Chapter 4.11

“This year’s stag trophy also goes to His Grace, Duke Valentine Winchester!”  

It was a predictable outcome. Valentine swept the hunting festival trophies every year.  

He lifted the trophy and gave a slight bow.  

Before him, on the stone altar, lay a large stag.  

Applause erupted from the crowd.  

Isabel confidently walked onto the stage as if she had been waiting for this moment.  

The host spoke.  

“Then let us present this stag to your partner, the Duchess of Winchester….”  

“No.”  

Valentine shook his head briefly.  

“Pardon?”  

“I will not present it.”  

Valentine’s response caused murmurs among the crowd.  

It was customary for the stag from the hunting festival to be dedicated to one’s lover or closest family member.  

Before the flustered host could say anything further, Valentine opened his mouth.  

“The early winter hunting festival is held to give thanks for the year’s harvest. Shouldn’t the head of a household be most grateful to those who manage the estate? Therefore, I will dedicate this stag to host a feast for Winchester’s employees.”  

Valentine finished speaking with a faint smile.  

The crowd stared at him with blank expressions.  

The bewildered host quickly exclaimed in admiration to recover the situation.  

“His Grace is indeed… magnanimous!”  

The people, glancing at each other, hesitantly clapped and cheered.  

Isabel’s face flushed red with anger.  

However, she forced a smile, pretending to have anticipated this, and nodded her head.  

“As expected of you, Honey.”  

Her lips trembled slightly.  

“To show mercy even to lowly employees… Winchester is truly different.”  

“Thank you. Of course, you’ll also receive a stag steak, so don’t feel too disappointed.”  

Valentine bowed his head and whispered in Isabel’s ear.  

“After all, you’re the most insignificant employee in Winchester.”  

***

“So today was… the hunting festival.”  

The meal that was brought to Liz’s room that day was more lavish than usual.  

Pumpkin pie, the symbol of the hunting festival, and steak garnished with nuts and red pomegranate seeds were generously prepared.  

That steak was likely from the stag Valentine had hunted.  

Perhaps it was what remained after being dedicated to the real Isabel.  

The thought made her lose her appetite.  

But Liz couldn’t stop her hand from reaching for the fork.  

‘Why am I like this….’  

Tears welled up in Liz’s eyes as she gripped the fork.  

Perhaps it was due to the prolonged confinement, but Liz found it strangely difficult to control her emotions now.  

“Hic, sob… sob….”  

Liz whimpered. She felt an overwhelming urge to throw the feast across the room.  

But she feared that if she did, she would end up picking the food off the floor with her own hands.  

That was how hungry she was.  

Liz struggled to compose herself, wiped away her tears, and began cutting the steak.  

“Ugh, gag….”  

The moment the piece of meat entered her mouth, her stomach churned.  

Liz covered her mouth, feeling nauseated by the smell of the meat.  

She almost spat it out, but she forced herself to swallow and reached for the teapot.  

“…Huh?”  

But the teapot’s spout was tightly sealed.  

It was strange. The teapot was never usually sealed.  

Had someone tampered with it?  

Liz swallowed hard. At that moment, even the nauseating taste of the meat faded from her mind.  

This was likely the response to the apple she had eaten that day.  

With a tense expression, Liz set the teapot down.  

Then, just as before, she tore apart the bread.  

As expected, a note was hidden inside the bread.  

You can fall into a short but eternal sleep with the apple tea.  

The merchant met your family, whom the master does not know.  

After peacefully falling asleep, you will awaken with them.  

Liz stared intently at the cryptic note.  

‘The merchant must be Theodore. My family that the Duke doesn’t know… that must mean Liam….’  

Liz carefully interpreted the note.  

It seemed to mean that Theodore had found Liam and prepared a foundation for Liz to escape.  

“Apple tea… It must mean pretending to be dead.”

Liz murmured as she touched her chin.  

She had heard of prisoners faking their deaths to escape in similar ways.  

Liz thought deeply.  

But no matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t imagine continuing to live in the attic like this.  

Liz had already abandoned herself once to become Isabel.  

She couldn’t abandon herself again.  

Of course, Liz loved him. Tragically, she desired him.  

But she absolutely didn’t want to become his nighttime servant.  

Liz took a deep breath and placed the note in the washbasin.  

Then, she removed the stopper from the teapot and poured the tea into a cup.  

The fragrant golden apple tea trickled out.  

Liz took a deep breath and drank all of the tea.  

And the moment she moved toward the sofa—  

“Gag…!”  

Her vision flipped, and everything swayed.  

At first, she thought it was the effect of the drug, but something felt off.  

The small attic. The distance from the sofa to the table was only a few steps.  

Yet even those steps were unsteady.  

“This is… strange, gag, ugh…!”  

Liz shook her head. The letter had promised a peaceful sleep.  

But this was anything but peaceful. Something was definitely wrong.  

Liz staggered and fell to the floor with a thud.  

“What’s happening…?”  

“The door…is locked….”  

“Get the master… now!”  

The chaotic voices faded in and out.  

Her vision spun as if she were drunk, and her hands and feet convulsed.  

This was no ordinary sedative.  

Was it actually poison? Had I trusted the note too blindly….  

“Ah, ahhh, ah…!”  

Liz writhed on the floor before losing consciousness.  

***

Liz collapsed with severe convulsions.  

The news turned the Winchester Estate upside down.  

Those involved in Liz’s escape plan were the most shocked.  

Gerald, Martha, the physician, and even Kate and the other employees who had assisted in the plan.  

Among them, the most flustered was Gerald.  

‘I even consulted the physician who had examined Liz before….’  

Gerald stood anxiously outside the Duke’s bedroom.  

When Gerald first heard that Liz had collapsed, he wasn’t too alarmed.  

He had mistakenly thought the plan was proceeding as expected and felt relieved.  

They had planned to put Liz into a deep sleep, have the physician declare her dead, and then smuggle her out in a coffin.  

Indeed, after Liz collapsed, Valentine immediately ordered the physician to inspect her meal.  

But nothing unusual was found.  

Not in the food, nor in the apple tea. The tea only contained ingredients meant to induce sleep.  

Then why had Liz reacted as such?  

Guilt and doubt consumed Gerald.  

“Sigh….”  

Gerald let out a deep sigh and stared at the tightly shut door to the Duke’s bedroom.  

Inside Valentine’s bedroom, Liz was breathing heavily in distress.  

Her convulsions had stopped, but she had yet to regain consciousness.  

The physician was examining her with a grave expression, while Valentine paced around the room like a madman.  

His face was pale, and he bit his lips so hard they bled, leaving them scabbed and red.  

After a long while, the physician set down her stethoscope with a troubled expression.  

“How is she? What is the cause?”  

Valentine rushed over to ask.  

But the physician simply held her forehead in silence.  

“Sigh….”  

The physician let out a deep sigh.  

Valentine grabbed her shoulders.  

“You’ve examined Miss Garrett several times before! Do you need money? Rare medicine? Just tell me. I’ll provide anything you need!”  

Valentine’s voice was almost a desperate cry.

As Valentine had said, the physician was well aware of Liz’s usual health condition.  

Thus, she had carefully prescribed medication that would not harm her.  

Even so, this situation had occurred.  

“Yes. I will… tell you.”  

Valentine’s desperate cries were abruptly cut off.  

He looked at the physician with pleading eyes, as though gazing at a deity.  

“Yes. Whatever it is… whatever it is, please tell me.”  

Valentine nodded as he murmured. The physician sighed deeply and continued.  

“Miss Garrett is with child.”