I sat cross-legged on my bed.
[Main Quest: Expose the Poisoner]
[Evidence Gathered: 0/3]
[Objectives:]
Obtain physical evidence of poison possession (0/1)
Find witness or corroborating evidence (0/1)
Present evidence to authority figure without being caught (0/1)
I leaned back against the rough wooden headboard, my mind working through the problem like debugging a broken codebase.
Problem One... Physical Evidence
I needed Vivienne's poison pouch.
That was the smoking gun. Literal, physical proof that she possessed the exact compounds used to poison me.
But getting it meant either stealing it from her person or finding where she kept it when she wasn't carrying it.
Both options were dangerous as hell.
Vivienne kept that pouch on her constantly during the day. At night, she presumably locked it away somewhere in her chambers.
Which meant I'd need to either pickpocket her—impossible with my current stats and zero stealth skills—or break into her room while she was asleep. Yeah suicidal.
I rubbed my temples, groaning.
Think. There has to be another angle.
Problem Two... Witness
This one was trickier. Who would testify against Vivienne?
The servants? Most of them either feared her or are loyal to the family. And none of them had directly witnessed her poisoning me, she's been too careful about that.
Agnes would have testified, had cared enough to speak up.
But she was gone.
My chest tightened at the thought, guilt twisting like a knife.
Focus. Can't change the past. Need to work with what I have.
Victor? Cedric? Father? Cassandra?
Victor didn't care about me enough to notice if I was being poisoned. Cedric actively hated me. Cassandra was a complete unknown—Jin's memories of his older sister were distant and cold, she was at academy, didn't used to beat him like Victor, but...
A shiver ran down my spine.
"She's more dangerous than him."
And Father... Father had made it clear I was a disappointment. Would he even believe me if I accused his wife?
Unlikely.
Which meant I needed either hard proof that was impossible to deny, or I needed to find someone outside the immediate family who would corroborate the story.
I needed solid proof. Multiple pieces of evidence that all pointed to the same conclusion. And I needed to present it in a way that didn't give Vivienne time to retaliate.
I opened my status window, checking my current capabilities.
[Status]
Name: Jin Raith
Age: 15
Class: Debugger
Level: 2
Exp: 50/250
Rank: F
MC (Mana Capacity): 1/50
HP: 124/180
MP: 28/45
STR: 3
VIT: 1 (+2)
INT: 45
WIS: 38
AGI: 3
LUK: 15
Allocation Points: 3
Active Skill: Debug Vision
Passive Skill: Poison Resistance (Intermediate - 56%)
My physical stats were still garbage.
I couldn't fight anyone, couldn't run fast, couldn't even stand for extended periods without getting tired.
But my INT and WIS were high. And I had Debug Vision.
I needed to play to my strengths which were information gathering, analysis, planning.
This wasn't a problem I could solve with brute force. This was a stealth mission where the enemy had home-field advantage and decades of experience.
I needed to be smarter, more careful, more thorough than Vivienne had ever been.
Then pushing myself off the bed, I moved to the door.
The hallway outside was quiet. Midday, most of the family would be occupied. Father in his study reviewing estate ledgers. Victor probably training in the courtyard or sleeping off lunch. Cedric... who knew what that brat did with his time.
And Vivienne?
I needed to find out.
I slipped into the hallway, moving quietly.
The manor during daylight was different from nighttime. Servants moved through corridors carrying laundry, cleaning supplies, meal trays.
I adopted Jin's posture. The sick boy taking a weak, pathetic walk for his health.
Nobody would question it. Nobody would care.
And then made my way down the main staircase. At the bottom, I paused, listening.
Voices drifted from the sitting room to my left. Female. Vivienne's distinctive tone.
Perfect. She was occupied.
I moved in the opposite direction, toward the east wing where the family's private chambers were located. This was risky.
But I needed information.
The east wing hallway was empty. I counted doors as I passed, Father's chambers at the far end, then Vivienne's room adjacent to it, then Victor's, then the room that had belonged to Cassandra before she'd left for the academy.
I stopped outside Vivienne's door.
My hand hovered over the handle.
This is stupid. This is incredibly stupid. If she catches me—
I turned the handle slowly.
Locked.
Of course it was locked. Vivienne wasn't an idiot.
I pulled my hand back and stepped away from the door, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Okay. Direct approach wasn't going to work. I needed to be smarter.
Debug Vision.
I focused on the door itself, letting the system analyze it.
[Object Analysis - Locked Door]
object_id: "door_vivienne_chambers"
type: "barrier"
material: "oak_wood_reinforced"
lock_type: "iron_mechanism_standard"
lock_status: LOCKED
key_location: "vivienne_personal_possession"
alternate_access: "window_exterior" | "servant_passage_hidden"
My eyes widened at the last line.
Servant passage?
I dismissed the analysis and looked around the hallway more carefully. Most old manors had hidden passages. I'd read about them in my old life, never thought I'd actually need to use one.
The wall beside Vivienne's door was paneled wood, decorative but functional. I ran my fingers along the seams, looking for anything unusual.
There, a slight gap in one panel, barely visible.
I pressed against it gently.
Click!
The panel swung inward, revealing a narrow passage barely wide enough for one person. Darkness stretched beyond, with faint light filtering from somewhere deeper in.
Holy shit. It actually exists.
I glanced down the hallway one more time, still empty, then slipped into the passage.
The panel closed behind me.
The passage was cramped and dusty, clearly not used regularly anymore. Cobwebs brushed against my face as I moved forward, following the faint light source.
After about ten feet, I found another panel. I pressed my eye to one of the holes.
Vivienne's chambers.
The room was elegant, expensive furniture, silk curtains, a large bed with embroidered linens. Everything arranged with perfect aesthetic precision.
The servant panel had a simple latch on this side. I lifted it carefully and pushed the panel open just enough to slip through.
I activated Debug Vision and started scanning systematically.
[Object Analysis: Wardrobe] - clothing, jewelry, nothing useful
[Object Analysis: Vanity Table] - cosmetics, hairpins, decorative items
I moved to the writing desk, rifling through papers as quickly as I dared. Letters to other noble families, expense reports, nothing incriminating.
Where would she keep the poison?
Think like a paranoid murderer.
Where would I hide something I used regularly but needed to keep secret?
Close by. Easy to access. But not obvious.
I scanned the room again, this time looking for hidden compartments.
[Object Analysis: Bedside Table]
object_id: "table_nightstand_01"
type: "furniture"
hidden_compartment: TRUE
compartment_status: LOCKED
contents: {
item_01: "leather_pouch" (alchemical)
item_02: "journal_personal"
item_03: "correspondence_sealed"
}
There.