The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 49: Confession

Chapter 49: Confession

When Duchess Anita received the news that Anastasia had fallen ill shortly after arriving at the palace, she was very pleased. She was certain that the royal family would never allow a woman who could not bear children to marry the crown prince. So what if the engagement was already official?

As long as the marriage had not yet taken place, breaking it off would be easy.

"So, do they know what is wrong with her?" Duchess Anita asked the Duke, who had received the palace envoys.

"I should be asking you that. The physician said that Anastasia has been poisoned. The royal family wants me to investigate," Duke Thompson said. He had been away for a few days on business—partly out of duty, partly to give his wife an opportunity to act. He hadn’t expected to return to such a mess.

"What?" Duchess Anita was genuinely surprised. After all, the poison used should not have been easily detectable. At most, they should have assumed she ate something she was allergic to. As they treated her, they would eventually discover her possible infertility issues, but there was no way the poison should have been found so easily.

"Don’t pretend. Tell me, what did you do?" the Duke demanded, his voice rising in annoyance. He hadn’t expected his wife to act so recklessly. The Duchess poisoning her stepdaughter wouldn’t just affect her—it would also reflect poorly on him. A man who couldn’t control his own household might also face consequences.

The Duke title was not supposed to have fallen to him. It had taken many sacrifices to secure his position. This incident could be used against him. There were already those unhappy that the king had chosen the future crown princess from his family. This could be the perfect excuse to bring him down and annul the engagement.

He suddenly regretted giving his wife the chance to act. If he had protected Anastasia like a true father, things might have turned out differently. In just a month, he would be tied to the royal family. His unstable position as Duke would finally become secure.

"I am not pretending. I have no idea what is going on either," Duchess Anita said, regaining her composure. "A lady-in-waiting from the Queen’s court requested to set up a kitchen in their courtyard. There were no available cooks at the time, so Miss Magdalene said she would handle it. I don’t know what Anastasia has eaten or drunk in the past few days. How could I have poisoned her?"

"If you didn’t do it, then who else could it be?" the Duke asked, still skeptical.

"I don’t know! But we can investigate and find out the truth," Duchess Anita said confidently. Her unwavering stance made Duke Thompson wonder if she was truly innocent.

"Then I will investigate this matter myself," Duke Thompson declared. He immediately summoned Manmor. "Bring all the servants from the kitchen and Anastasia’s courtyard to me," he ordered. He suspected that even if the food seemed fine, the poison could have been mixed into the ingredients.

When Duchess Anita heard her husband’s command, she immediately shot Leah a look. Leah bowed and quickly followed after Manmor. "Let me help you organize the servants," she offered with a smile.

Manmor agreed, as Leah was more familiar with the household staff.

An hour later, the cooks and two new maids from Anastasia’s courtyard stood before the Duke.

"You are all responsible for the food consumed in this house. If anyone confesses to poisoning Anastasia or knows who did, I will spare your life—even if you were the one who poisoned her. And if you report the culprit, you will be rewarded," Duke Thompson announced.

The women from the main kitchen exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward.

"Since none of you are talking, I will assume you are all involved. Take them out of the house and have them executed," Duke Thompson ordered.

Duchess Anita frowned. She had assumed the Duke would question them individually. She hadn’t expected him to take such a harsh approach.

"Your Grace, please have mercy!" the women fell to their knees, begging. Until now, the Duchess had always been in charge of the household. No one expected the Duke to intervene, but it made sense—after all, Anastasia was set to marry the crown prince.

"What mercy? If you want mercy, then you must confess," Duke Thompson said coldly.

The kitchen staff grew more terrified. The kingdom followed a strict "life for a life" policy.

"Your Grace, it was Leah who instructed us to add an herb to Lady Anastasia’s food," a cook finally blurted out, fearing for her life.

"Your Grace, I don’t know what she is talking about!" Leah protested. "I usually send special herbs that are beneficial for health to the kitchen. This maid must know something about the poisoning. Please investigate—I would never dare to harm Lady Anastasia!" She fell to her knees in desperation.

"You claim she ordered you to add poison? Where is your evidence?" Duke Thompson asked. Naturally, his wife was still the primary suspect.

"Your Grace, I have no physical proof, but I swear on my life that she did. Why are you all staying silent? Do you want us all to die?" the cook demanded of her fellow kitchen workers.

"So you’re saying everyone in the kitchen was involved?" Duke Thompson raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Your Grace. Otherwise, what if the poison ended up in the wrong dish?" the cook reasoned.

"You have confessed, so as long as I verify your claim, I will let you go. The others, however, will face punishment," Duke Thompson said, rising to his feet.

"Your Grace, we will speak!" The other women, realizing the Duchess would not save them, scrambled to save themselves.

"Speak! I will only spare the first three to confess," the Duke declared. He knew verifying the first cook’s and Leah’s claims would be difficult without torture. By offering clemency to a few, he hoped to get the truth from the rest. There were ten cooks in the kitchen. If three testified against Leah, that would be enough.

"What she said is true! The day Lady Anastasia’s engagement was announced five days ago, Leah came to the kitchen and instructed us to add something to Lady Anastasia’s food," one cook quickly confessed.

"That’s true!" another agreed.

"You cannot give the same confession twice. I will only count her as a witness for the first cook," the Duke said.

"Your Grace, I can testify that this is not the first time Lady Anastasia has been poisoned. It started shortly after her mother’s death," another cook added.

"Yes! I have a sample of the poison that was used. I can bring it as evidence," the head cook said, realizing the only way to survive was to cooperate.

"Go and bring the evidence, the Duke said to the head cook. " Manmor, summon the physician to identify the poison," Duke Thompson ordered.