The villainess will survive!

Part 59: Finding someone trustworthy

But before I dipped the pen in the ink again, I stopped to think over this decision once more. 

The last time I had talked with him was at the garden, if we even talked together at all. 

It was more like a short interaction, once that didn't last very long.

We had only managed to exchange a few glances before I was dragged away, being accused of harming Ivy. 

I grit my teeth in regret, knowing I should have never handed that bottle to Ivy. 

The fact that a priest of lower rank passing me it wouldn't exactly mean that the Temple had done it, but it did arise some suspicions. 

The fact that a lower priest had done the job meant the Temple really did not want the world to discover, and would blame it all on that poor fellow if needed to. 

They'd cut off their tail if needed to be. 

But that also meant we could use that one priest to our advantage, too. 

I'm sure he wasn't dumb, and knew he was going to be used as a scapegoat when the time came. 

Obviously the Temple would refuse any accusations towards them and turn them as blemishes towards God. 

But with enough evidence, you could do almost anything in this Country!

Whoever created this otome game wanted it to have a very democratic appearance, so they wouldn't let criminals off easily. 

In the end, I could only send a letter to Onii-sama to investigate the drug market and tell me if there were anything suspicious. 

I couldn't hint that I was fishing for exact evidence against the Temple because that alone sounded terrible. 

But I'm sure that even if he found something, anything, he would turn it over to the authorities. 

I closed my eyes to take a moment to apologise for the bit of work he was going to do, and the fact that I had used this certain trait of his. 

I was worried that this was manipulating him in some way, but decided not to think about it. 

'What must be done, must be done.'

There was no time to regret in this, I needed to somehow prove that it was not me. 

And point out that it was the Temple who had done this, thus proving my innocence and tearing down a lot of Ivy's foundation. 

Although logic wise, it might not have been the Temple itself or maybe just some low priests' plans. 

But even if this wouldn't tear down (or at least weaken) the Temple, it wouldn't all be wasted because it would sweep suspicions off me. 

I felt that this was quite amusing, killing 2 birds with one stone. 

I finished up the formal letter for Onii-sama, but didn't manage to open the window before a noise startled me.

Hearing a knock gently pounding on my door, I quickly sat down on my seat and opened a book. 

"Lady Villinie, I've brought your lunch." 

A maid set a plate of food on the table, and left swiftly as she came. 

I immediately rose from my seat and clapped the book closed after she left. 

A bird similar to the one before started chirping outside, so I tied the piece of paper to its leg and let it fly off.

But............wasn't I missing something?

In the end, even if I were going to prove how the Temple had been illegally distributing the drug, how do we know which poison made Ivy that ill?

As far as I knew, I didn't collapse the moment I drank it. 

The answer was obviously that the Temple had put a few drops of poison in there, and made it look like I had done something. 

From memory, I knew that even though Ivy had let go of the bottle after she fainted and thus spilling it, there was still quite a lot in there left afterwards.

Any investigator with common sense would bring that to a chemical lab to find out what had been in there.

So until they figure out things on their part, all I could do was wait.