Work Prophet
Chapter 62 - 23 Interrogation

Chapter 62: Chapter 23 Interrogation

Irelia’s interrogation soon made significant progress.

Those who could prove that they hadn’t been in that room during the specified time were asked to stand to the left of the girl. Their alibis were checked and cross-examined by a specialist, and if their testimonies matched without discrepancies, and no one else accused them, they were allowed to leave the great hall.

On the right side, however, remained those who couldn’t provide an alibi for themselves.

They were mainly two maids, a nursemaid, and a tax officer. One of the maids explicitly admitted she had entered the room to bring Irelia a plate of freshly picked raspberries.

The nursemaid also claimed she wanted to see Irelia about something but had left upon getting no response after knocking on the door, without entering the room.

As for the other maid, she insisted she hadn’t been anywhere near that room, yet she couldn’t account for her whereabouts during that time, nor had anyone seen her.

Of course, the tax officer was even more suspicious. It wasn’t yet the time for tax collection, so technically, he shouldn’t have been at the castle that day.

The tax officer’s face turned ugly, especially as he saw Alfred’s gaze harden. The surrounding guards looked eager, ready to seize him at a moment’s notice.

He spoke up with difficulty, "Miss Irelia, may I have a word with you in private?"

"At this point, are you trying to go down with a fight?" Jude said, raising an eyebrow and clicking his tongue.

"No, no, it’s just that there are some things that are inconvenient to discuss in front of so many people." The tax officer, frightened, kept shaking his hands.

"What is so inconvenient to discuss openly?" the girl’s face was as cold as frost, "What did my stepmother promise you to betray me?"

"By the gods above, I swear, I have never done anything to betray you," the tax officer pleaded desperately, "Just give me a chance, please. If you are really worried, you can let Sir Alfred stay as well. With his skills, he could take on five of me. Even if I had any ill intentions, with him here, I couldn’t do anything."

"I do not believe you."

"I...I can testify: Freddie and I were together!" a voice rang out.

To everyone’s surprise, it was the maid who had failed to provide evidence of her whereabouts during that time.

Jude glanced between the ashen-faced tax officer and the blushing maid, quickly realizing what was going on, and an expression of sudden understanding appeared on his face, "You two couldn’t possibly..."

"That’s right." The maid admitted briskly, "At the time of the incident, we were in the wine cellar where the wine is stored."

"You say no one saw you; how can you prove it?"

"Because we were in a hurry to get out when we heard the guards’ footsteps above us, my silver bracelet fell there. And yes, that bracelet was also given to me by Freddie," the maid answered each question without hesitation.

And Freddie, the tax officer named, was staring vacantly, collapsing onto the floor, mumbling, "It’s over, it’s over... if my wife finds out about this, her father and brothers will never let me off."

Jude felt sympathy for him, while Irelia sent a guard to the cellar to look around, and sure enough, they found that silver bracelet behind a barrel of wine.

Besides, the soldier discovered some... marks left from a strenuous encounter on the ground, which thoroughly cleared the pair of any suspicion.

But looking at the tax officer, who seemed ready to give up on life, it appeared he would rather be captured as a traitor and thrown into a dungeon than live so disgracefully.

Irelia turned her gaze to the remaining maid and the nursemaid.

Especially the nursemaid, who had previously been very close to Vanessa, Irelia had recently begun the process of clearing out unstable elements within the castle.

However, she couldn’t expel everyone at once, or she would face the awkward situation of short staffing. She had to proceed batch by batch, starting with those most suspicious.

Moreover, most of these people were the old folks within the castle, having served the Arias family for decades or even a century; it wouldn’t be right to simply tell them to pack up and leave.

A convincing excuse would have to be found before declaring a substantial pension for them, so as not to attract criticism of the Arias family—or of the new Lord for being heartless.

Thus, no one should blame Ireya for her recent self-abandonment and obsession with playing with the Electronic Pet Egg. Without the money Li Yu had given her, she wouldn’t have been able to fire anyone, making her role as a Lord quite tasteless indeed.

Ireya had been planning to use this incident as an occasion to get rid of a group of old folks who were close to Vanessa. However, the maid who delivered the raspberries was the first to speak up.

She probably wanted to clear herself of suspicion, so she provided a very valuable clue.

According to her, when she left the room, she noticed Ireya’s aunt, Alisa, walking this way, her expression hesitant and struggling.

Upon hearing these words, Ireya’s body jolted violently, and she looked up at the noble lady seated nearby.

The latter seemed to have anticipated such a revelation and twisted her lips, showing a smile that was uglier than a cry.

"Indeed, I entered that room when you left, and if I say I was in such turmoil that I didn’t notice whether there was a note on the floor or not, I wonder if you would believe me?"

"Aunt..." The girl’s chest heaved violently. She strained to muster all her strength, but only managed to squeeze out those two words through her clenched teeth before she couldn’t continue.

In fact, Ireya had been prepared for the worst even before she called everyone together.

That was, someone within the family was still in close contact with Vanessa. Ireya certainly hadn’t forgotten the instance when her Uncle Torres in the Royal Capital abruptly switched sides at the last minute to support Blanco.

Now, if someone were to betray her, she wouldn’t be too surprised.

But she still couldn’t accept the fact that the person was her Aunt Alisa, the one with whom she had the best relationship and who had always spoken up for her.

Even though Alisa had been the prime suspect in Torres’s case, and after returning to Green Field, Ireya had consciously distanced herself from Alisa.

Yet, deep down, the girl still wanted to trust her aunt.

She had even heard her father lament when she was younger that once you become a Lord, you find fewer and fewer people around you that you could trust, and it becomes lonelier and lonelier.

These past days, Ireya had felt this acutely, but in her heart, there was a list.

It was a list of those she believed she could always fully trust and rely on. At the top was the old Knight, Sir Alfred, followed by Li Yu, and then the third name... the girl wanted to add her aunt’s name there.

But now, she had crossed that name off the list with her own hands.

Ireya felt a twinge of heartache, the pain of betrayal, deep and unforgettable.

Betrayed by her Uncle Antonio and now by her Aunt Alisa, not to mention a stepmother who was hell-bent on getting rid of her, the girl had completely lost faith in her so-called family.

She lifted her face, took several deep breaths before reopening her eyes, and then said, "Bring forth the guards—take my aunt back to her room, and let her not step outside the door without my command, nor allow anyone to contact her..."

The guards hesitated, then moved toward the pale-faced noble lady.

The latter, although white as a sheet, stood up from her chair without further justification for herself, and instead curtsied once again to Ireya at the head of the table.

Then, walking out of the hall with her head down, she was escorted by two guards.

Li Yu noticed the exchange of a highly covert glance between the Purple Sparrow Flower and the Gold Snake, and a flicker of barely noticeable joy passed through their eyes.