Chapter 36
The next day, Evelyn woke up early to see Dyffrin off to work and have breakfast with Dunswell.
Fortunately, Dunswell seemed to be in a fairly good mood.
‘Though he’s probably just pretending.’
He likely didn’t sleep well due to thoughts about Amelia. However, he managed his emotions well, befitting his position as the Duke of Liwonoc.
“You’re going to take the horses to the competition grounds today, right?”
Evelyn asked and Dunswell took a sip of water before answering.
“That’s the plan. To ensure fairness, the horses are managed at the competition grounds from the day before.”
“Hmm… I guess there were more cases of doping horses than I thought.”
“They say it used to be more common in the past.”
Evelyn and Dunswell were conversing more comfortably than the previous day. The wall between them had significantly crumbled in just one day.
Evelyn’s eyes sparkled as she asked,
“Your Grace, may I go to the equestrian competition grounds with you today?”
“You want to…?”
“Yes. I’ve been very interested in horses since I was young. Although I haven’t had many opportunities to be around them, I still love seeing them. I used to go to the racetrack with my grandfather often.”
Dunswell was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected fact.
“There will mostly be men there, so it might be uncomfortable, but if you’re interested, you can come along.”
“Thank you.”
Evelyn smiled brightly, though her mind was busily calculating.
When Evelyn and Dunswell arrived at the competition grounds, they looked around the bustling area. It was filled with people who had come to register their horses.
“There are a lot of participants.”
“It seems especially crowded this year.”
At that moment, someone entered, drawing the attention of the crowd. It was Earl Harold Connor, last year’s champion.
In fact, he had won the competition every year since he started participating.
The Connor family estate had a long history of breeding excellent racehorses, and they even distributed high-quality breeds across various regions.
Given their deep connection with horses, it was no surprise that they were a dominant force in the competition.
As a result, Dunswell had always finished in second place. The rivalry between the two garnered much attention.
No matter how great the Duke of Liwonoc was, he couldn’t beat the Connor family, people would say.
Earl Connor not only participated in equestrian competitions but also in regular horse races, where he always placed first.
Thus, he was a star at the racetrack, attracting people who came specifically to see Harold.
Despite Harold’s overwhelming presence, Dunswell didn’t feel resentful. Instead, he held onto the goal of eventually defeating him.
“Ah, who do we have here? I didn’t realize the Duke of Liwonoc would be here so early.”
Harold, who had approached unnoticed, greeted them with a smug demeanor.
‘Of course, he wouldn’t know since we just arrived.
Evelyn thought sarcastically.
Harold acted like a king at this competition, knowing his influence, but seeing him in person, his arrogance wasn’t appealing.
“Earl Connor, it’s been a while.”
“Good to see you, Your Grace. You’ve brought a very sturdy horse again this time.”
“He’s one of my favorites.”
“But if the results are disappointing again, perhaps you should consider one of our horses. We’ve prepared a very spirited one just for you.”
It was a blatant mockery, implying, ‘If you keep losing, wouldn’t it be better to raise a horse from our stock?’
However, the Duke of Liwonoc seemed unbothered as he replied.
“The horse must be tired from the long journey. It needs some rest.”
“I’ve kept you too long without realizing it. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Harold stepped aside with an irritating smile. The Duke of Liwonoc led his horse to the stables.
The stables had partitions, with each section equipped with hay and water.
The stable master hurriedly approached Dunswell.
“Are you the Duke of Liwonoc?”
“Yes, I am.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. Please bring your horse this way.”
The place where Dunswell’s horse would stay was in the corner of the stable.
As Evelyn looked around the stable, she asked Dunswell,
“Your Grace, may I look around inside the stable? I’d like to see the other horses up close.”
“Go ahead.”
While Dunswell untied the reins and removed the saddle, Evelyn explored the stable.
The smell of manure and the distinctive scent of hay pricked her nose, but she ignored it and carefully examined the space as if on an adventure.
Then she noticed a glass bottle filled with dark brown liquid in the corner of the stable.
The liquid looked extremely suspicious.
In truth, Evelyn had been looking for such a suspicious liquid. That was the reason she had followed them all the way here.
‘I don’t remember the exact description from the novel, but it had a somewhat unusual color.’
Evelyn decided to break the glass bottle. She would gauge the reaction of the stable master.
Pretending to inspect the bottle, Evelyn lifted it and, seeing that Dunswell and the stable master were looking elsewhere, she threw it to the ground.
Crash!
With a loud noise, Evelyn exclaimed, “Oh my!” drawing their attention. The stable master rushed over with a pale face.
“W-What is this…?”
“I’m sorry, I accidentally broke the bottle…”
“How could you touch things without permission!”
The stable master shouted, forgetting that he was speaking to a noblewoman in his agitation.
“What should I do… If you tell me what it was, I’ll replace it with the same thing.”
“I need it for today!”
Dunswell intervened with an annoyed expression.
“I’ll have someone procure it immediately so it won’t be too late. Calm yourself.”
“But… it’s not that simple…”
The stable master muttered in frustration, his breath heavy, but he seemed unable to utter any more words, as if his tongue were tied.
Evelyn smiled inwardly. The stable master’s reaction confirmed what the liquid was. The suspicious brown liquid was likely a ‘veterinary sedative.’
The upcoming equestrian competition and Earl Harold Connor were deeply intertwined. In fact, the Connor family was the main sponsor of the event.
Thus, the head of the competition association discreetly helped ensure that Earl Harold Connor would win first place.
The method was simple. Under the guise of fairness, they kept the participants’ horses the day before and fed them hay laced with a small amount of sedative. The next day, the horses would appear slightly sluggish, though not noticeably so.
Naturally, Harold’s horse, which did not consume the sedative-laced hay, would run the best. This secret was the key to his victories.
Moreover, the competition was promoted with the catchy phrase, “Harold Connor vs. Dunswell Liwonoc! Will Harold Connor win again this time?” to advertise the horses bred by the Connor family.
In other words, the competition was rigged through dirty dealings.
This was described in the original novel during a scene where Fenris blackmailed the head of the equestrian competition association.
Knowing this, Evelyn had deliberately come here to find the sedative.
“Speak clearly. If it’s an important item, it must be procured immediately.”
Evelyn pressed, acting as if she knew nothing, causing the stable master to scratch his head in frustration.
It was obvious that the stable master was embarrassed to have the sedative discovered in front of the Duke of Liwonoc.
“What is this liquid that makes you so tight-lipped?”
Evelyn asked, dipping her finger into the liquid and bringing it to her nose, sniffing it.
“It smells sweet, like sugar water…”
As she pretended to taste it, the stable master quickly intervened, horrified.
“No, you mustn’t consume it!”
Dunswell’s eyebrows furrowed with intensity. He realized the stable master was hiding something.
“Why mustn’t it be consumed?”
“Ah… because… it’s a veterinary tranquilizer…”
Dunswell didn’t believe him.
“It seems an investigation is in order. I will take a small amount of this liquid with me.”
The stable master looked as though he were about to cry but dared not stop the Duke of Liwonoc.
* * *
Evelyn and Dunswell boarded the carriage to return to the mansion.
Dunswell had taken some of the brown liquid in a small glass bottle. The analysis results would be available in a week.
“It’s probably a veterinary sedative.”
Evelyn said, revealing the answer first.
She did so to take credit. If she took credit, Dunswell would acknowledge her contribution, which would later translate into compensation.
“A sedative…? How do you know that?”
“Veterinary sedatives have a sweet smell like that.”
Evelyn recounted a prepared fictional story.
“When I was little, a veterinarian came to operate on a sick horse. It smelled nice, so I touched the sedative and got scolded by my grandfather.”
“…Why do you think the sedative was in the stable?”
“Well, it’s just a guess, but maybe they mixed the sedative with the hay to weaken all the horses except for a specific one?”
Dunswell’s face turned grim with anger.
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LumpySpacePrincess
I really like how she uses her knowledge about the original story to her advantage. Most novels I’ve read so far, the FLs wouldn’t even know what to do with the information they have or they just use it at the beginning and fumble their way through the story.