Chapter 156
Even on that day at the mansion, he had promised to stay with her as much as possible.
No matter how good their relationship was now, was it right to just gloss over what had happened back then without mentioning it?
Just then, a canopy prepared for each family was set up, and Thea and the other attendants were busily arranging a place for Freesia to rest.
Thea approached with cool drinks and refreshments.
“Madam, please sit in the shade quickly! The sun will get stronger soon!”
“…Thea. If it were you.”
“Yes?”
“What would you do if your lover called you a disgrace in front of others?”
“Excuse me?”
“And if they saw you sick and didn’t help?”
Thea, not knowing any better, retorted angrily while placing the drink in front of her mistress.
“I’d kill him.”
“…”
“How dare he, leaving me like that—no… wait a minute.”
Thea hurriedly stopped herself, realizing she had said too much. Asking questions that made her master criticize someone indirectly was cheating!
“Maybe there were circumstances where he couldn’t help?”
“…”
“If it were me, even if he apologized now, I think I’d forgive him!”
“He hasn’t apologized.”
“…”
Thea’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She wished her madam and her husband would get along, but no matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t come up with an excuse for the Duke.
Freesia wasn’t really looking for an answer from Thea, so she just furrowed her brow slightly.
More than anything, the scent from the drink Thea had prepared irritated her. A horrible herbal smell she had encountered before…
“Wait, Thea.”
“Yes, Madam?”
“This… who prepared this?”
“This? It’s a cold tea distributed by the palace. Don’t you like it?”
“…”
Freesia looked down at the drink in silence. It was obvious that the tea was meant to cool her down in the hot weather, but the scent was so pungent it stung her nose.
How could she forget this scent? How…
Freesia quietly but firmly grabbed Thea’s wrist and pulled her closer.
“Thea. What was put in here?”
“What?”
“It smells like they added pennyroyal herbs.”
“What? What’s that?”
“An herb that causes miscarriages.”
Thea’s face turned pale instantly at the scolding tone.
She was about to cry out in indignation but realized her mistress was giving her a chance to explain.
“Madam! I swear, it wasn’t me! I just gave it as it was given to me, I swear…!”
“How can I believe that?”
“Honestly, if I were a spy, I’d probably take advantage and extort the person who ordered it! Then I’d report it to you, Madam! That way, I’d get double the reward, and since you and Milord are on good terms, I’d get a reward from him too!”
“…”
“That makes more sense, doesn’t it?”
Freesia was momentarily speechless at the brazen confession, then let out a small laugh.
‘That’s right, Thea was always like this.’
She wasn’t inherently bad, but their relationship was built on rewards and transactions.
Ironically, it made her more trustworthy than blind loyalty.
‘Regardless, it’s clear who might have ordered this.’
Elder Madam Electra. Or Duchess Antares. Or Atria. But they would have used their subordinates to do the dirty work.
‘It seems the subordinate was too anxious and messed up the job.’
Perhaps they thought there would be more people to pin the blame on in the middle of the palace…
It seemed they were anxious about how good her relationship with Izar appeared from the outside. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken such a risky move.
‘If the palace has this many hands involved, it shouldn’t be too hard to find them. But for now, let’s observe the situation.’
With monsters potentially appearing soon, demoralizing her close aides wasn’t an option.
Freesia released Thea’s wrist and whispered.
“…Thea. I can’t fully trust you, but I’ll let it go for now. If anyone asks, tell them I drank a little of this.”
“Yes, yes… But how did you recognize it immediately?”
“It smells like mint.”
Thea sniffed the drink while fanning over it. The refreshing scent was strong enough to sting her nose…
“There are many types of mint, aren’t there? It might be something else.”
“No. That’s definitely pennyroyal. I remember the smell from before…”
But as she was about to speak, Freesia stopped.
‘When did I smell this?’
Was it when women in the market were talking? Or when she was herding sheep?
‘No.’
Was a forgotten nightmare reawakening?
The sunlight outside was blinding, but the awful scent made her vision blink like a red lamp.
<I don’t need a child!>
The cry of her ‘husband.’ But when had her ‘husband’ ever said that?
Crash!
The moment a finger-sized glass bottle fell and its clear liquid soaked the floor.
<Hah. Would you just die already? Because of you, so many people are suffering.>
The curse she had heard while wandering like an ignorant beast at the bottom of despair.
How could she have forgotten?
How…
The conversation she had before she died.
Freesia muttered blankly.
“Atria.”
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