CH 29

‘…..daughter?!’

Of course she would say that, because we were in front of people from outside the family, but I was still so surprised that I thought my heart was going to drop into my stomach.

I knew that she didn’t mean it, but just hearing the word daughter was enough to make my heart race.

‘I shouldn’t get it wrong.’

I noticed that the Angellus mother and daughter’s gazes were on me, so I quickly managed my expression.

I smiled brightly at Themis, as if we were really friendly.

Dolcinia’s lips slightly moved at Elodie’s treatment, which was different from rumors.

‘Ha, it’s ugly anyway,’  Dolcinia thought snidely. 

The appearance of Themis and Elodie, a mother and daughter who were seemingly friendly with each other, made Dolcinia not want to be there any longer.

She came all the way here because of her daughter Dorothea, but she ended up getting nothing. Far from repaying an insult, she felt rather dirty.

Dolcinia and Dorothea rose from their seats and bid the Perdias farewell.

“We received an apology, so we should go now. See you next time, Themis. And miss Elodie.”

“It was a pleasant teatime, Duchess Perdia. Take care…. Elodie,” Dorothea squeezed out the last word with only the slightest hint of resentment. 

“Yes, both of you go take care,” Themis said, seeing the two of them off while sitting.

Angellus’s mother and daughter turned around with reluctant faces and started walking.

“That direction…..”

I unknowingly tried to get up, but Themis stopped me.

“Leave them alone.”

I nodded obediently. “Yes.”

The direction Duchess Angellus and her daughter were heading in was towards a colony of poisonous plants that caused rashes with their pollen.

If you took a deep breath there, you’d wake up with skin problems for a while.

When they entered the greenhouse, they were guided by an attendant, but there was no one to guide them on the way out.

‘As expected Duchess, you’re finishing them off with a bang.’ 

I admired Themis’s ruthless and clean handling of the uninvited guest and took it to heart.

‘I have to learn!’

My respect grew rapidly. The way she laughed and chewed it no matter what she heard was impressive.

I blinked in realization and turned to Themis.

“I’m sorry for today, Duchess.” 

“Why are you apologizing, Elodie?”

“Because Dorothea came because I acted wrongly.”

I didn’t mean to, but I unintentionally provided an excuse.

Technically speaking it was Raeyan, who provoked Dorothea Angellus, but it was my own judgment that did not stop him.

But Themis shook her head firmly.

“Even if that’s the case, I’ve been so bored. This made things fun after a long time. Isn’t it funny that they stormed in triumphantly, as if they had a huge weapon, and then were kicked out without saying much?”

“Ahaha.”

I laughed awkwardly.

To say it was fun to greet those who visited with the purpose of deliberately picking a fight with them was, of course, not unusual for Themis.

Then Themis took a bottle out of her arms and held it out to me.

“Come on, drink.”

“What’s this?” I asked innocently.

“An antidote. Didn’t you drink tea earlier?”

“…….!”

I was at a loss for words.

Oh my gosh.

Was it really poisoned?

I only took a sip after arriving late, so I didn’t notice it because the poison didn’t have an effect.

“Did you put poison in?” I asked, aghast at her boldness.

“Of course. Even with mild symptoms,  poison is poison. You won’t be able to see those two for a while.”

Hohoho. Imagining the scene, Themis let out a faint laugh.

I was afraid to ask what the symptoms were. Without a word, I poured the antidote down my throat at once.

It was bitter. It was technically useless for me to drink the antidote, but I couldn’t help it if I wanted to avoid suspicion.

The poison I drank earlier was so weak that it didn’t seem like it would leave any aftereffects, unlike usual.

I worded my next question carefully, thinking that the Angellus’s mother and daughter could go crazy when they found that they were indeed poisoned.

“You won’t get in trouble, will you?”

“What do you see me as?”

With Themis grounded confidence, I gave a capitalistic smile and raised both hands with a thumbs up.

“Of course, you are the best poisoner on the continent!”

It was as if I could hear the coins clinking already. Clink, clink.

Gold rattles infinitely for the powerful.

***

Themis looked at the girl in front of her and smiled.

“Are you serious?” The duchess inquired. 

“Of course!”

Elodie’s answer was outspoken because it was certain that Themis Perdia was the best poisoner on the continent.

That was quite refreshing for Themis.

Although she was not from one of the four major families, Themis had met many people who flattered her because she was from a historic family. 

But they tried to win her favor by hiding their true intentions and pretending not to ingratiate themselves.

Seeing Elodie flatter her like this…..

‘So cute.’

She was such an honest and cute child.

From the time Elodie and that woman came to this mansion, Themis had remained indifferent to them.

Even as Elodie grew up, she kept her distance, fearing that she might feel uncomfortable with Themis, because she was an illegitimate child.

As expected, Elodie would be nervous whenever she saw Themis and trembled like a little puppy.

What did she do, then?

Apparently, the role Elodie wanted from her to play was the wife of her biological father, who hated her illegitimate daughter, so Themis treated her as she wanted.

The reason Themis broke her own iron rule was because Elodie talked to her first one day.

“Hello, Duchess.”

The child, who couldn’t even make eye contact because of fear, had approached first and said hello.

Wondering what to do, she replied back, and then Elodie smiled quite skillfully and said that she had made an antidote out of nowhere.

She could understand why her two sons were snooping around this child and trying to talk to her recently.

She was sure that the changes in this child must have affected the two sons as well.

“You took the antidote right away, so it should be fine,” the duchess continued, resurfacing from her memories, “It’s not that toxic in the first place.”

“I just took a sip, so it’ll be okay. Thank you for your concern, Duchess.”

Elodie, who politely thanked her, rose from her seat.

“There were a lot of mistakes today. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen next time. See you then, Duchess.”

“Okay, See you next time.”

Tak tak.

Elodie walked with her light golden hair flying, with the sound of light footsteps.

Themis rested her chin on her hands as she watched Elodie’s disappearing back.

“…..What a shame.”

Being called ‘mother’ wasn’t bad to hear.

***

Inside the carriage returning from the Perdia mansion to the Angellus mansion, Angellus’s mother and daughter, covered in pollen from getting lost in Themis’s greenhouse, were in a state of great anger.

In particular, the most agitated was the daughter, Dorothea Angellus.

“What is this, mother? In the end we came back without doing anything……! What’s this strange flower that spewed that horrid powder? Ugh, I feel so bad!”

Dorothea was disgusted and annoyed, and Dolcinia smiled affectionately and brushed her hair with a handkerchief.

“Don’t be so angry, baby. It’s okay, don’t we still have a lot of time?”

“You saw it too, mother. Elodie was laughing at me.” 

“Let’s just laugh at it. She is an illegitimate child. On the other hand, my baby is a direct descendant of Angellus, who has a lot of power. She can’t compare, hmm?”

Dolcinia knew what her daughter, Dorothea, most wanted to hear.

As expected, Dorothea’s expression softened considerably.

Dorothea said, pouting her lip, “But it’s strange, Mother. Doesn’t it look like Elodie and Duchess Perdia were on good terms?”

“Well.”

Certainly.

It looked strange in Dolcinia’s eyes, too.

Rumor has it that Themis Perdia and Elodie were not on good terms.

But it’s like playing ‘family’, when she was not even a daughter.

She felt sorry for Duchess Perdia, in a way.

‘You probably don’t want to sink out of the eyes of Duke Perdia.’

So, she thought that in Themis Perdia’s world, it was no big deal to be the mother of a child which had been born outside – if she had to do that to keep her position with the Duke. 

Dolcinia, who got out of the carriage, went into the mansion.

“Get some rest, baby.”

“Yes, I’ll go up first.”

Dolcinia, who sent Dorothea away, caught a passing servant.

But somehow her expression was subtly distorted.

As if she saw something she shouldn’t have seen.

It was strange, but she asked about her husband’s whereabouts, thinking that there must be some personal circumstances.

“What about my husband?”

“The master is welcoming a guest.”

“Guest?”

“Yes. The one who came last time….”

“Ah, you mean that guest.”

Recently, the Duke of Angellus often met with a wizard.

They seemed to talk about investments, but since he is an important guest, they told the servants of the mansion to serve him well.

Perhaps the conversation had ended, because the “guest” and the Duke of Angellus were leaving the drawing room.

‘He’s covering his entire face again today.’

Dolcinia greeted her husband’s guest in a casual manner. The opponent nodded his head slightly.

“I’ll go first.”

“Take care,” the Duke of Angellus responded. 

“See you then.”

Dolcinia tilted her head at the wizard’s unusual voice. Because it was ambiguous whether it was a man or a woman.

After the guest left the mansion, Duke Angellus, who finally faced his wife properly, frowned.

“Duchess, what’s wrong with your face?”

“Oh. I’m embarrassed if you say such a thing out of the blue. Am I that pretty?”

“No, it’s not that. Your face…..look in the mirror.”

Dolcinia wondered what was suddenly wrong with her husband to say she should look in a mirror.

She felt weird for some reason, so Dolcinia opened a nearby guest room and went in to check herself at the dressing table.

And– 

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

An eardrum-shattering-high-pitched sound rang through the mansion.

Bang, bang, bang!

At the same time, Dorothea burst into tears and ran down the hallway.

“Mother, Father—!!”

No one pointed out that such behavior was unbecoming for a lady from a noble family, who should try to suppress their emotions as much as possible.

Because the situation was serious.

“Mother, look at this! My skin is full of hideous things!”

Oh gosh.

In an instant, the hallway became a sea of tears.

As Dorothea said, her face was full of blisters or something like that.

Dolcinia’s face was not much different either.

The duke could not help but be surprised at the lightning strike of his wife and daughter.

“Why are your faces like this? Did you eat something wrong?!”

“Eat wrong–”

Ah.

The mother and daughter thought of the same thing at the same time.

The tea.

The only thing that they consumed before was a sip of tea given to them by Themis Perdia.

“I’m sure Themis did that!”

‘You deliberately let Elodie act as bait, and made her drink tea, and while actually you poisoned it.’

They immediately called in the family doctor to examine them, but-

“No poison was detected.”

“What, what does that mean, doctor? Do it again!” Dolcinia hissed.

“Even if you say so, I can not say that there is poison that is not there…..”

It was the same with every doctor they called.

“It’s not poison.”

“It’s a lifestyle problem…..”

Everyone just said that.

To make matters worse, the family doctor even showed reluctance after the examination.

“It will be difficult to treat it right away. The condition is serious.”

At those words, Dorothea’s complexion turned white.

“What are you talking about? Treat us as soon as possible. Where can we go like this!”

Dolcinia gnashed her teeth while trying to soothe her sobbing daughter.

“Themis……!”

Themis, as an excellent poisoner, must have used an undetectable poison.

However, no poisoner could be charged with a crime when it’s said that there was no poison detected.

‘That damned cunning vixen! She must have used a poison that would never be detected!´

But they couldn’t go and beg for an antidote, so they had no choice but to cling for a treatment.

They went there just to humiliate the Perdias, but Duchess Angellus and her daughter were unable to step out of their mansion for a while.

***

While they were having a hellish time.

[Dorothea Angellus – The flower of the social world: What happened to her?]

“Hahaha.”

I was enjoying a leisurely teatime while reading the headline of a local gossip magazine.