Chapter 26

Does he have a bad memory?

I obviously said Larissa had a bad cold yesterday. Although, of course, she didn’t have a real cold.

“She’s not feeling well. She still has to lie down.”

“Isn’t there a doctor who visits every day? I saw her standing yesterday, but why is she lying down today?”

“A cold does not get better in one day. Seeing that, I also…….”

cough cough.

Because Richard kept trying to force me, I purposely coughed a little.

‘It will be easier to leave later with the excuse that I am not feeling well.’

Upon hearing me coughing, Richard closed his mouth and wrinkled his face. Heloise, who was sitting next to me, took her chair, and she moved slightly away from me.

– Ugh, it’s dirty, I’m going to lose my appetite, I guess she doesn’t even know table manners. Lowly thing.

I took a deep breath and picked up the spoon.

‘I did a great job of not bringing Larissa.’

The soup, the first order of the dinner course, had not even been finished yet.

Larissa was eating alone in the room, but she was rather fortunate.

These people were having dinner together but they were talking nonsense to each other.

They spoke in an elegant tone, but in their mind, they only used more primitive words.

Among the sarcastic and slanderous conversations, Fabian was the one who was criticized the most.

Perhaps it was familiar to him, even though he heard all kinds of insults, he ate casually without changing his face.

Sometimes, when he heard excessive words, he gave them back with a sharp tone.

If by any chance the interest of the conversation sprung to me, he savvily threw a word.

Then, invariably, they forgot about me and rebuked Fabian, or started cursing each other again.

I sighed and poked the rabbit meat sausage.

The oily sausages looked delicious at first glance, but when I heard the inner voices, I lose my appetite.

‘I can’t do this.’

I gave up the meal and glanced at Richard, sipping the wine.

He asked me about Larissa for a while and seemed to lose interest when I didn’t give him the answer he wanted.

After a long meal, all that was left was dessert.

‘I think it’ll be okay if I get up slowly now……’

“Excuse me, but I’m not feeling well, so I’ll get up first.”

I covered my mouth with a napkin, deliberately coughed once more, and then stood up.

No one cared for me.

Even Richard just nodded his head once with a sullen face.

I deliberately retreated from the table without paying attention to Fabian.

Just then, the maids began to deliver dessert plates.

‘Phew, I woke up just in time.’

Thinking that I could rest for a while away from those damn inner voices, I wanted to run and go out.

But the situation betrayed my expectations.

I’ve always had bad luck.

– Put it in front of Young Master Fabian, in front of Young Master Fabian. As natural as possible……in front of Young Master Fabian.

Among the three maids who carried food, one of them was constantly murmuring anxiously. Of course, in her mind.

– I have to ask Madam to pay me more. I’m so nervous……what if I get caught?

I clicked my tongue.

If it was Madam, there were two people at the dinner table.

‘Marchioness Valerie Conrad and Countess Emma Laurent. It must be one of them.’

I quickly looked at their faces.

Emma sat blankly, still with a weary face, and Valerie stared with her burning eyes at the dessert plate in the maid’s hands.

That face.

The culprit was Valerie.

I didn’t know it before, but after listening to the maid’s anxious heart, I understand.

An expression stained with tension and ecstasy.

She had a masked smile on her face and brought a glass to her lips, hiding her true expression.

‘I wish Fabian had sat next to me.’

Then I could have just told him not to touch the dessert.

‘I can’t help it, really…’

I don’t know what was in the dessert, but I couldn’t let Fabian eat it.

I stumbled as if I had stepped on a skirt on purpose.

Then I fell to the maid who was carrying dessert and clung to her.

“Aww, Lady!”

The maid, who was carrying the dessert with her trembling hands, was so nervous that her face turned pale.

She did not fall over while holding the plate, but she spilled all the dessert on the plate.

A gooey caramel sauce and bright red raspberry syrup dripped onto the ivory dress.

‘Oh, my dress.’

It was a long dress that I would only wear today and tomorrow, but I really liked it.

The maid, holding the plate, was bewildered and did not know what to do.

No, she seemed terrified.

To the extent that even if I fell, she could not even think of supporting me.

I heard laughter behind my back.

Before I could even guess who was laughing, I heard a voice in front of me.

“Are you okay?”

It was Fabian.

There was no smile on his face.

Fabian reached out to me.

As I grabbed his hand, he lifted me up with one hand.

His dark hair came as close to my forehead as I got up.

The chance was now.

At that moment, I quickly whispered inconspicuously.

“From now on, don’t eat anything. Someone did something about the dessert.”

Red eyes stared into my eyes for a moment.

When I stood up balancing, he released my hand and took a step back.

As if nothing had happened, he asked calmly.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. Excuse me first.”

I bowed lightly and said goodbye.

Fabian blinked, and another maid standing in the corner quickly approached.

“Bring Miss Marcia to the room and bring some dessert from the kitchen.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Following the maid, I glanced back.

It was quite a sight to behold.

Richard frowned as he stood up half-slumped.

Valerie and Heloise looked at me with hateful faces.

Dominic was still giggling at my dress.

Those people will become my family from tomorrow.

‘Can I last three years……’

***

I changed my clothes as soon as I got back to my room.

No more inner voices could be heard.

“I think I’m going to live a little now.”

Larissa sat alone in front of the table blankly.

She looked like she was about to start eating, as there was still untouched food on the table.

I breathed a single big sigh of relief, sat across from Larissa, and watched her slowly eat her food.

My thoughts flew to the dining room a few minutes ago.

‘It must have been poison, right?’

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the maid to be so nervous while carrying food.

‘Oh, come to think of it, something like this has happened before.’

I remembered one thing I had forgotten.

It was the first day I met Fabian.

There was one assassin who was after him.

He must have been on an order from someone, that beggar boy.

– I don’t have to pierce deeply. Just blood……

……and come to think of it, he said it was okay to just scrape the blade.

Was the blade also poisoned?

‘Then, was it Valery’s order as well?’

No, even if it wasn’t Valerie, there were other people who wanted to kill Fabian and take the place of Grand Duke.

‘The most desperate person must be Dominic.’

Will this continue to happen in the future?

Or will Fabian be sure to become Grand Duke and then he will be fine?

‘Sigh……’

I sighed lightly and rested my chin on the table.

Larissa was playing with the fork to put the food in her mouth.

“Do you like it?”

I just asked, knowing I would not get an answer.

Larissa’s reaction was as expected.

I mean, she didn’t respond.

‘Now I’m going to take the place of Larissa, and it seems to have gone well.’

I looked at Larissa and thought.

Today I was with Fabian, so I could keep him from poison.

A prince in a fairy tale will not be easy to eat poison and fall. At least until he married Larissa.

‘I will be able to prevent assassins in the future. Because I can immediately recognize a person with malice or hostility.’

Now was the first time I thought I was lucky to have this terrible ability.

I have to use it to the fullest for the next three years.

Until the day of divorce.