Freedom's Heart

Chapter 29

Angelina's POV

Of course, he would show up to gloat. It took him longer to make an appearance than I was expecting. I was beginning to think I got lucky and he wouldn't come here.

"You foolish girl. If you had conducted yourself as a proper member of my family, none of this would be happening now,"

My grandfather is getting cautious around me. A pair of knights wearing over-the-top golden armour and even a mage are present as he speaks to me. I guess the time I nearly caused him to fall out of the school must have made an impact on him. Still, it isn't enough. If I intended to kill him, my grandfather would die before his guards could even move an inch. Lucky for him, I am nothing like the person Angelina was meant to be.

"My friends are upset you turned down their children's invitations. If only you had gone, they could have been allies to you now instead of calling for your head,"

They don't sound like the type of people I would want as my allies in the first place. Anyone who wants to see an innocent person's death is not the kind of person I would have liked to get to know. As soon as Bozzair gets here, they will have no choice but to let me go.

"If you listen to me, I could help you," He says, offering me a cup of tea. "Work with me, and I will get you out of this mess. You are still a valuable asset to me. Your marriage to the prince is very beneficial in multiple ways."

Liar. But it is a smart move on his part. He isn't taken any chances, but my grandfather is a fool if he thinks I hadn't noticed he spiked the tea. I saw a glimpse of those pale herbs just before he filled my cup.

I had taken down a slavery ring while I was secretly leaving the house to be an adventurer. The gang used the same herbs to control the people they kidnapped. I have to give credit where credit is due. Those herbs are tasteless and dissolve in warm water. Just a single drop and the person who drinks it will struggle to think for themselves.

In the game, my grandfather was the mastermind behind the slave ring, and I would have helped him. He was the one who provided the herbs to that gang, but I couldn't prove it. Ever since I started to disobey him, I have had to keep a careful eye out for those herbs, or I could have become his slave.

But there is one problem with those herbs. If the person is aware of them, their effects are easy to remove. I drink the tea pretending not to notice the victorious look on my grandfather's face. It was too easy to secretly cast a cure-all spell on my tongue, naturalising the herb's effects. I have to force myself not to smile when I see my grandfather's confused look as I put down my glass. He should know not to underestimate me by now.

"W... well, I shall take my leave... I'll see you at your trial,"

"Have a good day, grandfather, and thank you for the wonderful tea,"

I politely smile as he leaves but immediately rush to wince my mouth clean as soon as he's gone. That black herb may have been tasteless, but that tea was so awful I could barely drink it. Saying it tasted wonderful was the biggest lie of my life. I have eaten such disgusting things since coming to this world, but nothing tasted as bad as that tea. He should be put on trial for that. It must be a crime to serve something so foul.

"Sister!" At least some company arrives that I don't want to kick out of the door. "Are you here? You haven't tried to escape, right?"

"Why should I run when I have done nothing wrong?" I return from the bathroom to find Noah, Marshall and Zeno. "What's wrong? I'm the one locked up, not you, so why do you all look so worried?"