I like the overall trajectory of the story so far, but the secret test of character with the amnesia tea was a bit off-putting. Why some people seem to think that emotional manipulation is a better gauge of character than open and honest communication is beyond me.
They summed it up pretty well in this chapter, I feel. Open and honest communication is ideal, but the problem is that both of things require the good faith participation of all parties involved. A person who doesn’t want you to know something can lie, dodge questions, or just say whatever it is they feel you want to hear, and it’s not always easy to know when someone is doing that. When a person doesn’t think they’re being observed/tested, however, they tend to be a bit more honest. Thus, the secret test of character.
Granted, I’m not sure if such measures were necessary here, but it is a major family secret, so the paranoia and least makes sense from a story perspective. My question is what exactly they were planning to do if he failed the test. Like, were they planning on to give him a second cup of tea? He already thinks you poisoned the first cup, so why would he accept any other drinks?