been disposed of by someone else. They didn’t see us purifying the poisoned individuals, so they didn’t know we had the ability to purify toxins. They took it upon themselves to dispose of the water.”
“W-what!? Who on earth did this!?”
Graham was immediately furious, his eyes wide with anger.
They had only been out of the city for two days, and the next water resupply point was still a long way off.
Now, with the water source completely gone, how was the caravan supposed to continue its journey?
“It was me.”
Just as Graham was fuming, wanting to find the person who dumped the poisoned water, a calm, nonchalant voice reached everyone’s ears.
It was Vidar.
He had followed Liyakade and the others back to the camp.
Hearing Field and Graham’s conversation, he immediately joined in.
Graham wanted to lash out, but seeing it was another noble, he immediately deflated.
He could only ask Vidar with a mix of resentment and bitterness.
“Lord Vidar, why would you do that? Without a water source, how is the caravan supposed to proceed…”
“I didn’t know these people could purify the water source. Isn’t it normal to dispose of poisoned water? What if someone else mistakenly drank it?”
Vidar used the same excuse he had given Liyakade and the others earlier.
“Besides, I’ve already decided to share my privately reserved water with the others in the caravan. You can’t have any complaints about that now, can you?”
“Really? Lord Vidar, you’re willing to share your water with the others?”
“Of course.”
Hearing this, Graham’s expression softened considerably.
This way, they could at least hold out for a while, buying time for the caravan to send for help or find a new water source.
Once Graham calmed down, he noticed the bandage on Vidar’s neck.
“Lord Vidar, what’s that on your neck…”
“Enough!”
Graham was cut off mid-sentence by Vidar’s sharp rebuke.
The pain from the wound on his neck, which had been almost forgotten thanks to the Purple Vine Grass’s soothing effect, came rushing back with a burning sting at Graham’s mention.
“My apologies! I spoke out of turn!”
Graham hurriedly apologized to Vidar, afraid that angering him would make him refuse to share his water with the rest of the caravan.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave to rest. We’re tired today, and it’s getting late.”
Seeing that Vidar and Graham’s conversation was winding down, Field decided to excuse herself first.
After all, there wasn’t much they could help with at the moment.
Even if they needed to search for a new water source or send for help, that would have to wait until tomorrow.
“Of course, Lord Feid. Thank you for your hard work today. Please, go get some proper rest.”
Upon hearing this, Graham quickly walked over, bowing and scraping to Liyakade and the others, expressing his gratitude.
Although Liyakade and her group hadn’t succeeded in purifying the water source, they had at least healed all the poisoned individuals.
This was already a great help to the caravan.
How could Graham not be grateful?
However, just as Liyakade and the others were about to turn and leave to rest, a cold, stern male voice suddenly called out to them.
“Wait!”
The voice sounded somewhat familiar, arrogant and overbearing.
Liyakade and the others turned to look and saw it was indeed that seemingly arrogant noble who had been stirring up trouble earlier—Walter.
“Walter, we’ve dealt with a lot today. We don’t have time to talk to you anymore. Save whatever you have to say for tomorrow!”
Field glanced coldly at Walter.
Although Walter seemed somewhat better than someone like Vidar, he wasn’t exactly normal either.
From Walter’s arrogant and dismissive attitude towards the commoners and guards from the start, Field could tell he was no good.
Two words described him: a bully.
“You can’t leave. This concerns important clues about the poisoning suspect.”
Walter continued to block their way, revealing that he already had some information about the suspect.
“Oh? Important clues?”
Hearing the words “important clues,” Field finally stopped in her tracks.
This was indeed worth hearing.
“Let’s hear it.”
“Heh.”
Walter let out a cold laugh first.
He didn’t immediately reveal all the information and clues he knew.
Instead, he began with a rhetorical question.
“Don’t rush. Listen to my analysis.”
“Just as Lord Feid analyzed earlier, during the first day, the caravan’s water source was still clean. Many people drank from it, and none of them were poisoned. Today, everyone who drank the water was poisoned. What does that indicate?”
“It indicates the poisoning likely happened last night. Isn’t that a simple deduction?”
In response to Walter’s question to the crowd, Liyakade answered easily.
“Yes, Miss Liyakade, you are correct. The caravan was poisoned precisely last night. So, who left the camp last night?”
At this point, Walter’s tone suddenly turned grave, and his gaze immediately shifted to Liyakade, staring intently at her and Field.
Hearing Walter’s words now, Liyakade and Field beside her were startled.
They exchanged a glance, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.
“The caravan camp always has guards on night watch. Although the guards near the wagon storing the water don’t remember what happened, the guards in other areas were awake!”
However, Walter didn’t give Liyakade and Field much time to react.
The next second, he pointed at Liyakade, drawing everyone’s attention to her.
“Miss Liyakade, Lord Feid! Many guards witnessed you leaving your tent, even leaving the camp last night, and being unaccounted for for a long time! Lord Feid, please explain what exactly you were doing last night.”
Hearing Walter’s accusation, Liyakade’s heart sank.
That ominous premonition had indeed come true.
She hadn’t expected this to become evidence for suspecting them.
On the other side, Vidar was inwardly overjoyed seeing this scene.
He struggled to contain his excitement, trying not to laugh out loud.
This was Vidar’s plan.
The people he had sent out earlier were to inform Walter.
Since Vidar had secretly planted some of his own men among the guards, Liyakade and the others’ movements within the caravan and camp were actually well known to him.
He, of course, knew that Liyakade and Field had left the camp in the middle of the night, doing who knows what.
And this was precisely why he had been in such a hurry to poison the water yesterday—to make the other guards see Liyakade and Field leaving the camp last night.
“Th-that’s right! I remember now! Last night, Lord Feid and Miss Liyakade did leave the camp. I don’t know what they were doing!”
“Ah, now that you mention it, I have an impression too. I remember they seemed to head into the forest. I don’t know where they went. They were gone for a very, very long time before coming back.”
Reminded by Walter, the surrounding guards suddenly recalled the events of last night’s watch and began whispering among themselves.
“You… you’re talking nonsense! What grounds do you have to suspect us? Weren’t there other people who left the camp last night!?”
“Heh.”
Walter sneered, then replied.
“I’ve already investigated. There were indeed others who left their tents and the camp last night. But they were all within the guards’ line of sight. They have alibis. Only you two were gone the longest and completely disappeared from the guards’ view!”
“I can vouch for them! They had no time or motive to poison anyone!”
Natalia now also realized the situation was turning bad.
She quickly stepped forward, offering herself as a witness for Liyakade and Field, beginning to defend them.
However, Natalia’s testimony couldn’t convince the others.
“Vouch that they had no time or motive? Were you following right behind them? Or do you know what they were thinking? Weren’t you guarding the tent the whole time? How can you serve as their alibi? Or perhaps… you’re all in this together?”
Walter was not swayed in the least by Natalia’s testimony.
Instead, he pressed on aggressively, lumping Natalia in with Liyakade and the others.
“This… this isn’t right, is it, Lord Walter?”
Hearing Walter’s accusations and suspicions against Liyakade and the others, Graham immediately felt something was off.
Despite the vast difference in status, seeing this situation, Graham still felt he had to speak up for Liyakade and the others.
“After the caravan’s passengers were poisoned, it was Lord Feid who stepped up first to manage the situation. Then it was Natalia who helped detoxify the others. How could they be the ones who poisoned everyone? Lord Walter, think this through!”
“That’s right. It was the Sister who helped detoxify us. How could she be the one who did it?”
“Exactly. Even if you’re a noble, you can’t just slander people without evidence!”
After Graham raised his doubts, a few of the other onlooking passengers also stepped forward to defend Liyakade and the others.
“Heh, it’s true Natalia helped detoxify you. But Natalia was originally a guard hired by Graham for the caravan. Even if Natalia isn’t in cahoots with Feid and her group, the credit for healing the others can’t be attributed to Feid’s group. Their suspicion cannot be ruled out!”
Walter’s tone was very forceful.
He now didn’t even bother with polite titles when referring to Liyakade and the others.
Although Walter had seen earlier that Natalia couldn’t purify the toxins in the poisoned individuals, and that it was only after contacting Field’s group that Natalia could use the cross to purify the toxins, Walter did not mention this point.
In fact, even if Natalia’s ability to purify toxins truly owed to Liyakade’s group, Walter’s suspicion of them would not have lessened.
After all, if even a church sister couldn’t purify the toxin, yet Liyakade’s group could do so easily, wouldn’t that make them even more suspicious?
Moreover, Field was hiding her identity, which in Walter’s eyes was further proof of a guilty conscience.
If Field were truly a noble of proper standing, why would she keep hiding her identity?
Even when the caravan was in chaos, Field hadn’t chosen to remove her mask.
Even stepping forward to manage the situation without revealing her identity showed a lack of trust and naturally couldn’t convince others.
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.
It could very well have been stolen from some noble’s mansion in the Royal City.
Furthermore, Field’s initial attitude and lecturing towards Walter had left him very displeased.
Although Walter had superficially backed down at the time, what he was really thinking was finding an opportunity to target Liyakade’s group and reclaim his lost face.
Therefore, even if Liyakade’s group weren’t the poisoning culprits, Walter wanted to find a way to expose their identity and get revenge for being stopped by Field earlier.
For Walter, he believed the risk of doing this was minimal.
First, the ones providing testimonies and evidence weren’t him, but the caravan guards.
He was merely making reasonable deductions based on the testimonies and evidence.
If Liyakade and the others couldn’t give a proper explanation, their suspicion would increase.
Even without concrete evidence proving they were the poisoning masterminds, Walter could use this as a reason to search their carriage for further investigation, potentially deducing their identity.
Second, if Liyakade and the others were truly nobles of proper standing, legitimate and without any issues, then Walter would simply apologize to them.
After all, he was also a noble.
Apologizing to them would already be giving them face.
And since it was a search for the purpose of catching the poisoner, his reasons were fully justified.
Liyakade and the others, even if angry, couldn’t really say much.
This was Walter’s thinking.
At most, he just wanted to cause some trouble for Liyakade’s group, to vent the frustration from that previous incident.
If Liyakade and the others knew of such thinking, they would definitely label it as low-intelligence and childish.
The water crisis wasn’t even resolved yet, and here Walter was, throwing a tantrum.
This was also because Walter and his group carried a significant amount of private water, so they naturally acted without fear.
The water problem wasn’t a 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.
In the end, both Walter and Vidar cared only for their own interests, showing no regard for the other passengers and commoners in the caravan.
Both exemplified selfishness to the extreme.
“Graham, isn’t that right? Wasn’t Natalia originally a guard you hired?”
Walter turned to look at Graham, posing the question.
The others’ gazes also focused on Graham, awaiting his answer.
“…That’s correct. Natalia was hired by me. Later, Lord Feid and her group wanted Natalia to be their personal guard. Natalia herself was willing, so I let Natalia go with them.”
“Then doesn’t that prove Natalia initially had no connection with Feid’s group?”
As soon as Graham finished speaking, Walter quickly took over, continuing to explain to the others in the caravan.
“If that’s the case, then isn’t it possible Natalia was also deceived? They poisoned the caravan’s water to achieve some goal, to delay the caravan’s progress and create chaos, making it easier for them to accomplish their objective. And they knew Natalia could purify toxins, so they hid the truth, recruited Natalia, and after completing their goal, had Natalia treat the poisoned people in the caravan to reduce their own suspicion.”
Hearing this, even Vidar, who was watching from the sidelines, almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.
He hadn’t expected Walter to be so eloquent, pushing Liyakade and the others into the position of public enemy with just a few words.
He was inwardly delighted, eagerly anticipating just how far Walter could push Liyakade’s group.
“What utter nonsense!”
Hearing Walter’s suspicions and slander, Natalia was the first to lose her temper.
She angrily retorted at Walter, almost on the verge of revealing Field’s true identity.
“Lord Feid is actually…”
“Enough.”
Just as Natalia was about to reveal Liyakade and the others’ true identities, a hand gently rested on her shoulder.