Yes, he was always like that.

He had thought he had become normal for a moment since he was acting flustered around Rodi.

It was Ekision’s mistake.

“There’s a rookie here, and many eyes watching. So…”

Rodi’s large eyes trembled as she watched the man’s legs suddenly go straight, as if he had fainted.

That’s when Rodi firmly tapped Lexiard’s arm.

“Lexiard! Don’t do that!”

The smoke wavered, thinning and thickening again as if responding to Lexiard’s emotions.

Lexiard turned his head.

“Why? He bumped into you, Rodi.”

“Still, it’s dangerous! What if he didn’t know? We could just get an apology.”

Of course, the man who left without apologizing was wrong.

But Rodi was startled to see the man looking like he was about to die from being choked.

It was just a small bump. To Rodi, it seemed like too harsh a punishment.

Originally, she had planned to quickly get up and follow him to mention the collision.

But Lexiard’s ruthless action had frozen her in shock.

Having regained her senses, Rodi scolded Lexiard deliberately, showing no signs of fear.

Though Lexiard looked like he didn’t understand, he seemed willing to listen to Rodi as the smoke that had been gripping the man’s neck dissipated with a whisper.

As expected, the man couldn’t support himself and fainted.

When Ekision bent down and slapped the man’s cheek, he finally came to, coughing.

“Apologize.”

At Lexiard’s words, the man knelt down hurriedly while tears streamed down his face.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll be more careful when walking! I’m sorry to the rookie!”

When the man apologized while repeatedly banging his head on the floor, a startled Rodi replied, “It’s okay.”

“Go.”

“Get going now.”

“Yes, yes! Lord Lexiard, Sir Ekision, I’m sorry!”

The man bowed with his arms stiffly at his sides and fled like lightning.

Watching him leave, Rodi turned to Lexiard.

“They say to try talking first, and only use fists if that doesn’t work.”

“…Okay.”

Even after the man disappeared, Rodi’s nagging didn’t stop.

“Lexiard, you’re super strong. So let’s not do that.”

“Alright, I got it, Rodi.”

Somehow the scary atmosphere had disappeared, and it even felt like their ages had reversed, making Ekision turn around to suppress his laughter.

Busy with her scolding, Rodi belatedly examined Lexiard’s expression.

Lexiard was blinking with a shocked look on his face.

‘Is he, is he angry?’

Rodi realized she had unconsciously scolded him just like she would scold Jeno when surprised.

But what just happened looked too dangerous.

After thinking for a while, Rodi carefully picked what looked like the most delicious strawberry with a skewer, stood on her tiptoes, and dipped it in chocolate.

The strawberry was much smaller than the ones she had eaten at the restaurant recently, but even one piece was as sweet as three large strawberries combined.

“Lexiard, here.”

Lexiard’s gaze turned to Rodi.

Lexiard, whose expression had grown even colder at the unexpected situation, looked down at Rodi.

Though he looked twice as scary as usual, Rodi casually offered the strawberry again.

“Everything you gave me was delicious, but this is the best. And thank you for getting angry on my behalf.”

Only when Rodi brought the skewer close, insisting he eat it, did Lexiard’s expression gradually soften.

Then he opened his mouth indifferently.

Rodi quickly put the chocolate-covered strawberry in his mouth.

Rodi showed her teeth in a grin.

It was meant as a gesture of reconciliation.

“Delicious, right?”

“Yes.”

Ekision watched the two with crossed arms, then massaged his nape in relief.

There had been orders to immediately separate them if a dangerous situation arose.

Because of that, he would have had to intervene right away if things had become more precarious.

If they had been separated without properly resolving the situation, their relationship would have become much worse.

Ekision, who hadn’t wanted this to happen, was relieved that the commotion had passed safely.

“Well then, let’s go now.”

Ekision waved his hand at the still-terrified staff members, gesturing them to look away.

Then he skillfully put his arms around Rodi and Lexiard’s shoulders and led them back to their original seats.

As soon as the three sat down, Gemvil appeared.

“Gemvil, good work.”

Ekision raised his hand high to greet Gemvil.

Horas patted Gemvil’s shoulder, saying he’d worked hard.

Gemvil bowed deeply to Lexiard and then slumped into a chair.

“Gemvil, here! I brought this!”

Rodi offered Gemvil a fresh glass of juice that hadn’t been drunk yet.

She had picked it up on their way back to their seats, thinking the lemon-colored juice looked delicious.

The ice was still floating, so it must have been very refreshing.

Though she needed help from another staff member since she couldn’t reach it herself.

Everyone thought the staff had gone far away because of Lexiard, but one person had remained.

Gemvil, who seemed embarrassed as he rubbed his nape, glanced at her and silently accepted the juice glass.

Then he downed it in one shot.

“Wow, it’s all gone.”

“Thank you.”

At that moment.

Gemvil tilted his head as if something was strange.

“Does it taste bad?”

When Rodi asked, Gemvil kept touching his throat as if it hurt, then started coughing, “Khm, khm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait.”

Rodi sensed something was wrong and grabbed Gemvil’s arm.

At that moment, Gemvil swayed and collapsed to the side.

“Gemvil!”

“Gemvil!”

“What’s happening!”

Suddenly the surroundings became very chaotic, and Rodi’s eyes widened in shock.

It was because Gemvil was coughing up blood.

***

The banquet ended immediately.

“Everyone standby.”

However, the people in the banquet hall couldn’t leave and had to wait in standby mode.

The doors were firmly sealed, and only executives could come and go.

Of course, Rodi wasn’t included among those executives.

Not only was she a rookie, but more importantly, Gemvil had collapsed after drinking the beverage Rodi had brought.

Rather, she was designated as the primary suspect.

Originally, she should have been isolated immediately, but because Lexiard prevented it, she remained in one corner of the banquet hall.

Even after Gemvil was carried away, Rodi remained deathly pale from shock.

“Rodi.”

“……”

“Brodi.”

Lexiard turned completely to stand in front of Rodi.

“I didn’t do it.”

Rodi’s eyes were full of fear as she proclaimed her innocence.

“I know.”

“But he collapsed because of the juice I gave him.”

“Someone must have poisoned it beforehand. This happens often here, so don’t be surprised.”

“…What if Gemvil doesn’t wake up? He was coughing up so much blood…”

Lexiard placed his hand on Rodi’s head.

Rodi’s head naturally tilted up.

“It’s okay. They have plenty of antidotes here. They’ll find the culprit soon too.”

“……”

Everything had been so happy just moments ago.

After Horas took Gemvil away, Ekision quickly organized the surroundings before looking toward Lexiard and Rodi.

“Ah, this is troublesome.”

Despite being careful, it seemed someone had used a messy method today.

Though it would be fine once they found the culprit.

If they couldn’t find them immediately, it was clear Rodi wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment.

Everyone had been playing, eating, and drinking together, yet Gemvil collapsed after drinking the juice Rodi brought.

Of course, all food had been checked for safety before the banquet began.

Which meant someone had tampered with it during the banquet.

And unfortunately, Rodi had touched it.

Soon after, a poison detector entered the banquet hall with antidotes and began checking all the food.

***

No poison was found in any food except the juice Rodi had touched.

Just that one glass of juice.

Only the juice Gemvil drank showed a reaction.

It contained a nerve-paralyzing poison, but fortunately, there wasn’t much of it, and it had been diluted thanks to the ice.

It was different from the poison found on the woman Gemvil had caught earlier.

Body searches of all staff in the banquet hall were completed, but nothing suspicious was found except their usual weapons.

It would take time to determine whether it was meant to cause chaos, target one of the executives, or if it was aimed specifically at Gemvil.

Ekision whistled through his teeth as if he had expected this.

“It’s okay, Rodi. The culprit must be in here. Look carefully for anything suspicious hidden in their clothes.”

Rodi nodded at Lexiard’s words and began examining people one by one.

Rodi clenched her fists tightly to hide her fear.

Her small mind was working quickly to figure out how to prove her innocence.