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CHAPTER 66
“It’s definitely strange.”
Normally, people who buy poison also purchase an antidote—just in case.
Unless they intend to take the poison themselves and die.
In fact, most vendors even recommend buying the antidote together with the poison.
Yet Elise’s receipt contained no mention of an antidote.
‘But if she planned to follow the same scheme from the previous life, she’d definitely need an antidote.’
If she was going to stage a fake poisoning, the antidote was essential.
There’s no way she would carry out such a risky scheme just to die.
So what, then, was her actual plan for the poison?
‘Was she planning to pretend to drink it but only dip a spoon in to make it look like it was poisoned?’
Even with that explanation, something still didn’t sit right.
First, even if time rewound, people’s personalities don’t fundamentally change.
Circumstances might lead them to act differently, but for someone like Elise—who was once ruthless enough to drink poison herself—it made no sense for her to suddenly become cautious in this life.
And second—more importantly:
‘If she doesn’t go through with the fake poisoning… how does she plan to get rid of the baby?’
Using poison for dramatic effect and then doing something else to cause a miscarriage?
‘That’s inefficient and idiotic.’
Staging multiple incidents in a short time would only raise suspicions.
If Elise didn’t actually want to lose the baby, there was only one possibility left:
‘No way… is she planning to have the baby?’
But the pregnancy was a lie from the start.
A child that doesn’t exist can’t be born—so Elise would have to take another approach.
‘I just hope she hasn’t done something that horrifying…’
Dreading even the worst-case scenario, Leticia asked Idris:
“Can you find out if there’s a trafficking group operating within the capital?”
And the result was—
“Lady Elise Fran.”
Idris, who had silently walked up beside Leticia, held something out.
“We found this among the belongings of the traffickers.”
Elise’s eyes shook violently when she saw it.
It was a photo of Elise, with the description of a baby she had purchased written beside it.
It was a receipt confirming Elise had bought a newborn from the human trafficking ring.
“We’ll need to investigate this further. I’m afraid you’ll have to come with us.”
“……”
“Do you have anything else to say regarding this matter?”
Elise met Idris’s cold gaze—and her face went completely pale.
Only now did the full weight of what she’d done hit her.
A few days ago, after acquiring poison, Elise had gone to the traffickers and purchased a newborn due around her supposed due date.
‘Once the baby disappears, Feydan will fully return to me.’
So Elise had devised a two-part plan.
First, stage a poisoning incident to tarnish Leticia’s image and sever Feydan’s lingering attachment.
Then, continue pretending to be pregnant, retreat to her family estate, and return with the purchased baby.
But now, her entire plan had been utterly shattered.
“So… are you saying Lady Elise bought a baby just to fake her pregnancy and deceive everyone?”
“My goodness—how could she…!”
The noblewomen and ladies, now grasping the situation, gasped and murmured in horror.
Elise’s mind had gone completely blank, but she forced herself to say something—anything.
She stammered:
“I-I don’t know anything about this…! That evidence could be fabricated, someone could be trying to frame me—!”
But before she could even finish, Leticia cut her off.
“If you need more proof, why not search Lady Elise’s room at the duke’s estate?”
“……!”
“To afford a baby, she would’ve had to sell off all her dresses, jewelry… anything of value.”
“T-That’s just because I was planning to return to the duchy and didn’t need them anymore!”
Leticia nodded calmly, as if expecting that excuse.
“Sure, fine. Although it’s strange to sell everything all at once—unless you were planning to go naked when you got there—but let’s set that aside.”
Then came the next question.
“So where did all that money go?”
“……”
“Did you throw it away?”
“……”
“Or eat it?”
Her words struck a fatal blow to the holes in Elise’s argument.
“Answer me, Elise.”
“……”
“What do the two colors and number written beside your photo mean?”
As Leticia said, next to Elise’s photo were two colors—purple and navy blue—and the number 0.
Coincidentally, purple was the color of Elise’s eyes, and navy blue was the color of Feydan’s hair.
Still, Elise desperately feigned ignorance.
“How would I know? I have nothing to do with that—!”
“Then I’ll explain.”
Leticia calmly pointed to the colors and spoke.
“Eye color. Hair color. And…”
She then pointed to the final number.
“The child’s age.”
Following Leticia’s gaze, everyone turned toward the person at the center of this entire scandal.
Toward Elise, who stood staring at Leticia in shock.
Disgust. Horror. Pity.
Elise cowered, trying to shrink away from their collective gaze.
But there was no more escape—no more excuses.
Idris, who had been observing quietly, signaled to the knights waiting nearby.
They immediately moved in and grabbed Elise’s arms.
“Let go! Get your hands off me!”
Elise shook them off and suddenly lunged toward Leticia.
The knights tried to stop her, but Idris, noticing Leticia’s reaction, silently signaled them to hold back.
Staggering forward, Elise screamed with rage:
“I… I was first!”
“……”
“I met Feydan first, loved him first, and proposed marriage first!”
“……”
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been the duchess…!”
“……”
“You stole my place—why should I be the mistress? Why should I have to go this far just to take back what was mine?!”
Her voice had risen into a shrill, almost inhuman shriek.
The sight of Elise—once so delicate and pitiable—now twisted in madness was both grotesque and tragic.
Leticia, watching Elise’s final outburst in silence, finally spoke.
“How awful that must’ve felt.”
But despite the seemingly sympathetic words, her gaze toward Elise was cold and cutting.
“But did it ever occur to you that your resentment is completely misdirected?”
Leticia walked slowly toward her and continued.
“Until I met Feydan, you were never anything more than a friend to him.”
“……”
“So if he didn’t wait for you and chose to propose to me instead, shouldn’t you be resenting him, not me?”
“……”
“Whatever your grievances may be, Feydan married me. From that point on, no matter how you justify it—you became the mistress.”
From the moment she met with Feydan again while he was still married, Elise had crossed a line she could never return from.
“And now, you’ve become a criminal who bought a newborn baby.”
“No, I—!”
Elise looked around desperately.
But there was no one left to defend her. No one to take her side. No one who even wanted to.
It was total downfall.
That realization hit her like a plunge into a bottomless abyss.
Yet from within that despair, something else ignited—a final spark of madness.
Her eyes, which had been dazed moments ago, now gleamed with a chilling fury.
“I didn’t do anything wrong! It’s all, all your fault!”
She then lunged at Leticia as if to kill her.
But before she could even get close, the knights moved in and restrained her.
Still, she thrashed wildly and screamed:
“I’ll never let you get away with this! This isn’t over—this won’t be the end!”
The crazed woman before them no longer resembled the fragile Elise Fran they once knew.
Leticia, watching the downfall of the true villainess who had once made her out to be the evil one, gave a small nod.
Understanding her signal, Idris issued the command to the knights.
“Take her away.”
