“Lord Fied is…”
“Enough.”
Just as Natalia was about to reveal Liyakade and the others’ true identities, a hand gently rested on Natalia’s shoulder.
Natalia looked back.
The person who spoke in a low voice now was Field, the very one Walter had slandered.
Field’s voice was unnaturally calm at this moment, with not a trace of emotional fluctuation detectable in her tone, as if Walter’s suspicions of them were utterly insignificant.
However, Natalia sensed the anger within Field from that single, calm word.
Although Field’s tone was extremely calm, the pressure and aura emanating from her spread out the instant she uttered that word, pressing down on all the onlookers.
Even Walter, who had been so arrogant just moments before, couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
The camp instantly fell silent.
Everyone held their breath, focusing intently, waiting for Field’s next words.
“Hmph.”
They heard Field give a cold laugh, then her gaze, sharp as a torch, locked onto Walter, meeting his stare without the slightest hint of backing down.
“Walter, I initially thought you were just eager to find the culprit quickly, hence all the fanfare. Now it seems you have other aims.”
Walter’s heart jolted upon hearing this.
He hadn’t expected Field to see through his thoughts so easily.
His expression showed a slight flicker of disturbance, but under his control, it quickly returned to normal.
“What are you talking about? Right now, I’m the one questioning you, Fied. What exactly did you do last night? If you can’t give a proper account or have no way to prove your innocence, then don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Despite the slight tremor in his heart, Walter still believed he held the advantage in the current situation.
After all, he hadn’t left the camp at all yesterday.
Many guards saw him when he left his tent, and he was a proper noble.
From both status and behavior, there was absolutely nothing suspicious about him.
In contrast, Liyakade and the others not only hid their identities but also acted suspiciously.
No matter what, he was already in an unbeatable position.
“Is that so?”
Field appeared very composed and relaxed in the face of Walter’s pressing questions.
She merely asked a question in return, then continued her response.
“You just said Natalia isn’t with us, so the credit for healing the poisoned individuals cannot be counted on our heads. Is that correct?”
“That’s right. That’s exactly how it is.”
Walter nodded, confirming the point Field raised.
“So, your meaning is that Natalia is part of the caravan and has no relation to us whatsoever, correct?”
Field continued to press.
“That is correct.”
Hearing Field’s repeated confirmation, Walter couldn’t help but frown.
He felt there was something more to Field’s words, something off, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.
“Very good. Then, since Natalia is an outsider, a member of the caravan, why can’t she serve as our witness, Mr. Walter? Please, explain that to us.”
Walter’s eyes narrowed.
‘This is bad,’ he thought inwardly.
No wonder he felt something was strange earlier.
The problem was here.
Previously, he thought Natalia might be in league with Liyakade and the others, so Natalia’s testimony couldn’t count.
But later, he said Natalia was part of the caravan, so even if Natalia purified the poison and saved those people, that credit couldn’t be attributed to Liyakade and the others.
This line of argument was clearly contradictory.
However, Walter’s earlier attitude had been forceful, and coupled with his status as a noble, plus the fact that Liyakade and Field had indeed left the camp yesterday, he had managed to gloss over it.
The other travelers’ attention was entirely on what Liyakade and the others did last night, completely failing to notice the logical flaw in Walter’s argument.
And these arguments of Walter’s could fool others, but they couldn’t fool Field.
Before refuting him, Field even made Walter personally admit and confirm two statements he had just made.
After this dual confirmation by both Field and Walter, everyone present heard this logical flaw.
“That’s right! What Lord Fied says is correct! You insist that saving the poisoned people has nothing to do with Lord Fied and the others, so why can’t Natalia serve as their witness!?”
“I wanted to argue with you earlier. Your words are clearly baseless. You’re purely targeting Lord Fied and the others!”
“Hmph, is it because Lord Fied took control of the situation, brought Miss Natalia to heal everyone, stole the spotlight, and you couldn’t stand it, so you found a way to target Lord Fied? Are the nobles of the Royal City as petty-minded as someone like you?”
As soon as Field finished speaking, the surrounding crowd began to berate Walter one after another.
They had long been fed up with Walter’s behavior.
From the moment he arrived, he had acted arrogantly and dismissively towards everyone else in the caravan, the guards included, not treating them as human, even attempting to use private punishment.
This unreasonable behavior and methods, the other travelers—whether lower-ranking nobles or ordinary commoners—had long been unable to tolerate it.
They had only held back because Walter’s status was too exalted, forcing them to swallow their anger and let Walter run rampant.
After Field stepped out and suppressed Walter, the crowd’s fear of him had already diminished greatly.
And now, Walter’s act of slandering Field pushed this collective disgust to its peak.
“You… you lowly commoners… shut your mouths!”
Hearing the commoners’ harsh words, the composure Walter had been struggling to maintain finally collapsed.
Gnashing his teeth, he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as he angrily scolded the surrounding crowd.
“Do you believe I’ll have you all thrown in jail!? You’re nothing but mere commoners! What difference is there between you and insects!? How dare insects presume to tell humans what to do!?”
After Walter’s furious roar, the surrounding crowd fell silent once more.
However, a playful voice came from behind Field at that moment.
“Oho, Mr. Walter, can’t handle it anymore? How come you’re so easily triggered?”
Liyakade poked her own cheek, looking mockingly at Walter not far away, her tone full of laughter, not taking Walter’s anger seriously in the slightest.
“You!”
Walter glared at Liyakade, his eyes full of rage.
However, Liyakade’s words were like a stone thrown into a pond, creating a thousand ripples.
The onlookers, who had fallen silent out of fear, now began to laugh and mock Walter.
“Hahaha, and you call yourself a noble with that attitude?”
“I think you should give up your noble position and go home to farm early. With your psychological resilience, you’d offend every single dignitary in the Royal City in no time, hahaha!”
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