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Chapter 24
Edmund’s expression hardened.
Still, he acknowledged with reason that Willes was right.
Edmund was already heavily poisoned, and he needed to be even more cautious.
“Alright.”
So, with no real alternative, Edmund handed the fountain pen over to Willes.
But he didn’t forget to add,
“If there’s nothing wrong with it, make sure you bring it back.”
“…Yes.”
Willes swallowed a sigh.
Edmund seemed to believe that he was rationally suspecting and keeping Cassia in check.
But to a third party, that wasn’t how it looked.
He was a boy who had spent a lonely and painful time during the period when he most needed parental affection and care.
It was only natural that he would want to rely on someone and exchange affection.
‘And if that someone happens to be a pretty girl his own age…’
There was no need to say more.
‘He’s already completely fallen for her.’
Willes almost wished that some poison or curse would emerge from the fountain pen.
But despite his thorough inspection, nothing dangerous was found.
In the end, two or three days later, the fountain pen returned to Edmund’s hands.
While I was busy handling matters inside the villa, someone came again from the main house.
Between taking care of work, watching Edmund, and preparing for escape, I barely had a moment to breathe.
‘Who’s here to interfere again?!’
But this time, the “person” hadn’t come to see me directly.
A footman who served Patrick personally brought a bouquet of flowers, desserts, and a letter.
Around me, people were staring with sparkling eyes.
I could practically see the thought in their gazes: We should flatter her more!
‘Well, I am Edmund’s wife in name—no one expects me to refuse this.’
Thinking about it, that was only natural.
Among everyone in this villa, save for three people, they all believed Patrick would become the next duke.
Even if it was only a temporary position as a lover, they likely thought it better than being Edmund’s wife.
I smiled brightly and answered readily.
“Please convey my thanks to Sir Patrick.”
“Yes, and if possible, he said he would like a reply from Lady Florence.”
“No. I will accept only the sentiment with gratitude, so take everything back with you.”
“…Pardon?”
Not only the footman, but even the maids attending nearby were stunned.
One maid holding a teapot nearly dropped and shattered it.
The footman asked again, as if he couldn’t believe her refusal.
“You wish me to take everything back?”
Cassia deliberately put on a sorrowful expression.
Lowering her long eyelashes to cast a shadow, she looked utterly miserable and regretful.
Her sigh even seemed tinged with fear.
The footman asked urgently,
“Is there a reason you are suddenly refusing Lord Patrick’s gift? You accepted it gladly last time, didn’t you?”
If he returned after being rejected like this, still carrying the gifts, the aftermath would be unbearable.
Patrick’s temperament was worse than the duke’s—never better.
“I would like to accept Lord Patrick’s kindness as well, but… I think it will be difficult from now on.”
She even indirectly ordered that no more gifts be sent.
The footman grew increasingly anxious.
“Did Lord Edmund perhaps find out and say something?”
The reason he deliberately mentioned Edmund was simple—Patrick was concerned about him.
“A mere child, but if he tries to interfere just because you’re my wife, I wouldn’t mind teaching him a lesson.”
To the point that one might suspect this was the true purpose of approaching Cassia, Patrick’s malice toward Edmund overflowed.
But Cassia widened her eyes.
“Why is that coming up now?”
Outwardly, Cassia was playing the role of the duke’s loyal subordinate well.
She was monitoring Edmund and faithfully feeding him poison.
Her attitude made it abundantly clear that she didn’t even regard Edmund as her husband.
“Then why exactly can you not accept the gift?”
Cassia once again became a tragic, sorrowful girl.
“Lady Lilyfen visited here not long ago.”
“…Yes?”
Lady Lilyfen was a close aide of the duchess.
The duchess was obsessively protective of her only son.
‘Don’t tell me…’
And that suspicion was correct.
“The duchess told me that marriage talks concerning Lord Patrick are underway. So from now on… please tell him I cannot accept such gifts.”
After saying what she needed to say, Cassia dismissed the footman outright.
He had no choice but to return, dazed, carrying all the gifts and the letter he had brought.
And from the bedroom window of his own room, Edmund witnessed the entire scene.
Crash! Clatter!
An ornate vase, a crystal paperweight, and an ink bottle shattered.
High-quality writing instruments and papers were torn apart and ruined.
“Patrick? What on earth is going on?!”
The duchess rushed in, horrified by the sound of her son causing havoc.
“Patrick! My dear!”
In his rampage, her precious son had injured his hand.
She had medicine and bandages brought and personally tended to his wound, asking gently as she did.
It was a rare sight from a woman who was usually icy toward servants.
“You haven’t hurt your precious body too badly, have you? No matter how angry you are, you mustn’t harm yourself.”
Patrick, his face flushed with rage, slapped his mother’s hand away and demanded,
“Is it true?”
“…What is?”
“Cassia!”
“Who are you talking about?”
Naturally, the duchess did not remember Cassia’s name.
“The girl you brought into the villa!”
“Ah. The one brought in to deal with Edmund.”
Patrick pressed his mother with cold eyes.
“She said you ordered her to reject me.”
“…I don’t know about that. I don’t pay much attention to such things. She probably thought you were far too much for her and withdrew on her own.”
The duchess skillfully concealed her true feelings.
‘She took the money, so she should at least do the job properly. Why use me as an excuse?’
But Patrick didn’t let it go easily.
“There’s no way such a young, powerless girl would dare reject me. You stepped in, so she panicked and ran, didn’t she?!”
“Patrick. Mother didn’t.”
“How dare she! How dare some young girl from such a lowly family reject me—reject me…!”
Bang!
Unable to contain his fury, Patrick slammed his fist into the wall.
“Mother merely told her to know her place and serve you properly. For such a base creature to wound your pride—unforgivable.”
A chilling light flickered in the duchess’s eyes.
“I will make that insolent girl pay the price for hurting your feelings.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll simply drive her out.”
Patrick shook his head.
“No.”
The duchess froze.
“What?”
“I don’t want that.”
His eyes were unsettling.
“Please don’t interfere, Mother.”
He was only sixteen. She had always thought of him as a child still in her arms.
But this was the first time she had seen such a strange expression on her son’s face.
Such obsession.
The duchess asked in a slightly trembling voice,
“My dear. You remember, don’t you? You are currently in marriage talks with the Zenobia imperial family. With the imperial family.”
“I know. What does that have to do with anything? She wouldn’t be my lawful wife anyway.”
“……”
He wasn’t wrong.
That was precisely why the duchess had ordered Cassia not to aim for Patrick’s position as wife.
But something felt off. Ominous.
And besides—
‘That Edmund brat is still alive, so Patrick hasn’t even become the young duke yet!’
Her husband had spared Edmund, saying there was more to investigate.
His very existence was irritating enough to make her want him dead.
‘And now even his so-called wife is causing trouble like this…!’
Anxiety surged in the duchess’s chest.
She couldn’t just let things remain as they were.
The next day.
The nursemaid cautiously asked Cassia,
“Little madam, what should we do with this bouquet? It’s all wilted.”
“Oh, that?”
She was referring to Patrick’s bouquet sitting in the corner of the drawing room.
Without the slightest hesitation, Cassia replied,
“Throw it away.”
Edmund, who happened to be nearby, asked,
“Is it really alright to throw it away like that?”
The boy knew very well who had sent those flowers.
The miserable memory of standing there with his shabby daisy bouquet while looking at those splendid roses was still vivid.
Cassia replied casually while processing documents,
“They’ve all wilted, so they should be thrown out. Ah—do you want them, by any chance?”
“Of course not!”
Edmund shuddered and recoiled in disgust.
As the maids cleared away the vase and flowers, Cassia smiled brightly and gave another order.
“Oh. Fresh flowers smell too strong, I don’t like them. I have dried flowers prepared in my bedroom—put those there instead.”
“Yes, madam.”
When the nursemaid brought the dried flowers, Edmund was shocked.
They looked slightly different, but he knew them well.
‘Why is that here?’
They were the daisy bouquet he himself had made—and angrily thrown away.
