Chapter 151
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Leslie hadn’t forgotten what her father had urged on her over and over before he left. That the man Ivan de Negro was different from the gentle late Duke.
That this once, because they were vassals, he’d settled it at a reasonable line, but there would be no second chances.
Honestly, Leslie hadn’t liked Ivan all that much. She’d only wanted to rise to the highest seat.
And yet that path was not only far from easy, but now it had become a dangerous one for her.
Leslie had wisely come to terms with her feelings, but the Isabelle before her was still staring up at a tree she could never climb.
“So, you were sincere after all. That’s why you were always so full of confidence.”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”
“I’m not teasing you either.”
At Leslie’s serious expression, Isabelle quietly closed her mouth. Leslie, hand tucked into an inner pocket of her skirt, rolled the object she’d grasped this way and that in her palm.
In truth, it was something she’d prepared long ago to use herself, but it seemed its true owner was someone else.
Yes, whoever it is, as long as that rabbit beastfolk can be cleared away, all the better.
With a faintly sinister smile, Leslie set a bottle of potion down on the table.
“If you become the Duchess, treat my family well. You can do that for me, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to.”
“Then sign here. Verbal agreements just don’t inspire much trust.”
Pulling a rolled-up paper from the other pocket, Leslie spread it wide open and laid it beside the potion bottle.
“…All right.”
She knew she shouldn’t sign things carelessly, but this was no situation to weigh such things.
Isabelle brought a pen and, with trembling hands, finished signing without even checking the contract’s contents.
“This potion is an aphrodisiac traded only through underground channels.”
“Hgk.”
At Leslie’s words, Isabelle covered her mouth with both hands in shock. Her hands kept trembling.
“Why so startled? Scared? If you want to back out, back out now.”
“…No.”
“Have the Alpha drink this, then go to him. Wolves value purity. If you just succeed in spending the night with the Alpha, he won’t be able to cast you aside.”
At the hopeful words that Brother Ivan wouldn’t cast her aside, Isabelle’s trembling hands stilled. Yes, there’s a way. I just have to carry it out.
With resolve settling in her eyes, Isabelle asked.
“Then, how should I get him to drink this?”
“In a little while, the head maid will take tea to the office. The tea the Alpha drinks is always the same, so I’ll slip the potion into it. So in the meantime, you sneak into the Alpha’s bedroom and wait.”
“Understood.”
Isabelle’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her mouth. She was aware she was committing something enormous, but she wasn’t afraid. If only this succeeded, that splendid man would now be hers.
Isabelle recalled Ruby lying brazenly in his bed with a serene face. How dare she, in a place like that, smear her vulgar pheromones around?
From today onward, Ivan’s bedroom would be filled with only her own pheromones.
For the first time today, Isabelle wore a beautiful smile.
* * *
“What’s the matter, my lord?”
When the head maid asked with a puzzled air, Ivan quietly closed his mouth.
“The taste is a bit different from usual, Margaret?”
“Oh my? How strange. I brewed it the way I always do.”
“Hm, never mind.”
“No, do give it here. I’ll brew a fresh pot right away and bring it.”
When the head maid came over to take the teacup away, Ivan snatched up the cup’s handle with his long fingers and lifted it.
“I said never mind. It’s the dead of winter. We mustn’t be wasteful.”
“Oh, my Lord, you’re something else.”
Margaret said it as if he were incorrigible, yet she smiled with an expression that showed she didn’t mind.
The lords they served had borne this character for generations. A nature that always thought first of the territory’s people and the vassals, and that always lived frugally.
Ivan was their pride.
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