Thud.

He drove the sword into the ground with a rough exhale.

An inner turbulence unlike his usual self.

It was not because of the embrace with her.

It was before that, actually.

The direct trigger had been the conversation with Alicia that preceded it.

‘You must trust me. I am prepared to bear anything. If it is necessary to achieve our goal.’

‘Is that truly so?’

‘Of course. It is my obligation.’

Just as she said, everything was an obligation.

The nights he would have to spend with her, the embraces, even each brief breath shared between them had to be obligations necessary for their respective goals.

‘Then why am I angry?’

A tangled mix of irritation and confusion.

He could not define the feeling even to himself, and frustration and restlessness hit him at the same time.

No,

perhaps he already knew.

Alicia’s red eyes, looking up at him.

Eyes full of pain. It was a gaze only someone who had lost someone precious could understand.

Right.

He should not have been curious.

A life already burdened by his own revenge had no room to drag another person along.

Revenge for my parents and my brother comes first.

Evander tried not to think of her eyes. To forcefully push away the strange pity taking root in a corner of his heart, he swung his sword again.

Then, at that moment,

“There you are.”

Lieutenant Derick approached.

“Phew. What is it?”

“About Her Highness the Grand Duchess. She turned out to be more forthcoming than I expected. She says she will share all the ingredients of the antidote.”

“……”

“However, I believe we should conduct an investigation to guard against any unforeseen circumstances.”

Evander gave a short nod at Derick’s suggestion that an investigation into Grand Duchess Alicia was needed.

“Fine. Do it.”

Evander kept his grip on the sword and fixed his gaze on the training dummy. And then,

“Hah!”

With a fierce cry, he cut the dummies down in a single stroke.

Thud. Thud thud.

More than ten dummies fell at once.

Lieutenant Derick let out a familiar exclamation of admiration.

“Never gets old. Truly worthy of the title of the strongest swordsman on the continent.”

A sincere compliment from a subordinate who had watched him for a long time. But he continued carefully.

“Even so, might you consider stopping here for today? The sun will be setting soon.”

It was a loyal subordinate’s counsel, worried about the Grand Duke’s health after skipping even lunch to train. But Evander, slowly running his thumb across his own lips, shook his head.

“No. I need to keep going.”

With a firm declaration, his sword cut through the air once more.

Whoosh.

Only the single-minded drive for revenge was to remain.

His training, meant to filter out every useless impurity, continued until the day went dark.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The evening meal.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

It was because of the subtle tension between them that had formed after the embrace.

Clink. Clink.

On the large dining table, the only sound was the iron knife touching the plate.

Grand Duke Evander was even quieter than usual. His eyes were dark and cold, impossible to read.

‘He seems displeased……’

Alicia felt frustrated by his unreadable state of mind. The frigid atmosphere pressed down on her like it might suffocate her.

‘Is he angry with me? Why?’

Unable to make sense of the coldness, Alicia drew a deep breath and steadied herself. This was not the time to be swayed by personal feelings.

“Your Highness.”

At Alicia’s call, Grand Duke Evander stopped eating and looked up.

“How is your headache?”

She broke the silence with effort.

She tried to keep both her expression and her tone as ordinary as possible, despite the unease within.

Grand Duke Evander looked at her for a moment, then answered in an indifferent tone.

“Still fine for now. How long will the medicine last?”

“It will wear off soon. It is closer to an antidote than a cure. I’ll give you a spare dose once the meal is finished.”

Grand Duke Evander, listening quietly, pointed his fork at a piece of meat on his plate.

“So there is likely poison in some of this food.”

“There is no way to know. It is not only the food. The water we wash with, the clothes we wear, even the bedding could carry the poison.”

“Truly a terrible thing. Poison meant to kill me is lurking everywhere I turn.”

“As I said, you need not worry about it any longer.”

“That I’m not worried about. I’ve already experienced firsthand that taking your antidote on time keeps me fine. What concerns me is something else entirely.”

Grand Duke Evander’s gaze turned to Alicia.

“How utterly composed you are, even in the middle of all this.”

Alicia’s eyes went wide for a moment.

She felt as though she had finally identified what had made the atmosphere uncomfortable all evening.

A sharp gaze swept over her.

“……”

Unable to reveal the secret she could never share, Alicia swallowed her answer and drew a slow breath.

Grand Duke Evander watched her, then rose from his seat.

“Tomorrow, there is a nuptial mass.”

It was a required ceremony in which the marriage was announced before the people of the principality, followed by a blessing service and confession presided over by a priest.

“Prepare without issue.”

“……Understood.”

With that stiff exchange, Grand Duke Evander left the dining room.

“Haa.”

Only then did Alicia let out a long sigh.

The secret she could not share pressed heavily on her chest.

But this was entirely her burden to carry. If it meant she could have her revenge, she had to endure even greater pain.

‘That is the only reason I am alive……’

What lay in her eyes as she pressed her lips together was a deep, unresolved ache.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

After finishing her meal, Alicia stepped outside the annex for a short walk.

She needed time to clear her mind of unnecessary feelings and sort through the other obligations she had to manage.

‘The most pressing thing right now is more antidote.

Grand Duke Evander’s extended absences to defend the northern front against the neighboring kingdom’s constant provocations were unavoidable.

‘I need to get more Siren’s Flower.’

She had enough for a few days, but additional supply was needed.

Lost in thought as she crossed the garden, she found herself off the path and walking through the grass.

Rina quickly guided her back to the path.

“Be careful, Miss. Snakes have been coming out often now that the weather is warming.”

Alicia’s eyes moved to the area around the walking path. Just as Rina said, small bonfires placed here and there were sending up white smoke.

“Those are all smoke fires to drive the snakes away.”

Alicia watched quietly and slowly nodded.

“Right. Even the most skilled snake handler would be as good as dead if they stuck their hand into a burrow trying to catch one.”

After a moment of thought, Alicia looked at Rina with a sudden flash of realization in her eyes.

“Rina. That flower I mentioned. You bought it from the Persephone Trading Company last time, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that was the only place that carried it. But what kind of flower is it that costs so much for a single root?”

“It can’t help being expensive. It only grows in a very particular place.”

The Forest of Monsters.

Everything currently traded on the market was smuggled out of the Forest of Monsters.

There were many plants and animals whose properties and toxicity had yet to be identified.

The Siren’s Flower was no different.

Right now it’s only known as a poisonous weed that causes stomach trouble. That’s why it’s still called Baby Fingers, not Siren’s Flower.

Named for its resemblance to a child’s fingers.

Which meant it was still easy to purchase for now.

“This time I need about ten times as much as before.”

“What? That would cost an enormous sum.”

“This should be enough.”

Alicia removed the ruby bracelet from her wrist and handed it over.

“……But this is something you treasure, Miss.”

“I need to make smoke.”

“Smoke?”

Alicia nodded.

There was a reason she intended to pay with the bracelet.

The Persephone Trading Company is run by Count Jeffrey.

A beautiful, expensive jewel.

But it had been a terrible instrument of m*rder, used in an attempt to poison a northern young lady.

A Grand Duchess paying for plants gathered from the Forest of Monsters with that very instrument.

‘I wonder what reaction you’ll have.’

Everything was a trap designed to make a cunning snake reveal itself.

Right. It was smoke.

And with a mischievous smile, Grand Duke Evander’s arms tightened around her visibly and firmly.

His scent and warmth, bringing back the memory of the previous night, were reaching Alicia in full.