Episode 82

I didn’t pay that sound any mind.

‘Probably one of the Duke’s close servants.’

Even if the Duke wasn’t present, the estate still belonged to him. Naturally, his closest aides would be watching everything.

My conversation with Servi would surely reach the Duke’s ears as well.

Thinking that, I looked at Servi.

“Answer me, Lord Servi. I asked if you’re interfering with something His Grace, the Duke, personally ordered.”

When I whispered those words, laced with arrogance, Servi’s eyes trembled fiercely for a brief moment before he spoke.

“Even Father would be furious if he knew you hurt Aria.”

“I didn’t hurt Aria.”

“She ended up like that after drinking the wine you touched.”

“And who said that? Aria? Or Seth?”

Even if Aria wasn’t the same Aria I once knew, I doubted she’d step forward this boldly.

‘She’s always used others to do her bidding.’

Like with the brooch, like at the summer villa. During the wine incident, she was alone—no one to do her dirty work.

Which means this time, she likely relied on Seth.

“Why did you trust Seth? Isn’t his credibility low these days?”

“Seth is the second son of House Reinhardt. If he’s lost trust, it’s because of your behavior.”

He was referring to the hunting festival and how I’d revealed my injury again at the summer villa with the fae wing cloak.

Blaming me every time—it was a talent in its own right.

“And yet, you trust that nonsense…”

“You know better than anyone that I’m not lying, don’t you? You’re intelligent, Lord Servi.”

I cut him off on purpose, flattering him with a smirk.

“Surely, when suspicions arose, you looked into the circumstances. You must’ve realized the evidence was far too lacking to accuse me of attempted murder.”

“……”

“And yet you dragged me here because Aria’s involved.”

I wore a pitiful expression.

“Poor Aria. Being used by Seth like that.”

In truth, Aria was probably the one using Seth—but to Servi, Aria was the sweet, lovely younger sister. It was better to phrase it this way.

“……”

His face remained unreadable, but the tight clench of his fist betrayed his inner turmoil. I sighed lightly.

“Seth’s always hated me. But… will you keep letting him do as he pleases?”

I made sure my words carried weight—not just for this incident, but all the past ones too. Enough to make Servi think of that oracle note I forged.

Servi and Seth, without a common enemy like me, were at their worst with each other right now.

“Shut it. You lowly—”

“Think carefully, brother.”

Calling him “brother” as if we were close made his expression falter further. I sighed again.

“I don’t resent you, brother. Everything you did to me… I’m sure it was for my sake.”

“……”

“But what about Seth? He’s your real brother, yet sometimes, it seems he causes you more trouble than I ever did.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Could that behavior negatively affect Aria, too…?”

Bang!

Servi slammed the bars hard and grabbed my hair. Honestly, he probably wanted to grab my scalp.

“You dare speak Aria’s name like that?”

His grip tightened painfully.

“Lord Servi.”

“How dare you!”

I saw that vile desire again in his furious eyes. I wanted to laugh bitterly, but the pressure was growing.

“Please let go, Lord Servi.”

“Ha!”

“If I get hurt, the Duke will—”

“Stop throwing Father’s name around.”

He spat, leaning in close. That’s when—

Bang!

A loud crash echoed from the entrance of the dungeon.

* * *

“Haa, haa…”

Aria exhaled in short, shallow breaths. Her body had already recovered, but her heart pounded from what she’d just heard.

“So it wasn’t sincere after all.”

She recalled the conversation she had overheard at the entrance of the dungeon, and her excitement flared.

At first, she hadn’t planned on eavesdropping. She was simply curious about how things were unfolding.

After all, Mindia’s actions had become one of her greatest interests.

But then Mindia confessed. She had seduced the Grand Duke because of her father’s orders.

“And yet she dared to poison me.”

Aria looked down at her hand, which still felt as if it were tingling.

After returning from the temple that day, Aria had cried for a long time. It had been too difficult to comprehend what had happened.

No one had ever rejected her before.

Everyone, young and old, had loved and cherished her. That affection was only natural, a reward for all she had suffered in the past.

So she had accepted that love without question.

She was Cinderella from the fairy tales, destined for a noble ending befitting her noble birth. Everything was simply being returned to its rightful owner. Even the Duke, her father, had said so.

And for the first time, she truly desired something.

Those lovely violet eyes, that sharp yet beautiful face.

Chris Elzerian was the one destined for her. But the fake Lady had stolen him.

Every time she remembered the cold eyes of the Grand Duke as he rejected the wine she offered, her chest ached as if it were being crushed.

Her heart pounded harder when she thought of the unopened letter he had sent her.

‘His Grace doesn’t know yet.’

She had refrained from revealing the letter, fearing it would put him in an awkward position. He would return to her soon anyway, so there was no reason to risk earning his ire.

At the same time, she had spread rumors about the letter’s existence to make it easier for him to come back to her. He loved her, Aria, yet was trapped with that Mindia.

Recalling the hand that reached out to her as she cried made it impossible not to believe.

‘Yes. He’ll return soon.’

Even thinking that, the hurt didn’t go away.

Unable to endure it, Aria eventually opened the wine that was meant for the Grand Duke. She thought if she drank, maybe she could forget the pain.

And when she awoke, she was on the floor.

Seth had just entered her room and was shaking her with a pale face.

‘Aria! Aria!’
‘Oh… Brother…’
‘That bottle! Isn’t that the wine meant for the Grand Duke?’

At his words, Aria gave a weak nod. His face grew ashen.

‘…You drank it?’

Overcome with grief, Aria confessed what had happened at the temple. Her body hurt, and she couldn’t stop crying. Listening to her, Seth became furious and asked again,

‘So you drank it? How much?’

Seth was strangely agitated. Almost terrified.

‘Just one sip. Just a single sip…’

In truth, it wasn’t even that.

The wine had tasted foul and bitter. The moment it touched her lips, she spat it out. She hadn’t swallowed a drop. Then she collapsed.

Upon hearing that, Seth let out a huge sigh of relief and said,

‘I’ll call a physician.’
‘Brother…’
‘The wine was poisoned.’

Even Aria’s eyes widened at that. She blinked in confusion.

‘How do you know that, Brother…?’
‘…It was that wench Mindia.’

Seth averted his gaze before speaking with certainty. His clenched fists trembled.

‘Yes. It was her. They say she touched the wine bottle.’

Now that he said it, Aria couldn’t help but believe him.

She had wanted to tell the Duke, but he had left the estate over territorial matters. He’d lost out on a mine he intended to purchase, and the old ones were drying up. He had gone to find a solution.

And so, Mindia had been captured.

Aria just wanted to ask her. Did you hate me that much? Why did you poison me?

But then…

‘The Duke ordered me to seduce His Grace, and I did my best. The result is our upcoming engagement.’

Aria didn’t need to hear anything else. She hurriedly walked away from the dungeon.

She had long suspected it. Ever since people whispered that Mindia was a woman who pursued powerful men.

To speak so brazenly of it… The Grand Duke should have heard it with his own ears.

“His Grace has been deceived all along.”

Thinking of the Grand Duke’s gaze upon Mindia, his hand wrapped around her waist, made Aria’s chest burn. That hand should have held her.

But now, truly—

“If I tell His Grace the truth…”

And just like fate, she saw a dark figure in the distance, a black cloak fluttering behind him. Aria gasped, covering her mouth. A tidal wave of emotions crashed over her.

“Your Grace!”

Another figure followed behind. The Crown Prince.

Aria didn’t know why the Crown Prince was here, but she didn’t care. He didn’t even look her way, and she ignored him in return. She ran straight to the Grand Duke.

“Your Grace, you’ve been deceived this whole time.”

“…Lady Aria Reinhardt.”

The Grand Duke greeted her with a stern expression. Aria spoke rapidly, overwhelmed.

“I just heard it… on the way here.”

“What did you hear?”

“Mindia’s confession. Not only did she poison me, but she also seduced Your Grace under false pretenses.”

“Lady Aria Reinhardt, calm yourself…”

“I heard it with my own ears!”

Even his low, beautiful voice couldn’t calm her. He had to know. He had to return to her—the real one, not the fake.

“She said she seduced Your Grace under the Duke’s orders, just now, in the dungeon—”

“…Dungeon, you said?”

The Grand Duke’s eyes instantly turned cold.