Cedine closely observed the Duke’s actions as he subtly licked his lips and swallowed. He clearly wanted to eat. Should she give him a little push?

“The filling isn’t alcohol, it’s more like a purée jam. Personally, I found the kumquat flavor quite nice.”

“Kumquat…?”

“Yes, the sweet and sour taste was quite good.”

Was he imagining the sour kumquat jam flowing out when biting into the chocolate? The Duke swallowed again. His fingers twitched as if reaching for the plate. Cedine couldn’t help but wonder. Why is he holding back when he clearly wants to eat? The Duke finally shook his head.

“Are you really not going to have any?”

“Haha, that’s right. Somehow, I feel like if I start, I won’t be able to stop at just one or two. You’re still young, eat plenty.”

Cedine pointedly popped a chocolate bonbon into her mouth. Watch me, the young one, eat plenty while you, the old one, just look on. As she made a face melting with the sweet chocolate, the Duke’s regretful expression deepened. He unnecessarily gulped down the rosemary tea like water. Then, as if consoling himself, he muttered,

“I need to be careful until insulin comes out.”

At that moment, Cedine understood what it meant for blood to run cold. But she had to stay calm. She absolutely had to stay calm. If the Duke had deliberately dropped that hint, she absolutely couldn’t let on that she knew.

“…Insulin?”

Cedine tilted her head.

“What was that? It sounds like a term I’ve heard somewhere.”

She kept telling herself to act just like she did with the Duke’s daughter earlier. Praying that her voice wouldn’t tremble.

“How long has it been since you left the Intelligence Bureau that you’ve already forgotten basic knowledge?”

“You know that the basic knowledge required by the Intelligence Bureau is quite different from the general public’s standards, right? After cramming all sorts of knowledge for years, I think my brain is overloaded. These days, I’m even surprised at how quickly I’m forgetting what I’ve learned.”

Cedine added honestly that life as a viscountess, just enjoying herself, wasn’t bad either. Without the stress of exam preparation, she could sleep well, and she didn’t have acid reflux. She said she liked that better than the jewels Ivlik brought her.

The Duke looked at Cedine intently and then mumbled that he didn’t know exactly what insulin was either. He said he only knew it was related to diabetes treatment.

‘Is this how you’re going to wriggle out of it?’

Cedine praised the Duke, saying she didn’t know His Grace was interested in the medical field as well. The Duke subtly changed the subject, mentioning that a potential marriage partner for his daughter was generously supporting medical technology research. As far as Cedine knew, the Duke’s daughter would marry a hotel tycoon from overseas a few years later. There was no current marriage prospect.

“Then, take care on your way.”

“No need to see me out. Go back inside.”

Cedine and the Duke stayed in character until the end. Cedine waited until the Duke was out of sight before closing the front door.

The Duke had reprimanded Cedine about basic knowledge. However, he was originally even more ignorant about the medical field than Cedine. He only became well-versed in diabetes after his own body developed problems.

Cedine bit her lip hard. Insulin would be developed as a diabetes treatment five years from now. Frederick Banting, who would save countless lives through this development, had only graduated from university last year. The person himself hadn’t even joined the research team yet, so it didn’t make sense for Duke Crotsfield to know the term insulin.

‘The Duke must have regressed with his memories intact, just like me.’

Cedine became a bit confused.

‘I thought I regressed because of my strong will to uncover the truth about my sister’s death. But why did the Duke regress out of the blue?’

Could two people regress to the same time like this? The Duke was someone who would have lived well for ages even after Cedine’s death, so what tragic story could have caused him to regress? Cedine focused on the possibility that his mention of insulin might have been intentional. He might have been testing to see if she had regressed with future memories like himself.

The chain of questions suddenly led to a certain realization.

‘The Duke might know why I died.’

Articles about Cedine being shot at a vacation spot would have filled the front pages of newspapers. Sisters who had lost their parents in an accident, each dying in an explosion and a shooting incident. The misfortune that befell the Liere family, and so on. It was good material for sensational reporting, even involving the already famous Ivlik.

The police, reporters, and maybe even Ivlik would have joined forces to uncover the inside story. And since the Duke would have lived on after Cedine’s death, he would know how the investigation concluded.

‘I was so caught up in the thought that Ivlik might be my sister’s murderer that I was indifferent to my own death.’

At first, she vaguely thought it was the work of Ivlik’s political enemies. But now, the sudden thought occurred to her that the truth might be something else entirely.

* * *

Jonathan James Crotsfield gritted his teeth even in his sleep when he recalled the final moments of his past life. Karen Liere and Ivlik Wintermore. The two bastards conspired and deceived him for years. And as if that wasn’t enough, they killed him after 38 hours of torture.

“Damn that b*tch.”

Crotsfield clenched his fist. There was a reason why he was particularly obsessed with Karen’s death. At the time, important documents and keys were in Karen’s possession, and they disappeared without a trace along with the explosion.

Who was Karen? Even in missions far more difficult than that, Karen never made even the slightest mistake. But suddenly she’s involved in such a noisy incident like an explosion? Everything was suspicious and too coincidental. That’s why Crotsfield couldn’t help but question Karen’s death itself.

The men Crotsfield dispatched thoroughly searched Karen’s movements that day, but the items didn’t turn up. If only the documents had burned before his eyes, the aftertaste wouldn’t have been so foul.

However, the incident occurred about 300km away from the capital. Half of Karen’s face was blown off, and the items his life depended on seemed to have evaporated into thin air. Every day felt like sitting on a bed of thorns.

If by any chance the documents fell into the hands of his political enemies, he would be finished. His enemies would rush to the king, unable to contain their joy. The king would be shocked by what his trusted cousin had done behind his back.

Ah, what about the key that disappeared with the documents? It was the tool to open the vault of wealth that Crotsfield had accumulated by any means necessary. Gold bullion enough to easily buy a small country and one-of-a-kind artifacts were in that secret vault.

“Did that b*tch try to rob the vault overnight? I couldn’t even sleep properly because of the headache…”

Even with hundreds of private security guards spread around the vault, he couldn’t feel at ease. When he closed his eyes, he couldn’t help but imagine scenes of Karen deceiving the guards flawlessly and even mobilizing them to move the gold bullion.

But replacing the door with its special locking mechanism was problematic in its own way. It might draw the attention of his political enemies.

After Karen’s death, Crotsfield developed insomnia due to anxiety. There was the option of getting sleeping pills prescribed, but Crotsfield’s choice was a drink before bed. At first, just one drink helped. But gradually he had to increase the amount, and later he couldn’t sleep unless he drank almost to the point of unconsciousness.

After a year of this, the doctor diagnosed Crotsfield with alcoholism. The fatty meat dishes he ate with alcohol whenever he was stressed led to hyperlipidemia, and the chocolates he unconsciously devoured by the box resulted in a pre-diabetic condition.

[I’m sorry, but at this rate, I can only say that Your Grace has about a year left to live.]
[Did I hear that wrong? One year?]
[Yes, we’ll administer fluid therapy for alcohol addiction. To control hyperlipidemia, a very strict diet and exercise regimen is essential. In fact, these two are difficult to treat, but the most serious issue is diabetes.]
[Isn’t diabetes still in the pre-stage? Can’t we just cut out chocolate, bread, and candy? Or take some medicine?]
[To conclude, there is no medicine that can cure diabetes.]
[What do you mean…]
[Someone somewhere must be researching it. But nothing has been announced so far. The current medical community cannot cure diabetes. Prevention is the only best option. And at this rate, Your Grace will soon be confirmed.]