Ah, it seemed that Irvelyn couldn’t avoid Curtis after all. After all, how many women could resist a man like Curtis Fraser, who not only showed no interest in anyone else, but also burned with such intense love, directed solely at her?

Dalia couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at Irvelyn’s slightly shadowed side profile. She wanted to resent her, but she couldn’t.

And even though she still felt that resentment, she no longer allowed herself to give in to it.

Like Curtis, Irvelyn had lost all meaning to Dalia. Quickly, Dalia pushed all thoughts of Irvelyn aside and concentrated on what she had done.

Meanwhile, as Dalia smiled and handed out bundles of various goods to the poor, Irvelyn was involved in a brief argument with a man in ragged clothes.

“Ah, miss, please, just one more. Don’t you have any left?”

Even though the man had already been given a bundle, he looked at it with greed in his eyes, one of which was almost closed and hard to open.

If it weren’t for the knights guarding the area, he would probably have rushed forward, leaning forward and speaking in a hoarse voice.

It didn’t seem to be the first time he had acted this way, as he only dared to threaten Irvelyn, who was dressed simply and far away from the centre of events.

But instead of showing fear, Irvelyn smiled faintly and almost whispered.

“You should speak nicely.

As a strange smile curved her lips, a haze rose around them that only she seemed to notice. The man, his eyes wide with surprise, immediately softened his expression.

“Yes. All right. Kindly. Kindly.” 

“Now please go. There are others waiting.”

For Irvelyn, who had become quite adept at using her magic called ‘love’, persuading such a petty person was as easy as drinking cold soup.

As the man, now with a relaxed, intoxicated expression on his face, withdrew obediently, a child – so covered in dirt that his true face was unrecognisable – blinked in surprise.

The man, who usually caused trouble but chose his targets carefully, retreated without resistance after receiving several bundles.

There was also something unusual about Irvelyn’s behaviour…

Was the sun rising in the west today?

But the child’s attention quickly shifted to the bundles swaying in front of her. 

“Thank you! Long live the Emperor!” 

The joy that spread across the child’s sunken cheeks was undeniable, but it faded in an instant. Irvelyn’s smile deepened, more sinister than before, as she spoke softly to the child.

“If you’ve got it, go.”

Her whisper was as dry as her words were harsh, but like the man before her, the child left with a smile.

After practicing her magic on a few more people, Irvelyn’s eyes drifted to the largest and most extravagant tent in the centre of the arena. Inside, the golden light of the sun shone like a halo.

With her clean blonde hair and striking green eyes, she must be the Duchess of Fraser. She wasn’t the kind of beauty that would immediately turn heads, but in every way she was a woman you couldn’t look away from.

Her sleek blonde hair, gleaming in the summer sun, and her white cheeks and fingertips, untouched by even a hint of sweat, exuded an elegance that naturally drew the gaze of those around her.

She was the subject of countless rumours in the capital – the woman who had secretly loved Duke Fraser for years.

Though she rarely attended social events and lived in Count Romand’s household, Irvelyn was always on the lookout for news, so it came as no surprise that she was aware of the rumours surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Fraser that had swept the city.

In fact, Irvelyn only found out about the Duchess because so many people were talking about her.

But Irvelyn’s focus was solely on Duke Fraser, Curtis. To her, the Duchess of Fraser wasn’t even a rival.

An official couple, yet her unrequited love spread throughout the capital – how could such a woman be a rival?

The real problem was Curtis Fraser.

According to his godmother, he was a man who, unlike others, had almost never felt emotions since birth.

In truth, he was a man with almost no emotions. Therefore, if Irvelyn could earn his love, he would be the only one capable of perfecting Irvelyn’s ‘magic’.

Even magic struggles to capture his heart, so much so that the power of the moon must be borrowed.

There’s no way such a man could love this woman.

Irvelyn was confident. Confident that whatever methods the Duchess of Fraser used, she could bring Curtis under her control.

Well, a woman raised with such grace and loved only in secret probably wouldn’t do anything.

As she worked diligently on her magic, she was sure she would be successful at next year’s Moon Festival!

“Ah, thank you, thank you…”

Irvelyn continued to smile at the poor souls who reflected her past, which she no longer wished to remember, under the harsh summer sun, and her ‘love’ whirled quietly in the darkness, laughing with her.

***

True to the summer season, the night remained hot and humid long after the sun had set. However, Sebastian, Duke Fraser’s head butler, remained impeccably dressed as always and greeted his master.

When he didn’t see Dalia, who always welcomed him to the mansion even when they hadn’t dined together, Curtis asked.

“Where’s my wife?”

“She said she was going to bed early tonight.”

Curtis gave a brief nod and didn’t press further, as he usually did. That night, however, he found himself unable to sleep at his usual hour. Perhaps it was the sultry tropical night.

He closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him, so Curtis got out of bed and filled an intricately designed glass with ice. The sound of the ice clinking together filled the room before Curtis’ voice broke the silence.

“It’s uncomfortable.”

That sleepless night, Curtis suddenly thought of his wife’s face. Realising that her change was affecting him, Curtis made the decision to end his relationship with Dalia.

He couldn’t quite grasp what ’emotional turmoil’ meant, but even the slightest fluttering in his chest felt foreign and left an uncomfortable, unsettling feeling.

After that, things seemed to calm down. Or rather, the calm was just a thin mask hiding something that was quietly growing inside him, something he didn’t even know was taking root.

He filled the glass with ice and drank the strong liquor in one swift motion. It was something Curtis would never normally do, but tonight was different.

Not being able to sleep, not having anything to occupy his mind, was something that just didn’t happen to Curtis Fraser. And now, as he gripped the glass, his hand tightening until the veins in his wrist bulged, his thoughts turned to Dalia.

The strange events after the Moon Festival were clearer now.

Curtis and Dalia had gone on with their lives as if nothing had changed. More specifically, the time they spent together, the moments they shared, had become less than before, but neither of them said a word about it.

The silence between them felt heavy and Curtis could no longer ignore the pain that had quietly crept into his heart.

Even that, like a tiny piece of skin under his nails, scraped Curtis’ nerves in an almost unbearable way.

The almost unmelted ice made a soft, rhythmic clink against the glass and droplets of water began to form, tracing his palm and following the blue veins in his wrist.

The drops didn’t fall off or disappear; they lingered, slowly trickling down his arm and seeping into the fabric of his thin clothing.

Even as Curtis drank the strong liquor, its amber glow absorbing the soft moonlight, sleep still eluded him.

The discomfort, the strange unease he couldn’t quite put a name to, lingered in the humid air, stretching on like the endless tropical night.

He swallowed the feeling with another drink, hoping it would go away, but it only stayed, haunting him in the silence of the night.

***

As the scorching summer days and humid tropical nights began to fade, autumn set in and the sky slowly turned a pale reddish hue.

The Empire was immersed in the celebrations of Foundation Day. With the largest territory and population on the continent, the Empire’s grand celebration caused a stir across the continent, drawing people from every corner to join in the festivities.

The Duke of Fraser’s family were also busy preparing for the occasion. From organising the lavish banquet at the Imperial Palace to overseeing the festivities within the Duke’s domain, every detail was attended to, including sending out invitations to the vassal families.

Amidst the overwhelming tasks, Dalia never lost sight of her goal. She had secured a temple to hide in, along with poison and an antidote, and now she had to create the person who would ‘poison’ her.

Firstly, she had to die in front of Duke Fraser, so that he would not suspect anything. And secondly, there had to be a culprit who was beyond doubt.

A culprit…