210 THE SEARCH FOR HOPE

Even though the atmosphere turned lighter with their jokes, their situation remained the same. Erin was still the suspect for poisoning the Queen and Azra was still under interrogation.

"What is it?" Zoe clasped her hands to her chest.

Any unstable piece of hope is enough for her to hold on to.

Erin pointed up her finger in excitement. "I remember Era stealing a cupcake from the basket!"

Zoe's eyebrows furrowed as she asked. "Era?"

"Let's go look for her!" Erin immediately scrambled away as she called out. "Era! Era!"

Zoe ran after her, but she grabbed her arm and asked. "Who exactly are we looking for?"

"She's one of the children here. Her hair was always in double pigtails. She's very mischievous so she could be everywhere. Excuse me, have you seen Era?" Erin asked the servants around. 

Zoe went down to memory lane as she remembered seeing a little girl with pigtails before. As she did so, she recalled the first time that they visited Lord Hou when Raigon lifted a little girl on her back. She was wearing her hair in pigtails.

'She must be Era!' Zoe's eyes widened as she understood.

"If she has eaten the cupcake and she didn't die, then it means the arsenic was put in the food either through the journey to the Lim's or even inside the Lim's Manor! She can be our hope!"

But her hands dropped down as another thought came to mind. "If ever it is true, will they believe us if she is on our own side? They might think that we are just making it up. This will just be all in vain." 

Zoe's eyes darted around. Now the other servants were already looking for her. She also tried to look around but nobody had seen her. Even her own mother.

"Has this happened before?" Erin asked her mother. 

Her mother bowed to her and replied in a frustrated voice. "Yes, milady. Several times to be exact. I apologized for the trouble that she caused." 

They didn't tell her about its connection to the Queen's poisoning so that she would not worry. She probably must have thought that she had just done another mischief.

"We can ask you then if you noticed her eating any cupcake that I made a few days ago. It is just a small cheesecake with chocolate toppings on top."

Her mother bowed to her again. "I'm sorry, milady. But I have not seen her eating any cupcakes inside the house. She was always outside, playing with her older cousins."

"How about any changes in her in the past few days? Have you seen anything like diarrhea, stomach cramps or fever?" Zoe grilled her this time. 

Food poisoning can take from one day to one week before they manifest depending on the amount that is ingested. The Queen must have ingested a lot for her body to react to it in a matter of hours.

Era's mother thought hard about her question. "I don't remember seeing her experience any of that. She was still jubilant and her trip to the bathroom is just normal."

Zoe's face lit up and so did Zoe. "We have a chance!" 

They continued to search for her even outside the Gates and the nearby neighborhood. They were all exhausted and tired as it was already past midnight. 

The servants' legs were already sprawled on the floor, their backs on the porches and their eyes were half asleep. 

They have been awake since early morning as it was their laundry day and have not taken a rest until now. 

"I will just check over there."

Zoe kept on searching for Era. If it is to save Azra or to make herself believe that she is not the prophesied queen she didn't know.

Her desire was so strong that she decided to check on Lord Hou's room which they failed to scan a while ago, thinking that Era will not go there.

It was vacant as of the moment while Lord Hou was still recuperating at a different room where servants can freely come and go. 

As Zoe opened the door, her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw Era on the floor. Pieces of broken glasses from a big picture frame were splattered on the floor. 

"Era!" She quickly ran to her and checked her out. Fortunately, she was not bleeding much except for some minor wounds that she acquired from little pieces of broken glasses around her.

She immediately picked her up and took her to a different room. 

"Era!" Her mother bolted to her side and cried her heart out. "What happened to her, milady?"

Zoe didn't tell them where she found her but pulled out her medical kit in her Hebao so she can clean and dress her wounds. 

"These are just minor wounds. It's nothing to worry about, milady." She gave her a reassuring smile. 

As she cleaned her up, she noticed that she was holding something in her hand. Zoe opened it and saw a key.

Erin's eyes widened as she remembered Lord Hou's last instruction to Azra. 

"Give it to me." She immediately picked it up and kept it in her pocket. 

Zoe nodded and continued to care for Era. She was unconscious and the cause of that is still unknown.

The other servants finally went to their quarters while Zoe, Erin and Era's mother waited beside her until they fell asleep.

Sooner than they expected, Era woke up and called out. "Mother…"

Her mother quickly stood up and embraced her. "Oh, Era! Are you all right?"

Her sudden actions disturbed Zoe and Erin as they woke up with her. It was already early in the morning.

Era nodded. But she asked. "Where is the key?"

"What key, my daughter?" Her mother furrowed her brows as she caressed her hair.

Erin narrowed her eyes on her. "How did you know about the key?"

************************************************************

We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.