I Became the Mother-in-law of the Regretful Female Lead

“Haa… My headache is particularly bad today. This won’t do. Call for doctor Zitmin.”

“Yes, madam!”

A couple of hours after a heated argument with Jeremyon.

As I rested in my quarters, I furrowed my brows in apparent pain and commanded the servant.

‘The truth is, this headache is a lie…’

Well, it’s not as if I’m perfectly fine either.

Ever since I started dealing with Jeremyon, I seem to get headaches just from thinking about him.

But it’s not as if the pain is bad enough to warrant calling a doctor.

Yet the reason I ordered my servant to summon Zitmin was…

‘Tonight is the night I will clear my name.’

To be honest, I hadn’t planned to carry out the operation so soon.

Originally, I intended to execute the plan about a week from now.

But Jeremyon changed my mind.

‘Tonight, I will break that bastard’s stubbornness once and for all.’

I had told my new stepson countless times that I wasn’t the culprit, but he never believed me. Tonight, I would finally reveal the true culprit.

As I ran through the plan one last time in my head, I heard a knock.

“Madam, it’s doctor Zitmin. May I come in?”

The key player in my plan had arrived, announcing his presence.

“I was informed you have a headache.”

Zitmin had been the Winder family’s doctor for over ten years, even before I came to this estate.

Since I’m generally in good health, I hadn’t had many interactions with him, but from his long tenure, he seemed well-trusted by the household.

“Yes, today the headache is so severe, I feel like I might lose my mind.”

“Could you please describe the symptoms in more detail? Pointing to the area that hurts would help.”

Though it was the first time I was receiving treatment from him outside of a routine checkup, he thoroughly checked my symptoms.

I quietly complied with his requests.

“This area here is throbbing intensely.”

Of course, that was a lie. It didn’t hurt at all, but I feigned pain as convincingly as I could.

“Hmm, I see… By the way, madam, though I didn’t mean to overhear, I heard there was a small commotion earlier with the count.”

I shot Zitmin a sharp look at the unexpected topic.

“And?”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to be rude, but it’s relevant to your diagnosis. Psychological factors can sometimes cause headaches.”

“Hmph, I don’t need to hear about that. Just give me the medicine. Even if it’s psychological, nothing can be done about it. Jeremyon has been like this for ages. I’ve been so stressed that I can’t stop drinking wine these days.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare the medication right away.”

I might have come off as a troublesome patient, but in fact, everything I said was part of the plan.

I continued to steer the operation.

“Yes, prepare the medicine, but make sure it can be taken with alcohol.”

Zitmin visibly hesitated at my request.

“However, madam, the ingredients in headache medicine generally don’t mix well with alcohol. Perhaps abstaining from alcohol for tonight…”

“Hmph, forget the medicine then. Leave. I’ve already decided to drink tonight. There’s a wine I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

“Ah, it seems you’ve acquired something rare.”

“Indeed. I found a fine one at the wine shop on Wellington Street.”

Zitmin fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking again.

“Sometimes a good wine can soothe the heart like medicine. Just don’t overdo it. I’ll take my leave now.”

Watching his gentle smile as he disappeared, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Now my part is done.’

All that’s left is to wait for the real culprit to show themselves.

Thud.

The door closed.

Zitmin, having left Vanessa’s quarters, made sure the door was securely shut.

And in that moment, the kind smile on his face twisted into one of madness.

‘Finally…! The day has come!’

He had waited so long for this moment.

With hurried but careful steps, Zitmin made his way back to his room.

There were only an hour or two left until the time Vanessa usually drank her wine. He had to complete all his preparations before then.

“I can’t miss this opportunity that has come after several years. Vanessa Winder, this time I will kill you.”

Zitmin, with a face filled with joy, found a glass bottle hidden deep in the pharmacy.

Inside was a potent poison that could cause death with just 1 mg.

He planned to kill Vanessa with this poison tonight.

“Ha…”

Zitmin sighed and turned the glass bottle around.

When he first received the drug from his master, the bottle was clearly full, but now it was nearly empty.

The reason was Vanessa.

About a year after Vanessa got married, six years ago, Zitmin received a special order from his master.

“Use this to kill Vanessa Winder. It is a potent poison called Botulinus, obtained from a distant land. This amount should be sufficient.”

At first, he thought there could be no easier command than this.

What his master had given him was a powerful poison, Botulinus. If he could introduce even a tiny amount into Vanessa’s body, he could easily complete the mission.

‘With this level of difficulty, I could finish it within a day.’

But that was just Zitmin’s delusion. Even after six years, Vanessa was still alive.

The reason for his continuous failure in the mission was none other than Vanessa’s mischief.

Initially, Zitmin tried to kill Vanessa by poisoning the wine served during meals.

But…

Clang!

Vanessa would throw the wine against the wall in her usual tantrums, shattering it instead of drinking.

This was not a one-time occurrence. Every time he tried to poison it, she smashed the wine bottle, resulting in her surviving without even tasting the poison.

Once, I had coated a needle with poison and secretly stuck it into a dress she often wore.

The moment she put on the dress, the needle would prick her body.

However, even on that day, she absurdly survived.

“Lady, how about wearing this dress again today?”

“Tch, are you suggesting I wear a dress I’ve already worn five times? How rude!”

In a fit of nonsensical rage, she tore the dress apart. And thus, the dress was discarded, along with the needle I had stuck in it.

‘Still, if I keep trying, she’ll eventually die.’

With that single belief, Zitmin continued to attempt to kill her, but… six years passed without any results.

“I don’t need incompetent hands that can’t even kill one foolish woman!”

Eventually, after a series of failures, Zitmin was abandoned by her master as well.

‘I must somehow kill Vanessa Winder and beg for my master’s forgiveness.’

With that mindset, He continued his assassination attempts, but soon, the poison she had was almost depleted. Just one or two uses left.

Thus, Zitmin waited for the day he could surely kill Vanessa.

Pretending to be a diligent doctor within the Winder estate, he lived in hiding for a long time.

And today.

After a long wait, that day had finally arrived.

Having slipped out of his room, Zitmin arrived at the wine cellar.

He evaded the lax security and the servants, pulling a syringe from his pocket.

Then, with a swift motion,

He carefully inserted the syringe into the cork and injected a small amount of poison.

At that moment, a wicked smile naturally spread across her face.

“Vanessa Winder… your tenacious life ends today!”

Having completed his task, Zitmin disappeared into the darkness, avoiding detection once more.

Thinking of the mansion soon to be filled with screams brought him a sense of relief.

“Lady, I will serve the appetizer now.”

In the dining room of the Winder estate.

Once again, the only one occupying the spacious table was Vanessa.

One, two.

As the number of plates on the table increased, for some reason, Vanessa’s expression grew darker. Just then, the maid, trembling and looking for cues, spoke up.

“…I believe I specifically asked for the wine to be served first.”

The maid, recalling her mistake, was startled and bowed her head.

“I-I’m so sorry, my lady! I’ll bring the wine right away!”

What the maid hurriedly brought was the precious wine procured for today.

Skillfully, she opened the wine and poured it into a glass.

Finally satisfied, Vanessa smiled and lifted her glass.

Then, with an expression full of anticipation, she brought the glass to her lips.

At that moment.

“Ahhh! My lady!”

Just as she elegantly sipped the wine, Vanessa collapsed to the floor.