Mary followed sir Gunterson in silence. Her father might have believed her to be an airhead and a ditz, but the truth was she was as terrified as anyone. First she was jolted out of bed by that inhuman shriek that shook the whole house. When she realized where the sound was coming from, she rushed in panic to the Young Master’s chambers, only to find him screaming like a demon. And then there was the blood.

It wasn’t the first time she’s seen someone bleed of course. Every now and again the family soldiers would be deployed to clear out bandits or magical beasts, and when they came back she and the other servant girls would spy on them.

Sometimes the men returned raucous, singing bawdy songs that you could hear a kilometer away, other times they plodded back in grim silence. What never changed was that they returned bloody. There would be a horrid aura hanging around them that left Mary frightened, but seemingly held a fascination for her other friends.

Still, it was the first time she had seen someone bleed in such a horrifying manner. This whole night was like a terrible nightmare, only this one you didn’t wake up from but rather woke up into. And it seemed that this nightmare was far from over.

Mary had never seen her father acting this way before. In a way, it was even more disturbing than what had happened to the Young Master. The man who used to be like a tall, sturdy pillar looked like he aged ten years in a single night. He was trembling all over, and his body stunk of sweat and fear.

Mary hated herself for thinking that way about her own father, but she couldn’t stop it. She hated that it wasn’t even an hour that one horror ended and another began, and this one even more terrifying than the first. Far worse in fact, because she had no idea what the danger was, why her father was so scared, and why she herself should feel so scared.

She obediently followed sir Gunterson, her head kept low, futilely trying to stop the tears that kept welling in her eyes. She didn’t even realize that the man she was following had stopped, and was now standing next to the baron, both men studying her in silence.

“Mary, look at me.” Gunterson said.

She obediently raised her head. More tears flowed from her eyes.

“Why are you crying, Mary? Are you worried about Richard?”

“Nnoo… I mean, yes!” In reality she had completely forgotten about the Young Master. Sir Gunterson showed a faint smile. As for the baron, who stood next to him, his face remained impassive.

“Mary, you need to tell us everything that happened last night.”

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“Ah, y-y-es.” Mary found it difficult to speak, her chin was trembling too much.

With her eyes glued to the heavy carpet adorning the floor of baron’s gabinet, a skin taken of some powerful beast, she finally managed to squeak out a sentence.

“I-I didn’t put anything in Master’s food and then didn’t leave him the whole night!”

This time there was a change in baron’s face, but it went unnoticed by Mary who was too terrified to look up. The baron was about to speak, but Gunterson whispered something to him, making the man settle down again.

“Mary.” Gunterson tried again. “Do you know why we’re questioning you?”.

The girl trembled. “B-because you think that I left Young Master’s chambers, but I swear I didn’t, I didn’t!”

“Mary, tonight someone attempted to murder the Young Master.”

Mary’s eyes went wide as saucers.

“Who was it?”

Gunterson had to swallow a curse. Questioning a terrified servant girl wasn’t exactly what he signed up for, but given the circumstances he couldn’t talk himself out of offering the baron at least some modicum of help.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, Mary.” Gunterson said patiently. “We know you had nothing to do with it, but someone might have attempted to use you to get to Richard, that’s why we need to know everything that has happened for the past few days.”

The relief that was painted on Mary’s face couldn’t be faked. She quickly cleaned the tears and snot from her face and went on to describe in great detail the minutiae of her day, her speech growing more fluent as her body visibly relaxed.

Gunterson had to stifle a laugh seeing the transformation. He supposed that seeing the measure of relief the news of someone trying to take Richard’s life brought to the little girl wouldn’t be counted as a positive in baron’s eyes, but in her circumstances it was the best way to prove her innocence. If the whole transformation was an act from beginning to end, then that little girl wast the best actress he had ever seen.

Baron listened in silence. Judging by his expression, Gunterson guessed correctly that the man wasn’t amused seeing the clear joy painted on Mary’s face.

Mary continued to narrate her whole day, blissfully unaware of the growing frown on baron’s face. From her words it would seem that everything was as always. No one offered her any new items or spices to add to Young Master’s food, and she didn’t come into contact with any talismans either.

“Enough.” baron interrupted her.

“Tell me why you weren’t at my son’s bed when he was attacked.”

The girl trembled again. Her first instinct was to deny again, but hearing the baron’s tone she couldn’t quite muster the needed courage.

“I…” she started and stopped again.

It wasn’t that she had anything to do with what happened to the Young Master. But the question touched upon her greatest and most precious secret! Something even her dad didn’t know anything about!

Mary was in love.

And the boy she had fallen in love with was... Richard’s younger brother.