Chapter 68
Chapter 68. Means and Methods
2023.12.07.
"Evangeline Seymour Concedes Defeat After Slump, How Far Will Olivia Blanchett's Unstoppable Winning Streak Go?"
Evangeline threw the newspaper at the maid's face.
"Are you sure you handled it properly?"
Evangeline was berating the maid, unable to believe the reality.
It was fortunate that her energy hadn't fully recovered yet; otherwise, she would have picked up a vase instead of a mere newspaper.
"I, I definitely switched the water bottle. I really did, miss. You saw it, didn't you?"
"Do you think I had the presence of mind to see that in that situation?"
Evangeline's hand, touching her throbbing and dizzy forehead, trembled with anger, still feeling the effects of the drug.
Stupid thing.
She wanted to beat her and kick her out right away, but she was worried that she might hold a grudge and spread the word about yesterday, so she only took the gold bar.
"Miss, calm down."
"How can I calm down now?"
Evangeline screamed, and the startled maid stepped back, shrinking her shoulders.
Excitement made her breathing quicken again, and her temperature rose. Evangeline glared at the maid with narrowed eyes.
It was then that a knock was heard in the desolate hospital room.
"I, I think Madam Lauren is here."
The maid, who had been watching Evangeline's mood, quickly ran to the door.
She thought that if someone came in and saved her from this precarious situation, she wouldn't even mind if it was Olivia Blanchett, and she flung the hospital room door open.
"Who is it... Oh..."
"Hello."
The neat tone was like the sound of clear water.
The maid, who had frozen as if she had seen a ghost when she saw Olivia Blanchett, finally moved her lips after a long time.
"...Ah, miss. Blanchett is here."
It was an afternoon when the sunlight streaming through the hospital window stretched long.
Olivia knew why Evangeline had collapsed.
It was definitely not heatstroke, as the newspaper article said. The reason for her visit was actually to confirm something.
"Seymour."
Olivia, who had been silent all along, parted her lips.
Evangeline, leaning against the head of the bed, faced the woman with great tension.
What business did she have here? Was she such a pure and harmless person as to worry about the health of someone she had only met once?
Her eyes, filled with the yellowing sunlight, looked extremely kind.
"Aren't you curious as to why you lost consciousness, Seymour?"
"..."
"Ah! I guess you already know."
The momentarily reversed gaze flew like an arrow and pierced Evangeline as if to penetrate her.
Evangeline instinctively clutched the blanket, feeling a chilling sensation as if being pushed off a cliff.
It was suspicious, but could this woman have done something?
How?
Evangeline solidified her gaze.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Blanchett. I wasn't feeling well even before the game. You know that, don't you?"
Evangeline, who had not accurately grasped the situation, flatly denied it for the time being.
"I should have forfeited. I overdid it. You're a fellow player, so you must know how I feel. It's not easy to give up."
Crisis was an opportunity.
Depending on what this woman said, it seemed possible to pin this on Olivia Blanchett.
It wouldn't be strange if a woman called a heartless femme fatale had been blinded by her desire to win and put drugs in her opponent's water bottle.
But Evangeline's face turned blue at the words that followed.
"There was a witness. Someone saw your maid switching the water bottle."
"!"
The hand clutching the end of the pure white blanket trembled with shock, but there was no time to even recognize it.
"Were you instigated by Princess Anne Boleyn?"
"!"
She heard words that made her doubt her ears.
Not only had she betrayed the princess's expectations, but the noble princess's honor was being tarnished.
In an instant, fear crept in that the golden staircase that would connect her to high society would crumble like sand and disappear like dust.
"That's a ridiculous speculation. It has nothing to do with the princess. It was all because of my own greed."
Evangeline blurted it out without realizing it. Then, a bright blue gaze collided head-on.
Even though she was telling the truth, she felt a chill as if a cold energy was lingering around her heart.
"She has no reason to do that. Especially not to someone like you."
Evangeline tried to maintain her composure and spoke forcefully to avoid being pushed back. She even forced an elegant smile.
"That's right."
Olivia, who had been listening quietly, readily agreed.
Evangeline was relieved. At least she knew her place and was a woman who could communicate reasonably well. At least until the next words followed.
"Because she doesn't want to lose to someone like me."
The round eyes that had been staring at Evangeline slowly curved. Her crimson lips rose in a graceful line.
"That's what I think. What about you, Seymour?"
Olivia cornered Evangeline in a gentle voice. Her voice was calm, but the question that flew in was sharp.
When she met the blue eyes that she had thought were harmless, she felt as if she was being sucked into the abyss of the deep sea.
"...It has nothing to do with the princess. I just... I just wanted to prove my skills by beating you."
Now, Evangeline only hoped that the fire between Olivia and herself would not spread to Princess Anne Boleyn.
If she bought indifference and anger at the same time, her dream of the high society she had longed for would be over forever.
"It's something you shouldn't have done."
"I think I've been punished enough already."
My goodness. Madam Lauren and Evangeline Seymour too. Is shamelessness a national characteristic of the Britts?
Olivia sighed in disbelief and got up from her seat.
"I hope I don't see you on the tennis court again, Seymour."
"Why should I?"
"Because you're not qualified."
"I could sue you for orchestrating this. There are plenty of people who would claim to be witnesses if you gave them a few bucks."
Evangeline's eyes, driven to a dead end, were filled with venom.
But that was only for a moment, and Evangeline soon looked up at her with a blank face.
"Have you ever thought that I could do what you can do?"
Olivia Blanchett was smiling quietly.
The sky beyond the window was already tinged with pink. Olivia's eyes, which had seemed infinitely benevolent, sank.
"I wonder what kind of statement that witness will make."
Her gaze, which had been looking down at the cold teacup, turned to Evangeline.
"Where is your maid now?"
"..."
Evangeline felt goosebumps all over her body. She suddenly remembered the maid she had sent away to have a quiet conversation.
Could it be? Did she come to win over the maid?
Anger made her breathe heavily. She tasted a bitter taste as if she was bleeding from the inside of her cheek, which she was chewing on.
"I was going to show Seymour mercy. I was wrong. I understand your intentions. I'll see you in court next time. Well, take care."
Olivia turned away coldly.
Evangeline was terrified. Her vision became clouded.
The daughter of a merchant family involved in a disgraceful incident would not be accepted in high society.
If she couldn't mix in their world anyway, it would be foolish to let this woman go like this.
She does not care about means and methods for her purpose.
"The princess."
The sound of shoe heels leaving the hospital room stopped at the urgent cry.
"Princess Anne Boleyn ordered it... saying she would accept me as a member of the Royal Tennis Society."
Olivia slowly turned around.
"She told me to get rid of you..."
The colored streaks dyed Olivia's pure white blouse rose-colored.
Her eyes, sparkling like silver scales on a lake, stared at Evangeline.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"...I'm sorry."
Olivia, with a gentler smile, nodded.
"Can I trust you to testify to that in court?"
"Of course."
"Good. Oh, and your maid won't be coming back. You should find a new one."
Olivia smiled and left the hospital room.
Following Angela Birkin, Evangeline Seymour too.
One by one, the noose around Princess Anne Boleyn's neck was tightening.
In the commotion yesterday, Olivia saw it. When she turned her head to see if Anne, who had gone to call the medical staff, was coming, she saw someone placing a water bottle on the bench where she was sitting through the crowd.
'I was wrong to touch the item. But the maid's actions were suspicious, so I just put it back as it was. I had no other intentions. Really.'
The stadium staff strongly denied it.
A lie.
Olivia was sure.
The woman who had been instructed by Princess Anne Boleyn judged that she would naturally shift the blame to Seymour, who was about to compete with her, when her crime was discovered.
Of course, she threw away the water, cleaned the water bottle thoroughly, and refilled it with new water.
But.
She didn't expect Evangeline Seymour to collapse.
The road to the final seemed too rough. But she wasn't alone.
Olivia, who had stopped at the window in the hallway overlooking the hospital's small garden, shyly raised her hand and waved it slightly.
Edgar, sitting on the white fountain in the middle of the garden, was looking up at her and smiling.
Olivia watched the scene for a while and then started running down the hospital hallway, which was dyed in the sunset.
Towards the man who was waiting for her.
\*
What was waiting for Yohan at Greathill, who arrived close to midnight, was a telegram. He had been waiting and waiting for it all day.
His dull eyes immediately became clear. Yohan, burying himself in the soft leather sofa, scanned the telegram with a calm gaze.
Maurice clicked his tongue at the gaze that was clearly different from when he was dealing with a letter from Her Majesty the Queen or a speech from the Crown Prince.
The meaning of the encrypted text was roughly as follows.
Target of vigilance, Evangeline Seymour.
Eliminate risk factors.
Secure VIP safety.
It was a message from Sparrow, who had been assigned for security purposes beyond surveillance purposes after the Princess Anne Boleyn kidnapping incident.
After confirming the code name, it was an agent deployed at Dumblin Stadium.
"Maurice."
"Yes."
"Investigate whether Princess Anne Boleyn is involved."
The unstable gaslight flowed along his sharp facial lines. Yohan covered his eyes with his hand and tilted his head back.
"If there's no connection, create one. Use any means necessary."
Diane Brooke was enough.
He would not forgive the human who ruined Olivia's life and damaged her soul.
For that reason, Yohan had no intention of forgiving Annabelle Grace.
