"Miss." Catherine smiled. "Let me handle it, alright?"
She released Persephone's hand, gesturing for her to step aside, and began taking out the medicine packets from the cabinet.
Persephone stood by to watch silently, her heart beating faster and faster.
She felt like Catherine was counting something.
After a while, Catherine murmured to herself, "Why are these medicine packets… missing some?"
"What?" Persephone was stunned. "What's missing?"
"The quantity is short," Catherine said. She placed her hands on her hips and exhaled. "Miss, look, I remember clearly. There were 25 packs yesterday, but there are only 17 today. How could Mr. Rutherford possibly consume eight doses in a day?
"Moreover..." Catherine paused, lowering her voice. "Except for the first time I brought back and prepared a pack, Mr. Rutherford hasn't had any since then."
"Huh?" Persephone was shocked. "H-How do you know? Don't you prepare medicine for him every day?"
"I do prepare it, but he doesn't take it." Catherine looked at her. "When I went to clean his room, the flowers in his windowsill pot had withered, and the soil had a strong herbal scent. Miss, tell me, did he take the medicine or not?"
Persephone froze in place.
When she entered Seamus' room earlier, she also smelled the herbal scent. She had assumed it was because he took the medicine daily, hence the smell in the room.
It was actually from the flower pot...
Seamus must have known the medicine was problematic. That was why he hadn't taken it!
How could the medicine have gone wrong? And where did those missing packets go?
Persephone's legs felt weak, and she had to lean on the table for support.
"What you said earlier, what did you mean?" Persephone pressed.
Catherine didn't answer. "Leaving the quilt without sunning it invites mites. A quilt with mites can be aired, but if the heart houses poison, it won't be resolved by just airing it out."
She let go of Persephone's hand and slowly walked into the room.
Persephone stood there, her mind blank for a long while. These days, she felt like she was in a maze, unable to find an exit no matter how hard she tried. Now, not only could she not find a way out, but she couldn't even see the path beneath her feet clearly.
She felt like she was surrounded by fog, and there was no one she could trust.
Feeling helpless, she slowly crouched down and hugged her shoulders, a mix of helplessness and fear washing over her.
In spite of it, she fought back tears. When she calmed down, she understood that the only one who could save her was herself.
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