Fake Cinderella

t/n: Hiya, I decided to pick up the Fake Cinderella novel. This is just MTL so feel free to point out corrections and I’m not sure about some parts and just inferred based on context (MTL sometimes give out really weird translations lol). I’ll try to do at least 2-4 chapters every month, but I’m not promising anything. So yeah, here goes~

———-

The culprit - I was told that he was the cook of the soup at the kitchen.  

(I do not know if it’s true)

As if it’s a detective drama, it was “no charges due to the death of the suspect.”

Really. That guy, he was dead.

He was there during the uproar about Ellelucia, but soon he was out of sight, and when he was found he was no longer breathing. 

They say it was the same poison as with Ellelucia.  

(The dead cannot speak…)

There was no definite evidence that he was the criminal, but according to this report which was handed to me, the Elsevelt justice officer had determined that it was suicide. And while the investigation will continue, there is a strong suspicion that he was the perpetrator.

We cannot prove his innocence, and it is easy to judge him as the criminal. Even if there is no solid evidence, the circ.u.mstantial evidence is sufficient.

With one word of the judiciary, he is considered as if he were the criminal already.

Like a lamb in a sacrifice.  

The dead cannot argue.  

After that, the people around him just piled up stories showing that he was suspicious.

Several testimonies from the people around him were included in the report.

It was poorly written.

He liked gambling.

He was in debt and needed money.

He always said that he wanted money.

He talked about having a profit… each and everyone of these stories are insufficient as evidence.  

These are often heard everywhere, and it’s not particularly suspicious.

But when each of these stories comes together, it feels as if he were a criminal.

It is even more so because the judiciary has proclaimed it.

(The a.s.sumption is strong.)

Even if it was not the truth, it is considered the truth to those who believed it.

The weight of the real truth is automatically added there.

Whether the judicial officer really thinks he’s the culprit or is trying to make himself think so, there’s too little information to judge.

Another report was submitted by my escort.

As this is in Elsevert territory, this report is not an official doc.u.ment but only an informal one.

The name of the reporter is Count Najec = Rajé = Vera = Stasen (t/n: I just kept the name similar to the romanization).

He is the head of my escort and is a qualified judicial officer.

A judicial officer is a professional qualification who is given the authority of a judge and a police officer, and is called by the t.i.tle “Vera”, but “Judicial officer” does not strictly equal to “Vera”.

“Vera” means a person who graduated from university, in a sense it’s basically a “scholar.”

Since all the people who graduated from university can become judicial officers, the judicial officers eventually became called “Vera.”

Wherever you go in this continent, you can get a high-ranking official position if you have acquired the t.i.tle “Vera.” Really. Even if it is a former slave.

I hear that the prime minister of the Royal Roland Empire in the North is a “Vera” that was a former slave.

I was wondering why one could become an expert in law just after graduating from college, so I was determined to know how the mentioned university here works. Universities in this world are highly advanced and specialized academic inst.i.tutions, it is difficult to enter and even more difficult to graduate.

Admission qualifications require that only those who have pa.s.sed the entrance exam for under 30 years old, but the scope of entrance exams is quite diverse. The test subjects are three essential subjects: law, history, and language, but they must have knowledge in all fields because the history exam may ask about the zinc purification method of the unified empire era, and the language exam may ask about the economy of the second empire period.

Depending on the year, successful applicants may only total to a single digit.

Laws naturally vary from country to country. The basic law is the old Unified Imperial Law called the “Continental Law.”  University students learn all the laws of the five major powers, including Dardinia. If you do not pa.s.s in the three essential subjects of law, history, and language, you can not advance to the specialized course nor graduate.

The Royal Academy exists as a senior educational inst.i.tution, but in every country, it is regarded as belonging only to n.o.bles. There are some famous private schools, but they are only recognized within their own countries.

An ivory tower with absolute authority, without swaying in status, position or power. That is the university here.

They are meritocratic, no matter how high your status, no matter how much money you acc.u.mulate, you will not be allowed to take a step in unless you pa.s.s the entrance examination on your own.

Incidentally, Prince Nadir has this “Vera.”

At present, there is no other prince in the continent who has “Vera.”  It is said that when he ascends to the throne, he would become the first king to have the t.i.tle “Vera.”

Let’s get back to the report.

As a matter of course, the report of Count Stasen naturally differs in perspective from the Elsevert’s judicial officer.  

So, even if the same fact is written, the impression is completely different.

The poor are all farmers in the villages, and it is common practice for the village men to play darts at the bar of the village, do dice betting and poker, and to lose at these games. Even if they lost three days in a row, it was possible to pay with the next month salary.  

People who want money, they’re not uncommon for them, and the word profit can make you a little curious, but for instance, if you sell a new kind of sweet potatoes directly in the town rather than in the village market… it’s a big profit for the farmers.

(There are two sides to things…)

Even if it is not the opposite of the two sides, just as the view changes depending on how the light is applied, the facts that come up from different perspectives are different.

(Even though there is one truth, what you see is different from person to person)

There is no more excuses from him.

There is no one to refute for him.

Now there is no evidence, but the suspicion of circ.u.mstantial evidence, and in time there may be a considerable sum of money, or some poison which he is said to have used, that will be discovered from his luggage.

Such a thing, I don’t know if I can let it go afterwards.

(… or perhaps he was really involved)

Maybe I’m being too suspicious. It may be better to honestly believe in the circ.u.mstantial evidence.

If there is a lot of doubtful evidence, it’s hard to say, because it was his turn to make the soup.  

That clam soup was a bit bad for acclaim. But I think it was technically okay.

The clam itself was deliciously processed. The thick, large clam was simmered without being too boiled. It didn’t feel too firm and I didn’t taste the rawness … it was well cooked.

There is no gas. Nor do they have ranges or timers. I don’t think he could have done anything but make soup on the open fire.

He should not have had the time of doing something unnecessary with the soup.  

(The soup is next to the oven, and the stove of the stir-fried dishes is beyond the bread-kiln…)

The report also describes the location of the kitchen seasoning shelves. The information attached to either report is quite detailed, but the information submitted by Elsevert’s official is even more so - it includes the description of what is in the shelf. The character of the person I wrote is blurred. (t/n: I don’t get it either.)

If you were in the kitchen, you might think there are many chances to put poison in, but the corner where you made soup is far from the one where you made stir-fried dishes. Moreover, there is a bread kiln between them, and there are, of course, people in charge for that too.

There is no evidence that he approached the oven where he was making stir-fried dishes.

It is almost impossible to put it after it is served. It is said that when he was done he soon carried it, and there is no evidence of him approaching there.

There were more than ten people in the kitchen at that time.  The chef, who oversaw all the work, testified that no one had done anything funny.

His skill may be inadequate, but his att.i.tude to protect his men against a judicial officer who regarded him as the criminal is worthy of praise.

(I think I’m going to be confused…)

I had a lot to think about.

I don’t think I’ve lived without thinking about anything, but I feel like I’ve been thinking a lot since I came here.

The position of the Duke of Elsevert is not very good, as the judicial officer considered him as partly the culprit. … Rather, they are secretly regarded as the true masterminds.

(His family, for generations, was it a peasant of the Duke…)

The relationship between tenant farmers and feudal lords is similar to slaves and masters who follow voluntarily. Although peasants were not in the position of slaves, they could not oppose the order of their lords.

It is quite natural to regard it as having been done by the order of the duke.

The duke seems to have been trying to come to explain many times, but my escort commander said that the excuse was useless, and it seems that even Lilia refused the offer.

(Well, he is naturally, suspected… in a sense, of course)

On the contrary, I doubt his involvement this time.

I don’t think he’ll use such an easy-to-understand method.

In the castle of Elsevert, poison is found in the dish made by the cook of Elsevert… The culprit deduced from this… it’s too easy to understand.

(I don’t think they’ll use such a simple trick)

The Duke of Elsevert would come up with a situation in which he could prove that he was never the culprit, and a means in which he would never be doubted.  

That duke is paranoid and a perfectionist.  That type should be very particular about details.

Of course, there are exceptions, but the duke is absolutely fine. Because, the list of seasoning shelves was written directly by the duke.

It was found in both reports that, as soon as Ellucia fell, my bodyguards began to seize the kitchen of the castle to examine all the rest of the material which had remained for my breakfast.

The materials itself seemed to be perfectly normal. Seasonings too.

The only poison was found in the dish of ‘fried green vegetables and soybean dishes’ that was carried to my room.

The frying pan had been washed, so it was unclear if it was mixed during cooking or if it was mixed while being transported to my room after cooking.

It was Ellelucia who carried “green vegetables and stir-fried dishes” from the kitchen to my room. It seems that the lady has poisoned herself with what she carried.

(What is the form of the poison? … Powder or … Liquid? …)

Is it possible to be mixed in the corridors or not?

The poison is still under investigation, but it is written that it is probably a poison of Rigis.

Rigis is is a medicinal herb that has a.n.a.lgesic effects with its flowers and a sedative effect with the leaves. It is widely used, and every home is planted with Rigis, and it is so common for girls to bring a potted plant as a bride’s tool.

However, according to a book left by the famous alchemist, Trigias, about two centuries ago, it is possible to refine the root by a special refining method and produce a terrible poison. It is said that it can kill a dozen of adults with just one drop of liquid or with the powder amounting to only a tip of the finger.

The terrifying part of this poison is that it is not immediate. There is nothing for a while after taking it, and it is too late when you realize it. You can’t vomit it anymore.

It dissolves in the internal organs and you die before long.  It is said that the skin of the body is decayed and that purple spots appear over time.

(Well, all poisons that can not be identified are said to be Rigis poison.)

Indeed, this Rigis poison is a phantom poison. The "special refinements’ and the other information have not been recorded anywhere, only the efficacy of the poison and the observation that Trigius had conducted on death row prisoners.

The roots of the Rigus are edible when boiled.  It was just like a lily root, and I ate it a few days ago. By the way, it seems to be a medicine for bruises if it is ground.

It’s a mystery how it becomes poisonous. Well, it’s not a strange thing because medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin.

(…… Is there anything that Ellelucia aims at?)

Was there a reason for being targeted by Erlucia? Now that I think of it.

She was a bright and pretty girl. It is said her swordsmanship were quite good. She was told to be my shield at an emergency.

However, it seemed to me that it had nothing to do with the fact that Ellelucia was my maid after all.