Chapter 33: Checkmate

'Her record was flawless, so there's no real evidence that she's an assassin. And if I had reported her to my mum, without any evidence, it would have been dismissed.'

Anabelle would probably think I didn't like Liliana or something, and since my mother was so kind, she wouldn't throw a kind girl like her out of our household.

'Plus, I was still just a child. There's a limit to how credible I am!'

Using this rationale, I realized that I needed to take matters into my hands. However, even that posed a problem.

'Liliana is a magic-user, and judging from the fact that she was able to interfere with my spell, it means that she must be a high-level one.

During magic training with Alphonse, the magic sensors were all deactivated, since magic will be used in the courtyard. All the spectating servants had been in the courtyard's borders, so if one of them had used magic, no alarm would go off.

It was a perfect stage.

'I have to admit, I was careless… I didn't foresee them making a move back then. But, with the benefit of hindsight, it all makes sense!'

With my current magic power, directly facing a very skilled Magic-User who was intent on killing me would be very risky and suicidal. I wasn't going to take any chances.

Fortunately, the whole disaster brought a solution to my mind. Alphonse's use of herbs to cure my mom of her Mana Shock.

'T-that's it!' I beamed.

Alphonse left the next day after the incident, giving me the recipe for the Mana Shock cure. I also went to the library and took several books on herbs and their uses, spending some time in our family's greenhouse, and familiarized myself with the wonders of nature.

It took me five days, but I finally figured out the perfect concoction to use. It left no traces, it was perfectly odorless, tasteless, and was sure to get the job done.

Of course, I tweaked the effects a little to ensure that the herbs produced the results I wanted.

'They all comprised of chemicals that I needed to complete the job!"

Using distillation techniques, I separated the unnecessary parts of the herbs and relied solely on the chemical extracts to produce my end result.

With this, there was only one thing left to do… wait for the appointed time, and execute the mission!

The party was more perfect than I could have imagined. It made everything so much easier, and I was extremely happy about Anabelle's thoughtlessness, though I acted the opposite.

With so many people present, it posed as the perfect opportunity for the deed to be done!

Unfortunately, my mother dragged me along to greet the guests, taking away any free time I had to execute my plans. It wasn't all bad though, since by mingling, I could still keep tabs on Liliana.

As the party carried on, I noticed that our dear maid was displaying subtle, yet suspicious signs and would soon leave the party.

There was no way I could miss this chance! I began to feign exhaustion and moved around sluggishly.

Of course, my mom, being who she was, noticed this in no time. Anabelle was too considerate for her own good, and there was no way she would let me keep greeting people when I was tired.

"… let's meet up in five minutes to resume the greetings." Anabelle smiled at me.

I was glad the plan worked well when I saw Liliana leaving through a secret path.

Taking two glasses of wine, which I deemed fit for the potion I made, I took my leave from the party as well.

On my way, I drugged the appropriate wine glass and made my way to the inconspicuous part of the backyard garden where Liliana had decided to communicate with her employer. It had looked like she was talking to herself, but I knew better.

A grin formed on my face as I listened in on their conversation. As I overheard them, I went over what I learned in the past week.

Liliana only spoke to her employer once in a while. After her failed attempts at assassinating me, I knew she would try to speak to him as soon as possible.

However, if she did so, I was sure that Liliana would be ordered to speed up the assassination and would kill me before I could complete the drug I was in the process of making.

Luckily, the perfect solution came in the form of the consequences of Anabelle's mana shock.

The entire household became busy, and patrols were held more often. With security and surveillance now tighter than ever, Liliana couldn't speak to her boss at all.

The preparations for my party were also something that consumed everyone's time. With the maids being busier than usual, Liliana hardly had a moment to herself.

It only made sense that my Farewell Party was the perfect moment for her to sneak out and talk to whoever was in charge.

Upon hearing enough of their conversation, I was happy that the mastermind was indeed what I predicted.

'Okay, that's enough… I don't have all day.' I reasoned, feigning footsteps.

This caught Liliana's attention, bringing us to the situation we found ourselves in now.

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"Do you understand, now?" I asked, and smiled playfully at the petrified young lady.

Her eyes bulged in shock as she absorbed everything I had just told her.

"You… thought of all that…?!" Her lips moved slowly.

Of course, a mere child couldn't think so far ahead and plan things so meticulously. I relied on this fact during the execution of my plans.

Even if the drug was undetectable, it wasn't completely so. If Liliana, as an assassin was wary of me, I was certain that she would be able to figure out my intentions to poison her right away.

However, since I was a 'harmless' child, she let her guard down. She gratefully took the wine and swallowed it in such a refined way, which confirmed my suspicions once again that she was no mere maid.

"So, any further questions?" I asked, leaning close to Liliana's face.

With her hateful glare and my grin directly opposite each other, it was Checkmate!