“Were you worried? I’m fine. Besides, we’re in a chapel, right?”

Anyone who heard these words would have thought they were full of timidity and affection.

As a wife deeply in love with her husband, her demeanour was impeccable.

As the unexpected events unfolded one after the other, those present found themselves unable to gather their thoughts. But now their eyes glittered like hyenas that had just sighted their prey.

Rumours had been circulating lately about the Duchess’s hopelessly devoted and almost pathetic love for her husband. And now it seemed that these rumours were more than just idle gossip.

But… had things changed on the Duke’s side as well?

As they did so, they watched Curtis, only to see his expression grow colder and more rigid than before. It was enough to silence their thoughts and dismiss their speculations. 

Of course it was him. He was Curtis Fraser. 

A man revered by all but one who loved no one. 

A man whose arrogance was only natural, who received admiration and devotion but never gave love in return. 

Curtis, the man who had caused such an uproar with a few insignificant actions, stood stunned. In his now empty arms, he could still catch the faint scent of Dalia’s as she naturally moved away from him as if nothing had ever happened between them. 

He couldn’t quite grasp the reality of the situation.

As her demeanour remained unchanged, the sense of discord he felt when he briefly met her cold, indifferent gaze only increased.

The green eyes that had once so desperately declared their love for him were now completely devoid of warmth – chilled to an unbearable degree.

As if he were nothing more than a piece of furniture in the room…

The moment his mind reached this conclusion, Curtis instinctively – no, as an act of self-preservation – forced himself to stop thinking.

For if he didn’t, he was certain that he would be confronted with the brutal, undeniable truth – a truth so sharp and vivid that it would pierce him mercilessly.

Soon the New Year’s Eve celebrations came to an end, as they always did. For Dalia it brought a meaningful gain, while for Curtis it left nothing but an inexplicable sense of unease.

***

Time flowed inexorably like water, and before they knew it, the gentle winds of spring had begun to blow.

“No, something in a lighter shade.”

“How about this?”

“How about this?”

“That will do.”

As usual, Dalia carefully selected cufflinks and a cravat for Curtis before dismissing the servants around her.

By the time she was ready for tea, the teapot and cup were already prepared at the perfect temperature, neatly placed within arm’s reach. With the maids gone, she was left alone.

“Haaah…”

Dalia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. As she massaged her stiff neck, she felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder and swallowed a small groan.

After the positive outcome of the New Year’s Festival, she had been particularly busy.

While playing the role of a duchess deeply in love with her husband, she had been even more meticulous and discreet in preparing for their inevitable separation.

She had already chosen the temple where she would seek refuge, carefully planned her journey there and made sure she had gathered everything necessary for her departure.

The next step was…

As she thought, Dalia lightly tapped the tip of the quill and quickly wrote a word on the blank paper.

Poison.

“What would be the best thing to eat to feel completely full?”

As she muttered this, she elegantly wrote down all the poisons she knew, their effects and the traces they left, in a smooth, flowing handwriting.

Just as there were few temples she could visit, there were many poisons she knew, but not all of them could be used.

Poisons with fancy names like Silent Guest, A Supreme Experience and Melting You were immediately ruled out.

Some were difficult to obtain, others were easy to obtain but had clear, identifiable sources.

Even if she could get them from the back-alley black markets, often spread as rumour or half-joking gossip in high society, it wouldn’t make any difference.

When Curtis Fraser chose to do so, it was clear that he could turn even those back alleys upside down.

So what Dalia was after was a very common poison. It was something so common that people didn’t even think of it as poison, but its danger was far from insignificant.

There was no need for deep or long thought.

She had spent the whole day thinking about how to successfully stage a poisoning death, so all she had to do was refine the ideas she had already considered. 

Finally, her pen wrote a neat word and ended it with a period. 

Alois.

Alois is a commonly used rat poison that is mixed with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes or boiled eggs, along with various herbs, and placed along the paths that rats use.

However, most people are unaware that Alois itself is poisonous. They simply follow the traditional methods of catching rats, unaware of its toxicity. 

Alois is also a fruit used in desserts. Its mild sweetness makes it a preferred ingredient for those who do not like overly sweet snacks.

Most importantly, the alois itself is not poisonous. It only becomes toxic when it interacts with a particular type of tea leaf. 

The herbs used in rat poison have a similar effect, but these herbs cannot be used in tea, making them useless to Dalia.

As she stared at the empty teacup and the gently warming teapot, she quickly decided which poison she would ingest.

Colourless, odourless, tasteless. Easy to obtain and it would leave the typical signs of poisoning on the body, making it perfect.

The antidote was also relatively simple. It wasn’t widely known as a poison, but among those who did, there was already a perfect antidote.

Soon a great banquet would be held to celebrate the confirmation of a national project that had long been the Emperor’s wish.

By then, huge quantities of goods would be moving around the capital and throughout the empire, scattered like an ant’s nest, so even if a little of the Alois that went into the Duke’s residence disappeared, no one would notice.

Alois is commonly used as rat poison.

Having chosen her poison and planned her next steps, Dalia smiled with satisfaction and stretched out like a cat.

The second step to escape from him was already in her hands. If she continued to prepare carefully, step by step, she would probably be in a convent by this time next year, not in Duke Fraser’s residence.

She no longer wanted to look after the Duke’s family on a daily basis, but Curtis, despite her reluctance, still managed to do it out of habit.

Just a few more months and everything would be over, including her careful management of Curtis’s environment.

Later, Dalia relaxed and settled comfortably in her chair.

Before her return to the past, she rarely allowed anyone into her study, but after her return and the New Year celebrations, she decided to shut everyone out completely, and even around the study, unless there was a special purpose, she forbade anyone to approach beyond a certain distance.

As she lay there, thinking about how to arrange the next step – her body, or rather how to make it look like a corpse – Dalia suddenly looked up with an idea.

Knock knock.

“My Lady, it’s Sebastian.”

Dalia gave her permission and put the papers with her plans in her pocket, as she always did, intending to burn them later.

“Come in.”

Behind the silently opened door, Sebastian, the head butler of the Duke’s residence, appeared with his well-groomed face.

It wasn’t unusual for him to visit Dalia, but there hadn’t been any reason lately, so Dalia asked, hiding her confusion and a little discomfort.

“Nothing’s happened to Curtis or the Duke’s family, has it?”

Dalia quickly searched her memories before returning, but fortunately there was nothing of that sort.

“What’s going on?”

“An invitation has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

“Ah, the Moon Banquet?”

“Yes, but it’s an invitation sent personally by Her Majesty the Empress.”

If the invitation had come from the Empress herself, it would make sense that Sebastian would be involved.

Since that wasn’t what she was worried about, Dalia nodded and accepted the invitation.

Looking down at the invitation, which had the Empress’s clear seal on it, Dalia noticed that Sebastian hadn’t left yet and looked up at him.

“Sebastian?”

“Yes, my lady. There’s something else. The Duke has sent word that he will be dining at the Duke’s residence tonight.”

“Really? Is that all?”

“Damn it.”

Was that what it was all about?

Without realising it, Dalia cursed, stopping the crude words that were about to come out of her mouth.

As she tried to calm the twitching corners of her lips, she consciously looked away, deliberately avoiding further expression.

“I see… so, dinner.”

Whether it was irritation or frustration, her slightly trembling voice almost seemed to carry an undertone of joy.

“Wasn’t dinner tonight supposed to be with the Count, the owner of the mine, according to the schedule I received yesterday?”

“The other party cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances.”

she don’t know what the unavoidable circumstances were, but it seems that the Count’s family will find it difficult to get on with the Duke Fraser’s family.

As Curtis’ preferences are not always clear, it’s particularly difficult to get the little things right for him.

But if there’s one thing he clearly doesn’t like, it’s having a plan disrupted. Of course, she expected him to enjoy the evening alone…