CHAPTER ONE.

The Duchess of Cardius’s Winter

One month before Iren died.

Iren was afraid of spending time with Lahart, who visited her every night.

Her hands trembled as she unbuttoned his white shirt. Every night, she personally took off his clothes, but she felt tense every time she undressed him.

Flop. The thin fabric fell to the floor. His exposed body, finally revealed, was grotesque yet beautiful.

Iren’s pupils twisted with pain.

“Why. Do you suddenly feel repulsed again?”

“…I’m sorry. It’s not that…”

“Then it seems to be getting worse by the day.”

Lahart, who was sitting on the bed, slowly stood up and faced Iren. Due to his muscular build, his chest extended towards Iren when he positioned himself in front of her.

Iren lowered her head, blushing. Her husband’s chest, which filled her field of vision, was covered in firm muscles. His pectoral muscles drew thick lines, which didn’t match his graceful and beautiful face. Even after lowering her head, Iren found herself taking a deep breath for no reason.

They were a married couple who spent every night together, yet Iren still felt embarrassed about facing his bare skin like this.

But Lahart misunderstood Iren’s intentions. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up.

“…Huh.”

“Look straight at me.”

When Iren met his gaze, he furrowed his eyebrows. He meant for her to look at his body, not his eyes.

Iren obediently lowered her gaze.

“You ruined me. This is the result of your sins.”

Purple-black marks that started from his neck covered Lahart’s upper body. Not only that, unusual blood vessels protruded here and there, and his skin was distorted.

The nauseating smell emanating from his discolored side contrasted with the clean skin on the unaffected side, making it seem even more terrible.

It didn’t match his face which was sculpted like the cleanest and purest northern snow and ice.

“Tell me, Iren. Is the position of a duchess that tempting? Tempting enough to poison me?”

“No.”

“Lies.”

Lahart gently flicked Iren’s lower lip with his thumb.

Iren closed her eyes. Her submissive attitude seemed to say, ‘do whatever you want, bite my lip, or pull out my tongue.’

Lahart was also displeased with this. Agreeing to whatever he did ultimately meant acknowledging her own sins.

In that case, you could have told the truth. You intentionally poisoned yourself in order to aim for the position of the duchess. You wanted to marry me using the antidote as an excuse.

But Iren never told me the reason why she poisoned me, not even once.

Still,

“I’m sorry, Duke. I’m truly sorry.”

When you press her like this, she will always admit her wrongdoings.

Every time Iren apologizes, I want to break her pale, slender neck.

It wasn’t just anger towards Iren. It was also anger towards himself, the foolish person who had to fall victim to her poison without knowing the reason. It was also his resentment towards his completely ruined life after that day.

“Just endure it until the antidote is complete… Just until then, please bear with it.”

Transparent tears fell from Iren’s two eyes.

Lahart stared intently at Iren’s tear that fell on his purple hand, and brought his lips to the corner of her eyes. His tongue, which crushed her round teardrops, slowly licked her swollen eye.

But her tears could never become an antidote. Rather, it was closer to a poison that incited him. As evidence, an intense thirst began to boil within him.

“What do you want me to endure?”

“After the antidote is complete, you can kill me. No, please kill me.”

Lahart smirked. Iren opened her eyes at his clear ridicule.

Her blue-colored tear-stricken eyes always reminded him of poison because of the intensity of its color.

He couldn’t pluck out her irises.

Tch, Lahart clicked his tongue and smiled with a more affectionate smile. The smile gracing his face was unrealistically beautiful.

“Foolish Irelaide.”

He held her silvery-white hair in his hand and kissed her lips. There was a faint herbal scent emanating from her hair.

Her unique scent that couldn’t be erased even with perfume.

Lahart hated it so much.

“I don’t have any intention of killing you. You must not die before me.”

You probably think everything will end if you die. That you could be at ease.

I had already grasped Iren’s shallow thinking.

She had committed an unforgivable sin. Even if she could create an antidote, it couldn’t compensate for his painful past filled with suffering.

Lahart had no intention of forgiving Iren in any way. Even if it meant death.

“So, do your best to endure. No matter what pain or harship.”

Just as I did.

Lahart took Iren’s hand and placed it on his chest. Biting her lips, Iren began to apply the ointment quietly.

It was a pain-relieving ointment. Lahart, who had been poisoned by a deadly toxin, couldn’t sleep without a painkiller.

A drop of blood soon fell from her lips. Lahart licked the red blood flowing down her slender chin. And he swallowed Iren’s blood-stained lips without any hesitation.

“Hm, ha… Hmngg.”

Their tongues tangled and saliva mixed within her narrow mouth. Lahart’s tongue moved fiercely, exploring every corner of her mouth. Iren was overwhelmed just by accepting his rough kiss.

“Why are you stopping? Keep applying it.”

“Huh…”

Lacking strength, Iren did her best to follow Lahart’s command. But with her weakened hands, all she could do was clumsily touch his chest instead of properly applying the ointment.

Lahart neither restrained Iren nor reprimanded her. Instead, he actively lusted over her body. It was a shameless attitude, as though he was saying, ‘if you touch me, I will touch you, too.’

Of course, even if that were not the case, he had every right to take her as he pleased.

Irelaide Cardius was his wife and the sinner who committed an unforgivable sin against him, the Duke.

“Ah… Duke… hmmh…”

Lahart’s er*ect c*ck brushed against Iren’s thin chemise and pants. She grabbed his shoulders with both hands, clinging to him.

Lahart briefly sneered at her, then lifted her skirt. Afterward, he firmly inserted himself between Iren’s legs and slowly moved his waist.

Soon, a small moan escaped Iren’s lips.

* * *

The Duchy of Cardius begins its schedule early in the morning. The Duke, Lahart Cardius, couldn’t sleep for more than four hours due to his physical condition.

After finishing his early morning training, Lahart has breakfast. His wife, Irelaide Cardius, was always by his side as they enter the dining hall.

Lahart escorted Iren to her seat, giving her a gentle kiss on each cheek before heading to his own seat.

But none of the staff working at the duchy approved of the relationship between the two.

“Iren, what’s your schedule for today?”

“I have official duties in the morning and will be in the laboratory in the afternoon.”

“I see. Researching that useless antidote again.”

Lahart’s distorted voice focused on Iren, crossing the long dining table.

Iren silently cut the bread and spread the butter. Even though she had no appetite, she had to pretend to eat. Otherwise, she would receive Lahart’s biting remark, asking if she wanted to starve to death.

“How long has it been since you started researching the antidote?”

“Five years.”

“That should be sufficient, shouldn’t it?”

Iren spread butter on top of butter. She didn’t answer because it seemed like Lahart didn’t want an answer.

Lahart added in a leisurely tone, to confirm if her thoughts were correct.

“I’ll be deceived if you put in the effort, so stop your research.”

“…Deceived?”

“It means you don’t have to pretend to research the antidote for me.”

“I’m not pretending. I really…!”

“Then why couldn’t you complete it in five years? It’s not just anyone; it’s you, who inherits Phaeson’s bloodline.”

Phason. The accursed name of a poisonous bloodline.

The Phaeson family that Iren was born into was a lineage that dealt with poisons for generations.

Due to the nature of poisons, the people of Phaeson were sinister, eerie, and were treated as cunning and unpredictable beings.

Whenever there was a case of poisoning, everyone suspected the Phaeson family. Even if they were saved by an antidote, the eyes of suspicion didn’t easily fade away.

Iren hated the surname Phaeson.

“I don’t like medicines that harm others. I want to create medicines that save people!”

If she could, she would have cut it off, but that was impossible for a powerless child. So from a young age, she immersed herself in researching antidotes rather than poisons.

In truth, poisons and antidotes were inseparable, like the two sides of a coin. Antidotes were necessary for poisons to be complete.

Unfortunately, the poison Lahart had consumed was a lethal toxin without an antidote.

A poison that had been painstakingly crafted for a very long time, the best and the worst.

Iren clenched her fists underneath the table.

“It may sound like an excuse, but the poison that harmed the Duke is not just one type—it’s a mixture of various types. But I’ve almost figured out the structure. If you give me a little more time, I can complete the antidote for all poisons…”

“For every poison there is an antidote.”

Lahart caught onto what Iren was about to say. Iren looked at Lahart, who was sitting at the end of the long table.

Although the distance between them was too far to see him clearly, she could clearly see one side of his mouth twisted into a smile.

“I believed those words and waited for five years. I even endured the scent of herbs wafting through my mansion for five years.”

“Duke, if you just give me a little more time…!”

“I’m sick and tired of it. The poison and the scent of herbs emanating from your body.”

Despair flickered in Iren’s eyes.

Since she was dealing with herbs and toxic plants for the ingredients of the antidote, it was unavoidable that the smell would emanate from her.

Even though she took a bath and sprayed perfume diligently before encountering Lahart, it wasn’t enough to cover the lingering scent on her body.

Just like how she couldn’t erase the blood of Phaeson flowing within her.

“One month.”

Lahart wiped his mouth with a napkin and got up. Iren followed suit and rose from her chair. Lahart extended his hand, gesturing for her not to come.

“My patience has reached its limit, Iren. In a month’s time, I will demolish the lab no matter what you do.”

After he finished speaking, he walked out of the dining hall with wide strides. Left alone, Iren staggered and hesitated before sitting back down on the chair.

It felt like receiving a death sentence. No, a death sentence might even be more comforting.

If she dies… if she dies, she can escape from all of this.

But Lahart would not tolerate her death.

Wherever she went, there were at least five guards following her like shadows. She didn’t even know how many more guards were trailing behind her.

‘I have to find a way within a month.’

She absolutely had to create an antidote.

It was her who destroyed Lahart.

Iren sighed and reached towards the silverware. But the servants had began to clean up the table.

The butler quietly spoke by her side.

“Now that the master has finished his meal, may I clear the dishes now? Is it alright with you?”

“What are you saying? The Madam hasn’t…!”

“Jane, stay calm. That’s how it is.”

“Understood. Shall I bring it to the study then?”

The butler gestured with his eyes towards the bread that Iren had buttered. The untouched bread had gone cold.

To finish a meal she hadn’t even started and to bring her cold food was not just disrespectful towards Iren, it was an outright insult.

Jane’s face turned red, but Iren calmly stood up without showing any signs of anger.

“I have no appetite. You can clear it away.”

The butler nodded slightly. The waiting servant promptly cleared the plate with the bread.

Iren headed straight to her own study.

The butler, the head maid, and even the servants in the dining hall didn’t greet her as she left the room.

* * *