Veronica's mind buzzed loudly, which was reminiscent of the time she got into the car crash. Her mind was blank, and her ears were ringing. Eleanor went on for a while until she realized that Veronica was frozen in her seat, prompting her to wave her hand in front of Veronica. "Hey, are you okay?"
"What?" Veronica snapped back to reality as her focus returned, but her countenance was solemn. "Are you sure you didn't hold the watch wrongly?"
"How is that possible? There's a button for time adjustment on the watch. Master reminded me many times that the button is for dispatching the needle, and I pressed on it. I was surprised when I found out that the needle came out from the same side—from the eSIM card slot, to be precise—instead of the opposite end."
While speaking, she combed through memories from that day and added, "Master even turned around and checked the watch. He tried to release the needle one more time just to test it. I remember he looked super shocked, and his face was so pale, perhaps because he was poisoned…"
She glanced at Veronica and suddenly pointed at her. "That's right! He looked as pale as you are right now—" She stopped and frowned when she realized something was wrong. "Who gave him the watch?" she asked cautiously.
A smirk appeared on Veronica's pale face. "My master." She could tell that something was wrong judging from Matthew's behavior after he was poisoned and returned from the palace. She wondered if Crayson was involved in the poisoning, but Matthew kept denying it.
At first, she thought Crayson would not lay a finger on Matthew during the hunting because Matthew needed to protect her. She mistakenly believed that Crayson would choose a different time to get rid of Matthew, but she underestimated his desperation to remove him from the picture. How could he modify Matthew's watch?
Shocked, Eleanor finally understood the reason behind Matthew's response and why Veronica seemed as pale as her husband. "W-Waylen Elrod is your master. Why would he want to—"
Matthew was Veronica's husband, and both grew up in Bloomstead. However, she was also the ex-leader of the hidden clan. Waylen and Hayley tried so hard to reclaim power over the hidden clan because they wanted Veronica to inherit the position of the leader. However, she would never conform to that out of her undying love for Matthew, for whom she could sacrifice her life.
Enraged, Eleanor banged on the table. "What a rotten old chap! He's evil!" She huffed and puffed as she glared at Veronica. "I wouldn't have let my master go home if I had known! He's in danger when he's with you." She was struck by another sudden thought. "No wonder someone leaked the news to my mom. They told her someone would break into the research center to rescue Matthew. I bet it was the doing of that rotten old chap! That was a dirty move!"
Meanwhile, Veronica hung her head low as she was ridden with guilt. "Eleanor, I have a question."
"I'm talking about your horrible master. Don't change the topic."
Veronica ignored her and asked, "I know there's a huge wealth disparity. What would you do if you were the leader of the clan? How would you plan to improve livelihoods?"
The sudden shift in topic caught Eleanor off guard because Veronica seemed highly interested in the subject.
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